Below is a list of assisted selling sites that we have used and feel can add value to your own website. These sites include auction sites, drop ship services, and product listing storefronts. All of them require little knowledge of programming and are fairly easy to setup. So without further fanfare we give you some reasons on why you should use these sites, and then give you our list of recommended sites.

WHY USE ASSISTED SELLING SITES:

They are easy to setup and start selling right away.
They have built in methods to advertise your listings so you dont have to spend a lot on advertising.
You can setup drop ship accounts and not have to stock any inventory.
You can start to see profits right away from sales of products.
If you manufacture or are a distributor of a product these sites can provide a captive buying audience.
Transactions are usually safe and free from fraud so the risk is minimized.

LIST OF ASSISTED SELLING SITES:

The Top Ones

Amazon – eBay to me used to be the best but lately I think Amazon has taken over that spot. You can sell all kinds of items on Amazon. The learning curve is a little harder than others but if you are selling something in their system already you can list it very easily with a UPC code or Amazon ASIN. The one main problem is that you wont get paid as quickly as on eBay and to do serious sales you should setup a business account. Some categories require that you are pre-approved. All payments are paid to Amazon and you are paid directly from them. Amazon has a very stringent customer service policy where all emails need to answered within 24 hours, items must be shipped on time, and they have their own fulfillment service if you want to send products to their warehouse for them to ship.
eBay – also easy to setup you can get started right away on a limited basis. You will be able to do only a few listing and auctions until you establish a track record with them. Once you are established you can list quite a few items, open a store within the eBay marketplace. Payment is almost immediate with an integrated PayPal account and they take credit cards through that system. From there you can transfer funds to your bank account.
Etsy – this is only listed here because it has fast become a great site to sell unique goods and crafts. Their goal is to use eCommerce to make the world a better place. Etsy is proud to be a certified B Corporation — a new kind of company that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

Secondary Auction and Selling Sites

eBid – some say this is what eBay was like about 10 years ago. The wild wild west of auctions were you could get a great deal and great products, with little oversight from big brother. I have to admit those were fun times. I dont know how much this site stacks up to that but it might be just a good. It does have a huge international offering which makes this a better alternative then most of the other eBay like sites.
Bonanza – Bonanza is an eBay built to help buyers make serendipitous discoveries. Our browsing experience guides buyers through our inventory of more than 10 million items to find the product that’s perfect for their tastes. What this really means is that they are
Newegg – this is a site similar to eBay with the number of different categories. It has a strict shipping and customer service policy like Amazon does so you should be aware that you are able to meet that criteria. If you want, like Amazon, they have a fulfillment center that can warehouse your product and ship it for you.
iOffer – is another full offering selling site that sells all a lot of different items. They seem to have a lot of items for sale and people purchasing from them but nowhere near the amount the top sites do.
eAltBay – the site owners claim this is the real alternative to eBay by fixing a lot of the problems that came with eBay. Including a fair feedback system, ability to accept any type of payment, and it tries to fix other issues it did not like about eBay. The problem is when looking through their site they just dont have the sales or traffic yet.

The Niche Sites

Artfire – ArtFire.com is a marketplace, craft and maker community where people from around the world come together to buy, sell and interact. Located in the heart of the Tucson Arts District, ArtFire partners with Maker House to offer a community creative destination that supports local makers and indie businesses.
eCrater – is a little different than most of the other sites. It allows you to setup your own online marketplace store. They basically allow you to setup a full eCommerce store that will hold unlimited products and take care of all the tax, payment, and other configurations. You can even import your eBay items.
TIAS – the Internet Antiques Shop is just that a place to sell your antiques and collectibles. It is like what eBay used to be when it first got into the auction business. You can setup your own store for free and not have to pay to list anything. You can also EXPORT your items to other selling sites like eBay and some classified ad sites.
Ruby Lane – is another selling site mainly for high end collectibles and antiques. They claim to be the largest curated online marketplace for vintage antiques and collectibles in the world. You can judge that for yourself.
Asos Marketplace – is mainly geared towards the fashion industry selling new and used clothing. Theu specialize in used and unique articles of clothing and have hundreds of boutiques you can choose from.

Classified Ad Sites

Craigslist – it is probably the most well known classified ad site. It basically has different sites for most cities and states. You can post pretty much anything you have to sell on the site that’s legal. The problem is the site is not well watched and fraud and adult type listings can be a problem.
eBay Classifieds or Kijiji – is just a way to place classified ads the same as Craigslist but with the safety protections that eBay has. But so far I have not found it very useful.
KSL of other Local Classified Ad Sites – in my neck of the woods the local television station and news outlet has a classified ads site that gets a lot of traffic and a lot of buys from. We have sold a ton of stuff on there and it has been a great source of revenue for us. So you may want to check it out, and then see if there is one like it in your neighborhood.

So, yes, there are quite a few alternatives you can use to help with selling your products online, doing drop ships, or selling others products on these sites. I would start with the top sites, mixed in with some local classified ad sites and use the niche sites only if you sell those particular types of products.

How Much Money is in This Type of Work?

So you are probably wondering how much money this can contribute to your online business. And of course that depends. Please note that this is an active income process, in other words you will have to either physically ship products (either direct to the customer or to the companies fulfillment centers) or send drop ship emails. With that in mind it really is a function of putting in the work of listing products.

Currently I have managed three eBay stores and one Amazon store simultaneously. The sales from the 3 eBay stores equal about $40 to 45K per month. The Amazon store does about between $4K and $8K per month. This is enough to keep on person full time and one person part time really busy. Each store averages about 1000 listings to achieve that revenue.

So the answer in a nutshell is do you have the time to devote to this active income strategy. Because it truly is a function of how much time you can, and want to devote to this type of model.

Go to top