Top 10 Amazon Competitors for 3rd-Party Sellers in 2025

Are there good alternatives to Amazon? The quickest answer is yes. There are some online marketplaces like Amazon where you can sell your products for a good profit margin. In this article, we’ll look at Amazon's biggest rivals that are worth considering as alternatives for selling on Amazon.

Let’s get started:

If you’re planning to sell online, Amazon might be the first thing that comes to your mind. Sure, Amazon is still the world's most popular marketplace, but it isn’t the only e-commerce website where you can sell your goods. Despite its long-standing dominance, the e-commerce giant is facing unprecedented competition from innovative competitors.

Top 10 Amazon Competitors in the USA

As an ambitious seller, you can consider Amazon’s biggest rivals to create an omnichannel business presence across different E-commerce platforms as listed below:

Walmart

Founded in 1962 by Sam Walton in Rogers, Walmart is the second largest online retail giant in the USA following Amazon. The two fierce rivals compete across various fronts, including innovation, logistics, revenue, and sustainability. In 2023, Walmart made $648 billion in revenue, surpassing Amazon, which made $575 billion in revenue. Advantages of selling on Walmart are listed below:

• A smaller seller base means low competition, especially for niche Benefits of selling on Walmart (compared to Amazon)
• Sellers must be a genuine and legal entity. Not every seller may fulfill these criteria. This also reduces the competition.
• Shoppers choose Walmart because of affordable quality goods. So, it’s great for sellers offering quality products at competitive prices.
• Sellers can leverage Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), which functions like Amazon FBA, to improve order processing and gain customer trust.
• Walmart's seller fees, including referral charges, monthly fees, and listing fees, are more affordable than Amazon's.

eBay

eBay was founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar and has become a strong contender in the list of leading ecommerce platforms. It began as AuctionWeb, which is an auction-based system connecting audiences globally. On this platform, sellers can offer fixed pricing or auctions to the offerings, while buyers can negotiate and buy products at highly competitive rates. The company’s revenue in Q3 2024 amounted to around $2.6 billion, slightly higher than the reported net revenue from Q2.

• With over 1.7 billion active listings, you can sell almost anything on eBay, including refurbished or used products.
• The auction model makes selling cost-effective for sellers and thrilling for buyers.
• Sellers get 250 free listings monthly, unlike Amazon.
• eBay charges 10% as a Final Value Fee but no closing fees or additional charges.

Alibaba

Founded by Jack Ma in 1999, Alibaba is a China-based ecommerce behemoth known for low prices. The e-commerce powerhouse serves global customers in 190+ countries worldwide. In the fiscal year 2024, Alibaba made $130.35 billion in revenue, establishing itself as one of Amazon’s biggest rivals. The conglomerate encompasses subsidiaries including AliExpress, Tmall, and Taobao, to name a few, each competing with Amazon in different ways.

• Catering to businesses and wholesale buyers, Alibaba offers a higher sales volume than Amazon’s B2C model.
• Customization options allow control over product listings.
• The Trade Assurance program helps assure quality maintenance and timely delivery to shoppers.

Costco

Originally founded as Price Club in 1976, Costco has morphed into a big retailer with a strong reputation for quality products and low prices. Selling on Costco allows third-party sellers to quickly build credibility and a loyal audience. During fiscal year 2024 ended in September the ecommerce giant made a whopping $254 billion in net revenue. Costco follows a membership-only model where users pay $60 or $120 as an annual membership to access the platform.

Best Buy

If you’re an electronics seller, Best Buy can be an excellent alternative to selling on Amazon. Founded in 1966, Best Buy has evolved into the USA's most reliable online electronic retailer. Their information- and media-rich product pages drive huge traffic and excellent conversion rates. In the 2024 fiscal year, the company generated around $43.5 billion in global revenues.

Not only does it compete with Amazon, but it also provides excellent tech-based customer services. Best Buy’s subscription-based tech support service, Totaltech, provides 24-hour customer support, 2-year product protection, and exclusive members-only pricing, drawing more customers.

• A niche audience means higher visibility.
• Leverage Buy Online, Pickup In-Store (BOPIS) and same-day delivery options for faster delivery and reduced shipping costs.
• Better product protection means increased trust from consumers.

Etsy

Founded in June 2005, Etsy has evolved into a popular go-to marketplace for handmade products, vintage goods, artisanal products and original clothing. Despite its dominance in the custom goods scene, it stands strong as one of Amazon’s biggest rivals. As of the 2024 fiscal year, Etsy net revenue reached $2.798 billion, a 3.14% increase year-over-year. So, if you sell handmade or custom-made items exclusively, Etsy presents huge potential for you.

• Get access to a large audience of nearly 100 million active buyers.
• Set up your Etsy shop in just 10 minutes.
• Listing fees are much lower than Amazon.
• Run Etsy ads, free shipping campaigns, discounts, and integrations with social media accounts to reach more customers.

Shein

Founded in 2012, Shein is a fast-fashion website that has rapidly gained traction with its excellent collection of low-cost trendy products. The global fashion retailer is wildly popular, especially among Gen Z, for its lovely and affordable products. The platform rules almost 50% of the U.S. fast fashion scene and operates in 150+ countries worldwide, receiving 218 million monthly visitors. Shein’s sales skyrocketed from $3.15 billion in 2019 to $32.5 billion in 2023.

• Zero monthly fees for a seller account that costs around $39.99 per month on Amazon.
• Shein is more popular among global audiences than top brands like H&M and Zara.
• Target more shoppers at a 0% promotion fee.

Target

With its first retail store opened in 1962 in Minnesota, Target identified itself as a general merchandise retailer. As of 2023, the company owns 1,956 Target retail stores, serving 75% of Americans within 10 miles of a Target store. Target may seem a small contender in the list of alternatives for selling on Amazon, but the company maintains its loyal fanbase excellently. Its potential lies in its impressive loyalty and rewards program and credit card ‘Target REDcard’. Target annual revenue was $107.412 billion, and although the company is struggling to stay on this list, it seems to have noteworthy growth plans for the coming years. Recently, the company has enhanced its digital footprint with options like order pickup, same-day delivery, and drive-up collection.

• The invite-only model for sellers prioritizes inclusivity and quality, maintaining the brand’s reputation.
• Simplified fee structure with no hidden charges.
• Impressive loyalty programs that aren’t available at Amazon.
• Sellers can offer options like in-store pickups, doorstep delivery, and easy returns, while Amazon is limited to online shopping.

Temu

Launched in September 2022, Temu has become one of Amazon’s biggest rivals, all thanks to the extremely low prices of products sold at the store. The store directly connects consumers and manufacturers, enabling ‘heavily discounted prices’.

Combining this with its aggressive marketing strategies, including Super Bowl advertisements, Temu has become one of the most downloaded ecommerce apps in the US. Within the first half of 2024, Temu reported roughly $20 billion in sales, surpassing annual sales of $15.33 billion in 2023.

• As a seller, you can directly connect with customers.
• Temu’s marketing strategies, including localized promotions and pricing, help create a strong omnichannel presence.
• Temu’s deals outperform Amazon’s offers, helping anonymous sellers get exposure.
• It offers an unbelievable 90-day return window and free return shipping.

Otto

Launched in 1949, Otto is a veteran German ecommerce platform that embraced online retail in 1995. The company entered the US market in 1988 by purchasing the Chicago-based Crate & Barrel. Despite Amazon’s dominance in Europe and Germany, Otto has done well in staying in demand in the European market, particularly in Germany. In the fiscal year 2023/24, OTTO made a total gross merchandise value (GMV) of roughly 6.5 billion euros.

• The average shopping cart is much higher than that of Amazon.
• Lower rate of returns than on Amazon.
• Lower CPC (cost per click) than Amazon for paid advertising.
• Faster, more competent, and personalized customer support.

Emerging Alternatives: Social Commerce and Direct-to-Consumer

Social commerce and direct-to-consumer (DTC) models are also gaining popularity as emerging alternatives to Amazon. People can discover and buy products on social commerce platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Instagram without exiting the app. This allows sellers to reach a more targeted audience, and buyers can enjoy a more interactive shopping experience.

Similarly, the DTC model allows sellers to sell directly to shoppers through their own websites. This eliminates intermediary fees, improves customer experience, and gives sellers full control over branding. In both ways, sellers can diversify and scale their online sales.

Why consider using Amazon alternatives?

The ecommerce behemoth Amazon is too overflooded with sellers, making it tough to reach targeted consumers. That’s why an increasing number of sellers are now turning to alternative ecommerce platforms to make themselves more visible online.

Let’s check out the pros and cons of selling on Amazon, giving reasons to switch to alternatives from selling on Amazon:

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Selling on Amazon

Pros:

• A surprisingly large customer base globally
• Convenient and user-friendly platform
• FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) option
• Unmatched brand reputation
• Excellent marketing and advertising opportunities

Cons:

• Huge competition against third-party sellers and Amazon itself.
• High fees and commissions
• Limited control over customer experience
• A high chance of counterfeit products
• Too complex and too costly data feed
• Strict and demanding platform policies for sellers to comply with

Making the decision: Amazon vs. Competitors

Now, consider two important things:

1. Every platform has pros and cons.
2. Amazon is undeniably a huge player in the ecommerce industry.

Letting go of a platform with over 315 million active customers globally doesn’t seem like a good deal. However, Amazon also has unique challenges, like high seller fees, competitive advertising, and ensuring profitability. To stay competitive, sellers should have accurate, real-time insights into their campaigns and business performance. Fortunately, there are some extremely useful tools that help streamline operations and ensure profitability in the Amazon marketplace, and Profit Cyclops is one of them.

Profit Cyclops is an all-in-one solution to grow your sales and manage profits on Amazon. Supporting both Amazon and Walmart, this tool helps calculate profits accurately and provides valuable, data-driven insights to make informed business decisions. In real-time, you can track your KPIs, such as TACOS, CPC, fulfillment fees, storage costs, profit margin, and ROI through a user-friendly dashboard. It breaks down your all metrics into manageable screens to easily identify and fix underlying issues limiting your business’ scalability. It’s a great tool to maximize your sales and profit on Amazon.

How Can Small Businesses Compete with Amazon?

It’s obvious to wonder how small businesses can compete with Amazon. While it’s challenging, using the right strategies can truly help small businesses compete with Amazon. Here are some useful tips:

• Focus on a niche market or unique products.
• Strengthen your presence in your local markets.
• Provide personalized and responsive customer support.
• Create your user-friendly, mobile-responsive website.
• Optimize your inventory management and order fulfillment processes.
• Utilize digital marketing to increase your visibility online.