Do people also use eBay alongside Amazon, and does that still perform well, or is eBay outdated now?
I list slow items on eBay and get them mcf fulfilled from my fba stock.
Decent way to get rid of slow moving lines
1 Like
I sell on eBay the items that I can’t get ungated for on Amazon.
2 Likes
I have more success on eBay for some reason
2 Likes
iv got a few i may do that never recalled anything from amazon yet
2 Likes
suppose aslong as your on the ball with posting item etc cant go wrong
1 Like
Suppose its good to fall back on for non selling or categories cant get ungated for
im gonna have look at both ebay and amazon when product sourcing now
1 Like
eBay has lower profit but fewer rules than Amazon. No ungating - you can sell any allowed product immediately.
The best thing is you get paid the next day after a sale. No waiting 2-4 weeks for payment.
Biggest advantage with Amazon is volume. Products sell at least 5-10x faster than eBay.
1 Like
Im selling on both. Most of the time what sells profitable on Amazon does not profitable on Ebay. Success on sales depends on your selling inventory and definitely purchasing prices…
1 Like
So lower profit means you can sell them for more on amazon compared to ebay as ebay fees are smaller than amazons
1 Like
Never would of thpught that suppose depends what you sell etc
2 Likes
Correct. Fees are higher on Amazon but higher sales price leads to more profit.
2 Likes
Media sales are far more positive on eBay.
Amazon has so conclusively messed up the catalogue that any half serious collector of books, film or music is just wasting their time on Amazon. Goodness only knows why Amazon allowed the catalogue to become so badly corrupted - it’s deliberate I’m sure.
Truthfully it’s still rewarding and pleasurable to surf eBay whereas Amazon is beyond frustrating! It’s my impression that Amazon only really appeals to buyers looking for the blindingly obvious.
It’s hardly surprising that this translates into better sales on eBay.
3 Likes
It seems as if they’re aiming for the platform to be controlled by major professional bookstores that can provide top-notch service, rather than allowing individuals to sell from their garage or living room. That’s why they’ve been actively restricting access to media for quite some time now.
2 Likes
No, I think you’re opening a rather large can of worms there.
Amazon’s “major professional bookstores” include some of the worst sellers on the internet. I understand what you’re saying, but you can’t generalise media sellers in the way you have, some small sellers are super efficient and reliable, some aren’t. Likewise bigger sellers can include both good and bad operators.
You have to remember that a large part of Amazon’s relationship with its “internal competition” is how much useful sales data they can extract. A small merchant selling single copies of various products is of no interest to Amazon - however conscientious those sellers might be. What Amazon wants is sellers with much larger sales volumes - whether those sellers are good or bad, honest or crooked.
I can think of three CD / DVD sellers on Amazon who are breaking UK trading laws. They have been buying used stock for pennies, then “refurbishing” and sealing them. That’s okay if you say that’s what you’re doing, but these companies are listing these items as “New”. They’re not new - and many buyers find out pretty quickly: polished discs which jump or jam, creased booklets and inserts, wrong discs etc etc. Initially these sellers were hammered by negative feedback day after day - until Amazon invited them to do FBA !! Result? All their negative and neutral feedback neutered - and Trading Standards can’t take a closer look at their activities because all they have is an office address and their stock is stored at an Amazon warehouse. Brilliant… but crooked. And Amazon is complicit.
This was much discussed on Seller Central a few years ago. Outraged media sellers of every kind finding themselves undercut by crooks who were “passing off”. Interestingly, VERY interestingly, these crooked sellers aren’t on eBay because they would find themselves shut down tout de suite.
So how come these crooks aren’t required to provide invoices for “new” media? How come when you look at so many listings now, all you see if rough-end bucketshops, crooked re-sealers and overseas drop shippers? Why have Amazon bullied away small record shops and collector sellers?!? How does that work? Exactly as I described, because Amazon can use the extracted sales data to inform their own media stock buying.
There’s a lot more I could say.
4 Likes
Well, you might be pondering why these dodgy sellers aren’t being required to produce invoices when they label their items as “new.” It’s a bit baffling, really. These sellers, along with all the dropshippers, have millions of listings and manage to stay on the platform, while small-scale booksellers and collectors are, at best, asked for invoices and, at worst, entirely prohibited from selling media.
2 Likes
That might come out in the anti-trust action against amazon, just a guess.
1 Like
I’m not sure that’s ever been looked at, but it’s far from the only anti-trust issue Amazon’s involved in. As I’m sure most posters know, Amazon’s request for invoices includes them wanting addresses, email and telephone contact details - then they restrict the product and buy it directly themselves.
This particular lawsuit refers to preferential treatment for FBA sellers and visibility. Possibly other anti-trust activities as well?
1 Like
That is where my issue becomes relevant. They attacked my company over 9 years ago. Maybe the government will force them to pay damages, mine, just guessing would be in the 8 digit range. If they have a settlement built in that I hope it goes back more than 9 years ago. Pretty sure many more have been abused.
Forcing them to sell assets would be another joke of the century, that will not stop anything. The “good old boy network” will still be active.
Also, strip them of the binding arbitration clause, now that would be something else they should do. That is part of the reason they get away with doing what they do…
1 Like
Where are you based skeeter?
1 Like