eBay has its roots in a time when few of us had a fixed internet connection. The platform started out similar to the Polish Allegro—in the beginning it served mainly as an auction portal. Today, the total number of active listings on eBay is 1.7 billion, of which 79% are 'Buy It Now' offers. Find out more about the online marketplace that has remained at the top for years and certainly won't be leaving it any time soon.
What are you going to read about concerning sales on Ebay?
- A Leading Marketplace On a Global Scale
- Why Is It Worthwhile to Sell on eBay.com?
- Who Should Sell on eBay?
- How to Start Selling on eBay?
- What Does Selling on eBay Look Like?
- Costs Related to Selling on eBay
A Leading Marketplace On a Global Scale
Numerous studies on the e-commerce industry and distribution channels indicate that eBay is the second largest selling marketplace in the world. It ranks only behind Amazon.
The chart below shows the most popular e-commerce platforms in Europe:
Just as Amazon,
eBay is an international online trading platform with a global reach. The listings published on it are visible in over 200 countries! Those include Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, the United States, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Americans account for the largest share of total sales on eBay (around 31%), followed by the UK citizens (around 29%).
This is undeniable evidence that eBay is the right place to build its position in the UK market, which (despite Brexit) is still one of the largest e-commerce markets in Europe and in the world.
By the end of 2023, net sales in the UK e-commerce market are estimated to be $66,707.6 million. It will be an increase of 8.4% compared to 2022. The most popular items on eBay.com include smartphones and smartphone accessories. Those are followed by video games, clothing and cosmetics, electronics, home furnishings and gardening equipment.
Why Is It Worthwhile to Sell on eBay.com?
eBay is a very long-established marketplace, even considered the
‘original online marketplace.’ It was founded in California in 1995, so it is even older than Amazon. For almost 30 years, it has successfully held its own in the e-commerce market. Moreover, it has also grown continuously. The GMV of the eBay platform amounted to USD 73.9 billion in 2022,
and the company’s market share in the US is larger than Apple’s. Ebay’s mobile app’s popularity also provides proof that eBay is moving with the times. Currently, 60% of the site’s gross sales are made through it. The eBay app has already been downloaded to the phone 599 million times.
Choosing eBay.com means taking advantage of a well-established, reputable brand that is well known to users around the world. The site currently has over 135 million active users, with nearly 1 billion visitors each month.
This is a large number of potential customers to whom we can target our offer. At the same time, a major advantage of eBay is that we are not competing with products listed by the marketplace itself.
Another important feature of eBay.com that sellers value is the immediate payment of our profits. This is made possible by linking the service to PayPal. Interestingly, PayPal and eBay used to be one company for a while.
Who Should Use eBay?
eBay is an option that is recommended primarily for new marketplace users and sellers who value flexibility. The platform offers us the ability to freely set our selling policies. On eBay, it is the seller who decides on returns without a specific reason. They even have the right to opt out of this practice. Moreover, the retailers also have greater freedom in creating the content of their listings.
Compared to many other marketplaces, Amazon has a less restrictive approach regarding its requirements. This results in a higher number of active sellers, which reached 18 million in 2022.
This means a lot of competition, but at the same time it is easier (and cheaper) for a larger group of entrepreneurs to achieve success here than on Amazon. The tendency is especially true for smaller companies with a small marketing budget. On eBay, you will not encounter a fierce battle for the Buy Box—each seller starts from the same position. Furthermore, the ads work in a completely different way. Advertising on eBay does not involve fierce bidding to better position your product under selected keywords. Paid advertising campaigns are practically essential for success on Amazon. When it comes to eBay, they are of lesser importance.
When it comes to product range, it is safe to say that you can sell almost anything on eBay (except for banned products, the whole list of which is
here). This includes products that don’t fit into the standard categories. If you want to sell antiques or items that are very personal, ebay is surely the place to go. The marketplace is also a good place to sell second-hand items. Remember that eBay’s algorithm (unlike Amazon’s) does not prioritise new products!
How to Start Selling on eBay.com?
Registering on eBay is free of charge. One person can create several business accounts. The option is particularly useful for sellers offering goods from different industries.
- Create a seller’s account—the account can be private or a company account. Remember that a company account offers you more marketing opportunities etc. You will need to provide information about your business type, VAT details etc.
- Choose the billing method. For cross-border sales, it is certainly best to choose PayPal.
- Select the currency for billing.
- Account verification. The easiest way is to verify the account with a credit card. However, you can also do this by phone or post.
Do you need help in setting up eBay account? Contact us.
What Does Selling on eBay Look Like?
Every seller who wants to sell abroad must pick the sales model.
There are two models to choose from:
- basic—we only list the same listing on all marketplaces. The contents of the listings will be exactly the same. For example, the ones in Polish will also be displayed in Germany or France. And the prices will only be converted into another currency.
- advanced—our listings will be tailored and displayed separately for each market we sell on. This model also provides better visibility for our listings, as many users can filter out product cards in foreign language.
In terms of logistics, eBay offers us the Fulfillment Center, which is a version of the
FBA (
Fulfillment by Amazon) model. It can be used for both domestic and international sales. The difference in comparison to FBA is that the service is not provided by the marketplace itself, but by a third-party provider. As such, it is worth examining how the programme works in each country. If you are selling in Poland, it may be more beneficial for us to sign up with a local courier service. Prices for
eBay Fulfillment Center services are determined individually, depending on the volume and location of parcel delivery.
Costs Related to Selling on eBay
Fees vary depending on the type of marketplace we are in and the version of eBay we are using. We can check the full list for selling abroad
here. However, in each case, the following should be considered:
- the listing fee (e.g. in Poland it is PLN 1.5),
- sales commissions (in Poland 8.7% for most categories),
Remember that the publication of the first 200 listings each month is free of charge (only sales commission applies).
For sellers who have a large number of listings, it may be beneficial to pay a monthly fee for a store.
The store subscriptions available to us are Starter, Basic, Premium, and Anchor.
- Starter (USD 7.95/month)
- Basic (USD 27.95/month)
- Premium (USD 74.95/month)
- Anchor (USD 349.95/month)
If you have a store, you can implement your listings on foreign markets without any additional costs.
How Much Do Advertisements on eBay Cost?
Unlike Amazon, advertising on eBay.com is not a PPC campaign where we pay for each user click. eBay will only bill us for the finalised transaction, provided that the sale of the advertised product has taken place within 30 days of the start of the campaign.
The flexibility of selling on eBay also applies to ads campaigns. The platform will offer us a recommended rate for a sponsored listing. They will be based on the competitiveness of category into account. However, it is up to us to make the final decision. For sponsored offers, the rate ranges from 1-20% on the final price. The final price includes shipping costs, but not tax.
Conclusions
Ebay’s biggest advantage is the ability to gain visibility in multiple markets and sell on a global scale. It is a marketplace particularly recommended for sellers taking their first steps in e-commerce. This is because you do not have to meet strict quality and logistics requirements here (as in the case of Amazon). eBay is also a great option for those who value flexibility and freedom in their sales activities.
Are you interested in taking advantage of a marketplace that allows you to expand overseas to markets on all continents? Fill in the form, and benefit from the experience of our experts in planning this venture!
