So, you want to start your own ecommerce empire? Your first thought must be to set up an eBay store.
You cannot deny the power of selling on eBay. The ecommerce site has been around since 1995 and continues to reign supreme for anyone aspiring to build an online store. But it’s also worthwhile to consider other platforms for your online shopping store.
It’s good to consider other eBay alternatives, especially if you’re trying to maximize profits and avoid eBay fees. If you’re looking for an eBay alternative, consider eBid.
Join me as I explore eBay vs eBid and the pros and cons of both platforms. Keep reading!
Article Overview
Why Consider eBay Alternatives?
What is eBid? And Is it a Good eBay Alternative?
eBay vs eBid: Detailed Comparison
eBay vs eBid: Traffic
eBay vs eBid: Fees
eBay vs eBid: Listing Style
Final Thoughts
Why Consider eBay Alternatives?
eBay is the clear winner in the battle of the best online marketplace. However, eBay has a few downsides that any aspiring seller must know about enough to consider other online marketplaces.
The eBay fees are the elephant in the room when discussing eBay as among the top selling platforms for anyone who wants to set up their own online store. Of course, selling on eBay is attractive since you can target millions of users worldwide. But the popularity of eBay comes with a price – literally speaking.
Among the many eBay fees you’d have to pay would be the insertion fees (or listing fees), final value fees, and the store subscription (if you choose to subscribe to a store to list more products). If you are one of the top eBay sellers, you could quickly deal with these eBay fees since you can generate massive sales. If not, then there could be a very slim margin to make profits.
While eBay is known as the best selling platform online, it is also good to consider another viable alternative. This is where eBid comes in. To help find the best eBay alternative for your online store, it’s crucial to analyze eBay vs eBid.
What is eBid? And Is it a Good eBay Alternative?
Before you can look at both of these platforms with an eBay vs eBid comparison, it’s essential to know what eBid is. Most eBay sellers are familiar with the marketplace, but some people might not know about eBid.
eBid is an online marketplace that is a lot like eBay. It is a British company that was founded in 1998. It has gained traction as an eBay alternative since its arrival into the ecommerce space in the late 1990s. It is marketing itself as a direct competition to eBay that offers lower fees, making it an attractive option to anyone looking to set up an online store.
The eBid online marketplace consistently ranks among the top online auction sites. eBid is a promising selling platform for anyone who wants to make money online. However, there is a distinctive difference in the number of traffic to the online marketplace.
eBid has an average traffic of 8 million per month, while the daily traffic volume is approximately 60,000. The unique eBid visits are an average of 15 million per year.
Currently, there are over 3.8 million active listings on eBid. They offer up to 12,000 categories on this auction site and fixed price listings. The total value of the eBid website is estimated at around 6 billion USD. The website is also gaining popularity on social media.
While the eBid numbers are definitely lower than eBay’s, it is important to note that it is an excellent option if you are looking for low-cost eBay alternatives. You can get the same features as you would on eBay, with a few variations here and there.
Registration
If you want to register an account on eBid, it’s so easy and will take only a few steps.
From the home page, you will find the “Register Free” button at the top right-hand corner of the page. When you click that, it will take you to the Registration page, where you must fill out the essential information required to complete the set-up process.
Registration is free, but you must agree to the terms and conditions.
It’s important to note that free registration only applies to buyers. If you wish to sell, upgrade to the SILVER, GOLD, or PLATINUM account. To upgrade your account, go to “My Subscriptions” and choose “My eBid.” You will be given the upgrade options and choose the plan you want.
Silver
Free upgrade with a maximum of five (5) listings and one (1) photo per listing. The final value fee is 5%. You will pay $0 in listing fees.
Gold
You must pay $9.99 for a 30-day upgrade to this account type. Your account gives you access to 100 listings and up to five (5) photos per listing. You can also get one free eBid store.
The items on your eBid store will appear on Google Shopping, and the final value fee is at 2%. You can also access additional features, such as bulk upload of products to your eBid store and other online marketplaces. Other features available for this membership level include video descriptions of your product listings, the ability to import feedback from other online marketplaces, BuyNow Price, cross promotions, and an integrated Paypal checkout for buyers.
Platinum Lifetime
The Platinum Lifetime plan upgrade also gives you access to a wide range of features as with the Gold membership level. However, you will be paying $139.99 for the lifetime status on your eBid account, which gives you unlimited listings. You can also include up to 20 photos per listing and up to 5 eBid stores. The final value fees are 0-2%, and you won’t have to pay additional for the listing fees.
Listing
Listing an item for sale on eBid offers a simplified and easy-to-use process. Once you’ve registered an account (valid for selling), go to the “Sell on eBid” page and choose a category where you want to list an item. Plenty of classes are available, so select the most appropriate category for your listing.
Many other online marketplaces exist, but unlike eBay, these stores only have fixed-price listing. But eBid is different, which is why many consider it one of the best eBay alternatives. It has a Buy Now price listing and an auction style format listing (like eBay).
When listing an item, you can record a Buy Now price or use the auction style format listing. In addition, you can set a minimum bid increment on your listings, which will be the amount that will be automatically raised when a buyer chooses to bid on an item they want.
Once your auction has closed, you can contact the buyer directly via email. If you cannot get a response from the highest bidder, you can contact the other bidders. All the interested buyers’ contact information will be accessible in your item’s bidding history.
The listing features in eBid give you more options for optimizing them. You can use a plain HTML box. However, it is convenient if you have an HTML code ready to add to your listings. You can also use the WYSIWYG Simple and Advanced formats for creating your product listings. Ensure you include a photo of your products to make them more appealing to buyers! eBid supports various media formats, such as JPG, PNG, GIF, TIF, and BMP.
eBay vs eBid: Detailed Comparison
Now that you know about eBid, let’s inspect eBay vs eBid closely to help you decide which selling platform is right for you.
eBay vs eBid: Traffic
When it comes to traffic, eBay is the clear winner. There are 135 million active users on eBay (as of Q3 of 2022), with 3.6 million active users on the eBay app in the US alone. Currently, there are 1.7 billion eBay listings. Meanwhile, 2 billion daily transactions are happening in the eBay online marketplace.
These statistics are so compelling and work to the advantage of eBay. While you might be looking for eBay alternatives, it is undeniable that most sellers turn to eBay as their first option due to the amount of traffic on the website. It is the biggest advantage of eBay over eBid.
eBay vs eBid: Fees
When it comes to fees, eBid is the clear winner. The store subscription for eBid is cheaper than that of eBay. Plus, there are several types of eBay fees, which could seriously cut your profit margins slimmer.
With eBid, you only have to pay the store subscription and the final value fees. There are no additional listing fees to consider, meaning you can pocket more of your sales than eBay sellers. eBay offers an alternative for online sellers looking for a low risk market without the high fees.
eBay vs eBid: Listing Style
Both these platforms emerge as winners in this department. As the name suggests, eBid is another online auction site offering auction style format listings for buyers interested in vintage collectibles. In addition, online sellers with unique product listings, such as handmade or vintage items, could make more money with the auction site format on the eBid site.
While the fixed price marketplace will give you a better idea of how much you can make for your product listings, the auction format enables you to get more competitive prices. It is an attractive option for anyone selling products and wanting to make more money.
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of similarities between eBay vs eBid, which makes it the most suitable option as an eBay alternative. The eBid site offers both the fixed price and auction style format for product listings, giving you more opportunities to attract more buyers.
But the most distinctive advantage of this e commerce platform is its fee structure, which is considerably lower than eBay’s. Therefore, it is a suitable alternative for sellers who want to be selling items and make more profit. However, you must deal with the lower traffic and reach in eBid than what you would get via eBay.
Learn to weigh the pros and cons of each e commerce platform. Assess each option based on your goals. For example, even if eBay fees are higher, you will get more exposure to your product listings, giving you more chances to earn a sale. And the higher the sales volume, the more profits you gain. But having an alternative like eBid to diversify your selling portfolio is good.
