Are you selling furniture or fishnets? Coins or CDs? Different online marketplaces suit different sellers and attract a variety of buyers, so it’s important to choose the one that’s right for you.
Research the market
Search for items that are similar to those you want to sell. How much are they going for? Do they sell better on one site or another? Include ‘closed listings’ in your search, that way you will get historical data.
Check out the fees
Is there a fee for listing? Do you have to pay a percentage of the final sale price? Compare the fee structure of different marketplaces and work out which one will be most profitable for you. Also think about how much you want to sell each month, both eBay and Amazon offer discounts to professional merchants.
What about multiple listing?
If you have a large stock of each item, then consider listing on more than one site. Perhaps you can offer the item at a fixed price on Amazon and put it up for auction on eBay. If you have limited stock of each item, then it is better to sell on just one site otherwise you’ll spend all your time opening and closing listings.
Test the market
Have a few trial runs with products to find out what works best for you. On eBay you can run sales of different lengths and see which provide the greatest returns. Perhaps try offering incentives such as free shipping or Freepost returns and watch how this affects the sale price.