Amazon vs. eBay: Seven-Point Comparison

eBay sellers can accept PayPal, money orders, cashier's checks or cash (in person). However, they're responsible for managing collections, which means investing more time and labor into each transaction.

Return Policy

eBay sellers are often leery of Amazon's obligatory return policy. Its A-to-Z Guarantee allows buyers to receive a full refund if an item is "materially different" from that described, for up to 90 days. In a dispute, Amazon typically sides with the buyer.

The eBay seller, on the other hand, is free to negotiate with buyers through eBay's dispute resolution and is generally not required to offer a refund. While the dispute resolution process can be effective, it can also become messy and time-consuming and can result in negative feedback.

Shipping

Some eBay sellers began using inflated shipping charges to cover their eBay fees. To counteract this buyer-unfriendly behavior, eBay now penalizes sellers charging above-average shipping prices and provides breaks to sellers offering free shipping. The downside is this hurts sellers who can't afford to eliminate shipping charges altogether.

Amazon fixes the shipping credit (the amount that sellers can charge for shipping), based on an item's category. The drawback is that this may not always cover the full shipping cost. A seller can't charge more than the set amount and must ship the item even if the credit doesn't cover the expense. However, because the shipping credit is fixed, sellers can factor it in when setting a product's retail price.

When More Is More

The bottom line is eBay and Amazon are powerful selling platforms and can both play important roles in your e-commerce business. The important thing to remember is that many online shoppers are extremely loyal to one site or the other, rarely visiting other e-commerce sites.

Says Lindhorst: "Why limit yourself to one platform? By selling in both marketplaces, you're potentially getting millions of new eyeballs onto your products."