Shopify vs eBay: Which Is Better for Dropshipping Store?

As a dropshipper or online business owner, selecting the best platform to sell your products on is essential for your business' success. Shopify and eBay are two prominent choices that you could take into account. Although each platform has its own perks and features, they also each have various strengths and flaws that can be more suitable for your particular needs.

In this post, we'll contrast Shopify and eBay regarding how well they work with dropshipping businesses. By the end, you will know more about which platform is best for your company and be able to make an informed choice.

Shopify vs eBay: Know the Basics

Shopify and eBay are two of the most well-known names in eCommerce platforms. Nevertheless, even though you may use both sites to advertise your products to a sizable audience, they are two completely distinct platforms. First, let’s discover the basic information about these platforms.

Shopify

Shopify is a variety of things. It is an eCommerce platform, a point-of-sale system, a processor of payments, a shopping cart, a hosted solution, and an open source platform. An interesting statistic shows that 10% of the world's e-commerce platform market is possessed by Shopify.

Shopify is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, which allows you to build an online store and sell products. Shopify offers all the features and tools you need to operate your business.

Shopify allows you to offer services as well as tangible or digital products. You don't have to worry about installing or updating any software because Shopify is a hosted solution; everything is handled for you.

So there you have it, a brief summary of Shopify. A strong, adaptable eCommerce platform that enables global sales of anything.

How does it work:

Shopify offers its customers the architecture and fundamental foundation needed to launch an online business. The purpose of Shopify is to streamline and simplify the online sales process.

In addition, they provide many other options that allow you total command over your online business. Also, Shopify offers a fantastic app store that will enable you to completely personalize your business.

eBay

One of the original online markets, eBay, was established in 1995 and has been a prominent participant ever since. According to Statista, eBay is still the second-largest marketplace in the United States, despite Amazon having almost three times the yearly gross merchandise volume (GMV).

Unlike Shopify, people mostly use eBay to get lower prices on items than those offered by traditional retail stores. Yet eBay's hosted auctions and wide range of products make it most well-known. On eBay, vendors may include the Buy It Now option for fast sales or create auctions where the bidder wins the item with the greatest amount.

How does it work:

On eBay, anybody may sell anything, from brand-new, in-demand things to outdated goods. Add your item with pictures, a description, a price, and delivery details.

But, you should set up a business account and establish an official eBay Shop to demonstrate to your clients that you are a genuine and reputable company.

Shopify vs eBay: E-commerce Platform or Reselling Website

To choose the right selling platform for your dropshipping store, you may need to be concerned about their features to consider which features suit your online store models. This part will only list out some outstanding features of these platforms for comparison. To discover more details about the features of both, you can read more: 1) eBay Dropshipping, 2) How to Dropship on Shopify

Shopify Features

For dropshippers, here are some features of Shopify that stand out from eBay:

Templates

You won't have to worry about picking the ideal theme and adding it to a shopping cart because Shopify's themes all support eCommerce. Also, many are produced by individual designers, allowing you to acquire a professional appearance without paying for a design staff.

Customization

The flexibility to personalize your store with paid themes, third-party applications, and your domain name is one of the apparent benefits of Shopify over eBay. Compared to an eBay Store, setting up your own website requires more work, but the results are far more in your hands.

Shipping, logistics, payment choices, consumer push alerts, and more are all integrated in the Shopify App Store. Unlike eBay, which offers a long list of extra costs, Shopify provides clear and understandable fees.

Shopify POS

Shopify is not only an online storefront. Shopify provides the technology and software to handle a variety of sales channels if you want to sell your goods at a physical store, festival, pop-up, etc.

Integration

This feature seems to be one of the best features for dropshipping. With Shopify stores, you can easily integrate with other third-party apps, tools, themes,... For automatic processes, you can integrate some dropshipping tools to find and source dropshipping products or automatically list them on your dropshipping stores.

eBay Features

With a few differences, eBay also has features that seem better than Shopify

Ease of use

Not a coder or web designer? Nothing is preventing you from the beginning. Neither templates nor applications to explore or integrate, you won't need a guide or tutorial to set up an eBay Shop. It's really simple.

A mobile app may post photos, and listings can be copied verbatim from one user's identical product listing. Moreover, PayPal is already connected, so selecting a payment processor is not a concern.

Built-in marketing

It is simple to see why many business owners and entrepreneurs prefer selling their products online. There are roughly 180 million active buyers on eBay alone, and 475 million apps have been downloaded globally.

Entrepreneurs and new business owners that need to present their products rapidly and increase sales will benefit greatly from this engaged audience. Any specialty may find consumers on eBay eager to test your products. Compared to Shopify, which needs customers to start promoting their items and websites from scratch, this is possibly eBay's most significant benefit.

Shopify vs eBay: Pros & Cons

After considering features, you may need to check out their pros and cons to make the final decision for your dropshipping stores.

Shopify

• Autonomy: You have the freedom to carry out your own entrepreneurial aspirations, ideals, and interests. Just as they would be if you pieced together your own physical storefront and filled it with goods to sell, your website, business, and brand are all wholly your own.
• Customization: Even though Shopify themes are made to function by just adding your content to the pre-existing designs, you can still alter the back end of your business in almost any manner you choose.
• Unlimited potential: The potential for expansion is limitless as long as you can drive traffic to your website.
• Customer relationships: You have complete control over how customers are serviced.
• Make your own rules: You may design your own procedures for exchanges, warranties, shipping windows, and other issues.
• Ownership: You can't be expelled from your Shopify store since you own it.
• Support: Shopify offers support and assistance around-the-clock for all membership tiers.

• Start-up costs: Once the 14-day trial period expires, you'll need to buy a domain, invest some time and/or money in branding, and begin paying Shopify.
• Marketing effort and costs: To get customers to your shop, you must undertake your own marketing and promotion.
• Setup time: While Shopify provides the tools you need to create your own store, the process will take you time. If you're just getting started, just learn about it first.
• Market research: You'll have to do your own market research and assess the commercial feasibility of your products.
• Launching costs: Shopify doesn't provide a free alternative that lasts longer than the trial period of 14 days. After 14 days, if your store isn't ready to launch, you'll need to choose a membership to continue constructing it.

eBay

• Traffic: You won't need to spread the word since traffic will come to you. Buyers interested in your listings and already have faith in eBay will see them.
• Simple: Getting started on eBay is simple. Using the eBay site, you may perform research. After that, you can simply optimize and offer your products.
• Low initial investment: The eBay platform is a remarkably inexpensive way to start an online business.
• Access to analytics: Inside the platform, you can look up data on specific products, investigate sell-through rates, and see other sellers' actions.
• Fees are only due once an item sells: Any fees you produce on eBay, whether you're promoting there or merely listing, are only levied when the item sells.
• Building your reputation is comparatively simple: If you start off strong, you may receive enough feedback to gain the confidence of customers and the eBay marketplace.

• Limited to eBay traffic: Even though eBay has 183 million buyers, that is the extent of their reach for traffic purposes. Potential customers who aren't using eBay won't be able to see your items.
• Starting restrictions: When you initially sign up for an eBay account, there may be restrictions on the number of products you list or the total number of items you can list at once.
• Less control of customer relationships: Within the platform's constraints, you must control the customer experience.
• You must abide by eBay's rules: You cannot establish your own regulations on eBay. The platform functions well and is dependable since everyone abides by the rules.
• Possibility of being dismissed: Speaking of obeying the rules, eBay can immediately remove you from their site if you don't.

Pro Tips: DSers for Better Online Store

As you can see, for dropshippers, Shopify seems to be a better option due to its easy customization, integration, control, and more,... Shopify allows you to connect more tools for dropshipping. One of the best is DSers.

Online shop owners can simply manage and streamline their dropshipping process with the help of the robust dropshipping tool DSers. It is a great option for online retailers that employ dropshipping because of its user-friendly design and sophisticated functionality.

DSers features allow you to quickly find, filter, and source products from different suppliers. Besides, it also helps you manage many stores with various products in one dashboard. Check out more other dropshipping features here.

Bonus tips:

The good news is that you are not required to utilize one of these platforms over the other if you don't want to. Both may be used simultaneously! This suggests that you may use Shopify to build a fully customized, professional online store while using eBay as an additional sales channel and expanding your consumer base.

Read more here: Shopify eBay Integration: How to Link Your eBay Account to Shopify

Final Words

In conclusion, Shopify and eBay each have advantages and disadvantages regarding dropshipping. Your business demands and objectives will determine which of the two platforms you should choose.

Shopify is a better option if you are searching for a platform that gives you greater power and freedom. On the other hand, eBay can be a better choice if you seek a platform with a bigger audience and a more established clientele. Let’s make your own choice. Find out more tips for your dropshipping stores on DSers Blog.