Amazon selling, or maybe Ebay instead?

swnat

Hi everyone,

I was hoping that someone may be able to tell me how Amazon ranks products/how to get to the top of the list? I want to sell some items on there but am unsure as to how best to list them. Also, would ebay be a better bet for any items?

Thanks very much.

swnat

hcb42

ebay is better for some items, amazon for others.

have a look at the kind of items you sell on sites and see which sell better.

Oliver14

swnat wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I was hoping that someone may be able to tell me how Amazon ranks products/how to get to the top of the list? t

Not sure what you mean by that as Amazon you can only sell what is in their catalogue. They are normally just listed by price. There is no real ranking.

As HCB says it depends a lot on what you are selling. You also need to remember that Amazon fees are actually higher than ebay ones.

chemical.galaxy

I like Amazon for books as I can list them and not pay anything until they sell, I have quite a few valuable books listed on there and recently sold one after a year...

I have another line of items on Amazon which is unique to me so there is no competitions.

For all other items I have found ebay much better.

Myyrrddyn

I sell on both and find things sell faster on ebay but get more profit from the on amazon

mrwibble

Ditto the above posts - as an example I just sold a Nintendo DS game - new / shrinkwrapped for £17 on Amazon versus max sale price of £12 on Ebay incl "free:laugh:" P&P - I got £15.66 from Amazon including P&P so ~ £13 ish versus £9 ish.

Of course if I was selling one-off non mainstream items (or heavy) e.g. a vintage short wave ham radio (as I did recently) then Ebay offers a better venue to upsell your unique selling points, generate a bidding war (great as a seller !) as well as set a realistic P&P fee.

As a previous poster mentioned though if you are selling multiple items and have a market price that covers your P&P plus margin then Amazon is easier to deal with and you can sell alongside the big boys. Ebay does prioritise certain larger sellers (based on seller quality so good for buyers) and you can be almost invisible in certain categories.

A friend of mine sold off 1000's of identical new books on both - Amazon was far easier do manage in his view and had virtually no issues with payments. Refunds are automatic but my experience is fewer Amazon buyers return items - Amazon sets their expectations very well for delivery etc - perhaps certain Ebay buyers feel they can take the mickey more with Ebay sellers versus Amazon.

Just do 15 mins of research and make sure you understand costs - do factor in an advantage for Amazon vs Ebay for buyer hassle. As an ex

swnat

Hi,

Ok, thanks all for the replies. I have some books which I think look best to sell on Amazon, but I also have some clothes and toys which may sell better on ebay. I think I'll just test the water to start with and see how it goes with both.

With regards to Amazon rankings, I was just interested to know if there is a way in which you can get your items to be higher up in the list of results - the standard search results are returned in order of relevance so I was hoping to be able to find out how to get items to rank higher. I know with books it works by entering the ISBN.

Thanks very much.

swnat

Jenna_Appleseed

swnat wrote: »

With regards to Amazon rankings, I was just interested to know if there is a way in which you can get your items to be higher up in the list of results - the standard search results are returned in order of relevance so I was hoping to be able to find out how to get items to rank higher. I know with books it works by entering the ISBN.

Amazon search doesn't work like that - it's not like google etc - the search results give items that are already in their catalogue, ie searching for a book gives links to pages for editions of that book/similar title, not just your copy for sale. It doesn't work like ebay or other auction sites where you get a separate page for your items. Each page lists (or should do) a photo, blurb reviews and other details for a book/product, the option to buy copies direct from amazon (if they have any) and links to pages of copies from other marketplace sellers - your copy would go there. The only way to get top of the list of copies from marketplace sellers is to be the cheapest (which leads to selling for a penny and losing money on postage).

swnat

Thanks for your reply Jenna - I understand Amazon's workings now. So I'm thinking its not necessarily the best place to sell used books then if you want to sell them for a reasonable price when their in good condition? Are there any other alternatives apart from ebay?

deeplydizzy

Amazon is great for books,I buy most of mine from there,used and new.
It depends on the books as to where to sell,
Have you tried Play.com?

GarretNew

Amazon is more profitable, but it takes more time to sell.