The largest eBay sellers have each sold tens of millions of items. And despite eBay struggling to grow over the past few years, those sellers still run massive businesses.
Marketplace Pulse research shows that fourteen sellers have sold more than 10 million items on eBay and thus generated hundreds of millions of dollars in sales over the years on the platform. Some have sold billions of dollars worth of goods.
At the top of the list are musicmagpie and worldofbooks08 from the UK and medimops from Germany. musicmagpie sold 36 million items over the ten years it’s been on eBay. Even though they joined eBay over a decade ago, the few largest sellers still sell millions of items yearly (yearly sales are estimated based on lifetime sales made public by eBay and recent activity on the platform).
Many eBay sellers generate most of their sales on eBay - while they often sell on other platforms, including Amazon, their business model is built around eBay. There are fewer private label sellers and many more resellers with millions of items in stock. Many of the top sellers sell low-price media items like books and music.
| Seller name | Location | Joined | Items sold | Items sold (12mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| musicmagpie | UK | 2011 | 36,000,000 | 2,932,000 |
| worldofbooks08 | UK | 2010 | 28,000,000 | 2,524,000 |
| medimops | DE | 2011 | 19,000,000 | 2,049,000 |
| thrift.books | US | 2015 | 15,000,000 | 1,714,000 |
| second.sale | US | 2002 | 15,000,000 | 4,731,000 |
| atp-autoteile | DE | 1999 | 13,000,000 | 585,000 |
| carpartswholesale | US | 2004 | 13,000,000 | 881,000 |
| betterworldbooks | US | 2002 | 12,000,000 | 485,000 |
| allstateus | US | 2011 | 12,000,000 | 973,000 |
| eforcity | US | 2000 | 12,000,000 | 22,000 |
| decluttr_store | US | 2011 | 12,000,000 | 1,063,000 |
| am-autoparts | US | 2004 | 11,000,000 | 363,000 |
| jewelryfindingshop | CN | 2007 | 11,000,000 | 0 |
| bhfo | US | 2007 | 10,000,000 | 211,000 |
| get_importcds | US | 2004 | 8,800,000 | 481,000 |
| zorotools | US | 2012 | 8,700,000 | 389,000 |
| argos | UK | 2002 | 8,500,000 | 66,000 |
| deluxe-marken | DE | 2002 | 8,300,000 | 179,000 |
| blowitoutahere | US | 2010 | 7,800,000 | 454,000 |
| discover-books | US | 2006 | 7,700,000 | 589,000 |
| zydistro | US | 2006 | 7,500,000 | 9,000 |
| ppretail | UK | 2006 | 7,400,000 | 209,000 |
| everydaysource | US | 2000 | 7,300,000 | 8,000 |
| moviemars | US | 2004 | 6,900,000 | 197,000 |
| accstation | US | 2001 | 6,800,000 | 88,000 |
| csl-computer | DE | 1999 | 6,800,000 | 3,000 |
| rebuy-shop | DE | 2009 | 6,700,000 | 640,000 |
| spreetail | US | 2005 | 6,700,000 | 163,000 |
| mhestore2009 | CN | 2009 | 6,600,000 | 19,000 |
| thinkprice | UK | 2002 | 6,600,000 | 282,000 |
| yallstore | US | 2006 | 6,300,000 | 29,000 |
| superdrystore | UK | 2006 | 6,200,000 | 123,000 |
| kenable_ltd | UK | 2000 | 6,200,000 | 242,000 |
| bandel-autoteile | DE | 2004 | 6,100,000 | 482,000 |
| baham_books | UK | 2011 | 6,000,000 | 1,075,000 |
| itrimming | US | 2000 | 6,000,000 | 4,000 |
| adidas_official | US | 2016 | 5,800,000 | 539,000 |
| gregmorriscards | US | 2002 | 5,700,000 | 785,000 |
| no.1outlet | DE | 2007 | 5,700,000 | 218,000 |
| bluechargedirect | UK | 2007 | 5,700,000 | 293,000 |
| d-light-factory | CN | 2009 | 5,600,000 | 0 |
| burbanksportscards | US | 2005 | 5,400,000 | 426,000 |
| zysysy2012 | CN | 2010 | 5,400,000 | 51,000 |
| af2018 | AU | 2004 | 5,200,000 | 102,000 |
| ozplaza.living | AU | 2009 | 5,200,000 | 280,000 |
| theperfectpart | US | 2004 | 5,200,000 | 938,000 |
| lmelectrical | UK | 2005 | 5,100,000 | 214,000 |
| elec-mall | CN | 2008 | 5,000,000 | 6,000 |
| *memoryking* | DE | 2006 | 5,000,000 | 178,000 |
| wordery | UK | 2012 | 5,000,000 | 134,000 |
| ynaan | CN | 2010 | 5,000,000 | 3,000 |
| ouyou2010 | CN | 2010 | 5,000,000 | 4,000 |
| ed1835 | UK | 2002 | 4,900,000 | 30,000 |
| caltric | US | 2009 | 4,800,000 | 527,000 |
| premier_seeds_direct | UK | 2003 | 4,800,000 | 113,000 |
| matthijs_philatelie | BE | 2004 | 4,800,000 | 291,000 |
| perfume-empire | US | 2004 | 4,800,000 | 307,000 |
| ecop%21 | US | 2000 | 4,600,000 | 142,000 |
| best_buy | US | 2012 | 4,600,000 | 225,000 |
| e_cell | UK | 2003 | 4,600,000 | 28,000 |
| bhexpress | US | 2003 | 4,500,000 | 5,000 |
| timy786 | UK | 2006 | 4,500,000 | 2,000 |
| webuybooks | UK | 2009 | 4,500,000 | 553,000 |
| buddentown | DE | 2002 | 4,500,000 | 188,000 |
| foreverlux | US | 2002 | 4,400,000 | 407,000 |
| comc_consignment | US | 2016 | 4,400,000 | 847,000 |
| hi-etech | US | 2008 | 4,400,000 | 19,000 |
| alice1101983 | CN | 2012 | 4,400,000 | 47,000 |
| kayfast1 | UK | 2003 | 4,300,000 | 293,000 |
| top-fashion1202 | CN | 2012 | 4,200,000 | 23,000 |
| massiveattack007 | UK | 2001 | 4,200,000 | 159,000 |
| threerb | US | 2001 | 4,200,000 | 103,000 |
| yallstock | US | 2008 | 4,200,000 | 25,000 |
| pharmapacks | US | 2011 | 4,200,000 | 142,000 |
| happyness8966 | CN | 2010 | 4,099,999 | 28,000 |
| xtremegems2010 | US | 2008 | 4,099,999 | 110,000 |
| partscontainer | US | 2004 | 4,000,000 | 294,000 |
| emilyandlily | US | 2003 | 4,000,000 | 11,000 |
| newegg | US | 2011 | 4,000,000 | 73,000 |
| direct2publik | UK | 2010 | 3,900,000 | 88,000 |
| temo-electronic | DE | 2011 | 3,900,000 | 224,000 |
| probstein123 | US | 2005 | 3,900,000 | 566,000 |
| jewelrysmart87 | CN | 2011 | 3,900,000 | 37,000 |
| starlinkone | US | 2004 | 3,800,000 | 120,000 |
| schutzfolien24 | DE | 2001 | 3,800,000 | 82,000 |
| brands4cars | DE | 2011 | 3,800,000 | 387,000 |
| detroitaxle | US | 2010 | 3,800,000 | 423,000 |
| currys | UK | 2009 | 3,800,000 | 234,000 |
| lilyann76 | US | 2003 | 3,700,000 | 214,000 |
| quirkparts | US | 2005 | 3,700,000 | 217,000 |
| linda*s***stuff | US | 2001 | 3,700,000 | 169,000 |
| londonmagicstore | UK | 2007 | 3,700,000 | 14,000 |
| spares-2-go | UK | 2006 | 3,600,000 | 88,000 |
| buy_gadgets | UK | 2010 | 3,600,000 | 239,000 |
| bargainbinmedia | US | 2006 | 3,600,000 | 1,000 |
| electropapa_deu | DE | 2005 | 3,600,000 | 194,000 |
| diamonte-designs | UK | 2007 | 3,500,000 | 97,000 |
| bestperlenshop | DE | 2006 | 3,500,000 | 25,000 |
| kolor-knajp | PL | 2004 | 3,500,000 | 81,000 |
| joulesclothingoutlet | UK | 2010 | 3,500,000 | 558,000 |
Very few of the top 100 or even the top 1,000 sellers joined in the last decade - most have been selling on eBay for over ten years. While that signifies the longevity of eBay-seller businesses, it highlights that new sellers are not joining to compete with them. The current generation of entrepreneurs is focused on building brands, a business model largely unfit for eBay.
On eBay, a small fraction of its sellers’ population generates a large portion of sales. Top eBay sellers confirm the Marketplaces Power Law and, plotted as a chart, draw a near-perfect power law distribution line. Because every user can become a seller by listing an item, eBay has tens of millions of sellers. But it is the largest sellers at the top who are contributing to GMV the most.
eBay has lost all sales growth from the pandemic’s e-commerce surge and will finish 2022 with GMV at 2019 levels. But sellers that power it are doing fine. Perhaps unhappy about the lack of growth, but diversifying to other platforms that can provide it.
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Juozas Kaziukėnas
Founder of Marketplace Pulse, Juozas wears multiple hats in the management of Marketplace Pulse, including writing most of the articles. Based in New York City. Advisor to other startups and entrepreneurs. Occasional speaker at conferences.
