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E-Commerce · head to head

3dcart vs eBay

3dcart logo

3dcart

E-Commerce

All-in-one ecommerce platform for online retailers

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
E

eBay

E-Commerce

Global marketplace where sellers list into eBay's audience under eBay's fee schedule and rules

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 3dcart limited scalability compared to enterprise e-commerce platforms; eBay the final value fee applies to the total the buyer pays including postage and tax rather than to the item price, so a low value item with expensive shipping loses a much larger share of its margin than the headline percentage implies.
  • They diverge on capability: 3dcart covers Store builder, eBay covers Auction and fixed price listings.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which 3dcart and eBay actually diverge.

Attributes where 3dcart and eBay differ
Attribute3dcarteBay
Starting price$19/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Founded1997Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in 3dcart

  • Store builder
  • Unlimited products
  • Shopping cart
  • Payment processing
  • Inventory management
  • Email marketing
  • SEO optimization
  • Mobile responsive

Only in eBay

  • Auction and fixed price listings
  • Managed payments
  • eBay Stores
  • Promoted Listings
  • Bulk listing tools
  • International selling programmes
  • Money Back Guarantee
  • Seller performance standards

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

3dcart

  • Building multi-channel stores across Facebook, eBay, Amazon in parallelnot eBay
  • Recovering abandoned shopping carts with automated email sequencesnot eBay
  • Calculating real-time shipping costs and integrating carrier APIsnot eBay
  • Protecting payment processing with VISA PCI certificationnot eBay

eBay

  • Selling used, refurbished or one-off stock that has no natural search demand on its own sitenot 3dcart
  • Parts and spares catalogues where buyers search by fitment rather than by brandnot 3dcart
  • Liquidating returns or excess inventory without building an audience for itnot 3dcart
  • Testing whether demand exists for a product line before investing in a standalone storefrontnot 3dcart

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

3dcart

  • Limited scalability compared to enterprise e-commerce platforms
  • Payment processing tied to Shift4 Payments after acquisition
  • Fewer advanced marketing and analytics features than competitors

eBay

  • The final value fee applies to the total the buyer pays including postage and tax rather than to the item price, so a low value item with expensive shipping loses a much larger share of its margin than the headline percentage implies.
  • Fees stack rather than substitute, since a Store subscription, a per order fixed fee, Promoted Listings and cross-border percentages all apply on top of the category rate, and the effective take rate is only visible after a full month of settlement reports.
  • eBay controls search placement, so as a category gets competitive the practical cost of visibility becomes the Promoted Listings rate, and that is an auction against other sellers that only goes one way.
  • You do not get the customer relationship, because eBay mediates messaging and does not supply a marketing list, so repeat business depends on eBay showing your listing again rather than on anything you own.
  • The account is the entire asset and it is governed by policies eBay enforces unilaterally, so a suspension or a category restriction ends the revenue immediately with no portable equivalent of a domain, a theme or a customer database to move elsewhere.

Pricing, plan by plan

3dcart

$19/month
  • Starter$19/month
    • Unlimited products
    • Basic templates
    • Email support

eBay

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the eBay review.

Which should you pick?

Choose 3dcart if

  • You need store builder.
  • You also want unlimited products.
3dcart review

Choose eBay if

  • You need auction and fixed price listings.
  • You also want managed payments.
eBay review

Questions people ask

Is 3dcart or eBay better?
Neither clearly leads. 3dcart starts at $19/month and eBay at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, 3dcart or eBay?
3dcart starts at $19/month and eBay at On request.
Does 3dcart or eBay run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is 3dcart best used for?
3dcart is most often used for building multi-channel stores across facebook, ebay, amazon in parallel, recovering abandoned shopping carts with automated email sequences, calculating real-time shipping costs and integrating carrier apis, protecting payment processing with visa pci certification. Of those, building multi-channel stores across facebook, ebay, amazon in parallel and recovering abandoned shopping carts with automated email sequences are not what eBay is typically brought in for.
What can 3dcart do that eBay cannot?
3dcart covers Store builder, Unlimited products, Shopping cart, Payment processing. eBay covers Auction and fixed price listings, Managed payments, eBay Stores, Promoted Listings.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

3dcart: What is the starting price for 3dcart?

3dcart (now Shift4Shop) starts at $19/month with no setup fees, transaction fees, or hidden fees.

Source
eBay: What does selling on eBay actually cost?

A category-dependent percentage of the total buyer payment including postage, plus a fixed fee per order, plus any Store subscription, advertising rate and international fees. Model all of them together, not the first one alone.

3dcart: Does 3dcart include hosting?

Yes. 3dcart includes web hosting, domain support, and built-in website building tools with no separate hosting costs.

Source
eBay: Can I use my own payment provider?

No. Payments run through eBay and settle to your bank account on eBay's payout schedule, so you do not choose the processor and you do not control settlement timing.

3dcart: What happened to 3dcart?

Shift4 Payments acquired 3dcart in November 2020. The platform is now operated under the name Shift4Shop but maintains the same core functionality and pricing.

Source
eBay: Do I get my customers' email addresses?

Not for marketing. eBay mediates buyer contact, which is why sellers who rely on it have no list to fall back on if the channel changes.

3dcart: Does 3dcart offer free templates?

Yes. 3dcart provides dozens of professionally designed, industry-specific templates that are mobile-friendly, SEO optimized, and highly customizable.

Source
eBay: Is eBay an alternative to having my own store?

It is a channel, not a substitute. Sellers who use it well treat it as demand they rent while building something they own in parallel.

3dcart: What payment methods does 3dcart support?

3dcart integrates with multiple payment gateways including Shift4 Payments, Stripe, PayPal, and other major payment processors.

Source
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