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While Amazon is the most popular marketplace for online sellers, is it the best place to start running a retail business? This is just the case when both yes and no are the correct answers. Depending on your product specifics and the level of Amazon algorithms understanding, you can find the place under the sun on this marketplace. Still, it is very competitive, sometimes overpriced, and sometimes not so transparent and honest as it may seem.
Let’s consider the best alternatives to Amazon to find the place that suits your business most.
Walmart
Walmart is the first marketplace to consider among Amazon alternatives for sellers. This is quite a popular platform with well-known branding, an unspotted reputation, and easy getting-started opportunities. The pricing policy of Walmart is similar to the one of Amazon. There is no monthly fee, but you pay a reasonable referral fee for each item sold. There are also dedicated programs that define the conditions of the fulfillment service and shipping fees.
As for the similarities to Amazon, Walmart also offers opportunities for paid ads and promotions. In addition, the sellers note excellent customer service. Customers love Walmart, too, considering it a worthy eCommerce website with both everyday and unique products.
Newegg
Amazon and eBay aren’t the only choices small businesses can make to promote their products. There are websites cheaper than Amazon, and what’s more, some of them come with an advanced set of features in the seller accounts.
For example, Newegg can become your full-fledged business partner, in addition to only offering a place to sell your products. In addition, the online marketplace comes with an advanced set of solutions for marketing, logistics, fulfillment, payment systems integrations, and much more.
While being a less popular alternative to Amazon than Walmart, this is one more place to consider for starting your online store.
Fruugo
Fruugo is a popular multilingual marketplace. The possibility to instantly translate your product descriptions is its distinctive feature. Moreover, Fruugo is the best alternative to Amazon for the sellers on a budget since there are no listing fees and hidden commissions. You pay a fixed amount only after finalizing the transactions, plus additional Funds Processing Fee of 2.35% of the Transaction Value of each completed sale.
What’s more, it comes with several eCommerce plug-ins so that you can seamlessly integrate a marketplace with your website and expand your reach.
eWorldTrade
eWolrdTrade is a leading online B2B marketplace that connects small and medium businesses (SMBs) from all over the world. With millions of products and services listed on their website, the company helps SMBs expand their reach and grow their businesses.
eWolrdTrade is more than just an online marketplace – they are a true partner to their customers, helping them every step of the way as they grow their businesses. From finding new suppliers and products to getting the best prices and shipping terms to managing their orders and payments, the purpose of their presence is to help them succeed.
If you are a small or medium business looking to grow your business, eWolrdTrade is the perfect partner for you.
OnBuy
OnBuy is one of the companies like Amazon. Still, it has a significant difference. This marketplace doesn’t sell its own goods. Instead, it follows a classical business model allowing the sellers to get in touch with the buyers and doing their best to enhance the marketing efforts of business owners.
Compared to selling on Amazon, selling on OnBuy can also be more profitable since there are no listing fees. Still, there are lower selling fees plus PayPal seller protection. This is also one of the worth-considering alternatives to the Amazon marketplace since it comes with a pretty affordable subscription and covers all the necessary services for an effective retail business run.
ASOS
This is quite a specific marketplace, but if you sell unique clothes and run an independent brand, this is a great place to reach out to your target audience. Of course, the commission per sale in ASOS is higher than other Amazon alternatives. Still, this is the cost to perfectly meet the pickiest customers’ demands with your outstanding clothing items without the need to run your own website.
eBay
eBay is also one of the most popular sites like Amazon, but it works differently. The marketplace doesn’t sell its products but only provides the sellers and the buyers with a place to find each other. eBay offers are pretty diverse, and the customers can either buy an item instantly or bid for it and buy it at the best price possible. Showcasing your items in the product listing is paid. On eBay, you can choose the best places on the listing and pay flexible fees for promotion, plus sales fees.
Amazon vs. Similar to Amazon Online Marketplaces – Where to Get Started
What makes business owners consider Amazon alternatives? Let’s briefly highlight the pros and cons of Amazon vs. other, no less promising marketplaces.
Amazon Pros
- Amazon is the leading and the most popular marketplace ever
- There are 36 product categories to choose from
- Customers love Amazon and come back for repeated purchases
- Amazon has a robust rating system, you can benefit from
- There are a lot of additional solutions you can use to boost your business. For instance, SageMailer helps you build a reputation by collecting and managing customers reviews
- There are a lot of beneficial programs for stores and brands.
Amazon Cons
- Amazon is very competitive; standing out from the crowd can be difficult
- You can face black-hat practices and scams
- Amazon ranking algorithms are constantly changing, and sometimes it is difficult to track these changes and adapt to them.
Stores Like Amazon Pros
- They are less competitive but still attract the ongoing buyers’ flow
- There are dedicated marketplaces to tailor your products to their audiences better
- Some marketplaces have borrowed the best marketing practices from Amazon and matched them with more affordable pricing for sellers
- A lot of them come with advanced features, third-party solutions, and integration to help your business grow across the different channels
- Most of the marketplaces don’t sell own product but only allow companies to sell theirs
Places Like Amazon Cons
- Amazon alternatives are less popular and well-known
- Some of them can be more expensive than Amazon
Conclusion
Launching an online retail company is a worthy business idea for 2023. Still, you have to offer a winning product, plus decide on the best place to promote it. While the product choice is up to you and your target audience, online marketplaces are the top opportunities to take off the ground without the need to create your website and attract prospective leads from scratch. Depending on your product, goal, and budget, choose the most suitable online platform from the ones we have reviewed above. 
