Which Top eCommerce Websites Are Best For Sellers?
by Admin Joe
Published – July 27th 2018
Which website is the best for selling on? There are so many different online selling platforms that you can trade on. It can be your very own website or the multitude of other eCommerce sites.
It can be quite overwhelming when you first start selling online (as it was for me). Just because of the sheer amount of options you have on where and how to sell.
Which is the best selling platforms? What happens if I pick the wrong one? First of all, there is no “wrong one“. Each eCommerce platform has good and bad things depending on your business needs. Choose carefully based on who you are as an individual.
“We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.” – Jeff Bezos (Founder of Amazon)
Look who’s back, it’s our pal Mr Bezos. He obviously believes in putting the customer’s best interests first. I truly believe this is one of the most important ingredients in eCommerce.
In some way, the success of Amazon will partly pass on to you if you choose to sell on there. This is one of the reasons why Amazon should be on your shortlist as a seller.
This quote is interesting because it puts a case forward for using Amazon and similar eCommerce sites or creating an awesome selling platform of your own.
I will now share my experience with each selling platform. Also, I will go through them reflecting both their advantages and disadvantages.
should I use lots of selling platforms or just one?
If I were you, I would opt to diversify and trade on lots of different selling platforms. You may as well hedge your bets and get to know the basics of each one.
You don’t want to get stuck in a rut on one platform. For all you know, your business could be rapidly blossoming on many other eCommerce websites.
A certain website might be more suitable for selling a specific category of item. This is just one variable among many to consider. You can experiment by sticking with the ones that serves you well and dropping the ones that don’t.
There is another school of thought as other people might disagree and argue otherwise. They may believe that you should focus all your attention on one selling platform. This way you can master it fully before you move on to others.
I can certainly see the logic there. On the other hand, there is no one correct answer to this. Go with the method that you think will work best for you personally.
Who should I sell with?
Nobody has a gun to your head forcing you to pick just one platform or website. There are pros and cons that go with all of them.
Although, at the same time you will clearly be getting maximum visibility if you use multiple eCommerce platforms. Let me lay out a few options for you and explain them in more detail:
eBay is pushing close to 200 million globally registered users. This is definitely food for thought when picking a platform to sell you wares.
They operate in close to 200 countries around the world so you are putting out a wide net here. The numbers are growing year on year so there is the visibility to think about.
In my experience, this is probably the easiest eCommerce site to sell on in terms of accessibility. They also have a lot of helpful tools and features for sellers. You might be missing out on these if you go another route.
Check out my eBay tips if you want more information. There are also plenty of other tools and resources available out there for sellers purely focused on eBay. I’ve found that the most useful information is in the form of books
eBay rules the roost when we’re talking auction sites and probably will for the foreseeable future. However, there are some lesser known online selling marketplaces out there such as eBid.
Sites like this are more seller-friendly in terms of lower fees “YIPPEE! Cupcakes for everyone!“. Hold your horses, this comes with a big caveat.
Here it comes. They are far less popular with buyers meaning that you will struggle to get sales. I think this has a lot to do with not being as established or trusted by customers as eBay.
I would go as far as to say that eBid exists more for sellers than it does for buyers. This is a problem because what incentive does a buyer have to buy from you on eBid. They will likely have a much better experience on eBay or Amazon.
Reputation and security are two important factors for buyers. You could strongly argue that eBid is lagging behind the big boys in these departments.
I have to reiterate that you won’t get much traffic on this eCommerce site. On the other hand, there are things you can do to tackle this. You will really need to promote and market the hell out of your listings if you want to be successful on this selling platform.
Here you were thinking social media only exists to propagate narcissism, attention seeking and unnecessary drama. Believe it or not, it turns out it does have some practical uses (IKR). It can be especially fruitful for eCommerce businesses.
If you sell with Facebook (or the ‘Facebook marketplace‘) then there are no fees that will eat into your profits. There is even an app for it on mobile devices.
It works the same way a classified ad would work. The buyer comes to collect the item from you after a cash-in-hand payment.
There is a real community feel for Facebook sellers. They can sell to friends and family within their social circle as well as anyone else. It also increases the trust factor as the buyer and seller will likely know each other. Mutual friends can also jump on board along with any other Facebook user in the world.
You have a whole friends list at your disposal on social media so why not make the most of it. You should take advantage of this even if it means doing business with your distant Aunt’s cousin who kind of smells of onions.
Your friends will also automatically be viewing your social media feed anyway. You can keep them updated about your business inventory when you update your status. You don’t have to make as much effort to earn followers this way.
[bctt tweet=”More buyers are shopping online with mobile devices every year so you need to mold your listings around these users.” via=”no”]
Facebook groups for this kind of thing are in place up and down the country. You might want to join one or two near you in order to connect with buyers. Your eCommerce brand will become more popular if you choose to network with these other buyers and sellers.
It’s not just about location either, some groups focus on specific items and categories too. Some groups are about particular categories of goods such as ‘kitchen appliances‘ for example.
Sometimes Facebook members will post updates on particular items that they want to buy. If you are selling a similar item then you can take the initiative. You can do this by jumping at this opportunity and going directly to them first.
I accept this might seem a bit weird and stalker-ish at first. However, if it’s good for business then there is no reason to complain.
If you really impress them with their purchase then this should cause a ripple effect. There’s a chance that they will big you up to all their Facebook friends. If it works out then you will have an avalanche of new customers.
One downside to the Facebook marketplace is the fact that people close to you will know about your eCommerce business. I can understand how this might make those who appreciate their privacy uncomfortable. You may prefer to keep your professional and social life separate.
ASOS is an option for sellers who primarily deal in clothing and fashion. Although, the amount of interest you will get will be much lower than say eBay or Amazon unfortunately.
I have personally sold clothes on the ASOS marketplace with very little success. Feel free to try it out as the fees are fairly reasonable. However, it’s not an avenue that I would personally recommend. Hopefully, you will have more luck.
Surely you’ve heard of this absolute behemoth of a website. It’s even more popular than my beloved eBay.
In fact, 44% of all buyers went straight to Amazon first when they were looking to make a purchase in 2015. There’s a good chance that number is even higher now seeing how much the brand has grown since then.
The competition among sellers is magnified intensely on Amazon. Lots of sellers sell the same product and this comes down to the way they choose to layout each item. They like to line all the sellers up together starting with the cheapest at the top. On face value, this sounds great for buyers.
Obviously, price is a significant element to any buyer so most will just add the cheapest to their basket. This can get ugly as it encourages sellers to undercut each other. They might do this in order to scrape and claw to the top of the page.
You can easily fall to the bottom of the pile and some sellers are just desperate for buyers to notice them. It can sometimes feel like fighting over the crumbs falling off the table.
This can even get to the point where the most popular sellers are just making wafer thin profits and sometimes losses. In short, great for the buyer but not so good for the seller.
You should never completely rule out Amazon though just in terms of sheer web traffic. Amazon have a very popular gift card feature on their website. I know this because I always seem to receive amazon gift cards for Christmases and birthdays.
Buyers can only spend their gift card balance on Amazon. This is one of the reasons why they are more likely to purchase more liberally and impulsively. This is something you can take advantage of as a seller.
You can really master your business specifically for this marketplace with Amazon Sherpa. It can really pay to get a little extra help especially if you’re a beginner. With this tool you will get a comprehensive step-by-step guide using tried and tested formulas as well as one-to-one tuition.
Are there any other eCommerce selling platforms?
A few more honorable mentions worth trying out include:
My best advice would be to experiment with all of them. Different selling platforms work for different folks. A single seller might simultaneously thrive magnificently on Amazon. Conversely, they may then fall flat on their face on eBay or vice versa. There is an element of trial and error here.
Is it difficult to sign up to certain eCommerce websites?
There are some strict barriers for selling on big eCommerce platforms like eBay or Amazon. A big reason for this is to protect buyers from dodgy merchants. Personally, for me there have been considerably less stumbling blocks registering with eBay as opposed to Amazon.
There is an increasing abundance of sellers cropping up on eCommerce sites. The administrators like to squeeze these numbers down. They will then be left with pleasant sellers who they know will treat buyers well.
I can totally understand the thinking there. If you want to sell on these sites than you should hold yourself to a high standard for the sake of the buyers.
You have to keep in mind that if a seller has a bad reputation then that will transfer on to eBay, Amazon or whichever site that merchant does business on. It can build up and potentially do everlasting damage to the eCommerce website’s brand and image as a whole.
The screening process for sellers has got a lot less lenient over the years. This is mainly down to the website’s growing popularity and the market becoming more saturated.
The platform will review yourself and your inventory before you get that all clear to start trading in a lot of cases. They won’t just let any snake oil salesman join without proving that you are credible first.
They have standards to uphold for the benefit of the buyers. The troubles don’t end there, you will need to consistently keep your standards and customer satisfaction high in order to remain as an active seller.
Should I sell as a classified listing?
You can always try out classified sites for size if auction sites aren’t to your taste. The difference with classified ads is that the 99% of the time the buyer will come to collect the product. This means there’s no delivery charge “WOOHOO!“. It completely cuts postage and packaging out of the equation.
It’s also a much more personal service. A eBay seller might communicate with the buyer entirely online. They will likely never meet the buyer face-to-face (which is great for hermits). On the other hand, a buyer usually calls the classified ad seller on the phone beforehand to arrange to meet.
Can I make money with classified ads? It can be a good cash cow for many people. The most popular sites in the UK for this are Gumtree and Preloved. There are no sales or transaction fees either which is a plus.
What about selling on my own eCommerce website?
Why work for someone else when you could be working for yourself? If you go the route of selling goods on your own eCommerce website then there is help available. There are a few plugins out there that will enable you to do just that like woocommerce for WordPress. The bonus is that it’s free.
Is it difficult to run an eCommerce website? Yes and no. You have to understand this will be hard work as you will be building something from scratch. It’s not going to be a pre-made service like eBay or Amazon.
Even after you finish building the main framework, people aren’t just going to show up. You will need to promote it so internet users will pay attention to you.
I have social media accounts marketing the very website that you’re on right now. You could also try your hand at email marketing and submit your website to content aggregators. Don’t let all this work put you off as the rewards are well worth it. It can all seem like a much bigger task than it actually is.
How does web traffic differ between selling platforms?
I mention this point through out this post quite a lot but it is definitely a pivotal factor so let me reiterate. The amount of traffic you will get from the leading eCommerce sites will be incomparable.
eBay and Amazon will always get more visitors than your very own retail website. That is unless you create something really special. You could be the next Richard Branson so who am I to underestimate you?
You will answer to nobody but yourself and the customer with your own site. It’s a trade-off so you will need to weigh up your options and ask yourself what you really want.
Do I need to worry about rival sellers?
If you’re running your own eCommerce site then you won’t have any direct or close competition with other sellers. Conversely, you will only get a small slice of the pie on eBay or Amazon. This is down to other sellers selling similar items to you.
How do I rank higher than other sellers? It’s pretty soul-destroying when you search for the item you’re selling and then see hundreds of results. What are the chances of the buyer picking YOUR listing?
There won’t be any competitors sitting next to you on the search results page ready to snatch customers away on your own site. It’s just you on your own so everything channels directly towards your business.
This can be great if you already have loyal and returning visitors. It’s all about building a following who trust you.
[bctt tweet=”44% of all buyers went straight to Amazon first when looking to make a purchase in 2015.” via=”no”]
Which selling platforms charge the highest fees?
If you want to use popular selling platforms like eBay and Amazon then there are fees. If you want to use their service then they will force you to pay these charges. This will consequently cut into your profits. This irks me as much as I’m sure it bothers you although there are reasons for this.
These fees partly cover the maintenance and running costs of these sites. The fees are also their payment for letting you use such a strong eCommerce platform.
How do I reduce my selling fees? Overall, the expenses that they make you pay can be quite high when compared to other selling platforms.
For this reason, you might want to think about creating your own website to sell on. You will then be able to avoid some of these fees. I know full well that there are less middlemen who want to bite into your profits when you run your own website.
I am familiar with a few good eCommerce plugins for your website that are totally free. You will only really have to pay for a domain name and hosting which you can get a good deal on. When you add it all up, it’s much better value than many other selling methods.
How do I run my own eCommerce website?
There are lots of responsibilities when it comes to running a website. If you are selling on your own site than you will need to do regular checks. This is to ensure that it is functional and user-friendly.
You need to frequently check and update your web pages. I always try to do this to the best of my abilities so that there are no broken links or any other problems.
Attractive web design can go a long way too although it isn’t essential. You also need to think about security. Buyers will then feel safe entering payment details on your website.
PayPal is one of the safest payment methods you can use. I also recommend you get your site an SSL certificate especially if you are selling goods. This will show visitors that your website is secure and will increase the chance of a sale.
What about mobile users?
Sites like eBay and Amazon have become even more popular with the advent of mobile apps. This is great news for both buyers and sellers in terms of exposure. These leading retail platforms have apps. This is helpful for sellers like you so that you can keep still keep track of business while on the go.
Don’t underestimate or ignore people who choose to shop via smartphones and tablets. More and more people are accessing the internet from mobile devices every year. You need to mold your listings around these specific users.
That should have given you lots to think about in terms of carefully selecting a selling platform. It has to be based on what is right for you and most importantly your customers.
We now know that each selling platform has features that make it more suitable to sellers depending on their scenario. We can also note the amount of work each platform require from us. Also, we need to acknowledge how credible we need to be as sellers to use these selling platforms.
Other areas of interest include:
- traffic
- rival sellers
- fees
- mobile users
We need to concentrate on these things and look at how they differ from platform to platform.
I suggest that the next item on your agenda should be to perform more in-depth research into each selling platform. You need to pick one that is the best fit for your inventory or the particular niche of goods that you sell.
The eCommerce platform you choose has to work well for time constraints. Think about how many hours you can dedicate to your business over a week or month too.
It’s also wise to find a low competition product to sell. Then you can go on to find a selling platform where that item is scarce. You will then be within a small handful of sellers who will crop up for a specific search term.
There is much more to the online selling game than just this. Ever wanted to discover Why Buyers Go Crazy For Spectacular Photos When Shopping? Check out my post to find out.
Do you have an all time favorite eCommerce website or app to sell on? If so, why do you like it the most? Please don’t forget to share this with your friends and comment below. Thanks for reading!
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