Originally, when eBay was founded back in 1995, the site was essentially an online car boot sale, full of individuals selling unwanted items from around their homes. Testament to this, the first item ever sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer, which sums up the type of items you could find being bought and sold on the platform. Fast-forward to today, and eBay is perhaps the most famous online auction website in the world - a multibillion dollar business worth an estimated $22bn.

Full of more than 160 million businesses and individuals from more than 38 countries selling all kinds of items, you can now buy everything you can think of on eBay, from  smaller items such as air guitars to larger products like  cars. Individuals continue to sell unwanted items, home crafts and more, while businesses sell their products, refurbs and returns to maximise exposure and profits.

In this blog post, we’ll keep things simple and list just a few of the many reasons why it’s a good idea for businesses to consider selling their products on eBay. 

Ultimately, whether selling on eBay is right for your business or not depends on many factors, including the type of products you sell, who your typical customer is, other channels you sell  on, who your competitors are and more. Hopefully, by the end of this blog, you will have a better understanding of the benefits of selling products on eBay and whether it’s right for you.

1. 22 million potential customers are waiting to find your products

In the UK, eBay has 22 million active users. This means that by listing your products on this popular ecommerce platform, these 22 million users can use eBay like a search engine to shop to find your products. Of course, if your products aren’t listed, then you won’t be found by these users - so what is it that these 22 million users typically shop for  on eBay?

The 10 most popular categories on eBay as of 2022 are as follows:

1. Baby 
2. Business and industrial (this includes stationary, desk items, PPE and more, so be mindful this category probably appears more highly due to data from lockdowns)
3. Electronics 
4. Clothing
5. Health & Beauty 
6. Home & Garden
7. Jewelry & Watches
8. Pet Supplies 
9. Sporting Goods 
10. Toys & Hobbies 

If your business sells products across any of these categories, then selling on eBay could open up a huge new potential buying audience for your wares. 

2. Sell refurbished or returned items 

Selling returned or refurbished items can be costly for business owners. Even unused items that are returned (e.g. refused at point of delivery) can come back with damaged packaging, which can make  it difficult to resell them at full price. 

It’s estimated that returns cost UK retailers £60 billion annually, and selling returns on a site like eBay can go some way to recouping profit on returned items. Ultimately, due to eBay's origins stemming from selling used items at reduced prices, many retailers like AO.com, Currys, Argos, BooHoo, Jigsaw, Dyson and more, sell returned and refurbished items using eBay as their marketplace of choice. This allows consumers to buy used or ‘like new’ items at a saving, while these retailers keep customer satisfaction high and the cost of items that are no longer new, low.

3. Lower fees (vs Amazon)

Of course selling on Amazon has many benefits, but the reality is that the selling fees on eBay are generally lower than other ecommerce websites (10% vs 15% on Amazon). That said, the fees you pay depends on a few things, including the payment methods used. For example, if a customer checks out using PayPal, you can expect to pay closer to 13% in fees - making the difference between marketplaces more marginal.

That said, as your business grows, over time, these percentages will certainly add up.  Occasionally, eBay also offers discounts on listing fees , so look out for promotions  if you want to save further on your selling costs. 

4.  Mediated dispute resolution, which can save customer service time

With any goods sold on the platform, eBay offers mediated dispute resolution which serves to protect both buyers and sellers. This means that if a buyer raises a dispute with a retailer, eBay can act as a mediator to gather information from both parties and assess the outcome.  For instance, if a buyer returns an obviously worn garment and this can be evidenced, then eBay may bein favour of the seller. This mediated process can save a businesses customer service team valuable time

5. 1-day payment terms

Regardless of the size of your business, cash flow can be a problem. Particularly if you’re a wholesaler, 30, 60 or 90-day payment terms can be the norm, meaning you have to put up with a significant delay between selling your goods and receiving payment. If you sell to individuals or wholesale via eBay, then you will benefit from 1-day payment terms, regardless of the size of the transaction. 

How can I make selling on eBay easy?

One of the most significant things putting businesses off selling on eBay is the admin involved. Although product listings can be uploaded via a content management system or API, these can often be clunky and do not allow for the swift upload and updating of products. 

This is where StoreFeeder can help. StoreFeeder’s software makes selling products on eBay simple. Without the need to login to multiple platforms, you can manage all of your products across eBay, your website, Amazon and more. Everything can be updated via StoreFeeder, including pricing and product information, so you can run sales easily and pick and choose your pricing for each platform based on the margin for selling each product on that platform. 

StoreFeeder also acts as your warehouse management system. This means that the stock and availability of your products is updated live, whether these are sold on Amazon, eBay, ETSY or your own website - so you will never oversell or miss out on a sale. 

Free eBay Integration Demo

Learn more about how integrating your website with eBay using StoreFeeder can benefit your business. Book a free demo today and experience the benefits for yourself. 

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about StoreFeeder and eBay

How do I sell on eBay using StoreFeeder?

With StoreFeeder - not only can you integrate products (including pricing, images and descriptions)  across eBay, your website and other online marketplaces (such as Amazon, ETSY and Not On The High Street), but our software also allows you to seamlessly complete a number of other important tasks that are essential to the everyday running of your business. These include; real-time stock updates, integration with payment gateways, accounting software and the ability to manage inventory levels across all sites and marketplaces with ease.

What if I want to use different couriers for my website and eBay?

With StoreFeeder, our software integrates with many couriers, including DPD, DHL, Evri, Parcel Force, UPS, Royal Mail and many more to ensure that you’re not tied down to a single courier. 

Ultimately, flexibility of choice allows you to choose one or more couriers based on how cost-effective it is for each product or marketplace that you sell on. As eBay comes with costs, you may want to choose a more cost-efficient courier partner. Our software enables you to benefit from partners that provide the best postage rates for different products and packaging to suit your current needs and as the needs of your business change.

What other services can StoreFeeder provide?

Every business is different, so to find out how StoreFeeder can help you manage your business - we recommend booking a demo with one of our experts. 
Book your free demo today