Hello,

I am curious to know whether Gumtree is better than eBay,I have had many people tell me their success but I think Ebay has a better format of Bidding and protection where as Gumtree does not.

BNWT 20 Lyle and Scott polo shirts free Postage Men's Clothing for Sale epping,Essex,near london London

This wholesale lot would not be allowed on eBay because they are much more strict than Gumtree. eBay goes in depth of how when selling brand name goods you need to show a receipt or proof or authenticity whereas on Gumtree you do not.

What are your thoughts on this?

Hi Willsdills,

Welcome to Wholesale Forum

Gumtree is a UK classifieds website (purchased by eBay in 2005), it is the most popular classifieds website in the UK, very similar in a way to Craigslist in the US. You can list items for free if you are a private individual, but you are not allowed to use it as a for profit resale tool unless you pay for advertising for each of the listings you submit.

Advantages:
- Cheaper advertising fees compare to eBay
- High levels of traffic

Disadvantages:
- Rife with scams, both on the buyer side and the seller side (you will receive lots of requests to pay by credit card or PayPal, but ship to an address that is different to the credit card's registered address or the PayPal's registered address. Of course you should ignore all such requests, since you will not be covered by your bank or PayPal for chargeback claims).
- Many buyers will expect to be able to inspect the goods in person: classifieds ads are mainly designed for local, face to face transactions.
- Buyers expect a bargain, they will haggle for a cheaper price
- Gumtree does not run any checks on either sellers or buyers. The lower cost of selling through Gumtree compared to eBay is reflected in Gumtree's lower safety.

Whether eBay or Gumtree will work better for you will depend on:

- the type of product you are selling (the products that sell best on Gumtree are larger items or items that require inspection in person)
- the buyer's proximity to your location
- whether you are willing to meet buyers in person
- the price you are offering for the goods (is it cheaper than eBay)
- your propensity to risk (Gumtree is higher risk than eBay)

Hope this helps.