In the fourth quarter of 2011, eBay Marketplaces reported 100 million active users worldwide. According to eBay on its marketplace a woman’s dress sells every 8 seconds and someone buys a cell phone every 5 seconds.
EBay is still a very popular buying and selling platform and used by many different types of sellers — SOHO ecommerce owners, part-time eBay enthusiasts and large businesses. Different sellers need different eBay tools. While eBay offers its own listing tools, you may find — like many other people do — that eBay’s tools don’t provide the listing features you need; for example, listing your inventory across multiple auctions sites in addition to your own Web store.
Many of the inventory management and multiple-channel selling tools for eBay sellers we list below offer a free trial, so you can try different eBay tools to see which ones best suit your business needs before you make a cash investment.
13 EBay Inventory Management and Multi-Channel Selling Tools
Even if you sell on eBay and make a profit, many sellers prefer to manage their own off-eBay Web store and list the same products on other sites such as Amazon or eBay alternative sites. The problem is that manually tracking sales across multiple channels and removing products from one online listing when it sells elsewhere is not a good business strategy.
Inventory management and multi-channel ecommerce software can help you to create your own online store if you don’t have one and synchronize your inventory and stock levels across all the places you do business. Here are 13 options to help you better manage a multiple channel selling strategy for eBay.
1. AuctionBlox eMarketConnect provides access to eBay and Amazon.com from your existing online store. By connecting your store with eBay, AuctionBlox allows you to list your products on eBay and to process checkout in your own store. CRE Loaded, oscommerce, Zen Cart and Magento art software is supported. AuctionBlox Storefront pricing starts at $99/month.
2. AuctionSound is eBay auction-management software that helps sellers manage eBay consignment and online inventory. AuctionSound provides image hosting, eBay templates and consignor-management and reporting tools. Pricing starts at a $24.99/month; free 30-day trial.
3. BigCommerce lets you create your own Web shop, plus you can sell on Facebook and eBay. Extra features include multi-channel retailing, mobile commerce, SEO, and easy upselling. Pricing starts at a $24.95/month.
4. ChannelMAX is an inventory-management service that lets you create a Web store plus list your inventory to multiple online marketplaces including eBay, Overstock and uBid. You can schedule listings, create listing templates and more. Pricing starts at $24.99/month.
5. DesignCart is an online, hosted shopping cart designed for a small to mid-size business that wants to sell products on the Web. It works on any hosting platform and is eBay compatible. DesignCart provides capability to list and complete payment for your eBay auctions. Winning bidders will be presented with an add-button via email, and upon successful payment, the cart will update the eBay auction status automatically. Pricing starts at $18/month; free 14-day trial.
6. Infopia offers SaaS (Software as a Service) ecommerce solutions including a Marketplaces product to build a multi-channel business by optimizing product sales across your own website and online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. Sellers can manage all online inventory, marketplace listings, and orders from one place. Contact Infopia for pricing details.
7. Kosmos Central eBay ecommerce integration software lets you upload items from your online store to your eBay account, and download orders from eBay to your ecommerce website — integrating all purchases into one system to keep your eBay and online storefronts in sync. You’ll find pricing for different Kosmos services on its website.
8. Mercantec E-Commerce Express offers an entry-level storefront and cart service so you can sell in a number of places including your own site and eBay. You can use E-Commerce Express for auction (and other types of online checkouts including eBay fixed price listings. Mercantec lets you create an Instant Storefront or generate Snippets that are embedded into existing content. E-Commerce Express is a free service.
9. ProStores offers sellers a complete ecommerce platform, including Web store, shopping cart, built-in templates and more. EBay sellers can sync eBay and ProStores inventory and also list on eBay from the ProStores interface. Pricing starts at $20.95/month in addition to per transaction fees; free 30-day trial.
10. Solid Commerce is a multi-channel ecommerce platform that allows you to sell and list items across a number of sites including eBay and Amazon. Inventory management features lets you synchronize your inventory stock levels in real-time across your various sale channels and manage your business from a central interface. Pricing is based on monthly sales revenue.
11. Techwave Free Shopping Cart software provides everything you need to build, update and maintain an online store. Techwave is fully integrated with Microsoft CRM, Sugar CRM for organized business and sharing procedure, and also offers an EBay Integration Module for Techwave Ecommerce that will fully integrate your ecommerce website with an eBay store. Contact Techwave for pricing details.
12. T-HUB for QuickBooks is an order-management solution designed to integrate your ecommerce stores with QuickBooks and Shipping services (UPS/FedEx/USPS). T-HUB works with several leading ecommerce platforms and shopping carts such as Amazon, eBay, Yahoo stores, Magento, Volusion, GoDaddy, X-Cart, BigCommerce, AmeriCommerce, osCommerce, AspDotNetStorefront and others. Pricing starts at $550 for standard software purchase, with Pro and Advanced versions available.
13. Vendio eBay Listing Software is part of the Vendio Platform and is an eBay listing tool that you can use to create and manage your online auction pages. It’s a multi-channel solution that can manage sales across eBay, Amazon, a Vendio Store and more. Pricing for Vendio Marketplace starts at $19.95/month (a basic plan is free).
8 EBay Auction Management Tools
If you’re not ready to list across multiple selling channels, and you’re happy to stick with just eBay right now, the following eBay auction-management tools will help you create eBay auction pages, manage images and give you options for professional eBay templates to make your pages more appealing to potential buyers.
14. AuctionSplash is a desktop tool that gives eBay sellers access to listing templates, picture hosting (up to eight photos) and scheduling. It works with eBay U.S., eBay UK, eBay CA, eBay AU and others. The service offers a no-hassle single page listing screen. AuctionSplash is free to use.
15. Auctiva auction management provides eBay sellers with a number of tools including professional eBay templates, marketing tools, image hosting, listing software, and inventory management. The unlimited plan is $9.99/month; a free basic plan for image hosting is available.
16. Blackthorne Basic is a software application that lets you create professional listings in bulk, track the status of sales, and manage buyer communication and feedback. And it integrates in your eBay selling manager. Pricing starts at $9.99/month; free 30-day trial.
17. Blackthorne Pro includes all the features of Blackthorne Basic, plus additional options for inventory management, reporting, multiple user profiles, and is available in a desktop version. Pricing is $24.99/month; free 30-day trial.
18. eBay Selling Manager is free for all eBay sellers and can be accessed from within your “My eBay” tab. The tool is designed to help medium-volume sellers manage their eBay listings. Features include the option to track active listings, generate bulk feedback, and print invoices and labels in bulk. The eBay Selling Manager is free via an eBay account.
19. eBay Turbo Lister is a free tool that lets sellers list multiple items and upload in bulk to eBay. Turbo Lister offers bulk editing capability, search tools, and a toolbar for better control of your listings. The eBay Turbo Lister is free via an eBay account.
20. EZLister.Net is a Web-based auction business management solution. Sellers can use EZLister.Net to automate routine tasks associated with listing and managing eBay auctions and item listings. Pricing is based on a per-listing fee, and it starts at $56 for 250 listings.
21. Supreme Auction is an eBay Compatible application that lets you create multiple listings and submit them to eBay. The application offers free template designs, widgets, images and more. With this tool you can list on eBay U.S., eBay UK, eBay Germany. Supreme Auction is free, and there are optional paid upgrades available. A basic version with all features is free, and sellers can upgrade to a paid Premium account.
EcommerceGuide.com wants to know: What is your favorite eBay selling tool? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
Looking for More eBay Tools and Tips?
From beginner guides to expert tips, our selection of eBay and Web shop articles can help you to better manage your ecommerce business.
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- Glamour Shots: Inspiring Inventory with Free Image Editors
- EBay Tools: Off-eBay Options to Publish Listings
- Seller Tools: EBay Compatible Shopping Carts
Based in Nova Scotia, Canada, Vangie Beal has spent the last decade contributing featured articles and reviews to more than 20 technology-focused publications, including Webopedia and Ecommerce-Guide. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.
