Alternative to Ebay

newenglandpuritan | Jan 26, 2010 |

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Are you looking for an alternative to Ebay? If you are I do not blame you at all, and, the good news is that for sellers and buyers there are more good Ebay alternatives than there have been in the last decade. Certainly, Ebay remains the top dog, the largest player at the e-commerce game and the 800 pound gorilla in online auctions. But the times be a-changing. I'd point out that Ebay remains a great place for sellers to make money and for buyers to find excellent items at great prices, however there are several reasons why people are looking for an alternative auction site.

The fact of the matter is that the internet is an ever-changing landscape and the fact that business was done a certain way does not mean that business will continue to be done that way into the future. You see, for a long Ebay maintained a very friendly relationship (even a coddling relationship) with their sellers. But as the 2000s progressed, other online retailers started to eat away at some of Ebay's volume. Ebay struck back by re-evaluating its relationship to its sellers and by reframing its policies to the benefit of the highest volume sellers and, perhaps, to the detriment of many others.

These changes manifested themselves in sweeping new fees that made doing business on Ebay a lot tougher for the typical seller. However, it was not only fees which were changed at the auction giant. Many products (for instance digital products such as Ebooks) were disqualified from the marketplace and could no longer be sold there. As a result of these changes many individuals began looking for an alternative to Ebay, a place where they could still make great money selling items while providing excellent value to shoppers.

Since the beginning of e-commerce there have always been sites like Ebay where a person could do business. The problem was that most of these alternatives to Ebay were very small. It was difficult for buyers and sellers to connect because none of the marketplaces had enough traffic volume. However, recently there have been a number of Ebay alternative sites which have begun to get some traction. I'd like to talk about one of my favorite alternatives to Ebay right now.

The Best Ebay Alternative Auction Site

Of all the non-Ebay marketplaces, my favorite (and I think the best) is the rapidly growing site ebid.com and there are a number of reasons for this. The first is that it has been a receptive market for items that I have tried to sell and obviously, to any seller, that is the most important qualification. It remains much smaller in relative numbers than Ebay but has seen year over year member growth that has been impressive.

But the best thing about this alternative to Ebay is that they do not use listing fees so that burden on sellers has been removed. For this reason many Ebay sellers find this site useful for doing market research that is essentially free, that is they list a few test items on Ebid to check interest and if they are closing sales then they move to Ebay to conduct a wide-spread campaign. But, regardless of your intention, the fact that there are no listing fees means that your overall costs will be lower. This is important in a game like e-commerce because your profit margin is the ultimate bottom line that dictates your strategy.

I think that Ebid is a great option for those Ebay sellers who are looking and want the skinny on the best Ebay alternative. However, for most people, I still believe that selling on Ebay will provide the most bang for your buck going forward. Even though new alternative marketplaces are picking up steam, they can still not compete with Ebay for the sheer number of eyeballs that will view your items for sale. And, obviously, making sales is still the name of the game.

If you are considering getting into the e-commerce game, I think that today is a great time to start. The fact of the matter is that the number of people that buy products on the internet continues to grow each year. It makes sense if you are a business minded person to take advantage of this trend and to start letting it make money for you. If you are a disaffected Ebay seller who is looking for an alternative to Ebay, I think that you are going to be pretty pleased about the options that you can find before you -- These options are much better than those of years past. And if you are a buyer, I think the time has never been better, with so many high quality sellers and marketplaces competing to offer great products and prices.

If you are not an Ebay seller or never have been... What is holding you back? Making money through e-commerce continues to be a great way for the average person to supplement their income and provides the dedicated person with a chance to make a truly superlative income. I would encourage you to get in the game, sooner rather than later.