eBay vs Etsy - Help please?

[wystearya]

I just recently found out that Etsy isn't just for handmade items.  I have plenty of vintage things I am planning to sell.  While I have an eBay account, I've heard Etsy has better (lower) fees.

I'd love to know experiences from those of you who have done both.   Or maybe even some easy to understand comparisons of fees?  I am just trying to figure out which one would be best for me to try selling my items.

Thanks so much!
~Wystearya

[Galactica]

Etsy is nicer and lower fees-  but WAY lower volume.  Your stuff could sit on there for ages and never sell. 

You can get a LOT more on Ebay, since it is so very widely used.  But then Evilbay is... well, evil.  Not only do you have to deal with their enormous fees and gouges-  you have to deal with sellers who flake out constantly - and who could rip you off and force you to eat the loss yourself per Ebay policy.

Just my experience of course.

[tikibirds]

Etsy is ALOT cheaper and easier to deal with then Ebay. Ebay seems to be all about the buyer these days - you cant even leave a NPB a negative anymore. However you will get alot more exposure from Ebay, especially if you pay the fee to have the items appear on UK ebay then you will get from etsy. You might get more customers on etsy of you had a link in your arena siggy.

Post Merge: April 25, 2013, 05:34:18 PM

EBay was doing free listings if you had under 50 or so per month but not sure if they still are. Plus they have their final value fee and then paypal also takes a cut. Etsy, its like 40 cents or so per item BUT the listing lasts for quite a while (3 months I think) before you have to relist it. I dont think etsy has a final value fee and you can accept more then just paypal (which ebay owns).

[True]

yea, iv actually sold on etsy, not recently, but iv listed a few things a couple years ago. managed to sell ONE thing lol. I have not sold on ebay yet so i cant compare fees, but etsy seemed tolerable. but yeah it is lower volume. Etsy to me seems like one of those places, where if you kinda have a really GREAT reputation/popularity then you're going to get a lot of sales. especially for vintage things.

it costs .20 cents to list an item on etsy for 4 months, after 4 months the listing is removed, but i THINK it gives you a warning, shortly before its going to end and asks if you want to re-list for .20 again.

if you sell something, etsy takes 3.5% of sale price

etsy is less confusing, and I wasn't surprised by random fees or notices while i had things listed. i just have a feeling that the only thing i DID sell, was total coincidence on the buyers part. xD obviously etsy does have a search function, but for some reason ebays seems more in depth. but that could just be my small experiences lol.

also ebays free listing, ends monday.

[melodys_angel]

Looks like you have a bit of information <3

I was concidering etsy but never looked into it deep enough.

[kaoskat]

Never used Esty. Looks like you've gotten some useful info anyway.

[Eviecorn]

Galactica pretty much said everything I was going to say.

[babylicketysplit]

i LOVE my etsy shop   i can say enough good things about it.  the customers are great, i get wonderful feedback and have yet to have any trouble. plus its easier and prettier to list in my oppinion.   you may look at how ive set mine up if you wish

if you need any help let me know!  ive made almost 2 grand on there in less than 4 months.   it literally saved my butt!

[wystearya]

Thanks so much everyone!

I'm going to give Etsy a try!  Can't hurt, and if it saves on fees then that is huge..!  Last time I sold on eBay the fees were much more than I expected.  :/