Expanding beyond Amazon - Top Alternate Marketplaces

Top Amazon Alternatives

Amazon owns such a large portion of the e-commerce space that it's easy for sellers to become overly reliant on them. However, it only takes one major change or decision to impact your brand and your company. Amazon makes decisions fast, and they aren't always as transparent as other selling channels. Some consequences of Amazon's decisions include forcing you to sell your products at a lower price and getting suspended from their platform for something outside your control. Additionally, Amazon will compete against you, making it difficult to build your brand.

We aren't saying you shouldn't sell on Amazon. Yet, it's in your best interest to branch out to other marketplaces to build your brand and avoid over-reliance on Amazon. Below we provide some top Amazon alternatives, their benefits, and details about selling fees.

Walmart Marketplace

There is not much difference between the average Walmart shopper and the average Amazon shopper, making Walmart Marketplace a great alternative to Amazon. Plus, Walmart is the number two online retailer, but when you look at overall sales, consumers spend more money with Walmart. Additionally, Walmart has recently boosted its Marketplace to compete with Amazon and attract more sellers for consumers that visit their site. They require sellers to meet specific criteria, and the top sellers provide the most competitive pricing, excellent customer service, and quick shipping.

Sellers on Walmart especially benefit from the fact that Walmart does not just let anyone start up a business on Marketplace. Businesses must apply and get invited to the platform, and businesses must be located in the United States. Their selection process drastically reduces the competition for sellers compared to Amazon, which can increase sales.

Costs of Selling on Walmart Marketplace

Once you are accepted to Walmart Marketplace, you do not have to pay any set-up fees or monthly fees to use their platform to list your products. However, Walmart charges a referral fee for each product. The rate ranges from 6 to 20 percent, depending on the product category. You must also offer free shipping. Although Walmart does not dictate prices for your products, your pricing needs to align with their low price guarantee. You can be delisted if they find you list your products cheaper on another channel.

eBay

eBay began as an online auction site but has grown into a marketplace that provides new, used, and refurbished items to value-conscious shoppers. The site has approximately seven million United States sellers, including big brands like Dyson, Reebok, and Keurig, making it another great alternative to Amazon. eBay and Amazon are opposites in many ways, so it's a good option for expanding sales channels. This is especially true if your brand focuses on older items, vintage products, or collectible. eBay is also notorious for selling car parts.

eBay allows serious sellers to grow their brand or sell their already branded products to create a seller store. eBay offers a bit more flexibility than other marketplaces regarding policies. Sellers can create shipping, return, and payment policies for all their listings. Additionally, sellers can create a "storefront" that allows them to showcase their brand and inventory to potential buyers.

Costs of Selling on eBay

Selling on eBay comes with various fees. Some are assessed on every listing or sale, while others are optional. Fees you will encounter if you sell products on eBay include:

• Insertion fees are fees for each published listing. However, sellers get a minimum of 250 free listings per month.
• Final value fees are commissions you pay to eBay each time you sell a product. They are similar to Amazon's referral fees and range from 2 to 12 percent, depending on the product category.
• Listing upgrade fees are fees for using tools that optimize your eBay listings. For example, you can pay additional fees for larger photos, more photos, or including one of your products in more than one selling category.
• eBay Store fees are annual plans for a branded store page on the platform. If you are a high-volume seller with branded products, you will most certainly use eBay Store. The plans also provide exclusive access and benefits, such as additional free listings, discounted final value fees, and marketing services.

Newegg

Newegg has only been around for a little over a decade, but it's a popular site for tech shoppers. It's a great alternative to Amazon, especially if you sell phones, computers, televisions, and other electronics. You can find other products like clothing and pet supplies, but they are not as plentiful. However, this can also be a benefit to selling on Newegg. They have loyal customers and little competition in non-tech categories. The majority of Newegg's customers are men under 44 years old with an income over $75,000.

One unique feature that sets Newegg apart from other marketplaces is its B2B marketplace. Their B2B marketplace allows sellers to sell their products in bulk to other businesses in the United States and around the globe. Regardless of whether you choose to sell to consumers or businesses, you need to know Newegg's strict shipping policies. The company expects you to ship any sold products within 48 hours. If you do not ship within 72 hours, they will automatically cancel the order and refund the buyer.

Costs of Selling on Newegg

Newegg's monthly subscription costs range from free to just under $100 per month. Although you can sign up for a free plan on Newegg without monthly fees, you will need a professional or enterprise plan if you are a serious seller building your brand. The paid versions of Newegg offer access to account features like personalized emails to customers and unlimited listings. You can send personalized emails after a customer orders and after you ship. Additionally, Newegg sellers must pay commission fees ranging from 8 to 15 percent depending on the product category.

Facebook Marketplace

If you have a brand and are not selling your products on Facebook Marketplace, you're missing out. Facebook's secure payments and consumer-friendly platform make it a popular place for people to browse and buy all types of items. Aside from the massive number of people you can reach on Facebook, you also benefit from targeted marketing. Facebook Marketplace allows you to reach buyers already browsing for products on the social media platform. Additionally, Facebook Marketplace sellers also have access to Facebook IQ's Insights, data to help you make decisions about pricing and marketing.

Costs of Selling on Facebook Marketplace

Established brands or new companies building their brand will typically use Meta for Business, formerly Facebook for business, to list their products on Facebook Marketplace. There is no cost to use the Meta Business Suite, and you can list your items for free. However, Facebook Marketplace sellers must pay a fee for each sale. When a customer buys products from your Facebook "shop," Facebook charges a 5 percent fee per shipment. If the total purchase is under $8.00, the fee is only $0.40.

Shopify, BigCommerce and Others

In addition to selling your products on additional marketplaces, you also need to establish your brand presence with a custom website and shopping cart. You might choose to use a service like Shopify or BigCommerce to set up an online store or another platform that better suits your needs. The above list provides excellent alternatives to Amazon, but they also come with some drawbacks that you get away from when you establish your own online store. Some benefits of selling your products on an e-commerce website include:

• You have control over where and when your product listings appear on your site.
• You don't have to worry about compliance issues related to late shipments and cancellations.
• You don't have to worry about getting your selling privileges revoked.
• You can index and categorize your products the way you want instead of by a platform's algorithm.

Of course, you want to provide the best customer experience possible because happy customers translate into more sales. However, with your own e-commerce site, you don't have to consistently worry about reviews or compete against others who might abuse the system with fake or unverified reviews. Additionally, marketplaces can change policies anytime they want. They constantly evaluate their practices and evolve to meet consumer demands and provide better user experiences.

Manage Multiple Channels with Zentail

The best way to avoid over-reliance on Amazon is to leverage multiple channels to sell your products, including your own e-commerce website. However, managing multiple sales channels can be challenging when you try to deal with them individually. Instead, use an easy solution to manage multiple channels on the same platform. Streamlining your operations by putting everything in one place saves you time, money, and frustration. Zentail provides easy, one-click listing to multiple channels in addition to inventory management, order management, and more. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you create a user-friendly multichannel sales strategy that protects you from being too dependent on one channel.