There are more businesses shifting into online e-commerce now due to the influence of the pandemic in 2020. Hence, 2022 is still a great year to start your online store. Therefore, when you want to build your own E-commerce empire, eBay seems to be a good option to begin.
We all have to admit that the power of eBay is amazing. Starting in 1995, eBay has always been one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world. With its power, thousands of hobbyists have developed their interests into amazing selling online e-commerce. In addition, it makes millions of people run profitable, at-home businesses.
However, the truth is as the business grows, eBay now has some disadvantages making its users want to find alternatives to eBay. Therefore, if you are one of them, keep reading and pick the one that fits your business most.
In the article, I cover the 5 best eBay alternatives and their pros & cons. Some of them are great places where you can do AliExpress dropshipping. What is dropshipping? The answer is quite easy: It’s a new online business model. The most obvious advantage of AliExpress dropshipping is you do not need to deal with the inventory. In addition, with AliExpress official partner-DSers, you can automate most of your dropshipping process workloads.
5 Top eBay Alternatives
Staring your online business is a great and easy way to earn money. Marketplaces like eBay, and the 5 top eBay alternatives can be good options for you to start. You just need a store on these platforms. Then list your products in your store.
However, if you are doing dropshipping, it can be even easier. AliExpress, as the biggest and most popular wholesale place, can be a great option for you to get a product to start your AliExpress dropshipping business.
1. Amazon
Amazon, well-known for a long time, now is popular worldwide and has been one of the largest online marketplaces. On Amazon, you are able to sell millions of products across a range of product categories. What’s more, with Amazon, you can get plenty of tools and services to help you offer excellent customer services or help your customers to solve their problems.
Pros:
1. Amazon has a good reputation. Thus, you can get better consumer trust
2. There are no listing fees for new items you add to your Amazon shops each time
3. Amazon provides you with a supply chain that allows you to store items in various locations. Then, you will get more customers easily since your consumers can receive their products faster
Cons:
1. Amazon is popular, so there will be more competitors in the marketplace
2. Items like Auto Parts Products, are forbidden to sell on Amazon. It will require you to ask for permission if you want to sell health care products, such as masks
Also dropshipping on Amazon is allowed and profitable now. If you want to learn more, read our Dropship on Amazon article to get a full understanding.
2. Etsy
Etsy is also a popular marketplace just like eBay and Amazon. It is designed for artisans and craft creators, as well as those who sell wine. Etsy was founded in 2005 and has now developed into one of the most popular online marketplaces.
Pros:
1. The best thing about Etsy is that you can access a large number of tools to help you easily manage your product catalog
2. Etsy provides you with free tools and services for marketing and analytics helping you scale your business effortlessly
Cons:
1. As I mentioned above, Etsy is great for handmade, retro, and unique products. Therefore, if you want to expand your business, Etsy will make some trouble for you.
3. Facebook
Facebook is a famous social media platform. However, the Facebook marketplace is a user-friendly, convenient, and safe place to grow local sales. You can sell items directly to each other with Facebook’s built-in buying and selling channel. Furthermore, the Facebook marketplace enables eligible sellers to offer delivery for certain categories of products in their nation, which is easy to gain customers’ satisfaction.
Pros:
1. You can access your fans for your account to sell your products easily
2. Local buyers can get the products as quickly as possible
3. You sell to someone you are familiar with so it helps you reduce risks
Cons:
1. You will have some limitations since if your e-commerce is out of the United States, you cannot access features like Facebook checkout. However, you still can list the products on your Facebook marketplace account.
4. Newegg
Newegg, published in 2001, is an American online retailer. It’s quite easy to sell items like Computer Hardware and Computer electronics on Newegg. Moreover, you are able to sell items like gaming products. California is the company’s center and now it has expanded up to 50 countries globally.
Pros:
1. Newegg now has branches in 50+ countries
2. Just like Amazon’s FBA( fulfilled by Amazon), it has their own unique fulfillment service
Cons:
1. Newegg only allows you to sell tech products
5. eBid
The last alternative I would like to list is eBid. Although it doesn’t have a huge customer base and reaches compared to eBay, if your requirement is a lower-cost alternative to eBay, eBid also can be a great option for you to get started on your online business journey. You can sell products from different categories if you are based in the United States. What’s more, with an eBid account, importing products from other marketplaces can be an easy task.
Pros:
1. There are no listing fees for items you listed on eBid
2. eBid requires a 3% commission rate, which is comparatively low
3. You will face lower risks because of its free listing fee and low commission
Cons:
1. eBid only provides you with a small customer base compared to eBay. Thus, you might need to do more about marketing to attract your potential customers.
Conclusion
After reading, you might have known that eBay is a great marketplace to start an online business, but it’s not the only option. Thus, reading the post to learn its alternatives is necessary.
Also, here I would like to recommend other excellent opportunities for you to begin online e-commerce such as setting up your online store with Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce.
Worth mentioning, Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce do not only support a regular business but also support dropshipping. DSers is free and accessible on these platforms, so dropshipping on these platforms might be profitable. Good luck to you.