When you are a professional online seller, you might be looking at more than one selling platform. If you are selling clothing, accessories, or home decor you might be trying to decide between listing on Poshmark vs eBay since those two are the most popular online selling platforms.
Deciding which one is better for your business is not easy and you might have to test the water with both to see what works best for you. Here is what you need to know.
Differences on Selling Platforms: Poshmark vs eBay
Listings
When it comes to the ease of listing items, both take quite a bit of time.
Poshmark is a bit more straightforward in that they have a lot of drop down menu fields you can utilize, where as with eBay, you are constantly having to type in fields for specifics.
Shipping
Poshmark also takes all the guess work out of shipping by offering a flat shipping fee that is calculated into the sale.
Both platforms allow you to print your shipping labels and ship them on your own.
Pricing
When pricing items for sale, we will compare eBays BUY IT NOW option to Poshmark’s selling price.
Both platforms allow prices to be negotiated (although you must turn that feature on in eBay).
I have found that items do typically fetch a higher dollar on Poshmark vs eBay.
For instance, as you can see, this dress sold for a mere $19.98 (price plus shipping) on eBay.
The exact same dress (size & condition) sold for $60 plus shipping on Poshmark.
Length of Time
If you want a quick sale, eBay is the way to go.
Things tend to sell much quicker and with less work than with Poshmark.
For example, when you list your item on eBay there is nothing more you have to do. It’s one and done.
Poshmark doesn’t work that way.
With Poshmark, you are constantly needing to push your listing out for others to find.
Yes, both appear on both a platform and Google search, but generally Poshmark takes a lot more time to sell.
That is probably because eBay has the functionality to promote your listing in such a way that it pushes it to the front of the search within the platform.
Selling Fees
When looking at your out of pocket costs with Poshmark vs eBay, you will find that eBays fees are less.
Currently, eBay charges the buyer a 10-12% final value fee (this is based on the price of item & shipping combined). There is also an additional 3% Paypal fee (eventually, the Paypal fee will go away because eBay is dissolving their Paypal relationship later this year).
Poshmark has a flat 20% sales fee.
Returns
eBay is known for its very generous return policy. If your buyer has an issue with something you sell, 9 times out of 10, they are going to win. You will be forced into accepting a return and refunding the buyer.
On the other hand, with Poshmark, you will find that there are no returns. Buyers can leave bad feedback, but typically, any disputes are worked through Poshmark without having to bother with returning items.
Access to Money
When an items sells on eBay, generally the customer does pay right away. You do not have to ship an item until the customer pays for it. Once you are paid, the money is yours.
This is not the way with Poshmark. The money goes into “escrow” until the buyer receives the item and agrees to release the funds. Once the funds are released, you can then deposit them into your personal checking account.
Which Platform to Sell on: Poshmark or eBay?
This is going to be up to you based on whether your goals are short term or long term.
While you might get more on Poshmark, you are going to have to wait for that perfect customer and that can take some time!
If time is not a concern, then Poshmark is your choice because you will probably end up getting more money.
For my business model, time is money and I am all about rolling profits into more inventory so I don’t mind losing a little money if it means I can flip it for profit in less time.
Thus, eBay is my choice for the bread & butter of a business.
Can I sell on eBay and Poshmark?
Yes, you can sell on both Poshmark & eBay. Cross listing on eBay and Poshmark is a little time consuming, but can be profitable.
The key to cross listing successfully is making sure that you stay organized!
If something sells on one platform, you are going to have to make sure that you remove the listing from the other.
Are you a professional eBay or Poshmark seller? Do you have any advice for deciding on which platform to choose?
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