eBay is a popular eCommerce platform. As a marketplace, you can buy and sell used items and even sell new ones. With 182 million users, they have steadily connected vendors and customers through the platform.
However, the pandemic introduced a new demand that eBay couldn’t totally accommodate, hence, other eCommerce platforms took a space in the marketplace. Some of these online stores served as the alternatives to eBay and they didn’t fail.
While this article will discuss the alternatives to eBay, it will also briefly comment on the growth margin of the eCommerce market and the requirements involved in building an eCommerce system.
Has the eCommerce System Grown?
The eCommerce market has grown. Currently, there are over a 100 million individuals working for eCommerce companies around the world and this number will increase as their user numbers rise as well.
According to emarketer, the US eCommerce sales will reach $794.50 billion this year, up 32.4% year-over-year. Furthermore, e-commerce sales will reach 14.4% of all US retail spending this year and 19.2% by 2024. When excluding gas and auto sales (categories sold almost exclusively offline), e-commerce penetration jumps to 20.6%.
With these projections in view, we can agree that the eCommerce market is growing at a fierce speed and if you’re thinking of leveraging the market, you should start executing.
Best Alternatives to eBay After the Pandemic | 2022
In this section, you will find some of the best alternatives to eBay I found through my research. They include:
1. Alibaba
Alibaba is not just an eCommerce company, they also specialize in retail, the internet and technology. Their current revenue grosses above $70 billion.
Alibaba holds a serious stake in the Asian market when it comes to eCommerce and they remain a strong alternative to eBay. Alibaba helps local businesses with logistics which has helped build their popularity.
You can find some Alibaba affiliates that help them run their business smoothly.
2. Rakuten
Rakuten may have increased their popularity by stamping their name on the jersey of the popular soccer club FC Barcelona. As a strong online retailing and eCommerce company, they have over 18,000 staff members and remain a stiff competition to Alibaba in Asia.
Rakuten continues to grow its user base as they offer you cashback for shopping on their platform.
3. Etsy
This is an eCommerce store for individuals who don’t desire popular products. Indeed, it is a strong alternative to eBay as they’re niche-specific.
You can easily set up your shop and start listing your items for sale. There is a $0.20 listing for each item and a 5% transaction fee for every sale you make.
4. Ruby Lane
When you want to buy antiques, jewellery, vintage fashion, vintage collectibles and fine art, Ruby Lane would offer you these products at the best prices.
When it comes to antiques, they are a strong alternative to eBay because they treat them as a focal point. This company is about 22 years with its headquarters in San Francisco, California.
5. Mercari
Mercari is a huge eCommerce platform where you can buy a lot of great products and one of the best places to sell shoes for cash.
For listing your products, you pay nothing. However, you pay a commission of 10% after you have successfully made each sale.
Every buyer has about three days to give a review after his purchase. But wherein the buyer doesn’t send a review, Mercari will give you a review and give you your money.
6. eBid
eBid is an online fixed-price marketplace. Essentially, you cannot buy any product below the fixed price. One component that makes it a strong alternative to eBay would be the bidding war component – many bidders bid for a product at an e-auction and the highest bidder wins.
eBid is in the United Kingdom and has existed for about 22 years.
7. Bonanza
Bonanza has been featured in CNN, Bloomberg Businessweek, and TIME. Over 50,000 vendors voted Bonanza as the best eCommerce platform beating Alibaba, eBay and Craiglist to the price.
Under Bonanza, you can use the background burner to create better images for your products. Statistics show that higher image quality boosts conversion rates.
Their affiliate program is exceptional. It offers amazing rates which make you more money with little work.
8. Newegg
Unlike other eCommerce platforms, Newegg focuses on retailing computer hardware and software. You can find a wide range of other electronics you can also buy on this platform.
They are a strong alternative to eBay due to their constructive interest in the electronics market. You can be sure to get lower prices in Newegg when it comes to electronics.
9. eCrater
eCrater is a great online marketplace and an alternative to eBay offering market spaces for interested vendors.
Different sections of the platform sell categories of products. So, you can easily skim through to find your chosen category. From baby products, beauty & fragrances, jewellery & watches, you will find something that you desire.
Located in the U.S, they seek to go ahead of top platforms like Amazon and eBay.
10. Craiglist
This is one of the huge alternatives to eBay. And the beautiful part is that you pay nothing to sell used stuff on Craigslist. This way your profit dividend is higher. You can easily arrange meetings via this site to deliver the products sold.
With this platform, you can sell items in your local area. In fact, you list products under the “clothes + accessories” option and select the target area you wish to sell within.
11. Tradesy
Tradesy maintains its aim on highly priced fashionable items which it lists and sells within a one minute window. A marketing strategy that drives emotional purchases.
Tradesy charges a commission of $7.50 for items sold for less than $50 and a flat 19.8% for anything over $50. You can use your earnings on your account to fund your next Tradsey shopping spree or pay a 2.9% fee to transfer them to PayPal, a debit card, or a checking account.
12. Poshmark
Poshmark lives up to a reputation of selling any item in 30 seconds. Whether shoes, fashionable items or accessories, they are a top spot for anything you have on their platform.
For every item you want to sell, you must take a quality picture of the product and pay a listing fee. After selling the item, you will receive your money in less than 48 hours.
13. StoreEnvy
This is a platform wherein you build a store online to retail your products and services. The greater your “envies” the higher you rank in the marketplace.
Immediately you add any items to your list, shoppers will get notifications which makes it easy for them to order the products immediately.
This shop is a good place to sell items online and even build great customer relationships.
14. BriskSale
eCommerce companies basically make money by charging commissions on every purchase or any listing by a vendor. However, Brisksale doesn’t charge their sellers anything and that is surprising.
For this reason, the prices of items are very affordable, and their users’ numbers keep increasing. Indeed, you will agree that Brisksale has great projections because of its business model.
15. Jet
Jet Commerce has enabled B2B and B2C businesses in Indonesia to thrive. To be precise, they have helped local brands build a strong reputation by giving them a platform to be seen & heard.
During the pandemic, they served as one of the strong alternatives to eBay in Indonesia. Their strong eCommerce team has shown dedication and efficiency which have resulted in high user numbers.
16. Trademe
Trademe offers you an opportunity of treating your loved one to a special gift. You can access antiques, baby gear, books & even building tools in their marketplace.
The unique thing about Trademe is the affordable price they tag on their products. You can buy products on this platform for less than $5.
Trademe remains unique as they strive to take up a larger part of the eCommerce market.
17. Walmart
Walmart is the biggest supermart chain store in the world with $514 billion in revenue alone. Their 2.2 million employees make them the largest recruiter in the world as well.
Although Walmart has its strong physical stores, they also offer eCommerce services. You can easily place your order through their platform and they will deliver them to you.
18. Artfire
If you love artisan goods, the Artfire is a great alternative to eBay. In fact, I would advise you focus your search on this platform as it is their niche in the eCommerce market.
They have a cloth of creative materials that can spur your interest. To be precise, their handmade jewellery and vintage collections have gained a growing interest over the years.
Artfire as a community seeks to help shop owners offer their unique handcrafted items for a good price.
Conclusion
eCommerce stores have an endless number and cannot fight space problems. More so, the automation system makes everything easy from production to listing down to delivery.
With the pandemic forcing globalization to adopt this means of marketing, we should expect improved developments from this market.
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