Learn Where to Get Reliable Prices Selling Collectibles Online

Other Marketplace Alternatives to eBay

Old clocks — Sharon Lapkin / Getty Images

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Updated on 05/02/18

It seems that selling antiques and collectibles was easier many years ago. Pretty much, eBay was the main game in town.

Since then, certain factors like an up-and-down economy and market saturation have resulted in prices going down for antiques and collectibles. The good news is that very rare and hard-to-find stuff can still bring good prices, but it can sometimes be a challenge to find the right venue to sell your items.

Besides eBay, collectors' favorite online marketplaces include Bonanza, Etsy, Craigslist, Ruby Lane, Webstore, and Artfire. Some of these stores, like Etsy and ArtFire, feature mostly handmade items. These online sites do still incorporate vintage or antique items in their fabrication or their shops.

Bonanza

One of the easiest and affordable places to set up shop, Bonanza is rapidly growing with a large number of shops that are easily customized. It is absolutely free to list an item on Bonanza and the average fee per sale is as little as 3.5 percent, which is much less than eBay.

Another way it differs from eBay, Bonanza has items set at a fixed price. It is not an auction, so you pay the price you see, skipping the bidding process.

Ruby Lane

RubyLane has been around since 1998 and specializes in antiques, fine arts, jewelry, and collectibles. RubyLane has some of tightest restrictions on what may and may not be sold on their website along with strict requirements for their sellers. Ruby Lane has higher dollar items and apparently less haggling for their vintage and antique goods than other online marketplaces.

Webstore

Webstore is a free marketplace. It is an auction site supported by advertisements and donations from its users. This allows you to keep your costs low, without paying listing and membership fees.

The site does not charge listing, relisting, final value, or listing upgrade fees. You can even set up a store on the site for no cost. Perhaps the biggest downside is that the site does not have millions of users like eBay, but upwards of 300,000 people is still not too shabby.

Artfire

ArtFire is an Arizona-based global marketplace that specializes in the "handmade, art, and indie business." Sellers have also found a niche for selling their vintage collectibles.

It has more than 10,000 active shops. ArtFire may be a tad smaller than Etsy and uses a similar model. It has monthly plans and for $5, $20, and $40 with a $0.23 per item listing fee.

You also have the ability to link to Etsy, Flickr, social media accounts, and more using Market Hub.

Etsy

Etsy has a strong following for selling collectibles and antiques, although it specializes in handmade and vintage goods as well as craft supplies. With fees being quite affordable, many vintage sellers list their items here as an alternative marketplace to eBay.

Etsy does charge a listing fee, but it is cheaper than eBay and the listing lasts almost four times longer before you have to renew the listing.

Craigslist

You can buy or sell anything on Craigslist. It is geotargeted, meaning local buyers and sellers usually arrange pickup and drop-off of the items in person.

Craigslist only charges for a small handful of post types, like job listings or vehicles. Products are free to list.

Unlike eBay, Craigslist cuts out the middleman, this can be good, but a downside is that if there is a buyer-seller dispute, you have to hash it out on your own. No one will intervene to settle a disagreement.