Top eBay Alternatives 2012 - eBay Vs. BigCommerce

What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is not really a venue or marketplace like most of the other sites we have talked about today.Instead they are a hosted eCommerce provider.

They handle all of the web hosting and shopping cart integration for your very own store. Let's look at some of the features:

• You can export items from your store to eBay.


• They help guide you through registering a domain name.


• Lots of promotional tools including a Facebook Fan Page Store, Email Marketing, and Coupon Codes.


• Inventory is automatically updated and even returns are processed easily.


• Buyers can shop from their Mobile Phone.


• Unlimited photos for items.

Since this is an all in one solution you also don't have worry about paying any Final Value Fees. Instead you will simply be paying to accept Credit Card payments and they guide you through the process of opening a merchant account. You can of course also open your own merchant account on your own as well. Of course their are some downsides as well:

• You need to be somewhat computer skilled to get your store customized.


• You pay a monthly fee for the store and the merchant account.


• You will probably need to pay to promote the store through various Ad Networks and Paid Search.

eBay Vs. BigCommerce
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
BigCommerce Bronze	None	None	None	Merchant Accounts	$24.95 Monthly 100 Items	Varies by Webstore	Email Marketing Social Media Marketing Paid Search
BigCommerce Silver	None	None	None	Merchant Accounts	$39.95 Monthly 500 Items	Varies by Webstore	Same As Above
BigCommerce Gold	None	None	None	Merchant Accounts	$79.95 Monthly 1000 Items	Varies by Webstore	Same as above

 

*Alexa ranks sites by popularity #1 being the most popular site on the web currently Google has the top spot.

**PayPal charges a 2.9% fee for eBay Transactions.

So let's do a little comparing shall we while it's true that their are no listing fees on BigCommerce there is a tiered monthly fee structure that acts in a similar way. It is also true that BigCommerce has no Final Value Fees but you'll still have to pay your Credit Card merchant account transaction fees so these act in about the same way. Hypothetically then let's say you listed 300 items on eBay for $9.99 each. Let's also say you have a basic store to save on listing fees. Were going to expect a 60% sell through rate. Add it up.

1. $14.95 Basic Store Subscription


2. 300 * $0.20 = $60 in listing fees


3. 11% * (180 * $9.99) = $198 in FVFs


4. PayPal Fees of 2.9% * = $52

This assumes that you are listing in the most common categories.
Out of the 1798 in sales you end up paying eBay about $310. That's a percentage of about 17%. Now let's try it with BigCommerce:

1. $39.95 Silver Plan


2. Merchant Account Fee $14.95


3. Merchant Trasanction Fees 180 * (2.5% * 9.99) = $45


4. Promotional Cost 300 * $0.25 = $75

Now the promotional cost vary but most eCommerce stores will be paying quite a bit in paid search to promote themselves. Especially if they want a 60% sell through rate. So let's add it up. Out of $1798 in sales $175 went to fees and promotions. Only 9% in total. On the whole BigCommerce is a good choice for someone looking to get away from eBay and build their own brand but who doesn't want the hassle of building an eCommerce store on their own. BigCommerce helps get up and running fast so you can worry about making sales.