Who else has an Etsy shop? or sell on Ebay??
I have had accounts with both Etsy and Ebay for years but have not been consistent about posting items for sale. I often compare the pricing to see if it's a better deal to sell online versus selling in person or at my antique booths - or listing on your Facebook store or your website.
I would love to hear about your experiences. Several years ago I compared the fees on Etsy and Ebay and they were comparable to the commissions that the local Nashville antique malls charged - minus the rent you would have to pay.
Here are some of the unique things I have found about each site:
Etsy has a unique niche audience made mostly of those who are looking for handmade or vintage items, creatives and those looking for one of a kind or unique items. There are about 40 million active users on Etsy versus 75 million buyers on Ebay. Ebay has been in business since 1995 and is the largest online buy/sell market with a global reach.
Etsy has a listing fee of 20 cents and your item can stay posted for up to 4 months or until it sells (with a relist fee of 20 cents). You pay a fee of 3.5% of the sell price.
Ebay will allow you to list up to 50 items free in one month, after that each listing is 35 cents. You can set it up to auto renew every 30 days or manually renew. The sell fees vary, but are mostly 10% of the selling price (guitars are 3.5%, heavy equipment 2%, and 12% on books, dvds, movies and music - excluding vinyl). So the higher your item is priced, the more ebay gets.
I have listened to many, many, many online webinars on how to make your listings stand out - most refer to having fabulous images and popular key words and a great description.
Another marketplace is Amamazon seller - but I haven't investigated this yet! (Have you?) I also have items listed in my Facebook store and on my website - both linked to PayPal. You do have more control over those listings and fees - but you have to know how to create the listings or pay someone to do it. Facebook is a little confusing because there are so many options for companies to use for payment methods. Creating listings on your website can be fairly easy, especially if you use a company that provides free tech support that can help you. I have vistaprint and they have been fabulous. I have also used Host Gator and they are great. GoDaddy will assist you to a point but then refer you to their pay for service tech support. When I set both of these up, I had to google and search a good little bit to find options and how to's.
Whatever you decide, I think using one or both will increase your customer reach. You just have to decide it the time to photograph, create a description and list the item is worth your time!
Hope you enjoyed the info!
Jennifer