Online sellers nominated ten marketplaces in this year's Sellers Choice Awards and then rated each, pulling back the curtain to reveal the joys and pitfalls of each venue on which they sold.
The results of the twelfth annual Sellers Choice are now available - you can
see the overview here, where we've included links to all ten individual ratings.
This year, eBay placed 1st for the second consecutive year, and it also placed first for profitability. The breadth of inventory allowed and the nearly unmatched ability to draw buyers trumped sellers' concerns over fees and policies.
The following chart is particularly interesting, as it displays the top five marketplaces for all 12 years we've been conducting the survey.
As we note each year, Sellers Choice does not rank the marketplaces in terms of size, sales or traffic - instead, sellers rate the marketplaces based on four criteria: Profitability, Customer Service, Communication and Ease of Use.
That helps explain why Bonanza, which came last in Profitability, placed second overall, and why Etsy, which came second in Profitability, placed fourth. That's why it's important for readers to dig deep when researching a particular venue. We recommend looking at each chart in the main overview article to see where venues placed in the four criteria, and review the chart that shows how likely respondents were to recommend each marketplaces as a selling venue to a friend or colleague.
On the individual pages for each venue, we provided a summary of feedback sellers left. Taken as a whole, it clearly shows sellers' concerns over the cost of selling online. These include concerns over fees and fee structures, but also concerns over marketplace policies that dictate the costs they may incur when they encounter "bad buyers."
As a result of the pandemic, there was an increase in sales, some sellers noted, but the biggest impact of the pandemic many sellers described was delivery delays and the resulting costs. Note that the crisis of late deliveries and resulting claims was still playing out as sellers filled out their Sellers Choice ratings.
It was interesting that the only adaptation sellers specifically mentioned a venue making as a result of the pandemic was Ruby Lane. The marketplace for antiques and vintage goods partnered with shows (real-life events) that went virtual in 2020 due to COVID-19. (Ruby Lane placed third for the second consecutive year.)
We were struck by some other things as well. Some eBay sellers are continuing to deal with the transition to Managed Payments and its fee changes and customer service issues. Facebook, while it launched Shops last year, remained in many sellers' eyes more of a "classifieds" platform through its Marketplace and Groups features. Some sellers struggled to be profitable on Amazon, which placed 7th, and there was a perception that Amazon showed favoritism to big sellers.
Sellers took the time to describe their experiences, including the good, the bad and the ugly. We chose the most representative comments and included them on each venue's ratings page. This is the kind of inside information you won't find elsewhere.
Sellers Choice 2021: The Joys and Pitfalls of Selling Online
by: iheartjacksparrow