Amazon & eBay
Here at shancharan housewares we actively support new and existing customers looking to sell through online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon.
For our customers who are looking to start-up on eBay or Amazon we can guide and support you by teaching you how to sell and product research with a minimum charge.
Increase Sales From a High Traffic Channel
The chief draw of selling on marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay is the scale of their online presence. Amazon draws 190 million buyers a month and eBay is home to over 150 million active buyers—that’s a heck of a lot of opportunity! And this means higher sales volumes.
According to an Amazon executive, sellers report an average 50% increase in sales when they join Amazon Marketplace.
Acquire New Customers
Nobody visits Amazon or eBay searching for your store. But they may be searching for—and discover—your products. Products they may not have discovered otherwise, or that they may have purchased from a competitor.
Once you’ve got a customer in the door, even if it is through a marketplace, you’ve got a chance to win repeat business through excellent service and fulfilment. This is especially the case if you’re selling products in a category that encourages frequent, repeat purchases.
Many People Prefer Shopping Via Marketplaces
Marketplaces are all about strength in numbers. This is as true for online marketplaces as it is for real world examples like markets and shopping centres.
The variety and all-in-one aspect of the marketplace can draw in lots of customers who prefer that kind of shopping experience. Online marketplaces also bring the additional layer of single-stream checkout and fulfilment support in order to create a seamless experience for buyers.
How to Choose a Marketplace
The tempting answer is “all of them!”, but each marketplace has its own system, its own processes and limitations and quirks. Learning to navigate those can take time you probably don’t have, so it’s best to stick to one or two marketplaces unless you know you can support more.
Two of the largest and most well-known marketplaces are Amazon and eBay.
Amazon
Amazon’s Marketplace takes the sharper retail tack, and as a retailer itself Amazon provides tools to help third-party sellers become part of a seamless shopping experience for consumers.
Things to consider when selling on Amazon:
Fulfilment by Amazon.
Amazon Prime membership.
For listing your products on Amazon; referral and other fees are charged upon making a sale and vary depending on your product category (a 15% to 18% commission for most categories).
Be sure to check out the fees for selling on Amazon and factor that into your margins when you consider selling in their marketplace.
eBay
Ebay on the other hand, is a massive marketplace for buying and selling items at both fixed prices and to the highest bidder through an auction system. Where Amazon focuses on the Amazon shopping experience, eBay offers seller tools and features that make it easier for you to feature your brand in an eBay store.
Things to consider when selling on eBay:
Your listing is your own.
You will need to figure out shipping and fulfilment, either by doing it on your own or working with a third party fulfilment centre.
There is an insertion fee per listing, per category, but sellers get a fixed amount of “free listings” per month depending on their eBay account type. However there are also Advanced Listing options that you can pay for to spruce up your listing.
Any questions on how to start-up on either of these platforms or any product advice to increase your established store please call us: 00447950680877
