Think of any situation, and
there are likely pros and cons. The same is true when deciding whether to
expand your sales to Amazon. The fact is, neither eBay nor Amazon can claim to
be the best across the board nowadays.
Many eBay sellers have wondered
if it's really worth selling on Amazon. Some feel there are too many rules and
it wouldn't be worth the effort. Some have asked for a point by point
comparison between the two sites. Here are a dozen points of comparison that
may help sellers make a decision.
1. Fees
2. Format (Auction vs. Fixed-price)
3. Community
4. Stability
5. Feedback
6. Branding
7. Photos
8. Taxes
9. Average Sale Price
10. Payment Methods
11. Return Policy
12. Shipping
2. Format (Auction vs. Fixed-price)
3. Community
4. Stability
5. Feedback
6. Branding
7. Photos
8. Taxes
9. Average Sale Price
10. Payment Methods
11. Return Policy
12. Shipping
1. Fees
Most sellers agree that fees
between the two sites are almost a wash. Especially when you consider that you
pay for every item to be listed on eBay whether it sells or not. When you
consider unsold items, time spent relisting items, and time spent dealing with
unpaid items, my opinion is Amazon comes out ahead.
Amazon collects the payment for
the seller, and deposits the funds into your checking account. There are no
fees for this, while PayPal fees are substantial. If eBay moves to a PayPal
only model in the U.S., they can increase fees for collecting payment at will.
Advantage: Tie
2. Format (Auction vs.
Fixed-price)
eBay popularized the auction
format listing. Amazon failed at auctions and only offers fixed-price listings.
Which is best?
For collectibles, auctions are
the best way to get market value. eBay is better if you are running an antique
store online and want the best prices, and shoppers looking for unique items.
But most businesses, do not
deal in collectibles, they sell "practicals," commodity items that
people want to buy and get on with their day. Buyers can readily find these
items, and buy online for convenience. It's easy to set a fixed-price for these
items.
While Amazon is the fixed-price
king, eBay is moving in that direction by downplaying auctions and encouraging
fixed-price listings. The advantage is in the buyers. The Amazon buyer is more
affluent, and pays a higher average price for products.
Advantage: Auctions: eBay
Advantage: Fixed-price: Amazon
3. Community
eBay sellers are very involved
with eBay buyers. The transactions can be extremely interactive. Amazon buyers
and sellers rarely interact. The Amazon buyer tends to expect high customer
service and they don't expect to have to ask if an item has shipped.
Because of the higher
interaction with customers, eBay sellers have to spend more time per
transaction. Amazon transactions take less time.
Advantage: Amazon
4. Stability
Online retailers rely on the
stability of their chosen platforms to operate smoothly. Changes cost time.
Sellers have developed systems that allow them to list, sell, and deliver
items. When rules change, or things don't work, the systems break down and
profit is lost.
Amazon has had very few major
changes in the past few years. Even though there are some restrictions, they
generally stay the same, and are enforced consistently. When changes have been
made, they tend to stick and sellers can adjust.
eBay has had major changes over
the past year, including Feedback, fees, digitally delivered items, search
results, Detailed Seller Ratings, eBay's affiliate program, and more are to be
expected. Sellers have been greatly affected in real and perceived ways. Some
changes have been rolled out, only to be reversed causing even more
consternation among sellers.
Advantage: Amazon
5. Feedback
Both eBay and Amazon have a
feedback system allowing buyers and sellers to record their impression of a
transaction. Both sites allow buyers to leave negative comments for sellers.
Both sites allow sellers to leave only positive comments for buyers.
The eBay culture has given much
more weight to feedback than their Amazon counterpart. Amazon buyers can see
the seller's feedback score, but tend to overlook it more readily than eBay
buyers. Amazon's A-z Guarantee may have a bearing on this by making the buyer
feel more protected when purchasing an item.
Amazon does not
"disadvantage" sellers, as eBay does, by moving them down in the
results when shoppers perform a search. eBay does this by considering the
seller's feedback score and making them less visible to shoppers, rather than
letting buyers make the choice themselves.
Advantage (especially for
sellers): Amazon
6. Branding
Amazon restricts sellers from
reaching out to buyers and marketing to them. Traditionally, this has been an
advantage to eBay since eBay allowed sellers to link to a site off eBay from
the seller's About Me page.
Recent changes at eBay have
virtually eliminated the ability to use eBay as a lead generating tool for
off-eBay business. eBay has all but forbidden any outside links from any eBay
pages including custom store pages. The only place a link may appear is on your
eBay About Me page. This has effectively neutralized eBay as a "branding
tool."
Advantage: Tie
7. Photos
eBay sellers have always
struggled with photos. How to take good photos, how to get the photos to show
up on eBay, how many photos. Each item, no matter if it's exactly the same as
another, gets its own photo on eBay.
Amazon is different. An
individual product gets one photo, and one description page, and all sellers
use the same page.
Generally, the first photo
posted on a given product, is the photo everyone will use. Some sellers don't
like the idea of other sellers using their photo. But if "one photo fits
all" for a particular product, it's pretty likely that product is a
commodity product. Not many photos are needed.
As an Amazon seller, I
absolutely love the fact that I can list 20 items without shooting a single
photo. It saves a ton of time.
Amazon buyers will buy an item
without a photo. They know that the image they see is generally just
representative anyway.
Advantage: Amazon
8. Taxes
Marketplace sellers are
responsible for the sales tax on any items sold on Amazon.com, and if
necessary, they generally add this cost into the price of their items. This is
a pain for Amazon sellers who are running a business.
eBay provides a mechanism in
the Sell-Your-Item form to collect the taxes in addition to the sale price.
This way the taxes don't eat into the seller's profits.
It seems Amazon could add a
tool like this to their process quite easily for their Marketplace sellers and
I wouldn't be surprised to see it in the future. But until that happens, I'd
say...
Advantage: eBay
9. Average Sale Price
Amazon buyers have been shown
to be more affluent, and more willing to spend more on similar items. eBay
buyers tend to look for bargains, and are willing to wait through a seven-day
auction to save a buck.
As a seller, I'll pick the
buyer that is willing to spend more. I have actually used eBay to source
products at rock-bottom prices, then sold for good profit on Amazon. Amazon
buyers often don't even look on eBay, and they ultimately pay more.
Advantage: Amazon
10. Payment Methods
Amazon sellers must use Amazon
Payments to accept payment. That's it. Amazon collects the payment, and
deposits it into your bank account twice per month (more often if you choose).
They collect and deposit the funds with no fees added. eBay sellers can accept
PayPal, money orders, cashier's checks, or cash (in person).
eBay seems poised to require
PayPal payments on all transactions. If that happens, it will significantly
affect many sellers. If you sell an item for $500, you may now accept
non-PayPal payments and keep most of your money. If PayPal is required, you
will fork over 2.9% + $.35 ($14.85) in PayPal fees.
Amazon sellers do not have to
send invoices, payment reminders, or track unpaid items. If Amazon cannot
collect the payment, you don't have a sale, and your item is still listed on
their site. eBay's system is simply more work, more time, and ultimately costs
more to manage as a seller.
Advantage: Amazon
11. Return Policy
Some eBay sellers fear Amazon
because of their obligatory return policy, called the A-z Guarantee. This
guarantee allows the buyer to receive a full refund if the item is
"materially different" from that described, for up to 90 days. Amazon
will usually side with the buyer. Sounds pretty tough.
The eBay seller is free to
fight it out with buyers with a dispute resolution. This could ultimately
result in negative feedback for the seller. They are not required to offer a
refund. If eBay forces sellers to use PayPal for payments though, your funds
could be held or you may even receive a charge-back against your account. It's
basically the same difference, but the eBay / PayPal route is a lot messier and
time consuming. If you have a buyer that is determined to get a refund, they'll
generally figure a way to get it.
Simply based on the time
consuming mess the dispute resolution process is, I'm saying...
Advantage: Amazon
12. Shipping
eBay sellers have long looked
at shipping charges as a small revenue stream. They bump up shipping prices and
skim a little for themselves to cover shipping supplies, labels, and pixie
dust. (Okay, I added the pixie dust.) The fact is, many sellers have turned
this legitimate charge into a way to avoid eBay fees.
eBay has now begun penalizing
sellers who charge above average shipping amounts by lowering their visibility
in the default search results. They are even giving breaks to sellers who offer
free shipping, in effect hurting those sellers who cannot afford it.
Amazon gives sellers a
"shipping credit", based on an item's category. This does not always
cover the full shipping amount, but usually does. The amount is fixed by
Amazon. You cannot ask for more from the customer, and even if the shipping
credit does not cover your shipping costs, you must ship the item. Since the
shipping credit is fixed, it can be figured in when setting your price.
Which is better? I like to have
control over my shipping. But if a seller is careful, it's pretty easy to
figure in the shipping credit on Amazon and not lose money. Even if there is a
loss, it's minimal.
I have found items I wanted on
eBay, only to leave because of the outrageous shipping charges. ($1.99 item +
$10.99 shipping for a cell phone cover.) I go straight to Amazon, because I
know shipping is standard and I won't feel ripped off. How many other buyers do
the same? I'll take those buyers...
Advantage: Amazon
Summary
There is no question eBay is
best for some items, while Amazon is best for others. But the overlap is
incredibly large. The vast majority of items that sell on Amazon will also sell
on eBay, and visa versa.
The important thing to remember
is the shoppers are different. While you and I may shop on several sites, many
Amazon shoppers are very loyal to Amazon and won't even visit eBay. Some
eBayers feel it would be a sin to shop on Amazon. By selling on both sites, you
are potentially getting millions of additional eyeballs on your products.
If you are avoiding Amazon
because you think there are too many rules - take a look at eBay's User
Agreement. eBay is moving closer to Amazon's model, in many ways. Like it or
not, this is the wave of the future. Will you be ahead of the game, or will you
be playing catchup?
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