Risk Diversification.
I’ve mentioned it countless times on this blog for a very good reason; as an online seller, you need to diversify your risk and sell on more than just one platform (eBay).
Yes, eBay is a terrific marketplace where you can reach millions of buyers for practically nothing and yes, I do think it’s the no.1 selling platform online, especially for newbie sellers, BUT that doesn’t mean that you can rely on it alone.
I’m sure you’ve all heard countless horror stories of eBay/PayPal accounts being shut down, permanently, and people literally losing their entire business overnight.
Now most of the time with these bans, the seller has done something wrong, despite what they may claim…
But on occasion you can have your account banned for something completely out of your control and if you only sell on eBay, that means an end to your business.
So don’t just assume that this won’t happen to you as you need to be prepared and have a plan if it does.
And while I still do suggest concentrating on eBay alone when you’re just starting out (eBay, Amazon or an Online Store?), once you are up and running, then it’s time to start to look into some other platforms to also sell your products on.
Of course, as well as diversifying your risk, this also means more sales!
After all, it’s common sense that – selling on more platforms = reaching more customers = more sales!
It really is a win-win situation.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the other options out there:
*Actually, now is probably a good time for me to point out that there are no real eBay replacements… it’s almost impossible to match the volume of buyers on eBay and there’s just no point wasting your time listing products on auction sites with no traffic, as you simply won’t sell anything.
So rather than replacements, these are some alternatives that you can use, depending on what niche you’re in, to supplement your eBay business.
Let’s get to it!
Amazon
Amazon is really the most logical and obvious platform to expand to after you’re successfully up and running on eBay.
In many ways it’s actually a lot simpler than eBay as there are no templates etc. and less rules that you have to familiarise yourself with and overall – it’s just more of a straightforward and automated process.
But due to Amazon’s system of all sellers for a product being shown together under one individual listing, you really do need to be able to offer the lowest price to achieve real success…
Unless of course you are selling your own brand products, as that’s where the real money lies on Amazon.
This way you’ll have your own listing which you control which means you can reach Amazon’s millions of customers without having to compete with other sellers!
To find out more about this business model and how it works, you can read my previous guides on it here:
Etsy
Unlike eBay or Amazon, which are open to pretty much any kind of product, Etsy is more of a niche site for handmade and craft items (although they did relax their definition of handmade late last year!).
The fees on Etsy are very small in comparison to eBay, just $0.20 to list an item and then 3.5% is taken from the sale price, so if you do sell any handmade, vintage, or craft items then you should definitely take a look at Etsy.
With its small fees and growing marketplace, it’s a great time to get signed up.
Rakuten’s Play.com
As with Etsy, this won’t be an option for all sellers but Play.com also offer a marketplace for sellers to list items for sale.
Play’s marketplace is more similar to Amazon in its set-up and listing process as all sellers for a product are shown together:
And while the level of traffic isn’t huge (at least compared to eBay or Amazon) it could be an option if you sell in one of the following categories:
- DVD
- Blu-ray
- Music
- Video Games
- Books
- Clothing
- Sports and Outdoors
- Technology and Office (including Electronics)
- Health and Beauty
- Home and Garden (including DIY and Tools)
- Toys and Gadgets
- Baby
Pixmania’s PIXPlace
Another retailer who also offers a marketplace for 3rd party sellers to list their products is Pixmania with PIXPlace.
But again you need to sell in one of the following categories:
- Consumer Electronics
- Home Appliances
- DVD
- Video Games
- Watches
- Sport
- Homeware
- Gardening
So although the list of categories seems fairly broad, not all of them will get enough traffic to make it worthwhile, particularly considering they charge a monthly subscription fee, ranging from £35 to £180 per month, depending on how many countries you want to list in.
Gumtree
Most people dismiss Gumtree straight away, thinking it’s only for second hand goods etc. but I’ve seen a number of people use it to really grow their sales and reach a lot of new customers.
One thing you do have to bear in mind about Gumtree though is that most buyers will only want to collect items from you in person, rather than paying online for you to post it.
So think of it more like an online classifieds ad, with the purchase taking place offline.
So while it’s not something everyone would want to do, if you can create a system for collecting orders, Gumtree can be a highly effective way of advertising your business and products locally.
Now we’re onto the last alternative selling platform, and I’ve left it last for a reason…
Though it’s not always an option for everyone when just starting out, this is actually the best way to sell your products online. YES, even better than eBay.
What am I talking about?
Your own eCommerce Store
Creating your own eCommerce store should really be the no.1 goal for everyone selling online.
Though you won’t see instant traffic and success like you can do with eBay and Amazon, with your own online store you maintain complete control of your business and can pretty much decide exactly how you want to run it.
Yep, that means no more eBay and Amazon rules!
Having your own eCommerce store really is the safest and most sustainable platform for selling online.
Nobody is going to close your down or ban you – well unless you do something illegal!
Plus with your own eCommerce store you can charge higher prices and have pretty much unlimited potential for growth!
Now I know what you’re thinking – if eCommerce is so amazing and the path to riches, why am I bothering with eBay at all!?
Well, that’s a good question of course and it’s true, there are negatives to creating and running your own eCommerce store and they are:
- Money. There’s simply no way around it – it will cost significantly more to set up your own online store than to just start selling on eBay and Amazon.
- Time. As I briefly mentioned just now, to grown your own online store takes a lot of time and effort before you’ll really start to see results.
And then lastly and probably most importantly:
- Knowledge. If you think eBay or Amazon is complicated, then try creating your own online store! It really does take it to the next level and there are a number of things you need to know to be successful such as design, store set-up, marketing, SEO, tracking and MUCH MORE!
And that’s why I only recommend launching your own store AFTER you’re already doing well on eBay and Amazon.
But of course, you don’t have to learn everything by yourself and if you want a complete, step-by-step guide to creating, running and managing a successful online store, then I suggest you check out Ecommerce Magnates.
In this course I teach you everything you need to know about running a hugely successful online store, including:
- Shopping Carts and Shop Settings
- Design
- Products, Orders and Stock Management
- Marketing Strategies
- SEO
- Paid Advertising
It really is a complete guide and I walk you through it all every step of the way.
And at the current special offer price of £67, it’s an absolute steal and I guarantee you simply won’t find a better value course anywhere online!
So if you’re at the point in your business where you’re ready to expand and grow beyond eBay, then don’t delay and instead get started ASAP!
That pretty much covers all the main selling platforms but if you know of any others (maybe something that you’re using in your own business) then feel free to share below in the comments section.
Otherwise, until next time!
All the best,
Andrew
What about the best website where to sell art? Like, paintings or drawings?
Catawiki is kind of better than ebay, but they don’t accept everything you would like to list.
Etsy doesn’t really sell on drawings or paintings. I don’t think Amazon is appropriate even.
What do you think?
Hi Rob,
Hard to say, have no experience with items like those…
But my guess is that there’s a market for such items on Amazon, so I would do more research into that.
Thanks,
Andrew
Ebay seller support has declined significantly recently. 3 times this month we’ve been scammed by buyers only to have ebay side with them. We’ve had buyers order a set of two, request a refund and return one in the box. Another’s item was still in transit and delayed at customs. Ebay somehow figures that’s the sellers fault and another defect. There is no help from customer service as they aren’t interested in helping the seller, despite the thousands of dollars in fees we pay every month.
my bad experience has come from paypal.
my account wat permanently limited last week for selling something for my older cousin that turns out is not allowed.
i contacted paypal and was told to open new account on paypal and do not sell this item again.
soni done thia and instantly limited it as i have already got a limited account ! contacted paypal again and they apologised and removed the limit. a day later another email saying again my account has been permanently limited as i have a paypal account already limited. so again contacted paypal and same story apologised and restored it.
yesterday it happened again contacted paypal agaim they dont know whats going on it seems as though this is a automated responce and automatically closing it.
so now its up for review again and this time it may not be opened again which will cripple my ebay business and if i do get it restored i have a feeling a day later it will agaim get limited. complained to them contacted several hundred paypal employes/managment and no one seems to have a answer.
Hi John,
Sorry to say I went through the same thing with eBay for over 45 days. I have talked over 20 different supervisors, you see my account was suspended and the victim of identity theft and for other accounts was set up using my information. Each and every one of our told me that they were going to correct the problem and that they were to call me back in either 4 to 5 days for a week. However, I never received a call back from anyone of them I’ve been a victim of identity theft for the last seven years and had no knowledge of peace for other accounts until all of a sudden they popped up overnight. I tried to send them the documentation but every Avenue that I was given was literally bullshit. From one 800 number that I was to give the detective that turned out to be a DirecTV number, and another number I was given turned out to be a telemarketing number. And just to think I’m a veteran that fought for these idiots to have the freedoms that they had.
Hi Andrew,
The fee;s of 10% final value fee 9Ebay) and 3.4%+20p (PayPal), don’t always seem to be the case, for example I sold an item that bhat calculation should have had a PayPal fee of 0.40p yet I received 87p. Simlarly some of the Ebay fee’s seem to vary wildly from the standard 10%.
A problem because I have a designed a spreadsheet to work out my profit etc.
There’s a fee calculator right on eBay:
http://www.fees.ebay.co.uk/feeweb/feecalculator
So you can check why the fee for that particular item was different.
Andrew
i buy and sell on ebay,, buying is ok but selling,,,, so many hidden fees, £0.50 on every item posted, they are making as much as me,, last report said 48% goes to ebay?. they advertise free listings but i always seem to end up having to pay them, if you list in several places you pay extra, final value fees?, i wish i had another outlet
Hi Adrian,
That’s the cost to get your product in front of millions of potential buyers.
They know that this exposure has a price. Amazon knows it too, with their fees being even higher sometimes compared to eBay.
We always have an option to create our own online shops and not pay anyone any fees.
Andrew
Just been banned from selling on eBay in the category my business trades in. No reason why. Just lost my job just like that. All seller standards are above standard or better. Feel like crying!
Hi Tom,
There should be reason/explanation behind your ban.
Have you tried calling them and asking why they closed your account?
If you haven’t breached nay rules, maybe it was a system’s glitch/mistake.
Def. give them a call and find out.
Thanks,
Andrew
Ebay has definitely changed from the good old days when meg was in control of the company. Back then you could actually speak with someone about issues and they cared about what you had to say. Back when both the seller and buyer had input into matters affecting either party. There is no personal connection as a business member on the ebay platform zero; no flexibility, the buyer is always right, sellers have no recourse; they can’t even leave a negative feedback to buyers to warn other sellers about those who ebay even knows are scamming the system and threatening sellers, leaving negative feedback unjustifiably – You can be a top seller one week then a below standard seller the next after just 1 negative feedback restrictions are usually placed on your account – it’s almost vicious and feels deliberate – with no loyalty to sellers that have been with them from the start, no communication, they don’t want to hear or care about what you have to say. It blows my mind that a company like this can succeed with this business model that breaks all the traditional rules of what makes a business successful. It is difficult to adapt to the changes and the sense of arrogance and dominance in the market, but you’re right that there just isn’t any competition for ebay and its crystal clear with their attitude they know it!
Honestly Ebay and Amazon dominate by a enormous gap compared to other marketplaces, I would say I sold many stuff off of Bonanza however it has alot of scammers I don’t think I wanna use them again horrible buyers place an order through paypal that would like a refund and I end up paying the seller fees which Bonanza doesnt even consider giving back their rob of fees
Ebay when your banned your permanent
while
Amazon if it suspends you allows you to appeal more friendly ebay is like talking to robots they didn’t ever show me how or if I can appeal they just bam you on the spot
Most of these alternatives arent really viable they are expensive and there are charges and the coverage for the likes of etsy ebid is next to none, so it still seems even inthis day and age there are no worthy aletnatives to the theiving unscrupulous vile company ebay/papypal
Yes, that’s very true and I have pointed it out in the article.
Only real alternative is Easy for people who sell craft items as Easy is actually very popular.
Andrew
Why has no one mentioned facebook, my wife sells most of our kids stuff through facebook groups and friends and there are no fees.
Mark
I think we need to boycott eBay, its a greedy corporate giant that even take a peice out of your postage fees, which means you have to Mark up on postage.
The best alternative I’ve seen so far is eBid.
Does anybody have other suggestions?
I sell high value high ticket items in the U.K and I use Catawiki because it’s Ebay without the fakes, bottom feeders and weird policies. There is no sniping as each auction extends by 1 minute each bid, they use an Escrow system and the auctions are curated to ensure fair valuations. This could be the Ebay killer for collectables we have all been waiting for! It feels like Fleabay used to be when It was fun. You all remember that right?
http://www.catawiki.com
HI,
I have been selling on ebay for many years, here are the facts, you wont make money on ebay only the selected platinum sellers will. Ebay doesn’t give a toss about sellers, they don’t need to as they are making more money than sense. You are competing directly against wholesalers from China who can sell goods cheaper than you can buy them for, they have cut out the middleman so you can never compete unless you have a niche product, you will pick up the odd sales but thats about it. I have my own websites but even then you have to work hard to get business and this involves pay per click which isn’t cheap. To summarize there are so many people trying their luck to sell online thinking you will just sit at home watching the computer and the orders will roll in.aint gonna happen, those days are gone. Its best to run it part time and make a bit of pocket money out of it. Don’t let it rule your life or get wound up about it because its not worth it…One day the ebay bubble will burst, nothing lasts forever!
Hi Dave,
I can definitely agree that it’s not an easy ride…
But it’s still possible to make a business, even if you sell on eBay alone. I have countless success stories from my EAB & 60DBP customers who have create a full time income on eBay. Yes, it takes hard work, creativity and patience but it still can be done.
Thanks,
Andrew
ebay & amazon (especially ebay) is still nice place to start, but its not a place to stay with for serious sellers. they both do not respect sellers, its fact – they just do not respect sellers, they treat them like pure garbage. amazon started their way to do bussiness.
1) buyer is always right
2) if buyer is not right, then check above.
ebay management team of last years are fool. during last years they try to copy amazon, over last few years they changed one thing to another like crazy, but each copy is worse than original, they even dont understand one simple thing amazon can live even without sellers due to stock and FBA, but all ebay is sellers only, so… ebay completely lost their charm they still had even just 5-7 years ago and before, and with that they did not get recognition of amazon neither.
buyers feeling this all and becoming worse each year, at least within these two still biggest (for USA) systems. if you accept to be scammed more and more both by the buyers and platform, then it might work for you, until the day it ban you for reasons which are out of your hands. unless you are a very very big seller, there is higher probability it will happens with you than if no, and if you are international seller, then for sure it will happens with you. may be you will be selling some months or even few years, but then one day there will be postal strike for your shipments and you will be banned. no one will care it was postal service not you, no one will care you are ready to compensate or even to refund all, no one will care you was member of that platform may be for 5-10 years with huge total number of sales and great rating, you will be just simply banned and all your listings will be removed. the solution many people actually using, i have seen really many people doing that, they register new account on some other name, and all starts again. other sellers already left those platform and that is why places like aliexpress as well as other systems are growing well each year. buyers already cant find many items they looked for, so they start buying more within places the sellers gone.
ebay and amazon they are still leaders but believe me their strategy will not last good for them. there are already many many niches you can do same or even bigger amount of sales on other smaller platforms where you will feel certain level respect and confidence, and every year the situation got changed into this way. dont think if you add something, especially if you have an unique products, on 3 different platforms your sales will grow 3 times. yep, they will grow of course, but far not 3 times. there are people who buy all at one place, but most of them know very well about different platforms and they do search everywhere before they at last choose and buy the product somewhere. the same if you have products listed lets say at 5 different places, then some ebay or amazon bans you, there is huge probability you almost will not feel the difference in number of sales after such ugly incident.
but under any circumstances the best solution and in the same time the most profitable. BUILD YOUR SITE. just learn to make a direct sales and interraction with buyers. also dont forget about social media, if you think well, you can already grab a huge piece from there. already for many really many people internet means facebook…………………..
I can’t recommend Gumtree I’m afraid … they’re now part of Ebay. If like myself you’ve had cause to use Ebay “Customer Support” you’ll want to avoid any of their subsidiary companies also.
My husband and I have been eBay members since they started, at first mostly buying, occasionally selling. When we both retired a few years ago, we started using eBay to sell things we’d collected over the years, to pass the time. When we first started, it was a lot of fun and we sold things. But now, eBay doesn’t offer much to small individual sellers. I liked it when we could list the same thing 3 times free, because sometimes it took that many times to get it noticed. Or if eBay had offers to list up to 20,000 things free in 5 days, we could just put up all the things that hadn’t sold. eBay doesn’t do it like that any more. They won’t include relists on the free offers. It takes me 2 hours to make 15 listings, and my husband an hour to take pictures. We watch our grandkids and take care of his mom, so we don’t have much free time. We are looking for another way to sell. We’ve had some luck on Facebook local sites,and even a national site, but I’m not sure that is the best place for us. I see Etsy come up in my google searches, and doing some research. eBay just isn’t the same, and I don’t like the changes.
Hi Martha,
Thanks for your comment.
I know how you feel but the reality is reality – you adapt to changes or…. just don’t sell on eBay anymore!
Andrew
Bitter epxerience with EAY..Their fraud reporting system is 100% automated system and many times you get locked outside. They do not have a form to fill and raise your claim.,.my real time experience EBAY is the biggest online fraud system. Just try to click on (contact customer service) on their website, and it will put you in a sequence of clicks and out to the back door with a finger…After 15 years of buying on EBAY, I advise anyone to go AMAZON or any other site , Even Aliexpress China is now more safe and gives buyer better protection…email me if you want tens of real experience where you will conclude that somehow EBAY management knows about the scam but does not want to bother following so much cases mostly from China mainland…I wish there will be a day planet earth become with no EBAY word on it.
I agree 100 % ebay is controlled by computer with glitches. I think they are now in bed with the usps. As a seller with 5 Star ratings in all catigories was Top Rated + seller for 8 months straight this last time. I have tried it before in years past with same results. Did I mention I have been an ebay seller since 2003 … 13 years now..
Just a couple days age they took away my discount for being a perfect seller due to USPS tracking not delivered on time. They will not take into consideration all the natural disasters last and this month including tornados , flooding , crippling snow storms shutting down 150 million people or more including the government. How is this My Fault ? Why am I punished due to disasters. While at the same week the USPS raised ship rates , I was paying $2.04 for 2 oz package and now without warning raised it to $ 2.60
Called ebay on the phone for 1 + 1/2 hour spoke with 12 different people yesterday , None who could understand or speak good English so the end results were sorry we are taking what we want of your money. That is ebay rules and policy. The USPS failed to deliver on time 6 packages out of over 150 in past two months. Start your own store , advertise on google with lower prices on things you don’t care about to build a reputation , It will take a little time but if you give away candy for free or nearly free . If you build it they will come..
BTW , Called amazon today and it will cost me more than selling on ebay. Both Rip-Offs
Thanks for sharing this with us.
We have been lucky so far (if that’s the way to describe it) as on-time delivery metric is new to eBay UK, coming into effect on 20th February. I’m sure it will create a storm on its own in eBay UK sellers community….
Andrew
No one really forces you to use it, right?
I, from seller perspective, can say that buyers on eBay are super protected and not often we hear about buyers who have been scammed. It’s mostly sellers who get scammed all the time.
Andrew
16 years on ebay as a Seller & Buyer. I was recently given NEG feedback by a Buyer even though my item & pictures were accurate.
Buyer has a clear pattern, (1 yr on ebay with a combined total of 51-52 NEG & NEU feedbacks to SELLERS and 16 POS feedbacks with derogatory remarks towards the SELLER), yet ebay refuses to do anything about this Buyer.
He targets Sellers with 100% feedback, gives NEGS & NEU if you do NOT refund or partially refund him what he wants.
ebay says because his wording is NOT “I want x amount of dollars refunded or I will leave you NEG feedback”, that it is NOT considered feedback abuse or extortion.
Most scammers are smarter than to send an email through ebay’s system stating something like that.
Sellers are the ones that put money into ebay’s bank account, NOT Buyers, so I am surprised that ebay continues to treat it’s Sellers this way!
The days of a GOOD HAPPY SELLER on ebay are gone, with the exception of Chinese Sellers, who continue to abuse of Buyers yet continue to SELL on ebay with no repercussions!
Hi Andrew,
I really enjoy reading your material! What I wanted to ask is better to sell on Amazon than Ebay? I have heard it is more profitable to sell on Amazon.
Many thanks
Meera
better sell on both platforms Meera to get maximum exposure to your items! 🙂
Some products can be sold for higher prices on Amazon simply because in some niches on Amazon competition is not that big, that’s true.
Thanks,
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Just to let you know that I am a beginner – have never sold an item on the internet.
I have just been researching and doing a lot of reading as I wanted to start selling on the internet.
I was actually about to sign up for a program called DS Domination until I came across your website which I really have enjoyed reading and believe it can work.
I was wandering if I could ask you a few questions if that is ok(I hope you dont mind)
1. Your course the 60 Day Blueprint Program, is that no longer on offer?
2.What is your view on DS Domination- basically one of the levels they teach you to dropship from amazon to ebay (copy and paste from amazon to ebay and sell for a higher price). I have read mixed reviews about this.
3. Also there is a DS Domination Monopoly a system where they teach you how to sell on amazon and be the sole supplier of a product. What do you think of that?
4. Also do I have to learn how to sell on Ebay before I can learn how to sell on Amazon ?
I have read through your EAB and am v interested. A lot of controversy around DS Domination so bit unsure. I am sure glad that I saw your website before I went ahead for DS Domination!!
Many thanks once again.
Meera
Hi Meera,
Thanks for your comment.
1. Yes, my 60DBP is available. Please contact me directly via my help desk for more information on that.
2. I haven’t used/tested it so can’t really comment on it.
3. Selling unique products, with your own brand is something I teach in my EAB course and 60DBP too. So that is a good idea of course.
4. No, you don’t have to learn eBay first to sell on Amazon. Both platforms are radically different and not connected really.
Thanks,
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Thank you so much for your reply. I have been busy reading reviews about EAB and they are really amazing. Also very nice to hear that you are a honest and straight forward guy.
1. I know a couple of people and they sell only on Amazon as they said it is a lot more profitable as they said they have tried Ebay too. You are a seriously experienced person so I wanted to ask your view on this please? Do you have any course that specialises in selling on Amazon?
2.Also how much of EAB teaches about dropshipping and is it only dropshipping of electronics or other items too?
3. As I am a complete newbie so would you advise that I start from EAB and then go onto 60DBP? Also is the price of 60DBP £1997?
Many thanks once again.
Meera
Hi Meera,
Please contact me with questions like this via my help desk.
Thanks,
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
This seems to be a big question these days about the alternatives to ebay and amazon. If ebay and amazon treated their sellers as they should, there wouldn’t be so many people trying to find something better. We have had our own horror stories with them and we quickly learned that our “career” is not secure if we solely depend on them. We decided to have a go at creating a new marketplace. I know there are others claiming the same thing, but we are close and I am confident we will earn a spot on your list too! We are planning on using the biggest complaints about ebay and amazon and turning it into a feature. For example, lower fees, not always siding with the buyer for claims, feedback protection, ability to transfer ownership, live chat option between buyers and sellers, bulk import listings from ebay or amazon, and more.
I’m not trying to spam our site here, you can hide or delete my posting if you want, but I was hoping and would appreciate if you would check it out and let me know your thoughts. We have a goal of officially opening for business in 2 months, but it would be nice if we had some sellers registering and importing their stores so when we officially launch, we will have a significant number of listings on the site. It’s unfortunate many people don’t give small companies a chance to grow. If they (buyers or sellers) go to the site and they don’t see it with a huge selection, they will leave and never come back.
Thank you for your time! 🙂
Hi David,
Good luck with your new business venture!
There have been thousands of people/companies/websites trying to do this, even some backed with millions and they still didn’t succeed.
In my opinion you’re wasting your time and money on this but hey – that’s just me!
Thanks,
Andrew
I’m trying to sell a Nexus 5, I’ve posted it as an advertisement on several websites now, both local and national, yet I’m having no luck, can anyone offer me any advice?
Why are you not listing it on eBay?
One thing that needs mentioning regarding ebay . As a business seller You pay for your advert. Ebay places on YOUR PAID FOR advert sponsored links in direct compition to your advert. You cannot put links on your paid for advert,ebay can and does. Have a look at the bottom of any business advert. If you are a first time seller on ebay . You WILL have to wait 21 to 24 days for your funds to be released. There are many lawsuits taking place in the usa over ebays business practices. So be aware that they are unethical in their dealings. I run a succesful business online without ebay
Well, beau, I don’t know what eBay you’re selling on, but when I sell an item (on eBay), PayPal immediately deposits the payment into my PayPal account. “Releasing the funds” what’s that all about?
Actually his is correct but what he is referring to is a “New Seller” with no track record. ebay holds your funds for 15-20 days to insure there isn’t a problem with the sale. once you have made 4-5 successful sales that ends.
That’s not entirely correct. My New Seller account funds were still being held after I had made 18 successful sales. Even when I provided a shipment tracking number within 1-2 days from the buyer’s payment, and the tracking clearly showed the item had been successfully delivered, PayPal still held the money for a week or more. I still don’t know why or what I could have done differently to speed it up, but the whole thing soured my online selling experience. I really wanted to grow a successful online store with eBay’s and PayPal’s help, instead they treated me like a criminal or something and held my money hostsge.
Andrew,
I was the one having issues with some of the terapeak features not working. Well, im here to tell you after reading this specific post a few hours ago, I have went ahead and started my own website on bigecommerce.
I know it going to be much harder than slanging products on feebay and amazon but I had to get off of those platforms and get my own thing going.
I feel so relieved to finally make the big push and I’m determine to run a successful online business I can call my own.
Great to hear that Beez! 🙂
Good Luck!
Hi Andrew,
I have been reading your articles since a few months and I am already much encouraged. Will soon start selling online.
Thanks for all the kindness. I wish you live for a hundred years. 🙂
Thanks very much! 🙂
Hi Andrew,
I’ve been online earning a full time living for well over a decade now.
I say this not to brag, but I’ve gone from Bin man to becoming a millionaire from it. After a brief rest trying my hand at offline businesses, I’m back and researching ‘new stuff’.
Figuring out who ‘knows’, who doesn’t know. And you’re on of those guys that knows.
Your blog posts are probably the best I’ve read when it comes to information packed, useable and helpful advice. I’ve every intention of making the next few million in the Ecommerce space, this time with capital behind me. And you’re a guy I’m going to listen to and learn from.
Love what you do. Keep up the great work!
Matt
Hi Matt,
Thanks for your comment! It’s great to hear such real life examples I can personally relate to.:-)
Let me know if you need help with anything.
Thanks,
Andrew
I have tried websites other than ebay but nothing works.
ebid, etsy, bonanza…. everything has zero sales till date.
Any suggestions?
Did you read the article? 🙂
Hi Andrew, Thanks for sharing this article. You are my guru and I follow your advice although I am at beginners stage in terms of selling on ebay but I am building my knowledge on all avenues which you mentioned and working on my SEO skills. Its only a matter when I will do online things on full time basis. But you formed my basis I must say and keep up good work.
Regards
Thanks very much Muhammad! 🙂