Since online shopping has become so popular, many platforms have sprung up where just about anyone with something to sell can advertise to get it off their hands. There are a multitude of opportunities to explore, ranging from the big names in eCommerce to newer and more specialized marketplaces. Some offer a wider customer base and a range of categories, while others present a targeted audience and affordable fees. Below we have outlined the basic criteria for online selling and which of these widely known platforms fill or fail them.

Global Platforms

1. Amazon – undoubtedly one of the eCommerce giants and a household name, this is a great place to start selling if you have a variety of products or are planning to branch out in the near future.

Amazon ranks high in the Ecommerce Bytes Sellers Choice Ratings most notably for Profitability and Ease of Use. Customer’s trust is also high, which has contributed much to expanding this site’s customer base and volume of returning customers. Since this platform offers a significantly larger customer base than most other online stores, competition is also fierce. With a variety of categories to target and an opportunity to optimize listings for search with the advanced Amazon algorithm, however, sellers can control the audience that they want to focus on to maximize their profits. Amazon is only relatively easy to use because it has so much to offer in terms of optimization and paid advertising. Sellers can list for free in exchange for a fee on top of Amazon’s percentage cut, which can reduce costs. They can also opt to sign on for vendor status if they can move enough product to cover the regular fees.

Almost anyone with anything to sell can turn a profit on Amazon as long as prices are competitive with enough of a margin to compensate for any fees. Choosing the right product or the right volume is key.

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2. Shopify – more than just a page on Amazon, you can build your own store here to sell a variety of items. With freedom to design your storefront with over 100 templates, you can get a quality website for much less than building your own.

Shopify is smaller than Amazon, making for easier competition with a fair range of categories. The fees can get quite steep – up to $ 179 per month compared to Amazon’s $ 39.99 for a Professional account – but sellers can leverage additional outlets such as Facebook and MailChimp to boost sales. Shopify also has its own analytics suite where sellers can check sales performance, but sellers are responsible for managing their own listings, shipping and customer service.

Add to Cart Consultants have the knowledge and experience to help you setup your very own shopify store. Be sure to ask us how we can help you start selling on your very own website.

1. Bigcommerce – this platform also offers customized sites plus extensive marketing support and secure eCommerce tools.

Bigcommerce now offers free themes, and has recently updated their selection to compete with Shopify, but still has less variety and remains the pricier option. The advantage with this platform is the support offered, which includes coupon codes, an abandoned cart saver, social media integration, and secure hosted e-commerce tools to boost customer trust.

Honorable mention:

While not a global site since sellers are limited to the local market, Craigslist deserves a mention for its expansion to all seven continents. Craigslist is the original sell anything site, this is more of an online classified ad space than a selling platform, but its massive size and variety of categories makes up for the parts that may not benefit a seller.

Craigslist does not rank high overall in the Ecommerce Bytes Sellers Choice Ratings, but has a good rank for Ease of Use. Competition is high, but the location selector narrows this down for sellers who want to target local markets. Craigslist is especially great for selling used items or things that are difficult to ship.

It is completely free to post and sell products on Craigslist, but this means that there is little protection for both sides. This pulls customer’s trust down, but many sellers have succeeded in making a good living off this site by applying a few careful policies and practices. Because it is a free classifieds site, the seller is responsible for all aspects from the listing to after-service.

Auction Style Platforms

1. eBay – the oldest and most well-known online selling platform in the world. eBay is over 20 years old and has an awesome shipping system, but has become less popular in recent years because of certain changes to their policies. Still, it has expanded to include fixed-price items as well as the traditional auction-style listings.

eBay ranks the highest overall in the EcommerceBytes Sellers Choice Ratings, with particularly high ratings for Profitability, Customer Service, Communication and Ease of Use. Competition is tight on the site because of its wide global reach and huge range of available products. There are free accounts available, but sellers have to pay per listing no matter how it performs and eBay’s share is 10% of every sale. Monthly fees reduce the listing fees, but these range from $19.95 to $299.95.

Sellers are free to list almost any kind of item on eBay, but rare, vintage and branded items sell best. The refined logistics of this platform make it ideal for sellers who cater to people all over the world. Selling many types of products here, however, can get costly. It is important to also note that seller protection on the site has declined.

1. eBid – this is a less-known marketplace and therefore lower-cost, a good testing area for getting a feel for the market.

eBid does not rank high in the Ecommerce Bytes Sellers Choice Ratings, but it is a platform to watch as it is still quite young. The low competition and low fees – free listings and 3% cut – make it a good place to test run new products to see how customers respond. Profits are not likely to be high on eBid, but it is a trusted marketplace and there is less risk involved because of the lower costs. Sellers are responsible for managing their own listings, promoting products off-site, generating traffic to boost sales, and taking care of shipping and customer service.

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