Some merchants consider other retail sites such as Amazon or eBay to be competitors – they are alternative destinations for customers to visit. However, if retailers flip this perception, they will regard these marketplaces as additional channels through which they can sell products. Sure, there are other retailers inhabiting these channels as well, but a savvy merchant will be able to make the best of Amazon and eBay to reach new customers and extend its influence.

There are a broad number of different marketplaces available for retailers to sell goods through, and if merchants really want to extend their reach, they should consider using more than just one of these channels. Fortunately, new product information and order management tools make it easy for sellers to quickly create and maintain listings across all of these sites and fulfill orders quickly, regardless of where a customer makes a purchase.

Here are five top marketplaces retailers should consider:

1. Amazon

The granddaddy of all online marketplaces, Amazon has established itself as one of the leaders in the retail space. According to data from comScore, Amazon sites pull more than 95 million visitors each and every month, which means retailers can position their products in front of a significant number of people. This can be perfect for smaller sellers who may be starting out, as it enables them to get the brand exposure they so desperately want.

2. eBay

Although not quite as popular as Amazon, there is no denying that eBay is the queen of the online marketplace landscape. While Amazon’s monthly traffic dwarfs eBay’s – approximately 60 million people visiting the online auction site every month – that is still a significant chunk of traffic. Plus, eBay has other perks that may make up for fewer visitors – mainly the fact that eBay stores still retain a fair amount of branding potential compared to Amazon seller profiles, which often look identical.

3. Newegg

After the big two, traffic and customer base takes a bit of a dip. However, marketplaces such as Newegg still offer a lot of value. Newegg is perfect for retailers selling electronics to both B2C and B2B customers. The fact that it is more of a niche marketplace means retailers may have more opportunities to connect with prospects. On Amazon and eBay, electronics are one of many categories, but on Newegg, that is the central attraction.

4. Rakuten

​Rakuten shopping has been around for ages, and as such, it has developed a healthy following of loyal customers. According to Amazon Strategies, the site now serves 18 million customers worldwide and offers more than 17 million SKUs across 24 categories. The big appeal of Rakuten is the custom product pages, which enable retailers to position their products in more appealing ways compared to other marketplaces that may not have such flexible and robust product pages.

5. Sears

Unlike many online marketplaces that have sprung up within the past two decades, Sears has a century-long history of serving customers as a leader in the retail space. This adds a lot of credibility to the merchants selling products on Sears marketplace – while some people may have reservations buying from newer or less famous sites such as Newegg, they have complete confidence in Sears.

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