I've been poking around on my various eBay forums and groups, and asking sellers the question, "If you sell on both eBay and Amazon, what are the differences between them?" I'll be doing a series here to share some of the findings from my unofficial research.
The major difference is that there is no bidding on Amazon. The seller sets the price. I see this as a disadvantage for several reasons. First, on eBay, if the item is listed in store inventory, the seller has the option to add the Best Offer feature. Best Offer gives the customer the power to bargain with the seller and submit offers. As an eBay seller, I like this.
The longer I have had an item in inventory, the less I am willing to accept on a 
best offer. Also, the customer may want to purchase several items from me and must stick to his budget, so he can submit Best Offers. I can accept or decline. Best Offer gives both the buyer and seller options.
Secondly, in many cases, auctions can drive the price higher than the set price. The market decides the price. If I am selling on Amazon, I may set the price of an item to $50. If I auction the same item on eBay, the price may escalate to over $50 depending on the number of bidders and other market factors that I cannot control.
Come back to Power Seller King for more on the Amazon vs eBay report!
Amazon's fees are outrageous at times though.
Posted by: sir jorge | January 3, 2008 10:23 AM | Permalink to Comment