Advantages & Disadvantages: Should you sell on a big marketplace like Amazon, eBay or Etsy?

(Photo credit: ntr23)

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Big Three

There are basically the same big pluses and minuses.

If you go with a big platform like Amazon, eBay or Etsy you’ll have to expect…

(-) Often expensive fees and subscription charges.
(-) Little to no opportunity to cross-promote off platform items/reduced visibility of your brand in favor of their brand.
(-) Limitations on what you sell and how you sell it.
(-) Dependence on their platform and its policy changes.
(-) The competition. Will buyers buy what you have to sell with the items of your competitors listed right alongside?

…but you’ll also get…

(+) Brand recognition and trust of the big name to encourage sales. Most also have some kind of buyer and seller protection policy.
(+) Built-in audience of fans and customers that means more sales even with less marketing.
(+) Powerful selling tools like printing your own shipping labels, automatic emails, etc. included with your selling account.
(+) The assurance that all three of these companies will still be around tomorrow. This may not seem like a big deal but, with the speed at which things can change online, the assurance that the platform you built your business on will be around in a few months is important.

While we’ll be leaving some of these annoying flaws behind, we’ll also be leaving some of these nice cushy advantages as we make our journey beyond the big three into the wide world of alternatives.