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I woke up this morning to freezing rain; so Philadelphia in December! It makes for a great Christmas Eve, doesn’t it? Anyway, I’m sitting at my desk looking at the products I scored from Amazon’s Gold Box Deal of The Day offers over the past month and am wondering on which website I’m going to sell these items: Amazon or eBay?
Unfortunately, I couldn’t list these items in time to cash in on the Christmas shopping season. I just didn’t think I could sell them and ship them in time for Christmas. So instead of risking bad feedback on either Amazon or eBay (I sell on both), I decided to take the safer option and wait until after Christmas to sell them.
The only question is, where will I sell them?
TOUGH DECISION? NOT EXACTLY
Actually, it’s not that tough of a decision. I’ll check both Amazon.com and eBay.com to see what the items I have are selling for. On eBay, I can do an Advanced Search and click the box that says “Completed Listings.” On Amazon, I’ll search for the product I want to sell, then click on the “new” marketplace listings that’s located under Amazon’s price for the product.
You’d be surprised at how different the sale prices can be between the two websites. I find that the products are usually cheaper on eBay than Amazon. So why not just sell them on Amazon, right? Well Amazon takes a bigger commission and I’m subject to their shipping rates. Unlike eBay, Amazon sets the shipping rate and there’s nothing I can do about it. Ebay on the other hand allows you to set your own rate. So if I have something heavy to sell, I can adjust my shipping price to make sure my shipping cost is covered.
AMAZON “PEOPLE” VS. EBAY “PEOPLE”
In my mind, there are eBay people, Amazon people, and a group of people that buy on both Amazon and eBay. The fact that there are just “Amazon” people and just “eBay” people is a good thing. I can sell my products on Amazon if I want to and not worry too much that maybe my sales price will be higher than what the same product is selling for on eBay. The reason is, the “Amazon” person won’t check to see if the product he or she wants is selling for less on eBay. They just don’t “do” eBay. Ebay people don’t “do” Amazon because they figure that they can get the best deal on eBay, and the Amazon AND eBay person check both websites to see where they can get the better deal.
WHY SELL ON AMAZON?
The reason I may choose to sell on Amazon vs. eBay is because I can list my item on Amazon in a matter of a few minutes vs. how long it will take me to list on eBay. Everyone has the same selling format on Amazon. You list a price, the condition of the product, and the product description. That’s it. No fancy templates to deal with in order to compete with other sellers, and no pictures to upload. What matters on Amazon is your listing price, the condition of your product, and your seller rating.
WHY SELL ON EBAY?
The reason I may choose to sell on eBay instead of Amazon is if I have a product that’s unique or has too many sellers on Amazon that don’t allow me to stand out from the crowd. Ebay allows me to stand out with pictures, different search terms in my title, the free shipping option (you can do this on Amazon but the buyer has to first pay for shipping and then have it reimbursed), and more. It will just take me longer to list it on eBay. I don’t care how easy eBay claims to make their listing process; it just isn’t as easy as listing on Amazon.
HOW I DECIDE WHERE TO SELL MY PRODUCTS
So for me, it will come down to, what each product is selling for on both Amazon and eBay, how much competition there is for the products I want to sell, and how much time I have in my schedule to list my items.
The next question is, will I list my products the weekend after Christmas or should I wait? Decisions, decisions!
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