Ebay vs Etsy vs Amazon
Summary: rdemaree shared their experience of facing challenges in the international trade market and with eBay changes. They decided to expand into online marketplaces like Etsy and Amazon Handmade, noting early success on Etsy despite initial apprehensions. flipistics mentioned potential insurance and business requirements on Amazon, and rdemaree added insights about Amazon's customer-first policies and AI moderation, while considering a gradual entry onto Amazon. transtraders highlighted difficulties with selling used items on Amazon and supported exploring different platforms given the potential benefits.
Hello all. Ever since international trade relations have went haywire last year and ebay has made unfavorable changes for non-usa sellers I have been scrambling to recoup my business. For starters- I mostly sell handmade art supplies (paint, pigments etc)
At one point last year I almost had a deal with a physical storefront here in Canada to carry my products but they backed out at the last minute. I tried reaching out to other physical storefronts and they either didnt reply or said they werent currently interested.
I have axed the plan to expand with physical storefronts for the time being. Too much hassle and too much flaking. I am going to focus on expanding with online marketplaces similar to ebay and expanding my product lineup as much as possible to reach as diverse an array of customers as I can because those options are more straightforward and certain than trying to get into a storefront.
I started selling my handmade products and some vintage art supplies here on ebay in 2017 casually and then did it full time starting in late 2019. I have dabbled with the idea of selling on Etsy a few times as well but hadnt streamlined my production or inventory management processes to a point where I could comfortably manage 2 shops yet. Recently I made the jump to expand to Etsy and give it a serious go this time and I am finding out that the layout and overall way the site runs is almost identical to Ebay (just a smaller customer base and slightly different type of customer). So far it has been a success! I have only been on Etsy for a month but I have sold more on Etsy than I have on Ebay in that timeframe. I intitially chose Ebay in 2017 because its the site I am most familiar with, as ive used it in some form or another since the early 2000's for trading cards and also it has a much larger customer base and even more customers for vintage art supplies than etsy (imo) Etsy might win on handmade but I think ebay wins on vintage stuff. I have gotten to the point where I dont sell as much vintage stuff anymore due to tariffs (most of my vintage art supplies I flip come from Europe) and also CPSC and other irritants on compliance etc. I am slowly phasing out vintage and plan on making it a very small part of my operation and will almost entirely focus on handmade going forward.
In addition to Ebay and Etsy I am considering trying out Amazon handmade for a select handful of my higher priced items.
I am curious, does anyone here have any experience with selling on Amazon? worth it?
I want to give my ecommerce business the best chance of growth and stability and ive come to find expanding my product line and the marketplaces where I sell is the best and most stable way to achieve this goal.
I will very likely prioritize Etsy, have Ebay as my secondary market, and maybe Amazon as a 3rd extra market for select items.
Let me know if anyone out there has tried similar things.
transtraders
·2 days agoThis doesn't really effect you, but I have heard (from resellers on YT) that amazon has really cracked down on selling used/vintage items on there. They made it VERY difficult to get ungated to sell used toys/board games that are not brand new sealed.
I tried to sell used media there years ago and it did not go well. A lot of returns/angry customers so I abandoned amazon. I have done well on eBay and added Etsy a couple years ago and have nothing but good things to say about it.
That being said, if you can get established on Amazon I say go for it, the upside is huge there for sure.
rdemaree
OP2 days agoYeah I figure Amazon is the least appealing as far as seller experience goes. The site appeals to the most impatient, basic and entitled portion of the population as far as customers go and the site moderation and customer service is almost entirely automated AI driven so while the huge buyer base is appealing theres alot of downsides for sellers on there.
If I migrate my stuff on there it will only be a curated selection.
Etsy so far is proving to be good but its AI moderation is more aggressive than ebays and creates more false positives with a more convoluted way of resolving issues because their customer service is less human oriented than ebays so you have to really push to get ahold of a human. So more false positives and less ways to resolve issues with human nuance than ebay. This is literally the only reason I am hesitant about making Etsy my main marketplace. I dont like being dictated by rudimentary AI that lacks human nuance. Other than that Etsy is better for what I sell and is less hostile towards non-American sellers. They dont put large banners on my listings scaring away American customers. I have been on there 3 weeks and havent even uploaded all my inventory yet and sold 5 orders to the USA and 1 to Australia. I figure I will sell more to Canadian and International on ebay than I do on Etsy but only time will tell.
I figure ebay will always be an old faithful middleground marketplace for me. Tried and true but I think with time etsy will edge it out and become my new main place. Im giving it until late winter/ early spring to see how things go in terms of sales and how much their AI driven moderation/ customer service agitates me.
Amazon is literally just a "why not?" sort of option. No way would I ever make it my main marketplace but its worth dabbling with.
I dont have the sort of following/ revenue to justify a shopify tbh as I am a one person team and right now my goal is just to get annual profits after expenses to 18-20K (with a 25-35K cieling) so shopify just isnt really a big priority for me. But who knows, maybe someday.
flipistics
·2 days agoI know Amazon has some business insurance requirements for sellers, although for the types of things you're selling I assume you already have that. I've heard that for your own products you still may have to have a bill of sale, meaning you'd have to set up a second company that you sell your product to, and then that company would be the customer facing one on Amazon. I don't know for sure if that's true or not, it's just what I've heard. Maybe Amazon Handmade has different requirements. I actually didn't even know it existed until you mentioned it.
Let us know what you find out!
rdemaree
OP2 days agoFrom what ive heard Amazon handmade is different from regular amazon.
I have heard its less of a smooth selling experience than ebay or etsy tho and I kind of expected that. Amazon has always more or less been a site in favor of the customers first above all.
I have also heard Amazons usage of AI moderation and customer service is even more egregious than both ebay and Etsy.
Multiple reasons why I wouldnt want it to be my main shop but its a huge customer base so I feel like a handful of my products might fit there. Particularly the high dollar items considering Amazon thrives on a high return rate culture.
I am still finalizing my migration to Etsy and modifying my ebay so I likely wouldnt dabble with amazon until late winter/ early spring but I think it could have potential. As far as I know chitchats doesnt integrate with amazon so thats a bummer but not the end of the world if I dont choose to put alot of products on there.