Shopify Vs eBay: Compare E-Commerce Website Builders

What Is Shopify VS eBay?

When it comes to comparing Shopify vs. eBay, we must consider some essential aspects of both platforms as the comparison between them is not ideal. However, people still want to know how both platforms differ from one another.

Let us start with the basics about Shopify vs ebay

Both platforms help small-scale and large-scale businesses to sell their products online to a wide range of customers. However, this is what they have in common.

eBay is famous as an online platform or marketplace where users can easily list and put their items for auction. However, they do not get much control over the page operations or the customization of their store. Moreover, eBay does not offer a fair range of store management features. On the contrary, Shopify is known as a full-service e-commerce platform that allows small scale businesses to build their online store, customize and manage it entirely according to their preferences. The store owners get full control of their e-commerce stores as well as of their customer relationship management. This helps to create a business marketing space that assists store owners in creating and maintaining a strong brand identity along with customer loyalty as both of these are crucial for the long-term success of a business.

 Why Need To Compare eBay VS Shopify?

Choosing a suitable platform is essential for every business. In order to understand which e-commerce platform is better to set up your store and sell your products, we must understand the comparison between Shopify and eBay.

Read Also Shopify To eBay Integration

Here are the key differences between the two:

Functionality & Development Time

For Shopify website development, there is no need to be an expert. It is easy to set up your online store in just a few minutes. You get a working online store structure with Shopify. Hence, it is easier to adjust the given options according to your requirements rather than starting from scratch. Also, there are a ton of templates that you could use for your online retail shop. The good part is that all of them are responsive, and they adapt to all screen sizes automatically.

In terms of online payment, they are managed for store owners. So there is no need to use your credit card information. Plus, it is possible to process your product catalog through a module using Shopify.

For eBay, technical knowledge is not needed at all. It is simpler to use for anyone. You get some useful and essential business tools like the Selling Manager Pro and File Exchange. They offer you extensive documentation.

Read Also Teespring VS Shopify

Design & Themes

Shopify offers about a hundred sophisticated and modern designs. So store owners can find something suitable for their store’s appearance. Moreover, all templates are responsive and optimized for mobile, tablets, and desktops.

As an owner, when you begin choosing a Shopify web design, there is no need to think a lot about which products are shown in the demo theme. You can sell whatever you want by using a modern and attractive theme.

Furthermore, once you are done choosing a template, it is easier to alter it according to your choice. The customization interface of Shopify gives store owners the best control so they can customize in every way they want and modify all details they want to change as per their taste.

When it comes to eBay, you do not get much flexibility. Store owners get a standard template to use. However, under the storefront, it is possible to change the brand logo, description, banner, and image. Apart from that, online shop owners can make necessary changes to the navigation section that appears on the left-hand side of the store via making various categories and subcategories.

As far as listings are concerned, store managers can manage the title and other various options like size, model, color, and initial description. Moreover, the central overview section can be used to place more information about products along with their images.

Support

Shopify support offers more professional customer service. The platform gives 24/7 support helplines in some specific parts of the world so sellers can reach the support team via live chat, email, or phone.

The customer support team is not only knowledgeable but also contains specialists.

Moreover, you get a more useful knowledge base with Shopify. It is possible to check the latest FAQs and read all the tips and tricks that other sellers share or ask. Plus, you get access to a vast online community where you can ask questions and help other sellers with their concerns.

eBay does not give you much a choice. You are bound within a plan that you purchase. eBay Concierge comes with high-leveler subscriptions. It enables users to get better support as compared to users who use the basic package. For information, the basic plan offers email and live chat support.

With the Concierge plan, you can connect with specialists and well-trained members of the customer support team. It gets easier to obtain more sales, get marketing training, and support with minimal delay. Apart from that, you also get extra assistance on listings and negative reviews that do not follow eBay’s criteria. Moreover, it is easier to access extensive documentation and helpful material for training to learn and grow your business.

Shipping – Dropshipping eBay VS. Shopify

Shopify comes with shipping software for supporting its users. It is known as Shopify Shipping, which is entirely free to use and available in all accounts.

Shopify Shipping gives sellers access to tools that help them calculate shipping rates in real-time, print, and buy shipping labels, and track and monitor their shipments. The software is free to use for merchants al all of the Shopify pricing plans. However, it is essential to remember that it is useable for orders delivered to Canada and the United States.

Furthermore, Shopify Shopping gives access to merchants to several features that help to upgrade the process of order fulfillment. Also, you can manage all your orders and easily print shipping labels in bulk through the admin panel. Using international shipping tools is also possible for generating and printing custom forms and sharing shipment data with your customers.

When it comes to eBay, sellers can ship their items themselves. However, self-shipping will involve additional work, but it saves you the cost you would have to pay to a third party or drop shipping provider. Moreover, self-shipping is more likely to offer more chances for building a strong brand identity, such as branded packing and customized slips. You can add personal messages, promotion announcements, or logos to the slips.

Aside from that, sellers can consider approaching a third-party logistics partner. But there is a fee to get these services.

With eBay, you get a Global Shipping Program to make your international sales easier and simpler. The programs make it easier for sellers to ship items to the international shipping center of eBay which is located in Kentucky.

SEO & Marketing Tools – Selling on eBay VS. Shopify

Shopify is known to be the easiest platform for e-commerce businesses. Setting up an online store and selling products is much simpler via Shopify than eBay. However, it is essential to understand that possessing a store with a nice appearance that is filled with products as well cannot promise you traffic. There is a need to invest your time and put in additional efforts to market your store and drive traffic to it. There are many ways to attract traffic to your stores, such as Facebook/Google ads, blog posts with targeted keywords, excellent product descriptions for better SEO, and community building, and so on. It requires money and time.

However, on eBay, you get traffic automatically and a massive audience that is already searching for products that you might be selling. eBay invests millions of dollars in driving web traffic to their site, and therefore there is an added benefit with listing your products at eBay. However, that traffic comes at a price as well.

This can also help you to understand a lot about dropshipping eBay vs. Shopify. But there is a lot more to discover in this regard.

Payment and Fees – Shopify Fees VS. eBay Fees

Let’s discuss eBay vs. Shopify fees.

The cheapest plan of Shopify starts at $29 per month for an e-commerce store, and it comes with 2.9 percent plus 30 cents transaction fees if the seller uses Shopify Payments. There are no other hidden fees if you are using Shopify Payments. The basic plan of Shopify offers the option to list as many products as you want in your online retail store.

eBay, does not charge a monthly fee. However. They charge insertion fees and also final value fees which means they are charging sellers for each of their products that they wish to list/insert in their store. Moreover, you will also have to pay a percentage of your product’s final sale value. Also, there is an additional fee for selecting a special duration of your product listings and multiple categories. eBay fee is likely to increase quickly and cloud the fact that it requires no monthly fee to create an account.

You can learn more about eBay vs. Shopify fees by doing in-depth research on each platform.

Customer Retention

One of the major drawbacks of selling your products on eBay is the risk of failing to build a relationship between your customers and your brand. eBay is a vast marketplace for selling your products where buyers are driven by finding items from a reliable seller.

Shopify is known as a drop shipper where buyers are driven by the brand/shop and purchase the products that they trust the seller to list on the online store. People prefer to buy from the brand they trust or have previously shopped with because they know what they are signing up for. It is because the store or brand has built a strong relationship with its customers and understands the preferences of its buyers fairly well.

Final Thoughts About Shopify Vs eBay

Shopify vs. eBay store, which should you choose? eBay of Shopify? Well, the perfect answer is entirely based on your preferences. You must need to consider your target audience, items, and business. So when you start, you can understand which platform will work better for you.

In Shopify vs. eBay, we have discussed both platforms. So it can be easier for you to make a decision that benefits your business and create better business opportunities for you. If you are more focused on getting sales in a short time and building momentum, you can go for eBay. On the contrary, Shopify is a more professional platform for long-term business goals and a robust business model.

Nevertheless, you can do your research before choosing a platform for getting started. There is something good about each of them. So go for the one that looks promising. Also, you can check Shopify vs. eBay reviews to look at the bigger picture.

Why Folio3 is the best service provider for Shopify custom design apps in the USA?

Folio3 brings in the efficiency, reliability, and expertise required to develop a fully-resourced and fully integrated Shopify custom app for eCommerce stores.

The company is arguably one of the leading companies for eCommerce app development, with deep development and system integration expertise. The company brings in innovative and fully customized custom app development solutions for Shopify stores that enable stores to leverage the full potential of their online presence and stay at ahead of the competitive curve