Best online marketplaces in the UK

Amazon

Best for reaching a large audience

The name Amazon is synonymous with online shopping. With one of the biggest online user bases, it is the fifth most popular website in the UK, with vendors selling everything from secondhand books to clothes, food, gadgets and tech.

As one of the world’s leading ecommerce sites Amazon presents both opportunities and challenges. While it can give sellers access to a huge customer base, it also creates lots of competition from other sellers around the world.

In addition, many sellers find that Amazon’s fees are high, which makes selling less profitable. Others find that the platform’s rules, ordering systems, delivery options and account management processes are difficult to navigate.

Sellers who value charitable giving may also be disappointed to learn that Amazon closed its Amazon Smile programme in 2023, stating that it had not delivered the impact the company expected.

For these reasons, many sellers are looking for Amazon alternatives in the UK.

eBay

Best for flexible selling options

eBay is one of the longest-established online marketplaces and is well known in the UK. Its combination of auction listings and fixed-price sales makes it suitable for both casual sellers and businesses.

Unlike Amazon, it does have a charitable arm. eBay for Charity allows sellers to donate a percentage of their product price to good causes, which is highlighted on their profiles. Buyers can also choose to buy from charity shops and nonprofit vendors in order to support good causes while shopping online.

Like Amazon, eBay has a large database of buyers and sellers located all over the world. Again, this is a double-edged sword. While there are thousands of potential buyers, there is also high competition from other sellers who may have similar items.

Some sellers find eBay’s fee structure complicated. While private seller fees have been eliminated, fees remain for business accounts. In addition, many sellers feel that eBay’s buyer protection rules unfairly disadvantage sellers.

As a result, many business sellers in the UK are exploring alternatives to eBay, where selling is more straightforward.

Etsy

Best for handmade products and crafts

Etsy has become the global go-to online marketplace for handmade, vintage and craft sellers. Its focus helps creative businesses connect with customers who are looking for unique and personalised products.

However, some people are looking for alternatives to Etsy because there has been growing criticism of its fee structure. Alongside listing and transaction fees, sellers must also handle a payment processing fee. In addition, those selling over a certain threshold of annual sales may be enrolled in Etsy’s off-site advertising programme, resulting in further fees.

Latest estimates suggest that Etsy has 8.1 million sellers and competition in certain categories, such as jewellery and homeware, is particularly fierce. Some sellers are also concerned that Etsy is biased in favour of buyers with many discussing its dispute resolution processes on Facebook and Reddit.

Etsy does offer charitable giving options, allowing sellers to donate some or all of their proceeds to their chosen charity.

If you’re thinking about where to sell handmade crafts and creative products online, alternatives to Etsy include Folksy and Crafters Market, as well as Causee.

Vinted

Best for reselling clothes

If you're wondering where to buy and sell secondhand clothes, Vinted is likely to be one of the first platforms that comes to mind. Its straightforward listing process and lack of seller fees have helped it attract millions of users and become one of the UK's most popular resale platforms.

Vinted allows sellers to make donations from their account. They can pledge up to £120 per donation to support Vinted’s chosen charity.

However, one of the perceived drawbacks is the buyer’s ability to negotiate the price of items, which leaves sellers feeling that they have to accept lower offers. Others feel that managing enquiries, negotiations and postage can become time-consuming, particularly when selling large numbers of items.

As with the alternatives above, some users have expressed concerns about dispute resolution processes and feel that buyer protection policies can be unfair to sellers. In addition, Vinted has drawn criticism because it seems to promote frequent buying and selling without consideration to its impact on the environment.

Alternatives to Vinted include eBay and Causee, where you can sell secondhand items alongside new products across a wide range of categories.

Causee

Best for ethical sellers

We couldn’t put together an article about the best online marketplaces without mentioning ourselves. As an ethical online marketplace, Causee was created with charitable giving at its heart. We want to provide an ethical alternative to Amazon; an online selling platform where buyers and sellers can come together and benefit the wider community.

The process is similar to any other marketplace, except that sellers can choose which charity they’d like to benefit from a share of our profits. At the end of each year, we’ll divide any profit we make between the chosen charities. This means every sale can help support charitable organisations without adding costs or complexity for buyers.

In the interests of balance, we should mention that we are a new marketplace and we don’t (yet) have the user base of larger platforms such as Amazon or eBay. However, sellers can use Causee alongside their existing channels, increasing their potential audience size.