The best eBay alternatives by country

Thanks to the power of the Internet, today we have a lot more opportunities in almost every sphere of life. We have super fast access to a lot of information, websites, knowledge and more. It is also helping us with international trade. Internet marketplaces became a thing a long time ago, but they built their position and popularity slowly. Nowadays a lot of people can’t even imagine that they can’t order something through the internet, but we have to remember that it wasn’t always how it is now. The beginning of the popularity of internet trade services began with growing access to computers and web browsing. And because of the great development of them, we can now order everything from every place in the world. In this article, we will cover the topic of the best alternative marketplaces to eBay that you can find on the internet, especially European ones. Let’s begin!

1. Introduction

Before we get to the list of interesting alternatives to most popular internet marketplaces, we should quickly explain what it is. We will describe it on the case of one of the most popular marketplaces in the world – eBay.

The Internet marketplace is the intermediary side between a seller and a buyer. It is a double-sided service that allows a seller to place a product, describe it, put some information about it and give it a price, and a buyer to search, read the description and buy the product. Sounds simple right? But a lot of people don’t know how it works “under the hood”.

Marketplaces have their regulations on what can you sell and buy, what price you can place on your product, what, where and with which service you can ship it and very, very more. But despite that, it is still a good opportunity not only for buyers but also for smaller and bigger companies to get more customers and advertise themselves.

1.1 How marketplaces work

On eBay, we can see offers made by private users who just want to sell their item quickly and without even leaving a house. We can also find offers made by companies and shops which are the majority of available listings. Sellers can choose to make an “auction” style listing or “buy now” listing. The first type is a little tricky. The seller decides on the minimal price where people start bidding, and can also put a minimal price he wants to get from an item, so if the bidders don’t reach the minimal “wanted” price, the seller can refuse to sell an item. The rule of these “auctions” are simple – highest bid wins. Buy now listings are much easier for sellers and buyers. The seller decides on price, put the price on an item like a price tag in the shop and sell an item for a single price immediately, without bidding.

Of course, eBay doesn’t offer their services for free. Amongst the taxes and various payments, eBay is taking fees from every item sold through their platform. There are two basic fees: entry and final. The insertion fee is charged when you put an item on the listing. This fee varies between categories of products. It is nonrefundable, even if you don’t sell your product. Every month as a simple user you can list 50 items without this fee. There are also two final value fees. The first one belongs to auction-style listings, and the second one applies to the buy now style. The amount of money to pay varies between them. Also the category you choose to list your item on having an impact on the final fees.

1.2 Why do people choose to use the marketplace?

After this description above, a question is born: why do companies and shops decide to offer their product through an internet marketplace than open their own shop without the fees and strict regulations? Well, there are a few reasons they choose this way:

• Taxes – making your own shop will make additional taxes to pay, which some companies can’t even afford. You can avoid some of them when you choose to sell your items on international platforms
• Making an e-shop and maintenance – Opening an internet shop isn’t easy so you will probably need a helping hand here, which of course generates additional costs. After you open the shop you will also need someone to maintain it and keep an eye on it, to be sure that everything works fine. This also generates additional cost. With platforms like eBay you can minimize this costs, because putting a listing on eBay is very easy and in most of the time you don’t have to worry about maintenance – it is on the service side.
• Additional advertisement and more customers – If you open your own shop you have to take care of the appropriate advertisement to get customers to it. When you put a listing on an internet marketplace it advertises itself thanks to the popularity of internet selling services. Also if you launch your own store you can lose some potential customers that could see an advertisement for your product somewhere in the marketplace.

After this simplified introduction to the internet marketplaces, we can now bring you the list of eBay alternatives all around the world, that can help you in various cases. Let’s take a look at these platforms!

2. Top eBay alternatives in the world

You might know that eBay is one of the most popular and biggest internet selling platforms in the world. But, thanks to the innovation, creativity, and power of the web, there are a lot of alternatives to it everywhere in the world. On the list below we are showing the most popular alternative selling services in some places all over the world. With the help of this list, you can choose the platform that will fit you and your business the best.

2.1. USA

In the fatherland of eBay, we can find a lot of interesting alternatives to it because of huge competition, which allowed smaller services to grow. Here are some of them.

1. Craigslist

Craigslist is one of the biggest advertisement and listing service in the USA, but it works internationally. Launched in 1995 as an email distribution system it is now one of the best internet listing platforms that we can use. The site is very simple and user-friendly, without flashy pop-ups and banners. To this day it is one of the most often visited sites around the world.

Country of origin: USA

Owner: Craig Newmark

Launched: 1995

Type: bulletin board with various categories

International: Yes, with different language options

Free to use?: Yes

Fees: No, with few exceptions:

– Job postings in selected areas—$10-75 (fee varies by area)

– Brokered apartment rentals in NYC area—$10

– All by-dealer categories in the US—$3-5

– Cars/trucks by-dealer in the US, Vancouver BC—$5

– Furniture by-dealer in the US, Vancouver BC—$3

– Gigs in the US and selected CA areas—$3-10

– Services in the US and CA—$5

Selling system: Direct contact with the seller

Additional info: Site does not contain any third party advertisements. It has an optional registration system. Craigslist also works as discussion forums with various categories.

2. Bonanza

Bonanza is another known competition to the eBay in the USA. It is also one of the younger marketplaces on the American Internet (launched in mid-2008). Throughout the years Bonanza grew from a small site to a giant online marketplace that offers more than 10 million items to people all around the world. Bonanza is created to connect buyers and sellers in the fastest way possible. Definitely worth considering.

Country of origin: USA

Owner: Bill Hardin

Launched: mid-2008

Type: open selling platform with various categories

International: Yes, with different language options and different currencies

Free to use?: Yes

Fees: Yes, based on the calculations on their site

– Final Offer Value under $500 – 3,5% of FOV

– Final Offer Value greater than $500 – 3,5% + flat 1,5% of the amount over $500

Additional fees are added if you want to advertise with Bonanza Advertisements to attract more potential buyers

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: Bonanza offers smaller and easier fees than eBay. To place a listing or buy anything you need to register. It also does not charge users and sellers for setup and maintenance.

3. eBid

Another online marketplace service that is very well known internationally. eBid became a thing in 1998 in Great Britain, although it is very popular in the USA. It is more of an auction house with the option of fixed price offers, which makes it more similar to eBay. For this moment it has about 8 million page impressions a month and over 60k of unique visitors a day.

Country of origin: UK

Owner: Gary Sewell & Mark Wilkinson

Launched: 1998

Type: Selling platform with various categories, an auction house with optionally fixed price listings

International: Yes, with different language options and different currencies

Free to use?: Yes, with exceptions:

– Free for buyers

– Free for sellers, credit card verification required for an occasional seller

– Paid for Seller+ account with various pricing options up to $99 for a lifetime account

Fees: Yes, based on the calculations on their site

Fees: Yes, based on the calculations on their site

– Standard seller – only final value fee 3% of FOV

– Seller+ – no fees except for upgrading the account or posting in the gallery.

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: eBid is free to use for a buyer without any restrictions, but registration is needed. It is directed more to private users than to companies and shops

2.2 China

Throughout the years China developed their own “colossus” on the international marketplace services market. And we all know what site is it.

1. AliExpress

One of the youngest marketplaces on our list. Launched in 2010 AliExpress is a part of Alibaba group which is the biggest e-commerce company in China. This online selling platform was made to help businesses and companies to advertise and sell their products to any place in the world. Since the beginning, it grew to the position of the main competition of eBay around the world.

Country of origin: China

Owner: Alibaba Group (Jack Ma)

Launched: 2010

Type: Selling platform with various categories, selling options directed to the companies and shops

International: Yes, with different language options and different currencies

Free to use?: Yes for buyers, Sellers charged with an activation fee

Fees: Yes, various, depending on what you are selling there is a fixed fee for placing a product on the listing and a fee from FOV

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: Shipping from AliExpress can be done in several ways. This is also one of the most popular platforms to do a dropshipping style of business.

2. TaoBao

TaoBao is also owned by Alibaba group, and it is more like an eBay than AliExpress. The first important info is that TaoBao is local, which means it operates in China only. This online marketplace is based more on the C2C model, which means you can find more private advertisements than a company or shop offers. There are also some 3rd party services that allow you to buy from Taobao even if you living outside China.

Country of origin: China

Owner: Alibaba Group (Jack Ma)

Launched: 2003

Type: Selling platform with various categories, selling options directed to the private users

International: No, only the Chinese language available

Free to use?: Yes

Fees: Yes, various, depending on what you are selling there is a fixed fee for placing a product on the listing and a fee from FOV

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: Although it is local for China, you can buy on it with a help of 3rd party service. The most popular selling service in China

2.3 Russia

Although Russia is one of the biggest countries in the world it doesn’t have many alternatives to eBay. The best sign of it is that AliExpress is the number one internet selling service in this country. But it does have some smaller bulletins and marketplaces.

1. Avito

Avito is the most popular advertising bulletin in Russia. Founded in 2007 in Moscow it became second biggest classifieds site in the world, after craigslist. With 10.3 million daily visitors we can just imagine how this simple board grew through all the years of functioning.

Country of origin: Russia

Owner: Vladimir Pravdivy

Launched: 2007

Type: bulletin board with various categories

International: Yes, but available only in Russian

Free to use?: Yes

Fees: Yes, various, depending on what you are selling

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: Avito is available in Morocco and Egypt, but still only in Russian, which can cause problems with the usage.

2.4 Canada

Because of the neighborhood of USA Canada don’t have many own marketplaces. But it has NewEgg which is pretty close to eBay, but it is directed more towards shops than private sellers.

1. NewEgg Canada

Formed in 2000 in California NewEgg was formerly a marketplace for Computer parts and electronics. Throughout the years it developed and changed less or more. On today’s version of this online selling service which is an obvious alternative to an eBay in Canada, we can buy almost everything. Time flies, sites change, the world makes a step forward.

Country of origin: USA

Owner: Fred Chang

Launched: 2000

Type: online store and marketplace, directed towards smaller shops and businesses

International: Yes, various languages available

Free to use?: Yes, no charge for listing item

Fees: Yes, various, depending on what you are selling. Various commission fees and additional fees for enhancements.

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: NewEgg is the most popular electronics marketplace in the world which means if you want to sell for example clothes it might not be the best choice.

2. Craigslist

As in the USA, craigslist is also highly popular in Canada. Basically, it was a bulletin for second-hand goods, but nowadays it is also a good place to advertise your company, services or business.

Country of origin: USA

Owner: Craig Newmark

Launched: 1995

Type: bulletin board with various categories

International: Yes, with different language options

Free to use?: Yes

Fees: No, with few exceptions:

– Job postings in selected areas—$10-75 (fee varies by area)

– Brokered apartment rentals in NYC area—$10

– All by-dealer categories in the US—$3-5

– Cars/trucks by-dealer in the US, Vancouver BC—$5

– Furniture by-dealer in the US, Vancouver BC—$3

– Gigs in the US and selected CA areas—$3-10

– Services in the US and CA—$5

Selling system: Direct contact with the seller

Additional info: Site does not contain any third party advertisements. It has an optional registration system. Craigslist also works as discussion forums with various categories.

2.5. France

From European countries, we will cover France first. The biggest players on this market took the bigger piece of cake here if we are talking about big marketplaces directed towards shops and companies, but there are still some bulletins that are very popular amongst French citizens.

1. Rakuten France (earlier PriceMinister)

Rakuten France is a part of Rakuten which originates from Japan. Founded in 2000 it changed from PriceMinister to Rakuten France in 2014, after CEO change. As all other versions of Rakuten, the French one directs its selling options towards shops and companies.

Country of origin: Japan

Owner: Olivier Mathiot

Launched: 2000

Type: online store and marketplace, directed towards smaller shops and businesses

International: Yes, various languages available

Free to use?: Yes, no charge for using or listing item

Fees: Yes, various, depending on what you are selling. Various commission fees and additional fees for enhancements. Commission rates between 4%-22%.

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: It was the fifth biggest marketplace in France, but after the change to Rakuten France it grew and became number one. It has a non-monthly fee and has over 22 million members and over 10 million active users.

2. leboncoin

Leboncoin is more like a craigslist than eBay, but it shares some functionalities of these two sites. Launched in 2006 it is the most popular bulletin marketplace that we can find in France. The key to using it that you will have to learn French because leboncoin is a local site.

Country of origin: France

Owner: Antoine Jouteau

Launched: 2006

Type: online bulletin, a local online marketplace

International: No, French only

Free to use?: Yes, no charge for using or listing item

Fees: Yes, various, depending on what you are advertising.

Selling system: Direct contact with the seller/buyer

Additional info: Because it is local you have to know French. It is the biggest bulletin site in France in terms of popularity.

2.6 Germany

Germany doesn’t have many local internet marketplaces because as in France – the market was taken over by the bigger companies. Because of that eBay Germany is one of the most popular selling/buying site here, but it has a strong competition.

1. Amazon.de

Amazon is one of the strongest competitors not only in Germany but all over the world. Even if they have a different business model. eBay is more like the auction house when Amazon is more like a gigantic market with an even greater offer. And that’s why Germany love it – because you can find almost everything in one place.

Country of origin: USA

Owner: Jeff Bezos

Launched: 1994

Type: online store and marketplace, directed towards shops and businesses

International: Yes, various languages available

Free to use?: Yes, no charge for using

Fees: Yes, various, depending on what you are selling. Various commission fees and additional fees for enhancements. Sale commission rates between 0%-10%.

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: The Amazon began as a bookstore, and throughout the years it developed to a giant marketplace with almost everything. It is one of the most wanted employers in the USA. All over the world, there are over 613k people employed in this company.

2. Yatego

Launched in 2003 Yatego became one of the fastest developing and growing marketplaces in Germany. It is named as “the biggest online shopping center in Germany” where thousands of certified sellers can offer and sell their products. Very well build and user-friendly system is one of the strongest sides of this online shopping service.

Country of origin: Germany

Owner: Yatego GmbH

Launched: 2003

Type: online store and marketplace, directed towards shops and businesses

International: No, German only

Free to use?: Yes, no charge for using

Fees: Yes, various, depending on what you are selling. Various commission fees and additional fees for enhancements.

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: Yatego, even if it is one of the youngest sites on our list has won some branch awards, including i.e Ausbildungs-Ass 2009, or Job-Motor 2008. it is also engaged in some philanthropy actions and runs a foundation for kids.

2.7 Spain

People in Spain often use eBay for online buy/sell purposes, but there are several popular ad boards in there. These are more like Gumtree or craigslist, but very popular amongst the local citizens.

1. Amazon Spain

Amazon is as popular as eBay in Spain, and the main competition runs between these two online marketplaces. Amazon has its warehouses and distribution centers in the biggest possible locations in this country: Madrid, Barcelona and one in Toledo. Also, Spain is one of the 16 locations where Amazon have its own top-level domain in the country. It was launched in 2011 and to this day gathered hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Country of origin: USA

Owner: Jeff Bezos

Launched: 2011 (in Spain)

Type: online store and marketplace, directed towards shops and businesses

International: Yes, various languages available

Free to use?: Yes, no charge for using

Fees: Yes, various, depending on what you are selling. Various commission fees and additional fees for enhancements. Sale commission rates between 0%-10%.

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: It’s a second most popular online store in Spain, launched in 2011 (17 years after the main launch), quickly developed and began very popular in this country.

2. Mil Anuncios

This one is a bulletin board, like craigslist or Gumtree, and it’s still very popular amongst people in Spain. Started in 2006, and later acquired by Schibsted (2014) it is still #1 online classified advertisement website in this country. At this moment over 13 million advertisements are listed on this board.

Country of origin: Spain

Owner: Schibsted

Launched: 2006

Type: bulletin board, advertisement board, an online marketplace

International: No, only Spanish

Free to use?: Yes, no charge for using

Fees: No, the publication of an advertisement is free

Selling system: Direct contact buyer/seller

Additional info: #1 advertisement website in Spain, directed more towards private users, but as a company, you can also advertise and sell your products here, which can lead to additional income.

2.8 United Kingdom

The UK is no different than Spain or Germany in this market. The main marketplace for British citizens is eBay at this time. But it has some serious competition, not only from another giant but also from smaller local bulletins and online selling platforms. Let’s check them out.

1. Amazon UK

A story of Amazon in the UK began 3 years after it’s the main release – in 1998. It gained popularity and trust from customers very quickly and began one of the most popular online selling platform on the British Islands. Throughout the years it lost a little of the market to the market to its competitors but still remain strong on high position amongst all online marketplaces.

Country of origin: USA

Owner: Jeff Bezos

Launched: 1998 (in the UK)

Type: online store and marketplace, directed towards shops and businesses

International: Yes, various languages available

Free to use?: Yes, no charge for using

Fees: Yes, various, depending on what you are selling. Various commission fees and additional fees for enhancements. Sale commission rates between 0%-10%.

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: Very popular in the UK, but have a lot of strong local competitors. Like in Spain and Germany, Amazon has its own top-level domain in the United Kingdom too.

2. Etsy

Etsy is a great worldwide platform where you can find a lot of unique, handmade or designer products. It is basically a marketplace where a one-person-business can shine in all its glory.

Designed by artists for artists and creativity, it is a great place to advertise and sell your products on.

Country of origin: USA

Owner: Josh Silverman

Launched: 2005

Type: online store and marketplace, directed towards artist and handmade/diy business

International: Yes, various languages available

Free to use?: Yes, no charge for using

Fees: Yes, various, small fees are charged for placing an item, selling it through the Etsy, advertise it, using special tools, a subscription fee is also present

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: Requires registration to buy and sell, great for a business with handmade, vintage or original products.

2.9 Czech Republic

Countries of center Europe probably have the most competitors for eBay. there are a lot of local marketplaces and auction houses available here. It’s because eBay wasn’t/isn’t available in a particular region, or came on the local market too late when the number one position was already taken by some local big brand. Let’s take a look at some of these online marketplaces.

1. Aukro

Formerly a part of Polish Allegro group, later acquired by a local Naspers Group it is the #1 marketplace and auction house in the Czech Republic. Launched in 2003 to this day it is one of the most popular online shopping platform in this country. Great ease of use, thousands of sellers and transparent rules of use – that is what makes this site so great.

Country of origin: Czech Rep./Poland

Owner: Naspers Group (formerly Allegro group)

Launched: 2003

Type: online store and marketplace, with the auction house, universal for companies and private sellers.

International: No, only Czech is available.

Free to use?: Yes, no charge for using

Fees: Yes, various, small fees are charged for placing an item, selling it and vary between categories you are placing products in.

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: From the “under the hood” side Aukro works and looks pretty similar to the original Allegro marketplace which works in Poland.

2. Heureka.cz

Launched in 2007 Heureka is a local marketplace directed towards shops and businesses that want to advertise their offer online. It’s competing not only with the world giants like Amazon and eBay, but also with local marketplaces like Aukro or Bezos. A nice website, definitely worth putting your advertisement here.

Country of origin: Czech Rep.

Owner: Rockaway Group (formerly Naspers Group)

Launched: 2007

Type: online store and marketplace, with the auction house, universal for companies and private sellers.

International: No, only Czech is available.

Free to use?: Yes, no charge for using

Fees: Yes, various, small fees are charged for placing an item, selling it and vary between categories you are placing products in.

Selling system: Buying through the cart/site system

Additional info: One of the biggest online shopping center available in this part of the world, with thousands of offers and hundreds of thousands of visitors every day.