eBay and Amazon are long-time e-commerce giants — tried and true and likely where you’re already selling. But the world of the internet is anything but stagnant, and there’s a new kid on the block: Jet.com.

What is Jet.com?

Jet.com is a new e-commerce site that premiered in early 2015 and has grown quickly. When the site began, it required a membership to shop there, much like Costco, but within a few months they had dropped that business model and instead allowed customers to shop for free. An analysis by Wells Fargo found the prices on Jet to be 9% cheaper than those on Amazon — a small difference, but one that’s been enough to poach some of the Amazon customers over to Jet.

Jet’s CEO, Marc Lore, does not seem to have any illusions about knocking Amazon off its pedestal. He just want a piece of the pie. “Online, Amazon is the biggest player, and there is no one really close to them. We think there is room for a very large No. 2 in the space. I would love to get 10 percent share of the trillion dollar market in the next 10 years,” said Lore. “That would be amazing.”

Should You Sell on Jet?

Diversifying your sales platforms is always a good idea. This gives you multiple streams of income and can be a lifesaver if your account on one get hacked, suspended, or otherwise compromised. Below we’ll highlight some of the differences between Jet and Amazon so you can know what to expect if you decide to go that route.

  • Sales Tax: As an Amazon FBA seller, you are required to know where your inventory is warehoused and be aware of all tax laws so you can apply them as needed to your buyers. On the contrary, Jet is legally the seller of record, so they handle all the sales tax issues, making that portion of selling infinitely easier.
  • Customer Relations: Amazon has strict rules about contacting customers, making it difficult to build a loyal customer base. Jet provides customer emails, as long as that customer has not opted out of communications. This can help you keep in contact with loyal customers and can even allow you to direct them to outside sites you sell on.
  • Inventory Management: Amazon still, somewhat inexplicably, requires its users to use archaic spreadsheets to manage inventory. Jet has an open API system, which is capable of working with several popular inventory management systems to make your job easier.
  • Returns: Amazon’s generous return policy has caused sellers some grief; you pretty much have to go in expecting to lose some money on returns. Jet, however, not only has stricter rules on returns, but also rewards customers for not returning, reducing losses for sellers.

Setting up a seller profile on a completely new site with all your inventory can be a time-consuming process, but for a separate stream of income, it can definitely be a worthwhile investment of your time. Check out Jet.com to see if their seller structure is one that can work for you.