When I started selling online in May of 1997, there really was only one marketplace that had any traction at all for the individual or small business seller and of course that site was eBay. eBay was the website that allowed nearly anyone to sell most anything. As the World Wide Web grew out of infancy into pre-adolesence in the new century more and more online marketing venues emerged onto the stage.

As individuals and small businesses found the internet as a sales tool, so to did the Big Box B/M businesses. The Big Box sellers realized that the internet was the new discount isle and they moved to get their piece of the pie. In the past 3-4 years there has been an explosion in the number of ecommerce sites catering to these large volume sellers, providing them the opportunity to market across multiple venues with the ease and efficency required to be profitable.

Diluting The MarketPlace

This evolution has diluted the marketplace as it pertains to the “Little Guy”. No longer can they compete on price in many of the product lines that consumers are seeking. This is evidenced by Amazon buying products to sell on their site in direct competition to their 3P (3rd party) sellers, and eBay giving preferential exposure to large volume sellers. There are other examples from other sites, but you get the picture.

As the giants in ecommerce focus in on volume vs uniqueness (regardless of what eBay says) niche marketing is becoming the focus of a lot of internet marketers. These sellers who sell unique or one of items are looking for ways to once again be visible on a site and not relegated to the sub basement. This I believe is the largest reason for the slumping numbers on eBay and why other niche sites have seen significant growth.

In my next chapter I will look deeper into the niche marketplaces and how they benefit their sellers!

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