Etsy vs eBay – Choosing the right platform in 2025

eBay

With approximately 132 million active buyers, eBay has grown into one of the largest and most diverse eCommerce platforms in the world.

Although you can find vintage items on this online marketplace, eBay offers a large range of products from electronics and fashion to collectibles and sports equipment.

Easily link your store with Printify through the help of our automated sales channel integrations.

1. Ease of use

Both Etsy and eBay offer an easy way to sell products and connect with your target audience. Ease of use goes a bit beyond just your seller experience – it’s also the experience of your customers.

Etsy: It’s user-friendly interface is clear and easy to navigate for both new and experienced business sellers, as well as Etsy shoppers.

Etsy offers curated product categories, making shopping a breeze for anyone that wants to buy specific goods. 

eBay: Creating an account and setting up shop is easy, but online selling is a bit more complex.

The downside of providing a higher number of features and options is that it can make it harder to navigate eBay for both the seller and buyer.

2. Product focus

What you plan to sell determines the best online marketplace for your online business.

Etsy and eBay place a different emphasis on the types of items they feature, catering to a variety of sellers and buyers across different niches.

Etsy: The clear focus is placed on vintage items, handmade goods, and craft supplies, primarily catering to artistic and creative buyers and art collectors.

Take a look at our guide on things to sell and the best selling items on Etsy to gather some useful insights.

eBay: A large variety of products, both new and used. Everything from electronics and car parts to fashion and vintage goods, appealing to a broad range of buyers.

3. Pricing

From payment processing to final value fees, there are many mandatory and optional payments to keep in mind.

Refer to our Etsy vs eBay fee comparison table for a detailed overview of the fees you’ll encounter on each platform:

Etsy fees

eBay fees

– Listing Fee It’s $0.20 for every product listing you post. Listing fees renew every four months by default. – Transaction Fee Etsy collects 6.5% from the total of every sale you make. Transaction fees include the total cost of the product, shipping, and gift wrapping. – Payment Processing Fee This fee is a percentage of the total sales price and a flat fee per order. The processing fee for Etsy payments is 3% plus $0.25 in the United States. Check rates for other counties in Etsy’s fee amount table. – Region-Specific Fees There is a 2.5% currency conversion fee if your customer places an order in a currency other than USD. There’s also sales tax and VAT, which are based on the location of your customers. Etsy collects and remits these taxes in a large number of applicable countries. – Advertising Fees If you use optional services like onsite and offsite ads, you will incur additional fees for ad clicks or sales attributed to these ads. Onsite Etsy ads range from $0.20 to $0.50. If your store has made less than $10,000 in the last 365 days, your off-site ads fee will be 15% from the order total. The fee is reduced to 12% if you reach $10,000. – Subscription Fee If you’re using Etsy’s subscription packages – Etsy Plus costs $10/month.

– Insertion Fee This is eBay’s listing fee. It’s charged on every original product listing per product category. If you’re an individual seller or have the Basic eBay Store plan, you’ll get up to 250 zero insertion fee listings every month. Each listing on top of that will cost you $0.35 per listing. – Final Value Fee eBay charges a final value fee every time a sale is made. Final value fees are calculated from a percentage of the total sales amount plus $0.30 per order. The percentage differs by product category, but can be up to 15%. – Optional Fees You’ll incur fees for stylistic listing upgrades, which vary depending on item price, listing format, and duration. – Store Subscription Fee If you plan to sell on a professional level, you’ll encounter a monthly or yearly subscription fee ranging from $4.95/month for a Starter Store up to $2,999.95/month for an Enterprise Store. – Classified Ad Fee If you’re using eBay Ads, you’ll pay $9.95 for a 30-day listing without any final value fees if an item sells. – International Fee If you’re not using eBay International Shipping for sending items to countries outside of the United States, you will incur a fee of 1.65% from your order total.

4. Design features

A visually appealing and well-branded storefront can make a significant difference in attracting and retaining customers.

Etsy and eBay both provide tools to enhance the design of your online shop.

Etsy: Allows you to customize your storefront with a shop icon, page banner, description, featured items, and a detailed About section.

Etsy Plus enables you to add a Carousel or Collage store banner, and more Featured Items customization options.

Set up with Pattern to build a separate, personalized website for your online business.

Keep in mind that your Etsy Pattern store will have your Etsy inventory and you’ll be able to manage it through the Shop Manager, but it won’t show up through Etsy’s search bar.

eBay: Lets you organize your eBay listings in product categories, add a store banner, and customize a section of Featured Items.

The eBay Store subscription offers a separate eBay page with your own URL and customized storefront.

5. Analytics

Detailed and accurate store analytics is at the core of every successful eCommerce business.

Both Etsy and eBay offer tools that give insights into sales, customer behavior, and more.

Etsy: The platform simplifies this process by offering straightforward figures on metrics like store traffic, total revenue, and profit margins.

Etsy users have access to a CSV spreadsheet which presents your store transactions in a reader-friendly format.

eBay: This marketplace provides a variety of features that simplify both store and order management.

The Reports page on the eBay Seller Hub allows you to create and update product listings in bulk, fulfill and mark orders as shipped, generate reports, and manage customer feedback.

6. Marketing tools

Promoting your products effectively is key to driving sales and growing your business.

Both Etsy and eBay offer marketing tools to help you reach your target audience.

Etsy: Aside from offering detailed marketing and advertising guides through the Seller Handbook, Etsy also gives you an option to run onsite and offsite ads that turn clicks into sales.

eBay: Use eBay templates to create and customize store newsletters to notify customers about new listings and share your brand story.

The Social page on allows you to link up your Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest social media pages. Etsy will use the right text, images, and hashtags to help you gain new and returning customers.

If you’re an eBay Store subscriber, you can use the Promotions Manager to easily run promotions, as well as offer coupons and discounts to your customers.

Set up with Terapeak to access additional advanced marketing tools for market analysis.

Create promoted listings and even try Etsy’s Offsite Ads BETA to help shoppers find your store.

7. SEO

Search engine optimization is one of the best ways to ensure your target audience finds you.

Understanding the SEO practices of these two marketplaces will allow you to optimize your listings for maximum visibility.

Etsy: If you use the right keywords on your Etsy listings, the platform’s algorithms will make your products easy to find through Etsy’s search bar.

All Etsy Sellers are also encouraged to use descriptive and relevant product titles to ensure seamless product discoverability.

The Etsy guide on understanding Google SEO helps you optimize your Etsy listings.

eBay: The Cassini internal search engine takes your eBay shop ad compliance, seller performance, return policy, and various other factors into account, when generating quality search results for customers

Use the Terapeak analytics service for keyword research and remember to only add keywords that directly relate to your eBay listings.

8. eCommerce tools

Both eBay and Etsy sellers have access to various features and seller tools that will help you simplify and automate your online store operations.

Etsy: 

• Etsy app is the perfect mobile tool for selling on the go.
  Manage and track orders, add videos and photos to your product listings and even receive a notification if you get a repeat buyer.
• Seller Handbook. A treasure trove of knowledge that lets you gain valuable insights on how to use the Etsy Marketplace.
  Learn how to add product listings, sell vintage items, understand Etsy ads, navigate seller fees, and start selling on Etsy.
• Community Forums. Etsy encourages sellers to support and interact with other Etsy sellers.
  Engage with the community by reading and sharing tips, tricks, and constructive feedback.
• Calculated shipping. Simplify the shipping process and transparency with your customers.
  It’s available for sellers in the US and Canada who use USPS, Global Postal Shipping, or Canada Post shipping labels.
• Integrations. Use third party tools to manage social media presence, monitor and analyze store analytics, or optimize product listings and your store.
  It’s also your way to connect a print-on-demand service like Printify to fulfill customer orders.

eBay: 

• eBay app. Create and edit listings, adjust shipping costs, and get an instant notification whenever an item sells.
  It’s your way to never miss out on a sale, no matter where you are.
• Shipping calculator. eBay sellers have the option to calculate the exact cost of sending items through various shipping carriers.
  Use the shipping calculator to set the shipping cost to vary by buyer location, making sure you don’t lose a part of your profit to shipping costs.
• Seller Hub. Manage listings, monitor and analyze your store performance and daily sales trends to identify your top performers.
  Gain insights on your competition and how your buyers find your products.
• Selling templates. Create reusable templates to streamline the process of listing products on the eBay online marketplace.
  It’s easy to edit, rename, or delete them, and a great way to ensure consistency across your online store.
• Promotions Manager. It’s one of the top features available for eBay Store subscribers.
  The Promotions Manager enables you to create promotions, offer product and shipping discounts, drive repeat purchases, and attract new customers.
• Third party providers. Use additional software and services to automate store operations.
  Try solutions for order and inventory management, listing optimization, as well as order fulfillment and shipping – check out Printify’s  eBay integration.

9. Customer support

Having access to reliable customer support is an absolute necessity for resolving issues and a smooth selling experience.

Etsy and eBay provide customer support resources, though their approaches differ.

Etsy: Although it is technically possible to reach Etsy’s customer support, they are not easily accessible.

Your first point of contact will be the Help Center, which can aid with some basic concerns, but it won’t always provide the best answers to your specific questions.

If you can’t find the information you need and still need assistance, select a category that’s thematically related to your concern and press the grey “I still need help” button at the bottom of the page.

This will redirect you to an email form, but neither chat nor phone options are currently available.

Thankfully, there are also Etsy Community Forums, where you can connect with other sellers or search for answers to similar questions.

eBay: The eBay automated assistant is available at the bottom of the Help page.

It will answer most generic questions, or enter a queue to speak to a human support agent.

The Help page offers the option to email your questions to Etsy’s support team.

There’s also an option to bring your questions to the eBay Community.

10. Scalability

As your business grows, the scalability of online marketplaces becomes essential.

Both the Etsy and eBay platforms offer different ways to grow your business, regardless of whether you’re selling handmade items or mass-produced goods.

Etsy: The platform is best suited for small to medium-size businesses that sell handmade and customized goods.

Scalability options are limited to expanding product range and establishing a loyal customer base.

eBay: Ideal for small sellers to larger retailers, because it offers necessary tools for market analysis and promotion to a large segment of potential customers.

Make it happen today!

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