Some Comparisons of Online Sales Venues

In reference to my previous posts about alternates to Etsy, I have started doing some comparison shopping of online venues.

One of the first things I look at when trying to assess an online sales venue is the fee structure. That is a bottom line item for me as I have to calculate how much is going out on each listed item to determine the actual profit margin that a product will yield. Seems like a no-brainer, I know but you would be surprised at what I have found at some venues. Take the following example; Ruby Lane boasts 10 years in operation but at the current fee structure, I definitely raised an eyebrow.


Ruby Lane
(from the site itself, find this info here)

• Set up fee: $75 (refunded if your shop is not approved)

• No Comission fee

• Listing Fee = 30 cents per item

• Monthly maintenance fee: The first 150 items is 30 cents for each item, and then each item over 150 is 20 cents per item.

• Minimum charge of 50 items, or $15 per month.Calculated and charged on the 1st of every month
  

• Advertising = $20 (monthly for all shops)

For example, after the one-time $75 setup fee has been paid, and the listing fees for stock added, for a shop with up to 50 items, the minimum monthly cost of maintaining a shop on Ruby Lane is $15 for the maintenance fee and $20 for advertising, or $35. (there are incentives for referrals)

So, yeah, that is a LOT of green even for my taste. A little too much. I could never turn a profit based on this fee structure, so my current sales venues, Big Cartel (with my self hosted website) and Etsy are looking pretty fine indeed.


Felt; like something different.
Upon looking at a few newer venues, there was a glint of hope;
Felt is a NZ site, started in 2007 that allows only handmade goods. Their terms of use look very good. I also like their tag line;

The fee structure is simple and looks like the costs will work into my profit margins nicely.
Each listing costs a flat fee of 50 cents, and lasts for one year. The fee is automatically deducted from your account when you submit your listing. When your item sells, the 5% success fee is also deducted automatically from your account. If your item hasn’t sold after a year, the listing will expire and you ‘ll need to renew it.
You can see the deets here;
Another nice way to go is the prepay system; you load your account up (no credit card required? Hope so!) and then when your funds get low your get a notification.


WinkElf also looks promising.

They have a basic fee program or an all inclusive monthly fee program of $5.00. That looks like the best way to go as we all know how quickly fees can add up in a month. The info is all here, though the presentation is a little convoluted. I think it is supposed to be a table but on my screen it doesn't quite look that way so it's a tad confusing.
Basic fee program is as follows:

• Free Listings

• Bold Title - $0.05

• Picture Slideshow - $0.15

• Category Feature - $0.10

• Main Page Feature - $0.25

• 2.5% of Final Selling Price (Minimum Selling Fee - $0.25)
  

• Homepage feature listing 25¢(per day?) for up to 30 days

This is a start. I am developing a chart for easier comparison since it's starting to get more complex with each indepth look. This might take a while so you'll have to check back often, or subscribe to my feed.