Half.com vs eBay
Written: Nov 30 '01 (Updated Dec 01 '01)
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The Bottom Line
The fixed price selling model supplements eBay's auction style pretty well, giving buyers and sellers more choices.
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| Full Review |
In this review, I discuss the pros and cons of listing (selling) relative low-priced items (less than $25) on Half.com vs listing them on eBay. Tips for buyers are implied.
My experience as a seller has been selling music CDs and books on Half.com as well as eBay. If you have something you want to sell, and wonder which place you are better off listing it, hopefully this review will help you.
Items listed on Half.com are generally non-unique items such as books, music CDs, DVDs, movies on VHS, etc. Unlike auctions, where the selling price is based on bidding, the seller just sets the price for items at Half.com (fixed-price selling), and it either sells or remains listed. There is no end date such as the end of an auction. The seller pays no fees unless the item sells.
Commissions
For items that sell at under $3, the total commissions are actually lower at Half.com than at eBay. For items above $3, the total commissions are higher at Half.com (than at eBay). Half.com charges the seller a commission of 15% of the sale price (for items less than $50). Half.com charges nothing to list an item if it doesn't sell. eBay charges 30 cents to list an item with an opening bid of "$9.99 or less" (whether it sells or not) and 5% of the final bid (for items that sell for under $25). So if you sell something for $3 on eBay, your commissions would total 45 cents [(5% of $3)+$0.30] = $0.45. Selling an item for $3 on Half.com would also cost you 45 cents in commissions [15% of $3] = $0.45. Items that sell for more than $3 will incur a higher total commission at Half.com. Items selling for less than $3 incur a lower total commission at Half.com. This doesn't account for shipping and handling costs or "profits".
Listing an Item for Sale
Half.com is quicker and easier to list items on. The terms of service, such as shipping and handling and method of payment are constant. For books and CDs, you cannot upload a picture on Half.com (you can on eBay), so listing an item on Half.com is generally quicker and easier. There is no bidding on Half.com. You choose the price you are willing to sell at, and the item will remain listed until it sells or you remove it. You can edit your listing price and description at any time. Unlike eBay, Half.com limits item descriptions to no more than 70 characters. But Half.com shows a lot of information about each product, most times including an image of the book jacket or CD insert as well as links to more info on the item, etc.
Shipping Charges
If the package is less than a pound, the USPS will charge $1.33 to ship eligible items by media mail rate (books and CDs qualify for the media mail rate). Half.com charges the buyer $2.30 for shipping, then they reimburse the seller $1.78 of that, so Half.com actually takes a cut of the shipping charge, and the seller makes a $0.45 profit on the shipping charge as well (if he can keep the package under 1 pound). $1.78 is the media rate to send an item that is between 1-2 pounds. I do not know how Half.com justifies taking a (sizeable) cut of the postage charged to the buyer in addition to the 15% commission (on items below $50), but I am sure they have some sort of stance. It might be a fee for handling the money transactions. eBay sellers are responsible for their own money collection.
On eBay, the seller sets the shipping and handling charges and usually lists them in the terms of service for that auction. You might find this preferable in some cases. Also on eBay, it is sometimes possible to combine shipping charges when a buyer orders multiple items from the same seller. Half.com doesn't allow for this.
Other Considerations
eBay allows for easier communication between buyer and seller. This is a complaint I've often read of people about Half.com.
Half.com handles the money collection for the seller, then they reimburse the seller (minus commission and their cut of the shipping fee). eBay sellers are responsible for their own money collection.
Half.com is good for listing items that you are afraid might not sell on eBay, because Half.com charges nothing if the item doesn't sell. And there is less of a time investment needed to list something on Half.com compared to eBay.
A lot of items don't have listings at Half.com (even some books and CDs). Those items can't be listed there. Half.com's website is often slow and displays incorrect info, and I've read complaints that the search engine doesn't work too well.
On eBay you have the potential for a bidding war that would increase the sale price. This won't happen on Half.com, but I doubt there are many bidding wars on the type of items listed at Half.com. These are common items.
I believe Half.com only let's people buy items if they want them shipped within the U.S.
By the way, Half.com was recently acquired by eBay, and I have read that they plan to merge all of the Half.com's listings with eBay's listing at some point. This will put auction items side by side with fixed price items. It should be interesting. I think that will probably benefit the buyers, because right now sellers can choose which site they think their listing will bring a better selling price from, and list their item there. Sellers do that to take advantage of the fact that not all buyers check both eBay AND Half.com to find the better deal (I acknowledge that there are also other online companies in this business besides Half.com and eBay, but I am only writing on those two).
When and if the Half.com and eBay listings are merged, the sellers won't be able to make that choice between the two. Buyers will see a lot more "supply" in one place. This should force the sellers to lower their prices to be able to make sales (at least right at first). Buyers will stop bidding $3 for something if they are able to see 80 of the same item listed (for immediate purchase) at 75 cents. For now, if you are buyer, I suggest checking at Half.com before bidding on something at eBay.
There are some items that seem better to list at Half.com. If you have a particular CD you want to sell, and you can see (by searching ended items on eBay) that 80% of the auctions for that item finish with no bids, even if the opening bid is set at say $1, you should consider listing it at Half.com. Maybe you can list yours as the lowest asking price for something higher at Half.com. Maybe $2 in this example. In that case, Half.com would be the place to list it.
But you might find that there are 20 of them for sale at 75 cents (which is the lowest they'll let a seller list something at on Half.com). If so, that CD might not be worth trying to sell at all.
Again this doesn't take into consideration the shipping and handling charges. Some eBayer's list items at 1 cent and hope to make a buck or two from shipping and handling. That's a whole other issue.
Summary
I guess my simple advice on deciding which site to list items would be to see what the going price is at Half.com and compare it to the going price on eBay by searching "ended items". Then weigh the pros and cons I mentioned above, and make a choice.
Buyers might want to do the same crosscheck as well as checking Yahoo! Auctions or some other site before making a bid or placing an order.
Thanks,
fr4ed
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Location: Channel Islands, CA
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 3 members
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