Sell Products on Online Marketplaces
List where the buyers already are. Amazon and eBay bring the search traffic and the built-in trust; you bring the inventory, the packing tape, and the patience for their fee schedules.
In plain English
A marketplace like Amazon or eBay is the opposite trade-off from running your own store: you give up some control over branding and pricing, and you pay real fees, but in exchange you get buyers who are already searching for what you sell. Amazon is the bigger, stricter, higher-scale option. eBay is more flexible — a natural fit for used goods, collectibles, and items that need a story, not just a listing.
Who this is realistically best for
People who already have inventory to move — new or used — or a sourcing skill (wholesale, clearance, thrifting, arbitrage). It's a tougher fit if you hate strict policy compliance or want full control over your brand and customer relationship; marketplaces set most of the rules, not you.
Realistic income expectations
Amazon's Individual plan costs $0.99 (~€0.86) per item sold with no monthly fee; Professional costs $39.99/month (~€34.79/month) for unlimited listings with no per-item charge — the rough breakeven is around 40 items a month. Referral fees average about 15% (ranging roughly 8–45% depending on category). eBay gives most sellers up to 250 free listings a month, then charges a final value fee of about 13.6% plus a small per-order fee.
Casual sellers clearing out items might net a few hundred dollars a month. Sellers who treat sourcing and reselling like a real operation can earn considerably more, but between referral fees, shipping, returns, and the time spent packing boxes, thin margins are common on generic goods without a genuine sourcing edge.
Start-to-finish guide
Decide Amazon, eBay, or both
Amazon is stricter and higher-scale; eBay is more flexible, especially for used and collectible items.
Pick an Amazon plan, if selling there
Individual costs $0.99 (~€0.86) per item with no monthly fee; Professional costs $39.99/month (~€34.79/month) with unlimited listings. The rough breakeven is around 40 items a month.
Use eBay's free listings
Most sellers get up to 250 zero-insertion-fee listings a month before per-listing fees apply.
Source inventory with real margin after fees
Amazon referral fees average around 15%; eBay's final value fee runs about 13.6% plus a small per-order fee. Price backward from there.
Get the listing right
Accurate condition grading (especially for used items on eBay), real photos, and the correct category — miscategorizing an item risks a policy strike, not just a slow sale.
Decide on fulfillment
Pack and ship it yourself (FBM), or let Amazon handle it for a fee (FBA), which also unlocks Prime eligibility.
Price with total fees in mind
Check your margin after referral or final value fees, payment processing, and shipping — not just the headline percentage everyone quotes.
Handle returns and disputes quickly
Response time and account health metrics affect visibility and selling privileges on both platforms.
Track what actually turns a profit
Reorder the categories and items that clear a real margin, and drop the ones that don't, instead of restocking out of habit.
Categories that tend to do well — and ones that usually struggle
The pattern holds across both platforms: light, easy-to-ship, barcode-friendly goods do best. Heavy, slow-moving, or highly commoditized inventory is where margins quietly disappear.
Tends to do well
- Used and collectible goods: real scarcity value, and buyers who care about condition and story — eBay's strength.
- Small, lightweight items with barcodes: cheap to ship, easy to list correctly on Amazon.
- Parts and accessories: steady, repeatable demand once you find a reliable line.
- Seasonal goods timed right: listed just ahead of demand, not after it's peaked.
Usually struggles
- Heavy or oversized items: storage and shipping fees (especially FBA long-term storage) quietly erode margin every month an item sits.
- Highly commoditized goods: competing directly with Amazon's own house brands or huge existing sellers on price alone rarely ends well.
- Brand-restricted or gated categories: require approval you may not get, and selling without it risks suspension.
- Anything needing authentication: luxury goods generally need a specific seller tier or program you may not qualify for yet.
Common mistakes & policy traps
Don't ignore FBA or long-term storage fees on slow-moving or oversized inventory — they compound monthly and can quietly wipe out a margin that looked fine at launch. Don't miscategorize items to dodge a higher referral fee; that's a policy violation, not a clever workaround. Watch for counterfeit and brand-restricted categories — selling into a gated category without approval is one of the fastest ways to get suspended.
Questions people ask about this method
Amazon or eBay — which is better to start with?
It depends what you're selling. New, barcoded inventory in a normal retail category tends to do better on Amazon, where built-in search demand is enormous. Used, vintage, or one-of-a-kind items — where buyers want the story and condition detail — usually do better on eBay.
How much of my sale price actually goes to fees?
On Amazon, plan on roughly a 15% referral fee (more in some categories) plus $0.99 (~€0.86) per item on the Individual plan. On eBay, plan on about a 13.6% final value fee plus a small per-order fee. Add shipping, returns, and packaging before you know your real margin.
Sources & further reading
This guide is fact-checked against the official documentation linked below, current as of the last-verified date above. Fees and category rules change over time — always confirm specifics on the official page before acting.
- Amazon Selling Fees & Pricing — AmazonOfficial current selling plan and referral fee schedule.
- Fees, Credits, and Invoices — eBayOfficial current insertion fee, final value fee, and store fee schedule.
Jargon used on this page
- Referral fee
- Amazon's commission on a sale, calculated as a percentage of the total selling price, usually including shipping.
- FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon)
- Amazon stores, packs, and ships your inventory for a fee, and it becomes eligible for Prime shipping.
- Final value fee
- eBay's commission on a completed sale, charged as a percentage of the total order amount plus a small per-order fee.
- Individual vs. Professional plan
- Amazon's two seller tiers — pay per item (Individual) or a flat monthly fee for unlimited listings (Professional).
- Account health
- A seller's standing based on policy compliance, order defects, and response time — poor account health can limit or suspend selling privileges.
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