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So...which is better ebay or Amazon?
 

I have been an ebay seller for over 3 years. I have now just been kicked off and will have to create a stealth account in order to get back on ebay. I've never even looked into selling on Amazon, but since I know my selling will be limited to 10 items a month for the first couple months on ebay, I'm wondering if it's worth it for me to sell on Amazon.

It looks like their fees are pretty high--it said that if you sell a book for $10, you only make $4.43, which is less than half the selling price! I guess you would probably make a little off the shipping, but wow! So, can any experienced sellers tell me if it's worth to check into Amazon? I sell beauty products. Do you have to use paypal with them? I wouldn't have any trouble setting up a new account with them I've never sold on there before.

Thanks for your advice.

Amazon is great! People are better on Amazon for some reason. eBay has a bad crowd of people. However, i still like to sell on both. With eBay, you will get more action. Selling on Amazon is still very profitable.

Fee's are higher on Amazon, just have to work with it. When you sell an item on Amazon and print a shipping label, they will release your funds into your "Payment Account". From there you can withdraw money to your bank every 24 hours. Or they will do it automatically every 2 weeks.

Paying for Amazon fee's: They take their money out of each sale. Meaning you do not have to pay them at the end of the month...like eBay. Amazon gets paid as soon as your item sells. You do not have to pay for shipping either, it gets taking out of the sell as well.

FYI: People at Amazon do not hardly ever leave feedback. Which is bad, because your account will be put on hold if you sell too many items and never got feedback for those items. I am currently suspended because i made 82 sales in one month with only 5 feedbacks. So make sure you leave a nice note with your shipping so buyers will know to leave feedback.

People that buy on Amazon, think they are buying from a retail store, not an individual person. Also note Amazon has rules, You must ship your items within 2 days after sale and respond to customer questions within a timely manner. If you are use to selling on eBay, Amazon should be easy.

You can look at the 2 venues this way....
They are very different in many different ways.

If eBay was a Wal-Mart
Then Amazon would be a Neiman Marcus.

And both will still ban you very quickly.
If you are a not so good seller, don't even try Amazon.
If you even "think" you are a good seller, think twice. Amazon doesn't play around.

I sold on Ebay the first time about 6 years ago.

I sold on Amazon the first time about 6 months ago


It took MUCH longer to learn to sell Amazon than Ebay.


Actually I am still learning Amazon :typing:

I prefer ebay over amazon mainly because:

It's easier to set up accounts, easier to build lot's of feedback, you can customize your own listings,

you can have auctions as well as fixed price, you can last longer without getting suspended, there's no 30 day review,

and if you have an account with no 10 item a month limit you can get way more money out before you're suspended then you can on amazon.

At least that's my experience anyway, other then that amazon can be pretty profitable for some but if you need money now then ebay is the place to be.

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. The real answer is that it depends on many factors. What are you selling? How good are you with customer service? What is your temperament when handling complaints? How fast or slow do you ship? Is this full time, where you can answer customers questions in a timely manner, or do you plan on doing this two nights a week and shipping on Saturdays only?

Amazon is less tolerant that eBay of bad selling practices. On the other hand, they will usually tell you what you are doing wrong, while eBay will not.

Personally, I have found that it is tougher to sell on Amazon, but it is more profitable. The extra profits, however, mean extra work.

My suggestion is to find someone who sells in the same category that you want to sell in and search their posts for information. Ask for tips, but don't expect an Amazon seller to reveal their sources of supply and all of their tricks so that you can compete with them in their category.

Or, just try it. Do the best that you can, and if you think you are starting to drop the ball because of other issues you are facing, then stop selling before you ruin the account.

The number one reason I see people fail on Amazon is a lack of maturity and/or character. Be argumentative and impolite to their customers, or act like you belong in high school and expect to be quickly shown the door. Amazon has a zero tolerance for that type of stuff.

True,

Amazon sets higher standards. People have the slightest idea on who they are buying from, most think they bought the item from Amazon rather than some dude with a computer.

Some things are better to sell on Amazon and some Ebay. Media is the thing that i see sell the fastest on Amazon. Usually DVDs, Books, CDs sell for more on Amazon than they do on ebay. I sell on both. Good and bad thing about Amazon is buyers don't email very often. Bad is they never leave feedback. Amazon needs to make it easier to leave feedback.

Yes, f/b is a B#@$ on Amazon. They both have good things going for them

MAINLY:Amazon and eBay have their own niches respectively. If something doesn't work on Amazon, it might on eBay. And vice versa.

The Amazon Seller forums have a great thread titled "This ain't ebay......" Read it before you get involved with Amazon. Amazon is tough.

If you are selling beauty products like you mentioned then Amazon would not work for you. The Health and Beauty category is one of the few that you have to be pre-approved to sell in. They have several categories like this. I do know that one of the requirements to become approved to sell in those categories is that you have a website that you are currently selling the products on.

Ebay is better in that you can sell anything if done properly, Amazon has too many restricted area's. I've never tried selling stuff there where you have to come up with UPC codes and photo's etc.... or ask to get authorized to sell in a category, seems like a pain.

Neither, I'd have to say that they are both equal. The reason I say this is because depending on what you're selling, most likely it would sell better on one of the 2 sites mentioned than the other, so it's best to use both.

Well, I don't have a website (and don't plan on getting one), so I guess Amazon is out. Too bad. I am a good seller (and don't just THINK so, I had great returning customers on ebay before they booted me), and ship very quickly. All my stock is always brand new and unused. But, I don't have a website. So...I guess I'll stick with ebay.

My suggestion is try it out (Amazon).

You may be surprised, i know i was certainly.

I sell on both but honestly there isn't as much traffic on amazon as there is on eBay. I actually get my amazon sales from eBay traffic.. I like amazon though, payments are in my bank account in 3 days and the best thing about it is that I dont have to deal with PayPal. On eBay 99% of my buyers leave me fb and on amazon 75% leave me fb. Wherever you sell just make sure that you ship super fast and offer great customer service..

Jbluntz is rite with the easy set up but???

Amazon is where its at... people luv paying more

They love paying more but it's less volume, I sell products on ebay that sell like popcorn, but put the same product on amazon it sells 1 every 1-2 days, it might sell for $20-$30 more but overall it's still less.

There will NEVER Be a Clear Awnser to this Question,,,it all Comes down to what you sell,,,Amazon wins in some cases and Ebay wins in others,,Both sites have thier Strenghts and Weaknesses,,,