Australia e-commerce: eBay vs Amazon AU, or other platforms?

Realistic take: Australia only has ~26 million people. No platform will hit US-level volume.
Competition is lighter though, and if you have a local advantage (warehouse, fast shipping) you can build a great business. Start with eBay for cross-border, then add Amazon FBA once you’re set up locally.

I’ve sold on Amazon AU for two years. Margins are solid, but volume is nothing like US/EU. Stick to higher-ticket items; low-margin high-volume just doesn’t work here. Also watch out for FBA storage limits — they can get tight if you have a lot of SKUs.

Don’t sleep on Catch. It started as a daily deals site and turned into a full marketplace. Smaller than eBay but great for clearance, discounted stock, and impulse buys.
Don’t expect full-price sales here — people show up for deals. If that fits your inventory, give it a shot.

eBay is still way ahead as the top platform in Australia — I’ve seen numbers around 21 million weekly visitors. Local retail selection is pretty limited, so buyers there are used to ordering from overseas and waiting a bit.
Amazon AU has grown but is still much smaller. Common complaints: prices aren’t better than elsewhere, and cross-border self-fulfillment is slow. If you do FBA and price smart, you can win with niches — it’s much more a margin game, not volume.