I am setting up a new e-commerce site- it goes live next week, and want some opinions on multi channel selling, so that it can boost sales from live date. My question is- for a website that is in its infancy, is eBay or Amazon more suited? Ultimately I want to develop a presence on both but due to limited resources, i would prefer to focus my attention on one to start. My understanding is that Amazon has more users, but tend to be stricter about customer service and meeting set standards, whereas eBay users are more loyal and likely to use the service again. It would be great to hear some views on this, especially those who have had experience with both.
For my product niche, Amazon drove significantly (close to 650%) more sale volume. I also found that Amazon had a far more clear integration with my ecommerce platform (Magento). Sure, Amazon is stricter initially, but their regulations are best practices that are generally good to follow if you want to be in the ecommerce business long term. I'd recommend starting with Amazon and then expanding out to eBay later when you see some initial traction.
It totally depends what you're going to be selling Ash—we have plenty of customers doing well on both Amazon and eBay, and also Play.com (I'm in the UK) but it's down to your own business really. Many eBay sellers complain about the lack of customer knowledge in reading product descriptions etc. but I would say that's just part of selling online. If you're going to start on Amazon, make sure you check out Amazon repricing software which will help you win the Buy Box more often if you use the right formula and strategy. Good luck with it!