Time for an eBay alternative?

[dh_5346]

Yes there’s gumtree and Facebook marketplace, but what about a platform with a buy now feature suitable for any sellers, with the security eBay has? Fees are ridiculous with no selling promotions in sight, sales have been down, do people think eBay could struggle even more if a new competitor was introduced?

[jellybirddesigns]

Part of the issue is that there are a lot of sellers selling the same thing, so it drives the prices down - simple economics.

If you feel you can't charge more for your items, then your expenses VS profit model isn't working.

You're going to have fees, regardless of where you list and even higher ones if you joined a platform like Amazon. And of course it will depend on how much you paid for the items in the first place.

If it was me, I would take a set like the Las Vegas one and offer it on Marketplace as a pickup item for $110. Someone will bargain you down to $100 and you could let it go at that price and then no fees or postage out of your pocket. There's nothing stopping you offering it on MP anyway and if it sells there, just remove the listing.

I never used to use MP, but for the past few weeks I have been offering my items at a slight discount if people picked up from me and I've made a good bit of coin by doing this. People like to buy and collect on the same day or within a 24 hour period, compared to waiting for the item to be posted.

[gutterpunkz05]

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@dh_5346 wrote:

Works for me. Maybe consider and revise your business model.

I’m not new to selling, I know what I’m doing. And yes, I do not factor in overseas sellers, my items are always the lowest price on eBay au.

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What is the point of being lowest priced,  if you are not making a suitable profit after meeting all expenses, including ebay fees.

[dh_5346]

What is the point of being lowest priced,  if you are not making a suitable profit after meeting all expenses, including ebay fees.

I don’t loose on my sales, all I’m saying is I that I would be making much more with cheaper fees (like everyone else). I used to get many $1 FVF promotions, so for high priced items I make could be making $100 extra that would otherwise be taken by eBay.

[dh_5346]

If it was me, I would take a set like the Las Vegas one and offer it on Marketplace as a pickup item for $110. Someone will bargain you down to $100 and you could let it go at that price and then no fees or postage out of your pocket. There's nothing stopping you offering it on MP anyway and if it sells there, just remove the listing.

Not that simple, and yes I have tried selling on other platforms. What I’ve learnt is that on places like gumtree etc, people are looking for deals/ bargains, so I struggle to sell there. So eBay has one benefit of a wider audience.

Basically, I can make the same amount of profit from an item if I list it on gumtree or eBay (which includes the eBay fee). So if fees were less, profit would be much higher and it would be a no brainer to sell that item on eBay. Currently due no promotions, I would rather sell on places like gumtree to avoid giving eBay more money.

[gutterpunkz05]

It seems you want all the benefits of ebay, but just dont want to pay for it.  Yes the $1 FVF offers were great, but they are long gone and ebay is under no obligation to bring them back.  There are plenty of ways to make ebay work for you, but being the cheapest is not the end game.

[repentatleisure1952]

As soon as I saw *Anti sniping- automatic auction extension" I was out.

[springyzone]

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@dh_5346 wrote:

Yes there’s gumtree and Facebook marketplace, but what about a platform with a buy now feature suitable for any sellers, with the security eBay has? Fees are ridiculous with no selling promotions in sight, sales have been down, do people think eBay could struggle even more if a new competitor was introduced?

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Gumtree is pretty dead. I say that as a buyer. There's not a lot on there, compared to ebay or Marketplace.

I once bought something on there and the seller told me she had forgotten the ad, it had been up for 6 months and she had previously only had silly offers.

In the past there was another sales site I liked, called 'Sold', I think it was. But that closed down.

I think the problem is that ebay has been well known and established for over 20 years so a platform like this would be hard to start up. Even ebay is losing some market share, according to posts I have read here.

Facebook marketplace is where everyone flocks to sell off their stuff. Especially casual sellers.

It isn't perfect but it has some brilliant features, such as remembering your searches and throwing up dozens of similar things from your area as soon as you open it.

There are already a lot of other very specialised sites for selling and quite a few are on facebook too, as closed sites, where people apply to join. I am thinking of Tupperware new and used sales and some brands of clothing. To give you an example, I have not bought a particular brand of women's clothing but their second hand buy and sell FB site never fails to shock me. People put up a frock and ask eg $200 for it and sell within the hour. It probably cost $280 new but the thing is, they are selling on a site full of fans of that stuff.

So no, I don't think you're going to get any other general site opening up to compete with ebay. If the fees are a pain, have a look not just at marketplace but at specialised groups for your products.

[eol-products]

I have always found ebay to be the best for lego.  Bricklink works but is not suited to newer sets I found. My best tip for lego would be to wait till the set is discontinued before selling.

I bought wholesale for a few years and found the margins where terrible and I am glad I stopped selling it. 

[p9games]

This depends a lot on your circumstances.  If you are a casual seller with a small range of items, GT or FB might be viable alternatives.  No Fees at all. Go nuts

However these platforms are not fit for purpose for larger sellers, or sellers with a large range of products.  No payment processing.  No Buy it now (with payment).  Endless message windows popping up, chasing payment and so on.  And of course, there is no order management interface, no listing automation, no inventory sync, no API connectivity.

When an alternative platform offers me an API based experience into my system (like Ebay), with inventory sync across platforms, payment processing, template based listing creation, custom field mapping, order sync with central platform and so on I'd happily consider them.  

Ebay is not perfect, but the fees are not unreasonable considering you have a ready made market to sell in.  Build and market your own website and see how much it costs you as a percentage of your sales.  You'll be begging for 13% let me tell you.

[*sons_and_daughters*]

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@drunkensailor44 wrote:

A new site for antiques and collectables has commenced, only 6% fee on final sale .

An Australian guy who was frustrated with ebay.

https://thecollectorsmark.com.au

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There has been several other Aussies who were frustrated with ebay so created "competition". They all failed. They promised the world, including advertising to attract members, but it never happened. 

As for that site, it has 2-300 active listings and only around a dozen sold items. There is no collectables category! I doubt I'll be signing up any time soon.