eBay vs Amazon: where should a small UK seller start?

Both marketplaces can bring you thousands of buyers you’d never reach on your own website. But they reward different kinds of sellers. Here’s how to choose.

eBay: easier to start, more control

• Quick to set up, with low upfront costs
• Great for parts, spares, used, refurbished and niche items
• You control your listing, photos and description
• Buyers often search by part number or model, good for specialist sellers

Amazon: bigger reach, stricter rules

• Huge buyer trust and traffic
• Best for new, branded products with a barcode
• Many sellers share one product page, so price and stock matter a lot
• Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) can win Prime buyers, but adds fees and stock planning
• Account health rules are strict, mistakes can pause your account

Which should you start with?

Start with eBay if you sell parts, spares, used or niche items, want to test products cheaply, or want more control over how you present them.

Start with Amazon if you have your own brand, new products with barcodes, and can handle stock and strict rules, ideally with Brand Registry so you control your listings and can use A+ content.

Doing both

Many of the sellers we work with start on eBay, prove what sells, then move their best products to Amazon. Just keep stock in sync so you don’t oversell.

We run eBay and Amazon stores in the UK heating sector every day. See eBay store management and Amazon store management.

Want us to check yours?

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