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E-Commerce · head to head

eBay vs Inventory Lab

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
Inventory Lab logo

Inventory Lab

E-Commerce

FBA inventory management made simple

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Inventory Lab has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Inventory Lab inventoryLab is no longer sold standalone and is now bundled into Three Colts' Seller 365 plans starting at $69 per month for a single user, rising to $199 per month for the Pro tier
  • They diverge on capability: eBay covers Auction and fixed price listings, Inventory Lab covers FBA inventory tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which eBay and Inventory Lab actually diverge.

Attributes where eBay and Inventory Lab differ
AttributeeBayInventory Lab
Starting priceOn requestFree
Free tierNoYes
FoundedUnknown2011

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 eBay

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

Only in Inventory Lab

  • FBA inventory tracking
  • Repricing automation
  • Price monitoring
  • Sales analytics
  • Profit calculations
  • Supplier management
  • Alerts and notifications
  • Forecasting tools

What people use each for

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

eBay

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

Inventory Lab

  • Amazon seller managementnot eBay
  • multi-channel resellingnot eBay
  • inventory trackingnot eBay

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Inventory Lab

  • InventoryLab is no longer sold standalone and is now bundled into Three Colts' Seller 365 plans starting at $69 per month for a single user, rising to $199 per month for the Pro tier
  • Multichannel listing requires the separate UniCon add-on, priced from $49 to $449 per month depending on tier

Pricing, plan by plan

eBay

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the eBay review.

Inventory Lab

Free
  • Standard$69/month
    • access to 10 tools
    • 1 user account
    • designed for independent resellers
  • Teams$129/month
    • all 10 tools
    • up to 10 users
    • shared workflows and collaboration
  • Pro$199/month
    • all pro versions of 10 tools
    • up to 10 users
    • premium support under 30-minute response time
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • more than 10 users
    • custom terms

Which should you pick?

Choose eBay if

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

Choose Inventory Lab if

  • You need fba inventory tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want repricing automation.
Inventory Lab review

Questions people ask

Is eBay or Inventory Lab better?
Neither clearly leads. eBay starts at On request and Inventory Lab at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, eBay or Inventory Lab?
Inventory Lab has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for eBay and Free for Inventory Lab.
Does eBay or Inventory Lab run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Inventory Lab for free?
Yes. Inventory Lab has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. eBay starts at On request.
What is eBay best used for?
eBay is most often used for selling used, refurbished or one-off stock that has no natural search demand on its own site, parts and spares catalogues where buyers search by fitment rather than by brand, liquidating returns or excess inventory without building an audience for it, testing whether demand exists for a product line before investing in a standalone storefront. Of those, selling used, refurbished or one-off stock that has no natural search demand on its own site and parts and spares catalogues where buyers search by fitment rather than by brand are not what Inventory Lab is typically brought in for.
What can eBay do that Inventory Lab cannot?
eBay covers Auction and fixed price listings, Managed payments, eBay Stores, Promoted Listings. Inventory Lab covers FBA inventory tracking, Repricing automation, Price monitoring, Sales analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Inventory Lab: What is the free trial period for Inventory Lab?

Inventory Lab offers a 14-day free trial, with bonus days awarded when connecting Amazon accounts.

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.

Inventory Lab: Can I save money on Inventory Lab with annual billing?

Yes, annual billing saves money: Standard saves $48/year, Teams saves $120/year, and Pro saves $192/year compared to monthly billing.

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.

Inventory Lab: Is there an add-on to use Inventory Lab on channels beyond Amazon?

Yes, the UniCon multichannel add-on is available starting at $49/month for expanding beyond Amazon.

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.

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