Once upon a time, we had eBay and Amazon.  Amazon was the marketplace we used for media such as books and music, while eBay was the place to go if you wanted to buy just about anything.  Today, there are dozens of marketplaces, so we have decided to check out what makes each one different?

The Godaddy marketplace is most similar to Amazon’s in its design.  The biggest advantage that Godaddy has over Amazon and even eBay is that Godaddy only charges you $19.99 to create a marketplace account, then they take a 9% commission on items that are sold.  While this would be more expensive than a pro account on Amazon if you are selling large quantities of items, if you are selling a few products it is a more economical way to go.  If you are selling large quantities of items, and if there are variations to the same product, Amazon is probably your best choice.

Amazon.com is the worlds largest online marketplace and is great for anyone looking to sell a large quantity of items.  Because of its scale, it can be difficult for your items to be found on Amazon, however if you are able to direct traffic to purchase from them you will climb the ranks, and Amazon will become your new best friend.  Also, Amazon includes very rich listings with tons of information and user reviews of products, something that is unrivaled by any of the other marketplaces we reviewed.  The fee to list on Amazon varies from a 6%-15% commission, as well as a .99 transaction fee for non pro subscribers

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Etsy is an online marketplace designed for  handcrafted items.  Etsy has three categories of items in which you can sell, handmade items,supplies, and vintage.  As you could guess, handmade goods are pretty much just that. The second category, supplies, contains lots of commercial quality as well as handmade crafting supplies.  The vintage section is full of items which must be 20 years or older to be posted in this category. Once you have identified which category whatever it is you are trying to sell belongs in, Etsy has an easy to use setup program in which you sign up to be a seller and are given your own easy-to-use online shop. With this shop they give you the option to customize it with banners, profiles, and shop policies. They also allow for their sellers to participate in “Alchemy” which is a feature that allows buyers to post requests for custom made items that sellers can accept. Etsy however, does charge sellers to be on the site selling their goods. It costs the seller 20 cents to list an item for four months, and when your item sells you will then pay a 3.5% transaction fee. Overall Etsy is a fun creative way to get your handcrafted goods on a selling market.

eBay is an interactive marketplace that allows you to sell just about anything. Creating an account with baBay is pretty straignt forward,and you will begin listing items in minutes.  When it comes to cost, there are two different options available. The first is to pay them a flat rate based on the starting price or pay a 9% fee on the final selling price. The starting price fees are as follow- Starting price of $0.01-$0.99 the listing fee is FREE. $1.00-$9.99 the fee is $.25, $10.00-$24.99 the fee is $.50, $25.00-$49.99 the fee is $.75, $50.00-$199.99 the fee is $1.00, and for listings starting at $200.00 or above the fee is $2.00.  If you decide to go with the 9% option and your item doesn’t sell, there is no fee.  While these are the basic fees to get started, if you want to add more photos, change the duration of the auction, or use any of the other options, other fees will be assessed.  Also, when you decide to sell on eBay you must also create a PayPal account. When your item sells, PayPal will also take 2.9%+.30 for all sales under $3,000.  Overall, eBay is the best place for your items to be found, particularly is they are hard to find things, however after you add up all of the costs, it is likely to be the most expensive option as well.