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E-Commerce · head to head

eBay vs Wish

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
Wish logo

Wish

E-Commerce

Discount marketplace connecting buyers to low-cost goods from mostly Chinese sellers, now owned by Qoo10

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Wish 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.; Wish the US Federal Trade Commission previously took action against Wish over deceptive claims about product origin, shipping times and reference pricing, and the platform operated for years under the practices that prompted that action.
  • They diverge on capability: eBay covers Auction and fixed price listings, Wish covers Discount marketplace.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which eBay and Wish actually diverge.

Attributes where eBay and Wish differ
AttributeeBayWish
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionFree to browse and use; pay per order
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebiOS, Android, Web

Identical on both: 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 Wish

  • Discount marketplace
  • Personalised discovery feed
  • Wish Local pickup (select markets)
  • Price-drop and clearance sections
  • Buyer protection programme
  • Seller ratings

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

Wish

  • A budget shopper who already has a Wish account from its earlier growth period and wants to compare it against Temunot eBay
  • Someone in a market with Wish Local pickup wanting to avoid a residential delivery waitnot eBay
  • A buyer purchasing low-value novelty or accessory items where slow shipping and limited recourse are acceptable trade-offsnot eBay
  • A shopper comparing seller ratings and buyer protection terms across discount marketplaces before orderingnot 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.

Wish

  • The US Federal Trade Commission previously took action against Wish over deceptive claims about product origin, shipping times and reference pricing, and the platform operated for years under the practices that prompted that action.
  • Wish shrank substantially from its mid-2010s peak user base as Temu and Shein captured the same low-cost cross-border shopping demand with more aggressive marketing and larger catalogues.
  • The platform changed ownership in 2024 when ContextLogic sold it to Qoo10, so long-time users are now dealing with a different operating company than the one that built the original reputation, good or bad.
  • As with comparable ultra-low-cost marketplaces, individual sellers vary widely in reliability, and product safety and authenticity cannot be verified by the buyer before an item ships from overseas.
  • Shipping times remain long relative to domestic retailers, commonly one to three weeks, and buyer recourse for delayed or missing orders depends on the buyer protection programme actually being honoured.

Pricing, plan by plan

eBay

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the eBay review.

Wish

Free
  • Pay per orderFree
    • Individual item prices frequently low, similar to Temu and Shein
    • Shipping times commonly one to three weeks
    • Customs duties may apply depending on destination country and order value

Which should you pick?

Choose eBay if

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

Choose Wish if

  • You need discount marketplace.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want personalised discovery feed.
Wish review

Questions people ask

Is eBay or Wish better?
Neither clearly leads. eBay starts at On request and Wish at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, eBay or Wish?
Wish has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for eBay and Free for Wish.
Does eBay or Wish run on more platforms?
eBay runs on Web. Wish runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use Wish for free?
Yes. Wish 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 Wish is typically brought in for.
What can eBay do that Wish cannot?
eBay covers Auction and fixed price listings, Managed payments, eBay Stores, Promoted Listings. Wish covers Discount marketplace, Personalised discovery feed, Wish Local pickup (select markets), Price-drop and clearance sections.

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.

Wish: Is Wish still owned by the company that built it?

No. ContextLogic sold the Wish platform and brand to Qoo10, a Singapore and Korea-based e-commerce group, in a deal completed in 2024.

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.

Wish: Did Wish face regulatory action over its practices?

Yes, the US FTC previously took action against Wish over misleading claims regarding shipping times, product origin and pricing, requiring clearer disclosures.

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.

Wish: How does Wish compare to Temu today?

Wish is considerably smaller in scale and marketing spend than Temu, though both offer a similar low-cost, long-shipping-time cross-border model.

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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