Top eBay Alternatives 2011 - eBay Vs. Google Checkout

eBay Vs. Google Checkout

The Google Checkout Store is a new web tool from google that allows you to place a store inside any blog or web page. The store inventory is managed using integration with Google Docs Spreadsheets. It is simple enough to set up and perfect for bloggers who want to sell niche products. The store is embeded in the page through simple html code which is easily copied and pasted. Let's take a look at some of the major benefits: 2.9% + $0.30 Maximum transaction fee is comparable to PayPal. Google Docs spreadsheets automatically updates inventory. Google Checkout cart allows for multiple purchases in one transaction. You can specify calculated shipping by region automatically. The Google Docs spreadsheets are set up to contain the following information: Option name Option definition Examples sku (required) Any unique identifier (stock-keeping unit) 12345 title (required) The title of the product you want to sell (supports HTML) Flashing Yo-Yo price (required) The price of the item for sale $10.00 description Description of the product (supports HTML) A Yo-Yo with LEDs inside quantity The number of products you have in stock 5 image_link URL to a picture of the product When 100px thumbnails are clicked, 500px versions are displayed. http://www.google.com/intl/en_ALL/images/logo.gif option_name Title for optional product categories Color: ...or... Size: option Product options separated by commas red,blue,green, ...or... small,medium,large digital Indicate if the product is digital. Buyers will expect you to email their purchased digital content. Leave blank if false. true ...or... blank weight Specify item's shipping weight in pounds, used with carrier-calculated shipping. Do not specify units.  Shipping methods Example value for 8 lbs: 8 Example value for 2 oz: 0.125 shipping Shipping rate per-item. Leave blank to default to shipping options in your Checkout account. Shipping methods $5.00 As you can see there is no option for categories meaning the only way to make more is to create a new store for each category. Google is working on a fix but it is still in Beta Testing. There are some other notable disadvantages to Google Checkout as well: You must rely on your own web traffic and promotions. Google charges you a  $10 fee for each credit card charge back. No categories or sorting of items yet (search is available) eBay Vs Google Checkout Head to Head Auction Fees Listing Fees Final Value Fees Payments Accepted Monthly Fees Alexa Site Ranking* Promotional Tools eBay First 50 Free Monthly $0.99=$0.10 $9.99=$0.25 $24.99$0.50 $49.99=$0.75 $199.99=$1.00  $200+= $2.00  Buy It Now $0.50 Media $0.05  9% Of Total Payment Includes Shipping PayPal** Merchant Accounts None   21  eBay Site Traffic eBay Basic Same as above   BIN  $0.20 Media $0.05  7.5% Auction Style BIN 7%-13%  Same as above $14.95   21 Custom Logos E-mail Marketing Cross Promotions  eBay Premium Same as above     BIN $0.05 Media $0.05 Same as above Same as above $49.95   21  Same as above eBay Anchor Same as above    BIN $0.03 Media $0.03 Same as above  Same as above $299.95   21  Same as above Google Checkout  None      None   2.9% + $0.30  Google Checkout  None Varies by Website SEO Google Products Paid Search Traffic *Alexa is a service that ranks websites according to popularity that is by views and unique visitors. The lower the rank the higher the traffic, currently Google.com is ranked #1. **PayPal  also charges 2.9% for each transaction through eBay. It really doesn't make sense to compare the cost of a Google Checkout Store to that of listing items on eBay. Sure the simple 2.9% that Google charges sounds great but success with a Google Checkout store is dependent on many factors. The most important being the actual site that you will embed the store in. Also, you will need a way to get targeted traffic to your site to buy (which is usually not free). However Google Checkout could be perfect for those who already have a web page or blog and are looking to monetize it with related items. Or for those who already have a large following on eBay who have built a brand for themselves. Then it would just be the simple task of getting those buyers to look for the new store.   Go To Google Checkout