This article will uncover the best alternatives to eBay for European sellers. The list includes five eBay alternatives based on an analysis of the audience, niche market, fees, and access to selling tools. These alternatives suit sellers who find that eBay is becoming more saturated, and competing in this popular online marketplace is increasingly difficult, especially for beginners.
If you feel the same way, you’ve come to the right place. While I am biased, and love selling on eBay myself – you may be pleased to know that you have many options for an alternative to eBay in Europe, especially if you want an online selling platform that doesn’t have as many fees, allowing you to earn more profits.
Online sellers, grab your notebooks and pen because you’d want to list down these eBay alternatives. Get ready to rock the boat in the ecommerce market when you choose the best eBay alternative for selling items online.
Shall we get to know them?
Why Do You Need an eBay Alternative?
Selling on eBay can be lucrative for newbies and professional sellers. It’s undoubtedly the leader in the global ecommerce market. However, many sellers have issues selling on eBay, forcing them to look outside the platform for the best eBay alternatives to sell products online.
Here are the reasons why online sellers are looking for eBay alternatives:
- High listing and selling fees
- Limitations on your online store customization
- Less flexibility with payment options and selling methods
- A massive customer base that isn’t targeted
- Intense level of competition
- Global reach for international sellers
What to Look for in eBay Alternatives
Before you discover the best eBay alternatives for selling items online, you must know what to look for from an alternative e commerce platform. Considering the essential factors lets you pick the right online selling platform that aligns with your business goals.
Audience or Niche Market
The first consideration when looking for an eBay alternative is determining the online marketplace audience. Many online selling platforms focus on a niche, such as fashion, clothing and vintage collectibles, such as Poshmark.
Before you select the e commerce platform for selling items online, you must know what kind of products people expect to find on the platform. Listing your items on these platforms is also strategic since you can get a targeted approach for selling online, increasing your chances of finding potential buyers.
Fees
Another consideration when looking for the best eBay alternative is the fee structure. Each online selling platform imposes various fee structures for listing and other selling fees. You must know how this works because you want to choose the platform that suits your budget.
Check out what they charge on the listing fees, maintenance fees, and other selling fees because they could slice a percentage off your profits. These fees can make a difference for small online sellers with limited online sales. You have to pay higher listing fees with eBay listings, but you can reach a massive customer base.
Seller Tools
The final consideration is the seller tools available. Selling on eBay gives you access to various tools targeted at professional sellers. These tools make your product listings stand out and optimized for search results so you can increase online sales. Whether you sell products online or sell locally, the best eBay alternatives should offer similar tools to help you reach more potential buyers.
Top eBay Alternatives for Selling
Considering the above factors, let’s explore the best eBay alternatives to sell online in Europe.
1. Amazon
Amazon is the obvious choice for the best eBay alternatives in Europe. It is one of the world’s largest online marketplaces and a fierce competitor of eBay’s. Like eBay, it has a vast customer base and allows sellers to reach a global market. In fact, there are many overlapping features for eBay and Amazon, which is why it makes the most sense as an eBay alternative.
When you sell on Amazon, you can set up an individual or professional seller account, depending on whether you want to use the platform to buy or sell online. The Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program is also an excellent choice for online sellers who want to run an online store without the hassle of inventory management, packaging, and shipping.
There are less complex selling fees on Amazon, and you can get free product listings for your online store. In addition, you can get greater flexibility when branding the items you sell through this online marketplace.
The initial setup on Amazon is easy and affordable. And yet, they have a robust suite of tools for selling products online.
These factors combine to make Amazon a serious contender for eBay if you want to sell online.
2. Etsy
Etsy is another one to add to your list of eBay alternatives in Europe. It’s the ideal platform for selling niche products, such as craft supplies, vintage collectibles, handmade and handcrafted items. Etsy has gained notoriety as an ecommerce platform that encourages creatives and artists to showcase their work online and allows them to make online sales from their creations.
Over the years, Etsy has evolved and grown! While they are still specialized for crafty and creative sellers, the user base has grown, and it now has an active buying community where you can find potential buyers for your unique handmade items.
Is Etsy better than eBay? Probably not, but it is the best eBay alternative if you sell to a niche market.
Another advantage that Etsy has as an eBay alternative is that there is a channel for Print-on-demand businesses. There are no fees for doing PoD on Etsy.
Regarding the pricing structure on this platform, the fee is $0.20 per item. The website slashes 6.5% of the sale price, which is not much considering the percentage that eBay takes. There is also a subscription account for users that starts at $10 per month. However, there is an additional fee for processing payments on the platform.
Choosing Etsy as an eBay alternative has notable pros and cons, but it’s the best platform if you want your products to appeal to a particular niche market. In addition, online sellers can capitalise on many seller tools, such as the opportunity to build your brand as an online store. You have full control over your store branding, which can boost your brand recognition and SEO performance within the platform or outside.
3. Shopify
No mention of the list of the best eBay alternatives would be complete without Shopify. And for a good reason. Although Shopify isn’t a traditional ecommerce store, since it is more of a website builder, it is considered one of the best ecommerce platforms to set up your online store.
Online sellers can find various selling tools, plugins, and customization options for their ecommerce store. It is well-suited for online sellers that want to stand out in the ecommerce market by designing their own store. Shopify is the best platform to build a traditional ecommerce store where you have flexibility and full control over your products and storefront. Therefore, you have more opportunities to scale your business and establish your online presence, instead of eBay, wherein you are only limited by what the online marketplace allows for its sellers.
One example is the checkout process. The eBay buyers will go through the same checkout process regardless of the merchant they buy from. But with Shopify, you can use plugins to customize the checkout process. They have a theme editor that allows you to customize the checkout page, such as changing the page color, adding your brand logo, etc. The idea is to keep your checkout page consistent with the rest of your website, allowing potential buyers to feel like they are shopping from an individual website rather than within the same ecommerce platform.
Shopify offers various pricing plans and subscription levels. You will pay a monthly subscription fee based on your chosen pricing plan. Each plan differs in the features they offer and their pricing. There is also a transaction fee for every successful sales, and additional payment gateway fees that apply. You won’t pay any fees when using Shopify Payments as your payment processor.
Consider these features when analyzing Shopify as an eBay alternative in Europe. Shopify makes a strong case if you like the flexibility and control over your products and online store branding!
4. Aliexpress
Aliexpress is among the best eBay alternatives for online sellers, especially if you want a cheaper alternative. While there are some notable cons to choosing a Chinese-based online marketplace, it’s the best online selling platform for sellers who want low-priced goods for their store. This online selling platform has over 150 million users worldwide and is available in 200 countries.
Therefore, it is a good alternative to eBay and other online marketplaces because you can access a global audience reach. In addition, Aliexpress offers complete control over your pricing and other branding options for the online store.
There are no fixed costs when setting up your account on Aliexpress. Sellers must pay a referral commission, which varies from 5 to 8% based on the category.
So, what makes it a suitable eBay alternative?
It differs from a traditional online retail platform because Aliexpress has a massive ecosystem, which connects you to other websites, like Alibaba, and payment processing systems like AliPay (China’s version of Paypal). Since Aliexpress has a presence in 200 countries, it would be an ideal choice for international sellers because you can ship to many countries.
5. Bonanza
Bonanza is a name that might not be as familiar to most people, even online sellers, as Amazon or Aliexpress are. However, this is one of the best eBay alternatives for selling items online, especially in Europe.
Bonanza is a relative newcomer in the ecommerce market scene. But it has grown so rapidly that it is becoming a major ecommerce competitor, even for eBay. The website has the tagline “Find everything but the ordinary,” which provides insight into what you can find when you buy or sell on this platform. Needless to say, it is another niche market platform for online sellers. Therefore, potential buyers check out Bonanza for those oddball product listings you won’t find elsewhere.
Online sellers who’ve created an account in this selling platform were able to generate a decent income, especially since there are users from various countries. Currently, over 40,000 online sellers and businesses are on the platform, and it continues to grow by the day.
Bonanza is the best alternative to eBay because they are similar in their wide offering of different products. But Bonanza earns its distinction from eBay because of its focus on weird and quirky items. Bonanza makes it free to list items for their sellers, and they only take a commission after successful sales. The commission is cheaper than eBay or other online marketplaces, which is $0.25 + 3.5% for each item sold. Unlike eBay, an online auction platform, Bonanza is a fixed-price online marketplace.
You can leverage the advertising options available with the Bonanza e commerce platform, which automatically lists your products to Google and Bing. You can promote your product listings to reach more potential buyers by paying for advertising, but a well-optimized listing should give you enough visibility within the platform and other search engines.
Final Thoughts on Finding eBay Alternatives in Europe
If you want to run a successful online store, it is risky to put all of your eggs in one basket (aka eBay). You must consider other eBay alternatives to selling products online, allowing you to diversify your income source and tap into a different market where you could find more potential buyers.
It is noteworthy that each e commerce platform is different; they have different policies, fee structures, and tools. You must research these different features and ensure they align with your goals for your own store. Thus, you can reduce your dependency on one online marketplace, allowing you to thrive and scale your online store.
However, eBay remains one of the leaders in the ecommerce market for a reason. Adding these other eBay alternatives to your online selling portfolio is smart, allowing you to target more buyers. But eBay reigns supreme for a reason, and you can still succeed in selling products on this platform if you follow the best practices and employ the best market research tools that enable you to stay competitive.
