Etsy beats peer marketplaces for buyers and sellers - report

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Apr 21, 2023

Etsy is regarded as the best online marketplace for sellers and buyers and is the brand to be followed by other companies operating in this space. 

That’s the glowing finding from customer intelligencer start-up Chattermill’s analysis of over 42,000 performance-related responses to some of the most popular online marketplaces. It pointed to Etsy “excelling in all aspects evaluated”.

Of the sellers and buyers using Etsy, Wayfair, eBay, Zalando and Depop between January 2022 and January 2023, Etsy “is beloved by its users for its helpful and knowledgeable staff, as well as the quality of products sold on the platform”.

However, at the other end of the scale, Depop was the lowest in the ranking with users “unhappy with the selling process, the communication processes in place and the overall quality of the app and website”.

The data also showed sellers have more negative experiences on some platforms, in particular when selling on Depop and eBay — the top negative phrase mentioned by them was ‘charge fee’. 

In the negative reviews left by sellers, many recommended people use Vinted instead as there are no fees, “something that might be stopping users to return to the platforms”, the report noted.

Price and fees are the main concern for both buyers and sellers. Among buyers, some of the most common negative phrases linked to their experiences on these platforms were also ‘price increase’, and ‘high price'.