6 Alternate options To Amazon For Ecommerce
With a net worth of $ 1.7 trillion, Amazon has dominated the e-commerce sector for years, leaving many of its competitors in the shadows. But are there alternatives to Amazon?
With an audience as large as Amazon, small business and sole proprietorship startups flock to the site to sell the products, establish themselves and build their businesses. Despite the audience that Amazon offers, you may want to search other online venues to list your items.
There are many great reasons to broaden your ecommerce horizons.
First, there is little point in putting all your eggs in one basket. Second, by selling your products on a larger number of marketplaces, your products will be made available to a larger audience. Looking at the other options available can save you money on fees or get closer to your target buyers.
Below are some viable alternatives to Amazon. We'll look at their benefits, their fee structures, and their differences.
Why you should use an Amazon alternative for your ecommerce business
We've already touched on one of the main reasons for looking for other venues: the risk of being dependent on a sales platform.
It's not uncommon for sellers to suspend their accounts. If you haven't already decided on one of the alternatives to Amazon, your business could get fueled.
However, setting up multiple accounts with different marketplaces gives you more flexibility if something goes wrong. You can also use other online platforms to find out which ones are best for your products.
The search for additional marketplaces offers other advantages:
Greater flexibility
All ecommerce distribution platforms have some degree of control over your business. You decide:
- What products can you list
- The terms and conditions
- Your payment options
- Shipping
These terms may not be appropriate for your business. So, if you're looking for more flexibility, it's a good idea to look into alternatives to Amazon.
Better customer and supplier support
You may feel that there is a lack of vendor or customer support. Amazon provides useful resources for sellers like its university. However, some sellers feel that seller support is sometimes poor, especially when things go wrong.
More shipping options and lower fees With some Amazon alternatives
Amazon has changed its fee structure over the years and has frustrated some.
Amazon sets its professional sales plan at $ 39.99, with custom plans available for free. The transfer fees vary depending on the category you are selling in.
Shipping is another reason to look for alternatives, as individual sellers on Amazon have no flexibility with their shipping costs.
If you're looking to cut fees or branch out, signing up with some alternatives to Amazon can help you scale your business further while reducing costs.
Alternative payment options at Amazon
If you're a seller on Amazon, you know that payment is made by ACH or electronic transfer. Amazon distributes these payments to your bank account every two weeks. Billing can take up to five days.
But that doesn't always work for everyone. If you're a small business and money is tight, signing up with ecommerce platforms with a wider range of payment options can improve your cash flow.
What to look for in an Amazon alternative
Before looking for alternatives to Amazon, you need to decide what to expect from your business. You need to consider the products you are selling and your target customer as well.
For example, if you sell printable products, Etsy might be an excellent choice. If you are looking for consumers who are tech savvy, Newegg might be a good fit for you.
Other areas you might want to think about include:
user friendliness
Marketplaces that let you add items efficiently allow you to list more products in less time. However, you also want to show alternatives to Amazon from your customers' point of view.
How important is usability? If you take note of some recent research from Digital Commerce 360 and Bitrate, you will find that this is a major factor in making a purchase decision.
Possibly test new platforms yourself and consider areas such as:
- navigation
- Easy checkout
- Payment options
- Shipping options
User types
Think about your ideal consumer and the type of users the platform will attract. For example, eBay is huge with 182 million active buyers. It's great for limited-time deals, branded products, and popular items.
However, it is not always the first place buyers think when looking for handmade goods or unique items. More likely they're going somewhere like Etsy.
fees
Fees can be a significant part of your bottom line if you're not careful. Depending on the fee structure, some websites may not be suitable if you are selling smaller items of lesser value.
If you need help with this, fee calculators are helpful. Here is a list of the most popular ones.
Best alternatives to Amazon for e-commerce
What are some of the best Amazon alternatives if you want to sell your products online? Let's look at some of the most important options in no particular order.
Gold mine
Bonanza was founded in 2007 and has built a loyal following with a wide variety of categories. Signing up is free and the fees are straightforward. Final listing value charges are 3.5 percent for sales less than $ 500. There is an additional 1.5 percent fee for sales over $ 500.
Although Bonanza is much smaller than Amazon, it has some advantages over its larger rival. This includes a greater emphasis on building customer relationships and developing sustainable business through regular customers.
The marketing tools that Bonanza provides are just as attractive for sellers. This gives you access to valuable product performance data that you can use to identify trends, optimize offers, and better market your items.
Other functions are:
- Automatic synchronization with eBay, Amazon and Shopify
- Custom marketing tools
- Image editing tools
- Google integration
- High customer support.
But what sets Bonanza apart is its focus on unique items. No attempt is made to be a different Amazon. As Bonanza puts it, it's a page where you find "anything but the ordinary".
Ebay
One of the best known alternatives to Amazon is eBay. Like Amazon, eBay has made significant changes since it was launched in 1995. Over the years eBay's focus has shifted from the collectibles market it used to be geared towards and is now more product-based.
Many well-known brands such as Rolex, Hasbro and Microsoft make their goods available through the branded outlet site ebay.com so consumers can get a bargain. But that doesn't mean that there's still no room for more unusual or collectable items.
On eBay, listing and full-scale fees vary, but many of the full-value fees are set at 10 percent or less. If you need to calculate fees before listing, use an eBay fee calculator.
Some advantages of selling on eBay are:
- A wider range of categories
- More payment options for buyers such as credit / debit card, PayPal, and local pickup. Sellers can also accept Apple Pay, Google Pay, and gift cards through managed payments.
- Improved branding through eBay shops and marketing materials
What makes eBay stand out, however, are its auctions. Auctions may not be ideal for every business. However, sellers who specialize in collectibles or rare items may find that the bid increases their final sale price higher than they imagined.
Etsy
If your business primarily sells printable products or arts and crafts, Etsy might be for you. Of the many alternatives to Amazon, Etsy may offer one of the cheapest and easiest pricing approaches.
Each listing costs just 20 cents and the listing is valid for four months. Then there is a five percent transaction fee for goods that are sold. Payment processing fees are variable and depend on the location. If you're looking to keep growing your business, Etsy Plus is available for $ 10 per month.
Re-listing is also easy. Just select the auto-renew option and you shouldn't be doing anything else.
Advantages of selling on Etsy are:
- Greater customization of the look of your business
- Ideal for beginners
- Lower fees
- Sellers can list collectibles and vintage items on Etsy
Those are the advantages, but there are a few potential disadvantages worth mentioning. First, Etsy is much smaller than Amazon, which means that there is intense competition so your products need to stand out.
Second, while the fees are cheaper, the larger audience share allows you to get more sales with Amazon Handmade.
Walmart Marketplace
Amazon dominates e-commerce, but Walmart is gaining ground. Recent sales show that Walmart's ecommerce sales are up 74 percent. This statistic means that Walmart can show promise if you are looking for alternatives to Amazon.
Walmart now offers a fulfillment service like Amazon. Although there are storage and fulfillment fees, Walmart's fee structure is less complicated than Fulfillment by Amazon's, and referral fees are competitive.
Additionally, there are no startup fees or ongoing monthly fees on the Walmart marketplace. However, you want to consider other costs, such as B. Unique Product Codes (UPCs).
Some of the benefits of selling on the Walmart Market include:
- Lower costs
- Less competition from the buyer / seller relationship
- Price control over the inventory
What is the difference between the platform? Unlike Amazon, the Walmart marketplace is only open to invited brands. You can't just register and start selling. But you can register.
To register your interest in selling, Walmart will ask companies to fill out the interest form.
Newegg
Newegg has made a name for itself as the world's leading tech marketplace. However, clothing, household and lifestyle products, sports / health articles, televisions and much more are also sold.
The fees for non-elite members are free. Elite membership consists of two levels between $ 29.95 and $ 99.95 per month. Commissions vary, with the highest being 12 percent.
The benefits of selling at Newegg include:
- Can be cheaper for technical products
- Attracts tech buyers who are knowledgeable about products
- The Newegg search engine speeds up the process of finding electronics and components
- Tailored marketing for companies
- Various payment options for sellers including weekly ACH payments, PayPal, wire transfer, PingPong, Payoneer and World First
- A wide range of payments for buyers including PayPal and BitPay
However, it is the multi-channel fulfillment option that might interest sellers most. If you sell from different platforms, Newegg provides a central point for managing all of your orders.
Shopify
When you sell on a third-party platform, you have limited control. Many online sellers prefer to set up their stores on the Shopify platform.
The website offers new sellers a 14-day free trial to get them started. After that, a simple Shopify store costs $ 29 per month. The online credit card fees are 2.9 percent + 30 cents. And you should find it easy enough to start selling.
Once you've signed up for the free trial, do the following:
- Add products
- choose pictures
- Set shipping details
- Customize pages for search engines using keywords
- Create main pages
- Customize loading
Shopify benefits include:
- Highly rated customer support and sales features
- Greater customization
- Wide range of ecommerce tools and apps
- Access to the e-commerce university
- You can accept a wide variety of currencies
Conclusion
There are several reasons you might be looking for alternatives to Amazon. You might want a platform that offers a wider range of payment options, a website that offers more niches, or you simply want a wider selection of online marketplaces to sell your goods.
As you can see, there are many venues and each has its advantages. Sites like Bonanza have built loyal audiences, and Walmart's e-commerce presence is growing rapidly.
Niche sites like Etsy and Newegg are great for specialty items, and eBay has better customization and different sales methods, including auctions.
If you want to do it on your own there is always Shopify where you can build and market your own ecommerce business.
Are you an online seller? Tell us about your favorite platform and experience below.