eBay Versus Amazon – Which is Best?
eBay and Amazon dominate the online selling platforms, and although there are others such as OnBuy and Bonanza, they are dwarfed by these two giants of eCommerce.
Sellers often complain that both Amazon and eBay are restrictive and controlling, but there is no doubt that they bring the buyers to the platforms.
One similarity is that they both “police” the site, protecting buyers from unscrupulous sellers. A quick glance at eBay’s Buyer’s forums – https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Buyer-Central/bd-p/21900000767 shows that buyers are repeatedly scammed and mistreated by sellers, which is why the platforms lean so far over in their favour.
The bald truth is that both Amazon and eBay are not short of sellers swelling the ranks, but buyers can be fickle and that’s where the real battle is.
But what makes them different? And how does that impact on sellers?
Ease of Use: they are both complex, but eBay has worked hard to make selling on the site straightforward. Sometimes this is misunderstood, and sellers are fooled into thinking that it really is a simple process. Listing is easy, but as in life, running a profitable business is much harder. Amazon is generally more difficult to work with, and you do need barcodes to even get your products listed there, but the backend setup is remarkably similar to eBay, with sections for shipping, marketing, metrics etc.