Just about everyone in the world has heard of Sears. It’s certainly a staple of not just American commerce, but even culture. For more than 120 
years, Sears has been synonymous with the term “department store.” However, now their eCommerce website is rubbing shoulders with Amazon, Rakuten and other online retailers that provide a section for users to sell their own products.
Sears welcomes three types of sellers to list products on their eCommerce website. These include items sold and shipped by the seller, those sold by the seller but shipped by Sears and items the seller merely uses Sears’ website to advertise (meaning purchases have to be done on the seller’s own eCommerce website).
The company allows you to sell just about any type of product you’d otherwise find in one of their department stores. This includes lawn and garden items, electronics, movies, furniture, tools and jewelry, amongst other products.
As with the aforementioned websites, the major advantage to selling on Sears Marketplace is unrivaled exposure. If you have your own eCommerce website, you probably spend a lot of time and money on ranking with search engines. Obviously, you can rest assured this isn’t a problem for Sears.
Along the same lines, customers tend to blindly trust large brands like Sears, even when they’re not actually the ones doing the selling or even the shipping. This is always an obstacle for those operating from their own websites.
Also, as some of you may already know, trying to sell items from your own website puts a lot of overhead between you and your profits. With Sears, though, you’re only paying for the services you actually use. This makes it easier to create a budget and stick to it.
That being said, there’s no silver bullet for eCommerce success and while Sears Marketplace certainly supplies benefits, you’re still in for an uphill battle. After all, you won’t be the first one who’s thought of selling power tools on their website. So consider inventory, order and shipping management software. This will allow you to sell more products in a shorter period of time without worrying about overlooking services like shipping (mess up a customer’s shipping and you can believe it will cost you).
Like any new platform, begin slowly on Sears Marketplace to ensure it’s a good fit for you and your products. However, with the aforementioned software on your side and a little patience, it could be a great option for serious online profits.
Sources:
http://www.sears.com/marketplace/nb-100000000428502
http://blog.ordoro.com/2013/05/10/where-to-sell-a-short-guide-to-major-online-marketplaces-part-2/
http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/sears-marketplace-customer-service-problems/