In this article, we talk about Etsy vs eBay. Pros and Cons. Major differences and similarities. For all other articles to help you win in dropshipping and e-commerce...
In this article, we talk about Etsy vs eBay. Pros and Cons. Major differences and similarities. For all other articles to help you win in dropshipping and e-commerce in general, check out our blog.
Are you running e-commerce operations on your website and feel it might be time to expand and see about other sources of awareness and sales for your products?
Do you have a brick-and-mortar where you sell your wares and you know for sure you have to make that e-commerce leap but not quite ready to go full-blast with your own website?
There’s Amazon. There’s eBay. And there’s Etsy.
We get a good number of queries from clients and community members around Etsy vs eBay so we figured we’d get an overview into a blog post. So here it is.
We’ll cover areas that matter to novice and experienced e-commerce business owners alike. What each platform is known for, what kinds of shoppers are in there, and what might be the better option for you.
The most significant contrasts between these two platforms are what they are known for in terms of products sold. Different products mean different audiences and buyer traffic. So consider this when choosing whether to list your products on Etsy or on eBay.
Let’s take a look at what product types are sold on each platform based on the audiences they attract.
Since its launch and initial growth in the mid to late 2000s, Etsy has been known as the creative marketplace. Brands and individual manufacturers continue to this day to flock to Etsy to sell handmade, vintage, and craft products. Sometimes exclusively, and sometimes while also selling on eBay or their own websites.
While considerably smaller compared to eBay, the users that are on Etsy are generally more targetted and their behavior is, in theory, easier to predict. You can expect traffic from people who give higher emphasis on quality, people who look for artisanal and one-of-a-kind type of goods.
The more popular items sold on Etsy are jewelry, wedding items, vintage items, home & living products, as well as art & collectibles.
eBay is one of the pioneer players in massive scale e-commerce. As such, it has over a couple of decades hence, it has grown into a marketplace that offers virtually anything you can think of. Even, at that, products sold on Etsy.
But unlike on Etsy where customers mostly don’t mind shelling more $$$ for quality, on eBay, it’s predominantly about grabbing bargain deals.
What’s more is, eBay attracts sellers of mass-produced items. Successful sellers of these types of products know that competition might be a bit high and so strategize around that fact.
eBay products range from antiques to electronics, books, apparel, tech accessories, as well as any old or new items. You can list these as auctions or define fixed prices.
If your product line can compete for a piece of the pie in a mammoth marketplace; if your inventory can hold up against successful bursts of sales; if your listings might fall under several categories; consider eBay.
Both platforms, Etsy and eBay, provide hefty shipping and fulfillment help files and FAQs for sellers. There are shipping tools, as well, to make computations and actual shipments as hassle-free as possible. This is to say, both companies have taken special pains to make sure this part of your e-commerce equation doesn’t cost you too much time and effort.
It’s important to note though that because of the high level of competition on eBay, and to be quite honest in some specific categories and product types in Etsy, some sellers offer free shipping or strategically just include shipping into their product pricing.
Etsy offers shipping tools like shipping labels, calculated shipping, and shipment tracking. And fulfillment generally goes through USPS and FedEx, and also Canada Post. You can also use tools like Veeqo, which is really useful if you're managing a big Etsy store
Shipping options on eBay provide several choices such as shipping profiles, calculated shipping, and from local to global. They also provide more tools and learning resources like shipping cost calculator, freight shipping, online branded shipping supplies, and understand return shipping.
Massive but targeted. As of 2019, Etsy has close to 40 million active users. Although not quite as huge as eBay, the traffic is very targeted and select enough for niche products to succeed.
So now you’re aware of some Etsy vs eBay points from reading our guide above. If you’re asking what the better platform is for your business? Pretty straightforward at this point.
If you're an artist, creative, craftsman able to manufacture products for very specific niches and targeting segments then Etsy is for you.
If you're an intermediate to advanced seller with a product line that covers a host of categories and you're able to work with tight margins then eBay is for you.
Thinking about both sides of the coin, i.e. expanding e-commerce versus fresh e-commerce, it’ll depend on the products you sell and your ideal target audience.
Now if you still have both Etsy and eBay as options after considering product type and targets, and 1) scaling is the plan, 2) budget permits, and 3) inventory is big and easily replenished, you may really choose to go with both.
We hope this article provided valuable information for you. If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch.
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