Hundreds of years ago, people used to sell their products in exchange for certain products, and eventually, this concept of marketing evolved in a particular sector known as retailing today. But as the world has seen the surge in technology, now retailing is also being done through online methods. Etsy and eBay are two such companies that have an online presence in the matter of retailing.
Etsy vs eBay
The main difference between Etsy and eBay is that the former is an online marketplace that primarily focuses upon goods that are artisanal in nature, while on the other hand, the latter is basically an online marketplace that focuses on selling goods that are produced on a mass level all across the world.
Etsy is an American online marketplace having its headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, United States of America. Basically, the idea behind this particular virtual marketplace is that it focuses on acquiring and selling those goods that have some sort of artisanal value. The company has been operating in the consumer market since the year 2005, and it has acquired a very unique presence among the customers.
But on the other hand, eBay is basically another online marketplace having its headquarters in California, United States of America. The very idea behind the birth of this particular virtual marketplace was that the company focuses on selling those goods that are produced on a very large level all across the world. This particular idea helps the company in achieving the sales goals very easily as the demand happens to be high.
Comparison Table Between Etsy and eBay
| Parameters of Comparison | Etsy | eBay |
| Definition | The term essentially refers to an American online retailing company established in the year 2005. | An American online retailing company that was established in the year 1995. |
| Headquarters | The headquarters of this company is in Brooklyn of New York in the United States of America. | The headquarters of this company is in California in the United States of America |
| Founded by | Chris Maguire, Haim Schoppik, and Jared Tarbell founded this company. | Pierre Omidyar founded this company. |
| Size of business | The extent of operation of this company is comparatively smaller and approximately 45 million customers are present. | The extent of operation of this company is comparatively wider in approximately 183 million customers are present. |
| Customer type | This platform basically attracts those customers that are looking for unique products | This platform basically attracts people who are looking to buy a large number of products for a cheaper price. |
What is Etsy?
In the year 2005, three American entrepreneurs came together and founded an American online retail marketplace known as Etsy today. The names of these three people were Chris Maguire, Haim Schoppik, and Jared Tarbell. The basic idea behind this particular marketplace was that the founders wanted to create an online retail shop on which vintage and artisan products could be traded.
This idea is still being followed, and usually, vintage and very unique products are found on the website of Etsy. However, apart from all these products, handmade items can also be sold on this website, and people can access the shops listed there. With an approximate customer base of 60 million people, Etsy has emerged as a small yet very powerful online marketplace in the country of America.
When any seller creates his listing on the website of Etsy, he has to pay certain commission fees, and eventually, after all the sales are concluded, a total of 5% sales fee is also levied on him. The customers visiting this particular site are often inclined towards buying unique and handcrafted products.
What is eBay?
Having its headquarters in California, United States of America, eBay is a very famous online marketplace that not just serves inside the United States of America but also has extended business operations in almost 32 countries. The company was basically founded in the year 1995 by one single person known as Pierre Omidyar.
As of now, the company is claimed to have a customer base of approximately 2 billion people, and therefore it has emerged as one of the most successful online marketplaces that have come into the market in the past two decades. Like any other marketplace, this particular website is also free for all the customers, but whenever any seller has to list his products, he has to pay a certain fee charged by the website.
The business idea behind this particular model is that eBay aspires to acquire and sell those products that are produced on a very large level all across the world. In this way, the website buys all the products for a cheaper rate and sells them to the customers for a comparatively cheaper rate.
Main Differences Between Etsy and eBay
- Etsy is an American online retailing company founded in the year 2005 while on the other hand, eBay is another American online retailing company founded in the year 1995.
- Etsy pause was founded by Chris Maguire, Haim Schoppik, and Jared Tarbell by while on the other hand, eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar.
- Etsy has a customer base of approximately 45 million customers while on the other hand, eBay handles approximately 183,000,000 customers.
- Etsy focuses on selling unique and artisan products, while on the other hand, eBay focuses on selling products on a bulk level.
- Etsy has its headquarters in Brooklyn while on the other hand, eBay has its headquarters in California.
Conclusion
Anything in today’s world that does not have any online presence is considered to be obsolete in nature because most people have access to the Internet, and the only source through which they get to know about things also happens to be the Internet. So, it has become an absolute necessity for all the commercial entities to mark themselves present in the virtual space in order to gain the attention of potential customers.
This particular need has given rise to certain online marketplaces, and the two most prominent ones among them are Etsy and eBay. Essentially both of these countries belong to the United States of America, but there are a lot of differences between the operational techniques of both of these companies, and it becomes absolutely crucial to differentiate between these two owing to this particular fact.
References
- https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdf/10.1257/00028280260344632
- https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.273273712487637