A giant in the online shopping world, Amazon has grown to become the most popular e-commerce website within the past decade. And regardless of how you feel about it, you cannot simply ignore the eCommerce giant.
For a lot of businesses, selling on Amazon has become more of a necessity. Consequently, this has made it harder for Amazon’s competitors to stand strong against it. Though Amazon rules in the global online market in terms of the variety and price of the products, it has faced a lot of criticism too regarding its working conditions.
Despite being the most popular online marketplace, shopping at Amazon can sometimes get confusing and a bit expensive too. This is a prime reason for people to look for Amazon alternatives that can offer better customer value and operate more ethically, to be precise. So, we are here to help get familiar with some marketplaces that are less popular than Amazon but offer significant benefits to the customers to buy products online.
A lot of us may still believe that there is no real alternative to Amazon as it has managed to symbolize e-commerce in a powerful manner. Amazon offers a huge range of merchandise combined with benefits like amazing shipping & return policy and a great user experience. Then comes the Amazon Prime subscription, which is quite unbeatable when it comes to the benefits that it offers.
However, if we talk about the current scenario, many new online stores have launched that also promise quality products at affordable prices along with a seamless customer experience. Due to the ongoing pandemic, online shopping has seen a drastic increase as people prefer to buy their favorite products online from their homes than visiting the stores.
Why are Amazon Alternatives Important?
Businesses are usually attracted to Amazon because of the large number of customers it caters to. Every month, millions of buyers worldwide indulge in online shopping through Amazon to purchase a huge range of products ranging from groceries to furniture to hi-tech electronic gadgets.
No matter what industry you belong to, some people would approach Amazon to find products that your business produces. This is enough reason for any business to get convinced and list their products for sale on Amazon.
To know more, there are two types of accounts a seller can create on Amazon – Individual and Professional. For the professional plan, you must sell more than 40 products a month, and it comes with a monthly subscription fee. Additionally, you will also have to pay a referral fee and a variable closing fee above the monthly subscription cost.
On the other hand, the individual account doesn’t require any monthly fee. However, whenever someone buys your product, you will have to gear up for an item fee, referral fee, and a variable closing fee.
As a business, you must know that selling on Amazon comes with some expenses while being competitive too. There are above two million sellers on Amazon that are spread above dozens of product categories. As an Amazon seller, you will probably have to compete against many competing businesses every time a person searches for your product. However, there are measures through which you can optimize your listings and have your product show on the top in the search results.
Leaving everything aside, it’s time for you to take a look at our list of top 10 Amazon alternatives that are worth checking out. Many amazon alternatives on our list not only offer superb quality products but also offer them at affordable prices. Besides, they also concentrate on fair labor practices, ethical supply chains, and environmental stewardship.
10 Best Amazon Alternatives
We have compiled a list of the top 10 Amazon alternatives that assure the same quality and service, and you can definitely try these out.
1. eBay
eBay is one of the most popular Amazon alternatives that was launched in 1995. However, eBay doesn’t sell its products like Amazon. eBay acts as a medium or middleman between e-commerce businesses/third-party sellers and customers. eBay is an online marketplace where you can shop anything ranging from apparel, electronics to furniture and decor for your homely space.
One unique feature of eBay is that a customer can outright buy many listed products or win them while they are auctioned. Whoever wins the auction is able to buy the product at a price of the second-highest bid. Bidding offers sustainability to the items that are auctioned. Not just this, few products also offer a choice between buying and bidding.
The eCommerce platform also offers the ‘eBay Money Back Guarantee,’ which comes into play if the buyer doesn’t receive the product or if the buyer received a different product than what was shown on the website.
eBay has also partnered with few non-profit organizations to support causes related to climate change and the environment.
2. Walmart
Walmart is one of the world’s largest retailers with a chain of supermarkets across the world. Founded in 1962, Walmart offers 2-day free shipping on millions of products at substantially low prices. Walmart is a superb alternative to Amazon for people who reside in the United States. All the products sold at their stores are available on the website.
It offers a wide variety of items from different categories like clothing, groceries, footwear, electronic appliances, furniture, toys, video games, health & beauty, accessories, and pharmacy. The website provides an option for re-ordering the items purchased before so that the buyer doesn’t have to search all over again for them.
Unlike Amazon, the buyer doesn’t have to go through loads of sellers along with their unprofessional business behavior. All the products are vetted by Walmart, which provides better customer satisfaction.
Besides, Walmart offers one seller account that is absolutely free. The seller can sell as much as they like, and they have not incurred a premium for any extra perks. And the only fee the website charges from the seller is the referral fee.
3. Newegg
Newegg is another great Amazon alternative and a go-to marketplace for electronic goods such as laptops, cameras, desktop computers, televisions, games, software and services, toys, and automotive & industrial. In 2005, Newegg was named as one of the top 10 retailers. It has also won the Computer Shopper Choice Awards many times.
Newegg is an ideal choice as it offers services like quick delivery and superb customer support, besides all other features. The unique proposition that Newegg offers is that it allows both B2B and B2C. Having an e-commerce business on Newegg allows the seller to sell their products in bulk to different businesses around the globe.
They also have an order fulfillment service known as Shipped By Newegg for businesses that are short on time, resources, and space for shipping orders to the buyers. This allows sellers to send the products to a Newegg Fulfillment Center, where Newegg will handle the packing and shipping of the products.
The benefit of purchasing online from Newegg is that they offer free 3-days shipping and a price match guarantee which makes it an amazing deal.
4. AliExpress
Chinese retail giant AliExpress involves no middlemen and provides factory-direct pricing on a wide variety of products. You can buy a whole lot of items, including electronics, clothing, shoes, accessories, bags, toys, automobiles, tools, hair & beauty products, computers, etc. at affordable prices.
AliExpress also offers several guarantees in order to protect customers from any kind of scams. This includes not paying the vendor until you receive and check your product, getting a full refund if the order doesn’t reach or if the products are different from what you ordered.
For those who prefer buying smartphones online, AliExpress is a good choice as it offers great deals, which also makes it a better alternative to Amazon.
5. Thrive Market
Thrive Market is a superb alternative to Amazon-owned, Whole Foods. The eCommerce platform sells organically-produced food products and groceries. It is a one-stop-shop for gluten-free and organic food products for adults, babies, and even pets.
This online shopping site offers membership at $5 per month, which allows you to get discounts up to 50% on a wide selection of high-quality products. Also, the membership gives you access to more than 6000 organic products that are available at considerably low prices. You will be able to shop and filter as per your diet preferences.
The customers get quick, free, sustainable packaging and carbon-neutral shipping, and each membership sponsors a membership for a low-income family.
Not to mention, if you visit their website, you will spot the option ‘Accessibility Adjustments.’ This means that you can adjust and customize your site experience based on the auditory, visuals, and attention abilities. Your preferences may include large text size, few animations, and reduced on-screen flashing.
And above all, Thrive Market comes with a 30-day free trial, so you can always try before taking a membership.
6. Rakuten
Previously known as Buy.com, Rakuten is Japan’s biggest online marketplace, which offers a variety of products by connecting potential customers with different businesses. It doesn’t have its own line of products or inventory.
Rakuten allows its customers to compare products from several online shopping sites so that they can choose the best and the most inexpensive option as per their budget and preferences.
Online stores like Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Kohl’s, and Walgreens support Rakuten. The product variety is quite wide and product return and satisfaction guarantee policies are available like other stores. The products you can buy from Rakuten include clothing, electronics, pet items, home & outdoor, luggage, shoes, accessories, etc.
One great feature of Rakuten is that it provides reviews of various products along with a ‘Super Points’ program that allows the customers to earn store credit for purchasing certain products and using that credit to make future purchases.
7. Zappos
Founded in 1999, Zappos was initially named ‘Shoesite.com.’ Later, in 2009, Amazon acquired it while making it a subsidiary website. Zappos specializes in shoes, clothing, and accessories.
You earn rewards whenever you make a purchase on Zappos, and you also have the privilege to opt for expedited shipping, which allows you to receive your order faster. It also offers free shipping and returns. They even accept returns till a year after you make the purchase.
Also, the online portal offers excellent customer support where their representatives go all the way to provide complete satisfaction to the customers while enhancing their overall experience.
Another advantage is their Safe Shopping Guarantee which protects the customers during credit card fraud.
8. Barnes & Noble
One of the best Amazon alternatives for purchasing books online is Barnes&Noble.com. Besides books, they also offer a variety of other products as well. More than 6 million books in stock can be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. It also provides over 4.5 million ebooks, which can be downloaded anytime.
Besides magazines and textbooks, you can purchase toys, games, and other collectibles at BarnesAndNoble.com.
Purchasing books online proves cheaper than buying the same ones from the stores as sellers don’t have to pay any overhead costs, which in turn becomes beneficial for the customers.
With a membership, you can avail of free shipping facilities on orders of $25 and more along with exclusive discounts.
9. Overstock
Overstock was initially launched with an aim to sell products of unsuccessful e-commerce websites and let them earn a profit. However, it now focuses on selling handmade crafts while supporting artisans from across the globe under a program called ‘Worldstock.’
Founded in 1997, Overstock has a Club-O-Gold rewards program that allows customers to enjoy free shipping and a 5% discount on every order. They also have a Deals section which shows every product that is on sale.
Overstock is also dedicated to the community and supports various Special Operations Warrior Foundation and Best Friends Animal Society organizations.
10. Target
Founded in 1992, Target is a popular online shopping site in the United States and especially caters to the needs of youngsters. You will find a huge selection of products, including kitchen & dining, books, movies, party items, music, etc., and buy them at quite low prices.
If you purchase worth $35, you can avail free 2-day shipping facilities. The prices of the products are almost like Walmart; however, the quality is much better.
Also, they offer a Target REDcard, which allows customers to avail of free shipping on every order without any minimum purchase limit along with a 5% discount. Shipping for any returns is also free, and you can exchange products from Target’s own brands within a year. In general, you can return an item within 60 days and if you have paid through REDcard the returning period gets an extension of +30 days.
Conclusion
We hope you find the above-mentioned top 10 Amazon alternatives helpful as they can offer you more value than Amazon. While some of the Amazon alternatives listed above may not be able to provide same-day delivery, it’s still worth giving them a try.