How 4 Online Businesses Increased Revenue By Selling on eBay

eBay may not be the largest marketplace by gross merchandise value (GMV) — but it’s still pretty close. 

With a $96 billion GMV in 2018, eBay ranks second in the U.S. and fifth globally against other seller marketplaces.

So, despite Amazon typically being the go-to for sellers who want to expand their sales channels into a marketplace, neglecting eBay means potentially leaving a lot of revenue on the table.

After all, eBay has a total 180 million active shoppers and hosts about 2 billion daily transactions. While it might not be right for every business, the opportunity is there.

There are even a few advantages to eBay over other competitor marketplaces:

• You can get set up to sell — in almost any category — in just minutes, by meeting the basic seller requirements.

• Revenue from your sales becomes available immediately instead of taking weeks to be released. 

• A streamlined fee structure makes it easier to understand what you’re actually spending to sell.

A partnership between BigCommerce and eBay makes it easy for merchants to get set up and manage sales on the marketplace — and increase revenue for savvy brands looking to grow sales without a lot more work.

With the industry’s only active native eBay integration, BigCommerce enables you to increase sales by selling directly to eBay’s massive customer base, right from your BigCommerce control panel.

And manage it all in your order panel.

The use cases vary from brand to brand, but the ease of integration means that merchants who choose eBay as a sales channel can pull in additional revenue with little additional work.

Check out these four eBay business success stories.

Jen Thomas, Owner, Smudgy Monkey Gifts & Accessories

• 96.44% increase in revenue through eBay + BigCommerce integration as of 2017

Ten years ago, my husband was laid off so I started a business to sell items on eBay to fill the gap while he was looking for work.

I was fortunate to find a niche product that was trending at the time and my business experienced growth each year.

Eventually I opened an ecommerce store off eBay. While I continue to sell on eBay through that store, I am hopeful to swing the buyers from eBay to my ecommerce store and make them customers who will return to Smudgy Monkey when they are looking for a thoughtful gifts from a store that offers exceptional customer service and value.

That said, establishing credibility through sales on eBay with an emphasis on great customer service has been my most successful marketing tactic to date.

Damon Didier, VP of Marketing at Office Furniture Source

• 46.7% increase in revenue through eBay + BigCommerce integration as of 2017

BigCommerce’s connections to eBay and Amazon have driven considerable online sales for us, and strong SEO has helped to drive both online and in-store sales.

Nick Borrelli, Ecommerce Marketing Director, Nu Wave Marine

• .13% increase in revenue through eBay + BigCommerce integration as of 2017

Before I started my shop, I was selling motorcycles and got in a bad crash while delivering one. After, I was fired from my job and I had to move back home with my dad.

At the time, my dad owned a small marine mechanic shop. I started digging through his piles of parts and selling them on eBay.

I had no ecommerce experience and no boating experience, but I was successful! So, I started listing new products on eBay and before you knew it, it was a full time operation.

The logical next step was to cut out the middleman (eBay) so that we could make more profit. That’s when I met BigCommerce, built a site, taught myself SEO and PPC. eBay still drives sales for us, though, and contributes to overall bottom line.

Andrew Gill, Owner of Seriously Silly Socks

• Achieved first sales through eBay + BigCommerce integration

At Seriously Silly Socks, we sell solely online and take orders by phone.

When we first started, we just sat back and waited!

I used the BigCommerce integration to offer our full range of products on eBay, bringing in our first sales.

It began slowly, but we would not have made it without using the channels — first eBay, then Amazon — as a springboard to create awareness.

Conclusion

Not selling yet on eBay? You might be leaving money on the table. It’s easy to get started, and these success stories are proof that it works.