The two main places that people sell creative goods are etsy & ebay. When you start up an online store, choosing between the two is usually a difficult decision. So, me being as great as I am, decided to construct a table comparing all of the important aspects of managing your online shop. I have tried to be as unbiased as possible, weighing all of the pros and cons. Do not rely on some one else’s opinion when making this decision – choose what you think will be best for you. In saying this, etsy and ebay aren’t the only options, there are plenty of other websites that could be more suited to your purpose. Please, feel free to contribute your own thoughts in the comments.
| Etsy | Ebay | |
| Customisation | Etsy isn’t quite as customisable as ebay, as it doesn’t really give you many opportunities to change around the look of your store. All layout on etsy are pretty much the same, however, there are some etsy hacks that you can implement. | Ebay is very flexible with customisation, allowing you to inset html coding in to your about me page, and all auctions you set up. This gives you the opportunity to link to your blog / website, etc on your listed items, and give your shop a unique look. |
| Community Features | Etsy has a lot community-wise, in my opinion. The whole of etsy seems a lot more friendly than ebay. They have a forum for all sellers to share ideas, chat rooms, virtual classrooms, etc. They’re always providing sellers with tutorials and resources to help them along their way. | Ebay does have a forum, answer centre and interactive events, but they just aren’t as welcoming as that of etsy. The people don’t seem as willing to help as they do on etsy. They probably have more of a professional way of dealing with community features, but that doesn’t mean that it’s better. |
| Costs | It costs 20c to list an item for a period of four months, and when your item sells,etsy gets 3.5% of your closing price. | (Australian Dollars) If your starting price is AU$1.00 — AU$19.99 you are charged 0.50c to list your item. If it sells for a price of AU$0.01 — AU$75.00, ebay gets 5.25% of the closing price. If it sells for AU$75.01 — AU$1,000.00, then they get 5.25% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 2.75% of the remaining closing price. Other eBay Fees (AU) |
| Variety | If you know anything about etsy, you would know that you are only able to sell handmade goods, commercial and handmade crafting supplies, and vintage items Items 20 years or older. This cuts down the variety of content on etsy immensely. However, the variety of objects within the three categories is huge! you can find anything from vintage hats, vintage patterns to vintage toys. There is also a wide variety of handmade things on etsy, including things like soap, clothes & even Tupper wear. | In comparison to etsy, it has a huge variety of things for sale. You can buy almost anything on ebay. You can purchase vintage clothing, cameras, ipods, stockings, cars, cups, etc, on ebay. There isn’t really much competition in the variety category. |
| Audience | The audience for etsy is a lot smaller, and youre unlikely to get buyers as fast as you do on ebay. It audience is extremely specific. Nevertheless, if you promote your shop avidly and are extremely passionate, its likely that you’ll build up a strong customer base and your items will sell quite fast. | Ebay has a huge audience, and the majority of items that you post on it will sell. If you are selling handmade, this audience is probably not as suited to you. Vintage, on the other hand, can sell at very high prices, as long as you have promoted your store enough. The customers don’t seem to be as friendly, but maybe that’s just for me. |
| Ease Of Use | Also very simple to use. It’s a bit easier to digest than ebay, as the layout isn’t quite as in-your-face. | Quite easy to use. You might make a few mistakes at first, and it appears a little bit cluttered, but overall it is easy to catch on. |
| Quality / Quantity | So much quality, it’s insane. Most of the items are handmade with quality in mind. The clothing sold their is also of a high quality. | Lots of quantity, little quality. You have to really sort through all of the junk to get to the gold. |
| Overall | Etsy is a friendlier community, that sells quality content. If you are looking to sell handmade, I would straight away suggest etsy. They are constantly sending out e-mails with tricks and tips on getting customers and making your shop more intriguing. Any beginner could work etsy. | Ebay has a huge community, but they don’t appear to be quite as nice at etsy (feel free to prove me wrong!). They have so much content, however, that you’re stuck competing against huge companies in other countries. The people who shop on ebay are looking for a bargain, as opposed to a quality piece – always keep this in mind. The fees as slowly rising, but if your sale prices are high, this mightn’t be an issue. |
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