eBay Alternatives for New Sellers | Online Shopping Stores | New Seller Tips | eBay alternatives | 21 eBay Alternatives

Are you looking for other sites to sell on besides eBay? Then, you’ve come to the right place!

While some people think Amazon is winning the eBay vs Amazon war, eBay is still one of the biggest names in eCommerce with over 171 million active users and 1 billion items listed. Still, sellers look for alternatives to eBay for many reasons. Some want to expand their successful business beyond eBay. Others may be tiring of it and want to move to something new.

No matter what your reason is, there are plenty of alternatives out there to choose from.

This post will cover the top 21 other sites like  eBay for sellers in-depth and list other notable mentions. While some of these alternatives might not be a great fit for every merchant, we guarantee you’ll find at least one that could be a profitable alternative for your business.

The Top 8 Other Sites Like eBay for newbies

In no specific order, these are our top alternatives to eBay. The best choice for you depends on what you sell and your business goals. While eBay’s auction style selling is unique to itself, these alternatives offer a way to get your products in front of new audiences. Many of these other marketplaces serve niche markets. Someone selling electronics will want to use a different marketplace than a merchant producing handmade jewelry, when looking to expand beyond eBay.

Now, without any further ado, here are the top 8 eBay selling alternatives of 2020.

Etsy

The eBay Alternative for selling Homemade Goods

www.etsy.com

Etsy is only viable alternative to eBay if you sell handmade items. This marketplace focuses on global handmade items, vintage goods, and craft supplies. In other words, don’t plan on selling any electronics on this site.

If you fit into this “craftsmen” or “maker” niche, this site is perfect for you. It only takes 20 cents to get started selling on this markrplace. Since 2005, it’s grown to one of the biggest names in eCommerce along with Amazon and eBay. 

eCrater

A smaller Amazon

www.ecrater.com

eCrater has two main functions. It is both an online marketplace and free web store builder.  They’re a more traditional marketplace like Amazon. They sell across multiple product categories like clothes, electronics, home, music, movies, tools, and more.

They advertise that their products are submitted to Google Shopping and it’s easy to import your eBay products to their site. If you’re just looking to try something new and reach a different audience, eCrater could be a quick solution. Learn more about selling on eCrater here.

Rakuten

The International Alternative to eBay

www.rakuten.com

Rakuten, formerly buy.com, is a great option for the international eBay seller to consider. It’s called the “Amazon of Japan” and nearly 90% of Japan’s Internet users are registered on Rakuten. Rakuten is ranked among the top 3 eCommerce companies in the world.

Also, while still known as Buy.com, Internet Retailer announced Rakuten as one of the best retail websites. Rakuten may seem a little daunting to start selling on at first, but the process is fairly simple. If you want to take the plunge, start your steps here.

Newegg

The eBay Alternative for Electronic Sellers

www.newegg.com

As the son of an IT man, I’m all too familiar with Newegg. It’s great for the seller who’s specialty is in new electronics. If it has to do with computers, or anything with an electronic pulse, there’s someone looking to buy it on Newegg.

Much like Etsy, Newegg is probably only a good fit for a very specific type of eBay seller. However, if you think you’re that type of seller, Newegg can certainly be profitable for you. If you want to start selling on Newegg, here’s the place to start.

Bonanza

eBay’s Active Competitor

www.bonanza.com

If you try to Google something like “Other sites like eBay” or “eBay alternatives” you’ll most likely see a Bonanza ad. It carries the tagline, “Better than eBay? Thousands of sellers think so”.

I can’t vouch for the validity of their ad text, but I can say Bonanza is a great alternative to eBay. It was built for the everyday seller. The very first line of their about us page is, “We remove the technical expertise needed to build a profitable online business, making the joys of entrepreneurship accessible for all.”.

Bonanza has received many awards, but also a few complaints. A quick Google search of reviews shows that some people are buying products and being ripped off. This is more of a buyer problem than seller, but if it continues it will be bad for everyone on the platform. If this doesn’t bother you, here’s everything you need to know about selling on Bonanza.

Mercari

Easy-to-use alternative to eBay

www.mercari.com

Launched in 2013, Mercari is a growing site for both the U.S. and Japan. Mercari is similar to eBay in that hosts all sorts of product categories and does well with used items. You can sell just about anything on the site.

Mercari is known for being easy-to-use and describes itself the “selling app.” They have over 45 million downloads in the U.S. and 150 thousand new items are listed every day. You can learn more getting started on the app here.

eBid

The Auction Site Like eBay

www.ebid.net

eBid was recently ranked number 5 in eCommerce Bytes, “Sellers Choice 2019 Marketplace Ratings“. Sellers on eBid praise the low fees associated with selling on eBid. Although its marketplace isn’t quite as big as the others, it still remains profitable. Some recommend you should simply sell items you don’t mind selling over a longer period of time. You can check out this article for an in-depth look at eBay vs eBid.

eBid is a close alternative to eBay in more than just their names. It’s also sticks true to the auction style selling eBay is famous for. If you want to start selling on eBid, you can find everything you need to know in their FAQ here.

Ruby Lane

The Vintage Goods Alternative

www.rubylane.com

Another marketplace making their way up the ranks is Ruby Lane. eCommercebytes reported that merchants found this marketplace to be profitable, easy to use, and has great customer service. It’s another go to place to sell any of your vintage goods.

A top advantage of selling on Ruby Lane is that the marketplace solely sells vintage and antique items. These items aren’t buried among all different product categories. So, sellers know they have a captivated audience. Also, Ruby Lane does not take commission on top of your sales. To learn more about selling on this site, check out this guide.

eBay Entrepreneur’s Alternative

 

Is it time to expand beyond established marketplace and create one of your own? As you see from the list above, many marketplaces are successful when selling to niche markets. The experience can be better to consumers with a more curated list of products or services.

If you feel that there’s an untapped or underserved niche market, there are options to create your own marketplace. Today’s sellers can take advantage of maturing shopping cart software that makes it possible to create a site of your own. Some of the multivendor software companies available are:

• X-Cart
• Arcadier
• Mirakl
• CS-Cart
• Yo-Kart

Two key components of creating your own marketplace is creating an easy-to-use site and managing a network of suppliers for your products. In many cases, working with a system integration platform like nChannel can help automate processes with your suppliers such as inventory synchronization and order fulfillment.

While creating your own marketplace is a long-term strategy, it could be an effective way to provide convenience and rich shopping experience to your  customers.

9 More Sites like eBay 

Today, sellers can find a marketplace for just about anything. While we covered some of the top alternatives, we also listed some other honorable mentions. If you still haven’t found quite what you’re looking for, one of these sites might be right for you.

• Craigslist – Classified ads site that focuses on selling to local buyers
• Sears Marketplace – Check out their 20 major merchandise categories and sell your products alongside Sear items
• Jet – Global marketplace and great for wholesale items
• Tradesy – Sell designer bags, clothes, accessories and shoes
• BriskSale – Create a customizable storefront for all types of products
• Artfire – Alternative marketplace for artisan goods
• StoreEnvy – Social shopping platform for Indie brands
• Poshmark – Social marketplace to buy and sell fashion
• Facebook – Social marketplace to sell to local buyers.

Check out the comments on this post for even more suggestions. Want to share a marketplace of your own? Then, leave a comment!

How To Start Blogging| Best Blogging Topics for New Bloggers | Blogging Tips

Social media and the mass consumption of information online in our society today has changed everything.

It’s probably a good thing because while some people vomit out some great thoughts, a lot more people don’t…

Now, if you want people to read what you have to say, you have to create your content with a purpose.

One way to do this is through keyword research — aka creating content centered around keywords that people are actively searching for.

But that’s not the kind of content we’re talking about in this article.

BASIC GUIDELINE

The 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule is something that we made up but we very much believe in its importance based on our own experiences as professional bloggers.

80% of the content that you write should be based on keyword research and searchable content. The remaining 20% should be created with the sole purpose of connecting with your audience.

Why is it skewed so much?

Well, the majority of your content should be focused on keyword research because that’s what brings in your initial visitors.

It’s what drives the traffic in because it’s what helps your content get found on search platforms.

But the 20%… The content that connects… That’s what turns your readers into subscribers. And subscribers into buyers.

It’s what makes your audience connect with you and trust you and hang on your every word.

And maybe you’re thinking… Well, why can’t all of my content be like that?

It’s great if you can create perfectly keyworded content that also connects and some of the blog ideas that we provide below may be able to be used in that way.

But it doesn’t always work out that way.

In order for content to be found in search, it often has to be written in a certain way with a pretty specific set of secondary keywords and topics. It becomes a little technical.

The 20% is where you have more freedom to write it exactly the way that you want it — however that will best serve your readers.

And we’re going to give you our best blog ideas and topics for the 20% in this article.

Below, we’ve given examples of these blog post ideas and topics from our blog as well as our first health and wellness blog.

1. How-To Guides

One of our favorite types of content to create is how-to guides.

These are usually very instructional in nature and can come in the following forms:

• Beginner guides — Very basic. Intended to start from square 1 and teach a complete beginner on a topic.
• Ultimate guides — Similar to the above but are often more comprehensive (or just differ in title)
• Tutorials — Because you are explaining “how to” do something, you can also structure these more like a tutorial with detailed instructions.

These posts can also be related to the following topics or ideas:

• Solving a problem — How to lose weight fast
• Achieving a goal — How to build an email list

The best place to get these blog post ideas is straight from your audience.

What kind of problems are they struggling with? What kind of goals are they looking to achieve? These are perfect topics for how-to guides.

2. Experiences And Stories

This one is my personal favorite.

Personal experiences and stories are by far the best way you can connect with your audience because they serve as evidence that whatever problems your audience is dealing with, they CAN be overcome.

They are also what help your audience to see that you’re a normal person and not just some big influencer persona on the internet that just “got lucky.”

Following people on the internet is a little like watching people on TV. We tend to feel like they aren’t “normal” people with “normal” problems.

Sometimes you need to remind your audience that you were once living in their shoes. You KNOW how they feel because YOU have felt it before.

And then you tell them exactly how you overcame your struggle. Or achieved a goal. Or whatever else it is that you are writing about.

Just remember to highlight the feelings that you believe they are experiencing right now (or have felt at some point).

THIS is what will begin to make them feel like you understand them and how you can begin building a relationship with your reader (one built on trust).

3. Trending Topics And News

These are great because there is always some new fad or craze in the headlines every month, week, etc.

This gives you new and “fresh” ideas to share with your audience while also giving you the opportunity to weigh in on the topic. Your audience wants to know your opinion!

If you’re talking about the hottest new topic in your blog niche, it will catch your readers’ attention because fewer people are talking about it.

Rather than giving straight facts or a general overview of a particular topic, consider being a little more polarizing if you have a strong opinion. Your audience wants (and deserves) your honesty!

Here are some examples from various blog topics:

• Health: new fad diet
• Travel: latest news on carbon emissions
• Politics: election news (there’s always SOMETHING here)
• Pets: latest news on pets traveling on airplanes
• Beauty: anything on anti-aging technologies is always a hot topic to discuss
• Business: taxes and legal are topics that are always being updated

You get the idea!

4. Lists And Round-Ups

Numbered lists are great because they give your content some organization and people love lists!

There seems to be something about knowing that there is some defined ending to your content. Something psychological there…

There has been a lot of testing on clickthrough rates of headlines and lists are without a doubt super popular and often more likely to get you clicks!

You can put anything you want into a list, including some of the types of content we are discussing in these articles.

Here are some popular types of lists for blog post ideas:

• 10 Biggest Mistakes People Make When…
• 7 Most Popular Myths About…
• 17 Best Tools For…
• 6 Ways to Use…
• 12 Reasons Why…

You can also do round-up posts in a list format.

A round-up post is a list that you put together of other resources (i.e. recipes, websites, products, etc.). You feature other people’s content with a link to the resource.

Healthy dinner recipes is another great example of a round-up post.

5. Product Reviews

Product/service review articles are great because they serve two purposes:

• Provide helpful information for your audience
• Potential to make a few extra bucks on the side

You can earn a commission from certain products and services that you recommend on your blog when people click on your links to purchase that product or service.

This is called affiliate marketing, and it’s a major way that many bloggers monetize their content.

BUT remember that you are still essentially asking for a sale here…

In order for product reviews to be successful in creating a connection with your audience, you really need to include personal experiences with the product you’re discussing.

Linking products with descriptions isn’t generally enough to get people to buy your product.

Any article on the internet can do that much. You need to form that connection with them by discussing your personal experience with the product.

THAT is what will make them want to learn more about the product or service.

And remember that it isn’t just about making a sale. You need to provide the right kind of information that helps them make a decision about the product.

A couple other examples:

• Top vegan meal delivery services
• Best baby strollers reviewed

6. Interviews And Testimonials

Interviews and testimonial posts are great because it gives your audience a chance to hear from someone else, which can further add credibility to what you are teaching.

This type of post can be structured in a variety of ways, including…

• An interview — with a client, student, reader, another authority figure in your niche, or anyone else that can provide relevant insight for your audience
• A testimonial — with a client or student (this can help to sell your products)

Interviews and testimonials can be written, in video format, or in podcast format.

When you are interviewing someone or asking for a testimonial for your blog, these are some helpful questions to consider:

• What is their background? How is their story relevant to your audience?
• What questions can you ask that would provide the best insight for your audience?
• What problems did they struggle with in the beginning?
• How did they overcome these problems?

If their story is transformational in nature (i.e. reached a big goal), remember the points we discussed above in the blog post idea of personal experiences and stories.

It’s a win-win for everyone.

7. Guest Posts

Guest posts can be similar to interviews and testimonials, but the main difference is that someone else is generally writing the entire guest post for you.

People generally offer to write guest posts for the following reasons:

• Backlinks — Getting a link back to their blog can help with Google SEO
• Brand awareness — Being featured on bigger blogs can help you get more recognition and traffic back to your own blog
• Sell products — That awareness can also be related to promoting a relevant product or service to someone else’s audience

The point is that people who write guest posts for you generally only take the time to do so because there is some type of gain in it for them.

But there should also be some benefit(s) in it for you, which could include:

• Great content for your audience to read (that you don’t have to take the time to write!)
• Selling products — you can earn a commission by selling the products as an affiliate

The best relationship you can hope for here is one in which both parties benefit from the exchange.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

Wouldn’t it be great if you could write the EXACT content you knew your audience was the most interested in?

Well, you can! You just need to LISTEN.

What are the most frequently discussed topics you hear from your readers?

Are there any common questions that get asked more often than others?

There are a few ways that you can get blog post ideas from the questions your audience is answering, including:

• Comments on your posts
• Email responses
• Chatter in your Facebook community

The other thing you can do to get ideas is to simply ASK your audience what they want to hear more about!

You can end your articles or emails with a question that will help get the conversation started. Some of our favorite questions to ask include:

• What is the #1 thing you’re struggling with when it comes to (insert topic here?
• Did you enjoy this article? Do you have any questions about (insert topic here)? If so, please leave us a comment below! We’d love to hear from you!

When you answer your audience’s most important questions, it helps to build more trust in your relationship with them and make them more likely to purchase something from you.

It also helps to have a resource like this to direct your readers to so that you don’t have to answer the same question over and over again!

On our health and wellness blog, one question that we got asked a LOT related to our weight loss program was about how to lose weight with hypothyroidism.

So, we wrote an article about it to help our readers that face that problem. And it also helped to well our weight loss program!

9. Myths

Last up on our list of blog post ideas is busting through the top myths surrounding some of the most common topics you are writing about.

People are skeptical of information and products online because they don’t generally know or trust you.

Busting common myths and misconceptions can help educate your audience and sell your products!

These posts can also provide a “shock” factor to your audience because you’re delivering information that is generally contrary to their belief.

The best example that we have on this blog about busting through myths is our article on how much bloggers make.

There is a common misconception that bloggers don’t make much… Or a common perception that they don’t make enough to earn a full-time income.

A lot of people believe that bloggers are just running their blog as a side project or hobby rather than as a full-time business.

Another great example is this article on health and fitness myths.

Okay, that’s it for our article on blog post ideas and topics!

We hope that creating this kind of content helps you better connect with your audience and build a more loyal and engaged list of fans and subscribers!

Which one was your favorite? Are you already using any of the above that you feel work really well?

We’d love to hear from you in the comment section below! We’re also here to answer any questions you might have!