The MLP Arena
TCB => Trader & Shipping Support => Topic started by: Diamond on September 14, 2014, 04:15:21 PM
-
Title says it all - those that sell on both how do they compare for your fixed price items? Fees, actual sales, etc.
*puts out drinks and snacks and waits for opinions*
-
oooh drinks and snacks!! *munch slurp munch* :cookie: :beerchug: :popcorn: :choc: er.. hehehe.. :P
Back to the question. I'm so sorry I cant help you other than to eat your supplies and give this a :bump: since I only sell on ebay, I;ve never sold on Etsy. Sorries :blush:
I know some other members sell on both though so hopefully someone more useful will be along soon :)
-
I have no idea on Etsy fee's :huh: don't sell there.
This is a handy tool for figuring out your fee's with eBay though :):
http://www.fees.ebay.com/feeweb/feecalculator
-
From the horse's mouth
https://www.etsy.com/help/article/2144
-
I currently sell on both etsy and eBay. There are definitely benefits and drawbacks to both, so I'll make a little list here to show those points. (Of course some people may view these differently from being positive/negative, just my opinion :))
eBay
Positive
- In general, I have found that I have more sales on eBay than etsy. Things also tend to sell more quickly.
- You get a certain number of free auction-style listings per month, along with promotions from time to time for additional free listings.
- Visibility on a highly populated website
- Free relists up to 3 times if your item doesn't sell without counting against your listing total.
Negative
- They take about 10% of your sales, including a 10% cut on your shipping costs.
- For certain categories, such as collectibles, dolls, and toys they now charge $0.30 for a fixed price insertion fee.
- I have a lot more issues with buyers on eBay than etsy, such as non-paying bidders, requests for ridiculous discounts on items, providing erroneous shipping information, etc. I've had some difficult buyers in my dealings on ebay. Because eBay is so buyer centric they tend to get away with things they shouldn't and there's not much you can do as a seller.
- Fairly arbitrary and one-sided feedback system. If you have a bad buyer there is no way to leave them negative feedback or forewarn future sellers of their issues. Additionally, the star ratings system can be completely arbitrary. For example, a lot of buyers are not aware of how much it actually costs to ship things these days so they can rate you poorly in the shipping cost category even if the shipping price is accurate and visible prior to purchase.
etsy
Positive
- Friendly atmosphere, buyers are definitely much more pleasant and patient than those on eBay in my personal experience.
- Final value fees are only 3.5% of the sale (and they don't take a cut of the shipping cost the way ebay does).
- Easy to set up stores with some ability to customize, add sales coupons, store announcement section, etc.
- Fees are only $0.20 per listing and last up to 4 months.
Negative
- Business can be very slow at times, especially when you are first starting out.
I hope this helps :biggrin:
-
flying_narwhal, thanks so much that is a huge help. I am trying to plan for when eBay makes it even harder for us sellers to not get ripped off.
-
I've been doing Etsy for about 2 months now and have done over 20 sales already. I really prefer it over Ebay now and the people are really friendly.
-
flying_narwhal, thanks so much that is a huge help. I am trying to plan for when eBay makes it even harder for us sellers to not get ripped off.
Happy to help :) I know what you mean, I'm also planning and trying to mentally prep for potential issues as well *sigh*
-
Great thread. Thanks for the advice! I'm also considering setting up an etsy store. This has been really useful.
-
I cant say enough great things about etsy as compared to ebay. Flying_narwal hit the nail on the head. perfect descriptions :)