9 Reasons to Sell on Gumtree Instead of eBay

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Gumtree is seen as the UK's answer to Craigslist. It's been going since 2000, so they know what they're doing, and they've kept evolving as people's lifestyles have. The site and mobile app is a place to sell your unwanted goods (and all kinds of other services) without all the strings that other marketplaces bring with them.

While I use a variety of marketplaces, and will still continue to, there's a certain charm about Gumtree that makes it stand apart from its competitors. As it's not as popular as the other big ones (eBay and Amazon) there are lots of opportunities, as so many people will completely ignore it.

Let's break down all the reasons why you might choose to get rid of something with Gumtree instead of eBay:

1. No Fees

At eBay there are charges for listing products, selling products, receiving payment via PayPal and for any postage costs you add on top. They may not be a lot, but no one wants money skimmed off their earnings at all. If you have the ability to avoid all of that, you would. This is where Gumtree comes in.

At Gumtree you can list whatever you want without having to pay a penny. Why would you bother to pay anything to sell when you actually don't have to? Obviously, there's the benefit that you're probably going to get more eyeballs on your listings at eBay, but if you're not in that much of a rush to sell, you can just wait for those sales to trickle in without any fees at all.

2. Lower Expectations

There's so much pressure on eBay sellers to maintain good feedback. While you obviously should try to deliver the best customer service possible, it can be intimidating to those new to the platform. Gumtree buyers are a lot more relaxed and forgiving, in my experience.

If you're new to online selling, and have more experience in linking up with people for quick transactions, Gumtree is definitely more suited for you.

3. No PayPal Needed

You wouldn't believe how many people still don't have PayPal accounts. I don't know how they get by, but it's meant that they've steered well clear of eBay as a result. The crazy thing is you can pay for things on there without using PayPal now, but that news isn't getting back to everyone.

If you don't have a PayPal account or – for whatever reason – don't want one, Gumtree may be a bit more appealing for you. Gumtree buyers are most likely to give you cash on receipt of their goods, and that's a massive advantage to many of its users.

4. Local Buyers

Listings on Gumtree are largely based around your location. You're selling products to people around you, making it a lot easier to arrange collections and organise yourself. Based on my experience, the further your buyers live away from you, the more likely it is that they'll cancel or delay an in-person collection. To avoid disappointment, it's better to have most of your buyers living somewhere near you.

5. Reduced Competition

eBay follows Amazon as the biggest retail site in the UK. It's massive. A lot of traffic pours into that site each day and it's a blessing to people on there. However, it’s absolutely flooded with products, especially with all the dropshippers. It can make it difficult to stand out from the competition. People from around the world can list their things, making it harder to find yours. Gumtree, being a lot more local, means you’re far less likely to sell the same product at the same time as someone in your local area.

For those that want to just list something and not really worry about optimising the listing for photography, keywords and all that other stuff, Gumtree is a much more forgiving platform where you're probably going to make a sale, so long as the price and condition is right.

6. Cash on Collection Expected

Cash-in-hand. That's the standard for most Gumtree transactions. No messing around trying to figure out if payments have been processed or if funds have been held by a payment provider. Cash is exchanged directly and no fees are applied in the process. It leads to a smoother experience for many people.

7. Simplified Listing Process

I would consider the eBay listing process to be a bit more complicated than it needs to be. They're constantly making developments which make things easier in some respects, but still may be off-putting to those that aren't used to selling online. On Gumtree there's none of that; take a photo, write a title, description, price and you're done. It's really as simple as that.

8. Buyer-Seller Conversation Encouraged

eBay is notorious for preventing buying and sellers from communicating via phone or email. It's completely understandable, because they could lose a lot of commission that way. Gumtree isn’t nearly as strict on all of this, allowing you to sort out arrangements that probably aren’t possible on eBay.

There are times when it's just too much effort to have back and forth conversations via chat applications, and you just need to pick up the phone to clear things up and explain what you mean and how you want things to go. Gumtree makes that easy.

9. Dropshipping Opportunities

Gumtree buyers are looking for bargains, and assume that they’re going to buy something below the value on eBay, Amazon and wherever else. That’s an opportunity for you to find new products that are cheaper than they look (especially small furniture), list them on Gumtree, and then ask them to collect it in a few days' time. Little would they know that you just bought it online and are now selling it on for a profit.

So long as you list the things that people want, and you can get it delivered to you extremely quickly (Argos and Amazon are great for 24-hour turnarounds) then you are onto a winning formula.