What are the differences between eBay and Amazon? (Part 2)

As the world's largest cross-border e-commerce platform, Amazon is definitely superior to eBay in some aspects. However, eBay can still stand firm in front of Amazon. It must have its winning strategy. So what are the differences between eBay and Amazon?

Differences between eBay and Amazon:

Differences in business philosophy and operations

The differences between eBay and Amazon are indeed numerous. In addition to the differences in the way you list your products, the differences in the way you fill orders, conduct business, collect payments, and expand your business are equally important.

The difference between eBay and Amazon 2:

As a seller, proactive client service is crucial on Amazon. Amazon's business philosophy focuses on providing buyers with stable, excellent service, even if this results in a reduction in selection and price competitiveness. To be a successful seller on Amazon, you need to use various tools, such as courier confirmation, customer service Q&A, returns and exchanges, etc. Your sales volume does not only depend on customer satisfaction, but Amazon also monitors your sales behavior at all times. Failure and inaction on the customer service side will directly affect your visibility to buyers or directly affect your sales ability. On eBay, you can operate your products relatively easily, and sometimes if the products you sell are unique enough or the buyer's demand is high, you can even create a steady sales volume without paying much attention to the customer. This is completely impossible on Amazon.

Differences between eBay and Amazon 3:

Amazon offers free fulfillment services to sellers. If you want to sell easily, you can ship all your inventory to Amazon before selling. Amazon will then handle the packaging, shipping, and returns for you. FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) can also promote your products to primary buyers on Amazon, who generally pay a higher price for the products. In comparison, eBay generally does not provide related services or programs, and FBA can also be used to manage products sold through other channels, such as products sold through eBay. Generally speaking, FBA can reduce express delivery costs and delivery time.

Differences between eBay and Amazon 4:

As a seller, what you should strive for on Amazon is to become a "Featured Seller" rather than a "Top Rated Seller". Much like eBay, Amazon also recommends the best performing sellers. However, unlike eBay, the recommendations on Amazon are not based on searches or views. These top performing merchants are called "Featured Merchants". Featured merchants not only occupy a prominent position on the product detail display page (buyers can usually make instant transactions through the "Buy Box") but also appear on the "More Buying Options" page.

Differences between eBay and Amazon 5:

Amazon's fees are similar to eBay's, but the composition of the fees is very different. eBay charges a listing fee, a final transaction fee, and a PayPal fee. Amazon charges a monthly custom fee or a small item fee (depending on whether you customize to become an Amazon seller), a referral fee based on different product categories, and a transaction fee based on product weight (non-media products). Amazon's fees are sometimes higher and sometimes lower than eBay's, depending on the transaction. However, for most sellers, the difference is no more than one or two percentage points. Before becoming an Amazon seller, it is best to calculate the approximate selling fee of the product, compare it to eBay, and then price the product.

Differences between eBay and Amazon 6:

Different payment methods. Generally speaking, eBay payments will go directly into your PayPal account, and then you can transfer the money to your bank account or use it in PayPal. Amazon transfers the money you receive to the account you provide once every two weeks. In other words, due to this feature of Amazon, sellers will receive the relevant funds slower than on eBay.

Differences between eBay and Amazon 7:

Differences in branding and growth opportunities. Due to the limitations of product listings and displays, it is more difficult to distinguish your brand from other brands on Amazon than on eBay. Because of this, sellers usually prefer to open their own online stores through Amazon's online store platform. And this online store model can produce a stronger branding effect than eBay stores. Amazon online stores give sellers complete brand control (including brand names) and make these online stores closely connected to the Amazon website and its services, including providing the FBA services mentioned above. For sellers who think they don't want to choose to operate an eBay store, Amazon online stores may be a suitable choice.

The above is the content about Amazon and eBay in this issue. If you want to know more about Amazon and eBay, please continue to pay attention!