How eBay Helps Small Businesses Succeed

Behind the 2 billion listings live on eBay at any given moment are millions of U.S. small businesses and entrepreneurs that rely on the online marketplace to reach customers across the nation and around the world. 

For decades, eBay has made it possible for anyone — not just big retailers — to benefit from the ecommerce revolution by connecting small businesses in every corner of the country to a massive online market. It’s telling that 43% of eBay sellers live in rural communities or small towns.

While small businesses are drawn to eBay for many reasons — the platform’s ease, the flexibility it offers, its tools and a vast customer base — sellers consistently point to eBay’s  partnership with its sellers as the key differentiator.  

Other platforms compete against us. They use our data against us. eBay doesn’t do that. It really is the most seller-friendly platform.

Michael Swoape, One4Silver

By The Numbers

eBay’s 2023 Small Business Report underscores how important the marketplace is to small businesses. For example:

• 94% of sellers report seeing a strong connection between eBay and their success
• 91% of sellers say eBay makes it easy to turn a passion into a business
• 86% agree with the statement, “eBay enables opportunities for SMBs and entrepreneurs."

eBay isn’t just for side hustlers — just over one-third of eBay sellers have a brick-and-mortar store alongside their online shop.

Sound of Tri-State, a Delaware-based store that sells mobile electronics, considers eBay a key part of its growth strategy.

“We posted a few items on eBay in 1999, and it blew up from there,” said Joy Woodruff, Sound of Tri-State’s ecommerce director. “Since then, we’ve been able to hire more people and support more community events. eBay has been a huge part of that.”

The eBay Difference

eBay stands out among online marketplaces because it partners with sellers without competing with them.

eBay also offers sellers tools and programs designed to help them grow and thrive. The International Shipping Program, for example, helps U.S. sellers reach customers in 200 countries. The program also provides a critical advantage: sellers don’t have to manage complicated international returns.

“eBay international shipping is truly the love of my life,” eBay seller Anna Packer said. “We don't have to worry about managing customs, international returns or duties. eBay handles all that on our behalf.”

New technology provides additional support that would be challenging for a small business, on its own, to afford or implement. eBay has deployed an AI tool that speeds up the listing of items. And eBay’s seller hub provides data and personalized marketing recommendations to sellers.

eBay understands the vital role it has played in helping small businesses launch and grow, and this is why the company advocates policies that lift rather than encumber these businesses — such as raising the 1099-K reporting limit or protecting access to global marketplaces. Such advocacy is possible, and essential, because eBay and its sellers are aligned in their goals.

These efforts and commitments set eBay apart from other platforms — and ensure that small businesses and eBay can continue to thrive while serving customers in the U.S. and globally.

“eBay is the easiest way for someone who's thinking about starting a small business to get their product out into the world,” said Nick Quade, the ecommerce manager at IT Parts Express, a computer wholesaler in Minnesota.