eBay or Amazon?

[Big Papa Husker]

I was thinking about selling some stuff on ebay, but had been hearing that people have sold stuff on Amazon. How do they compare? Do you guys seem to get more sales on one or the other? How does the selling process work on Amazon compared to ebay?

Thanks

[Cornelius]

You can sell equally fast on either eBay or Amazon, it just depends on your pricing. I use both depending on the item. Stuff like CIB or sealed PC games I've generally had better luck on Amazon with higher prices and letting them sit longer. More everyday kind of stuff (e.g. Mario games NES to present) I prefer to put on eBay. Same goes for cheaper stuff in general. Sure is easier to toss stuff on Amazon, though; no messing with pictures and 50 other fields to double check.

There is no absolute answer, though, just have to try each and see what works for you.

[Big Papa Husker]

How does getting paid for the items work? Is there some sort of Amazon-like deal like Paypal? How much do they take out?

[megasdkirby]

I do know amazon sends payment to your bank account, the one you need to list to actually sell.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I sell on Amazon, but there's one huge flaw that can get you in trouble.

Imagine you have a brand new game or computer program, and someone buys it. Then they open it and decide they want to return it... so what happens then? You have to refund most, if not all the money. There are no exceptions. An Amazon sales rep confirmed this to me over an email conversation.

What happens if you sell a $250 program that can only be activated or registered once and the buyer wants to return it?

I dodged a bullet recently; someone bought a brand new Office program from me over there and couldn't get it to work on her Windows 98 running in Parallels Desktop in her Mac. Eventually she stopped replying to my offers for help and I never heard from her again, but that little scenario really made me think twice about listing certain items there.

[megasdkirby]

I was told that factory sealed items could not be returned (regarding games)? Or at least that the seller has a right to refuse a return if opened and non defective?


Software is a unique product category and has some specific guidelines. If your item is sold in new condition and has been opened, you can refuse to accept the return unless it is defective. If sold as Used/Open and not materially different or defective, you can also refuse to accept the return. If the item is materially different, a return should be accepted if it is sent back in its original condition and postmarked within 30 days of shipment.



http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=xm_1161246_cont_home?nodeId=1161246

[Bojay1997]

I was told that factory sealed items could not be returned (regarding games)? Or at least that the seller has a right to refuse a return if opened and non defective?



http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=xm_1161246_cont_home?nodeId=1161246

For better or for worse, Amazon does not adhere to that policy for marketplace sellers. They generally will always side with the buyer, although supposedly they do limit buyers to a certain number of lifetime claims. Basically, no matter where you sell software, you run the risk of getting burned.

[mobiusclimber]

Both Ebay (or rather Paypal) and Amazon are notorious for siding w/ buyers, so I don't think it's really a case of one being better than another here.

I like selling on Amazon mainly b/c I know upfront how much the fees are going to be and it gets deducted immediately. There's no bill at the end of the month for money I no longer have. LOL I also tend to get more money on Amazon, even after fees are deducted. It's obviously not the right place for selling bundles of games, or even system & game bundles usually, but it works better for individual game sales. Sometimes selling the item takes awhile (it usually takes longer to sell some things on there than it does on Ebay) but you don't have to constantly relist an item, and it doesn't cost anything if your item doesn't sell. And since it isn't auction-style you don't have to worry about something selling for less than you want it to (Amazon fees are cheaper than Ebay BINs, I think, but I haven't really compared them, and I don't think BINs do that well on Ebay, but I haven't really tried so I can't say for certain).

[synbiosfan]

It's got less traffic than both eBay & Amazon but I use GameGavel. I've sold maybe 60-70 games so far.