How much do you spend online? The amount of online purchases continues to grow at a staggering pace. Depending on where you look, the data may vary quite a bit, but somewhere around 8-9% of all retail sales occur online. That may not seem like a lot, but in 2014 nearly 250 BILLION dollars was spent on retail purchases online – wow! As the younger generations grow to their spending years, these number will increase pretty rapidly.
It seems like there have been 2 online entities around for a long time Amazon and eBay. They currently offer just about everything under the sun. We use both, we have bought and sold on both – and for those of you who didn’t know you can sell on Amazon – just think about it, over half of Amazon’s listed products are sold by 3rd parties. These 3rd parties may be huge wholesale companies or they may be your next door neighbor.
So do you use eBay or Amazon, or maybe both? I thought this would be a good article for everyone to read, many people think that Amazon always has the best prices, and that is true . . . sometimes. However, online shopping really is a way for you to search for the best price. Convenience is great, but a little searching can be a good thing too.
In doing some of these comparisons, since we use both eBay and Amazon, we’ve included some affiliate links to products and sites that we know, love and trust.
Check out some of these comparisons as of May 30th, 2016 – prices on both sites can fluctuate quite often.
I love smoking ribs, this Masterbuilt Electric Smoker varies in price quite a bit. I bought this smoker in April, and when I did, from eBay, it cost $250 and was $300’ish on Amazon, check out the prices now, for the same product.
This is part of the beauty of online shopping, prices change, if you have an opportunity to wait, you can find a great price, competition can work to your favor online if you are paying attention.
This next search comparison shows eBay as the lesser price. If your children play out in the front yard, or anywhere near cars driving, even on a slow street, you need this (or something like it). This little guy warns traffic, it stands out, and with the little puppy in it, it is cute too!
Amazon $33.92 Free Shipping with Prime
In this case, the prices are close, but even with a shipping cost of $4.00, eBay comes in less expensive. Shipping is something that you always have to pay attention to. Sometimes it’s free, sometimes it’s not. If you have Amazon Prime, many items are eligible for free shipping. On eBay, many of the higher priced items ship for free.
This next example is one of my favorite items. I love my Little Giant Ladder. It is handy, very adjustable and has a ton of uses. In this example the prices are pretty similar, if you are a Prime member, shipping is free, and the eBay items ships for free as well. In a scenario like this, you may want to look at who is selling it and how well they are ranked.
eBay ranks sellers with a star system and so does Amazon as well. You can read the reviews of the seller to give you a higher comfort level with your transaction. You can always double check who the seller is and see if his feedback has been positive or negative on both platforms.
It is important to be comfortable with who you are ordering items from online. In my opinion you need to blend comfort and the best price when you are shopping on Amazon, eBay or any website. This is the way of the future, it is expected that online sales will continue to grow at a 10% pace over the next couple of years, so make sure you get and stay comfortable with who you are buying from.
We love Amazon and eBay and will continue to use both to the best of our advantage. So this round is a draw, but make sure you do your homework next time!
Do you use Amazon or eBay the most?
I like both places. I probably do about 50/50 shopping at each.
Oh I have to say I use Amazon more, just so I can get the two day shipping. I do shop Ebay from time to time, but sometimes the items are so far overpriced depending what I am looking for. Both are so much fun to shop! :)
Amazon is usually my go to place for online shopping, however, I always spend time researching other websites for the best deal.