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E-Commerce · head to head

eBay vs SamCart

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
SamCart logo

SamCart

E-Commerce

The number one checkout platform

From
$79/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; SamCart no feature differentiation between CORE and PRO tiers, pricing tier based on expected transaction volume only
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which eBay and SamCart actually diverge.

Attributes where eBay and SamCart differ
AttributeeBaySamCart
Starting priceOn request$79/month

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 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 SamCart

Nothing recorded that eBay does not also cover.

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 SamCart
  • Parts and spares catalogues where buyers search by fitment rather than by brandnot SamCart
  • Liquidating returns or excess inventory without building an audience for itnot SamCart
  • Testing whether demand exists for a product line before investing in a standalone storefrontnot SamCart

SamCart

  • Increasing average order value through automated order bumps and upsellsnot eBay
  • Recovering failed subscription payments with retry logic and dunning managementnot eBay
  • Generating sales pages, emails, and ads with AI from product descriptionsnot eBay
  • Sending cart abandonment recovery emails without customer re-entrynot eBay
  • Migrating existing customer bases from competing platforms without data lossnot 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.

SamCart

  • No feature differentiation between CORE and PRO tiers, pricing tier based on expected transaction volume only
  • Transaction fees of 2.9% plus $0.30 apply to all plans

Pricing, plan by plan

eBay

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the eBay review.

SamCart

$79/month
  • CORE$79/month
    • All features included
  • PRO$199/month
    • All features included

Which should you pick?

Choose eBay if

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

Choose SamCart if

Nothing in the data separates SamCart from eBay on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

SamCart review

Questions people ask

Is eBay or SamCart better?
Neither clearly leads. eBay starts at On request and SamCart at $79/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, eBay or SamCart?
eBay starts at On request and SamCart at $79/month.
Does eBay or SamCart run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 SamCart is typically brought in for.
What can eBay do that SamCart cannot?
eBay covers Auction and fixed price listings, Managed payments, eBay Stores, Promoted Listings.

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.

SamCart: How much does SamCart cost?

SamCart offers two subscription tiers: CORE at $79/month and PRO at $199/month. Both plans include all features with no restrictions between tiers.

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.

SamCart: What are SamCart's transaction fees?

SamCart charges a transaction fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction on all payments processed through the platform.

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.

SamCart: Does SamCart offer a free trial?

Yes, SamCart offers a 7-day free trial available for both the CORE and PRO plans, allowing customers to test the platform before committing to a subscription.

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.

SamCart: Does SamCart offer migration services from other platforms?

Yes, SamCart offers done-for-you migration services for customers switching from Kajabi, ThriveCart, ClickFunnels, Shopify, and Teachable. Specific pricing for migration services is not listed on the main page.

Source
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