Vidsmark vs eBay, Kijiji & Facebook Marketplace — where should you sell video games?
Sell on Vidsmark if you want a Canadian, gaming-only marketplace with escrow protection, a lower seller fee (8%), and proper collector filters. Use eBay when you need the widest nationwide audience and don't mind ~13% in fees. Pick Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace for free local pickup — just know there's no built-in payment protection.
The honest short version
There's no single "best" place to sell games — it depends on what you're selling and what you care about most. eBay reaches the most buyers in the country. Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace are free and great for quick local cash deals. Vidsmark is the newer option built specifically for games, with escrow on protected sales and a fee that's lower than eBay's once everything stacks up. Below is a straight comparison so you can pick the right one for your situation.
How do the four platforms compare at a glance?
| What matters | VidsmarkBuilt for games | eBay | Kijiji | Facebook Marketplace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seller fee | 8%on protected sales · local pickup is free | ~13%final-value + per-order fee (varies by category) | Freeoptional paid ad bumps | Freefor local sales |
| Built for games CIB / loose / sealed / tested filters | CIB, loose, sealed & tested are real, filterable fields | Game categories exist; condition is mostly free-text | General classifieds — no game fields | General classifieds — no game fields |
| List from a photo how fast one item goes up | Snap the cover — the title, system, condition & description fill in for you to confirm. Seconds, not forms. | Photos + catalogue match, but you fill in the details | Type the title, condition and description by hand | Type the title, condition and description by hand |
| List a whole collection fast getting a big pile online | Photograph a shelf, paste your list, or import a spreadsheet — it splits into individual listings you confirm. Export any time (no lock-in). | Bulk tools exist, mainly for business / store sellers | One listing at a time | One listing at a time |
| Track your collection what you own, not just what’s for sale | Log what you own with value & cost — flip any item for sale in one tap. A library and a store in one. | Selling only — no collection tracker | Selling only — no collection tracker | Selling only — no collection tracker |
| Keep your other listings cross-list without starting over | Link your eBay or other shops right on your Vidsmark profile — sell here without leaving there. We don’t trap you. | No links out to other marketplaces | No links out to other marketplaces | No links out to other marketplaces |
| Payment protection (escrow) | Funds held in escrow, released after the buyer confirms the item | Buyer & seller protection on platform payments | No built-in protection | No built-in protection for local deals |
| Messaging & offers talk, haggle, build a rep | On-site chat tied to the listing, send-an-offer pricing, and two-way ratings after each sale | On-platform messaging, Best Offer, and feedback scores | Direct chat, but no offers or ratings built in | Chat via Messenger; no formal offers or seller ratings |
| Discoverability how buyers actually find it | Every game gets its own listing page, built to be found — in Google, in AI answers, and in on-site search with real filters. It doesn’t scroll away. | Strong marketplace search & huge index — but you pay ~13% for that reach. | Buried in a local feed. Weak SEO, thin search, and the post scrolls away in days. | Trapped inside the feed. Barely searchable from the web and gone once it drops. |
| Payout method | Local: cash or Interac e-Transfer, no setup. Online / escrow: deposited to your bank once delivery is confirmed (via Stripe — a ~5-min setup, only if you want to take card payments). | Deposited to your linked bank via eBay payments | Cash or e-Transfer, arranged directly with the buyer | Cash or e-Transfer, arranged directly with the buyer |
| Audience / reach | Gaming-focused; launching in Greater Sudbury, expanding across Canada (beta) | Very large — nationwide & international buyers | Large Canadian local audience, mixed categories | Very large local audience, mixed categories |
Vidsmark is in beta — reach is still growing. The difference isn’t traffic today; it’s that each listing is built to be found instead of buried in a feed.
How much does each platform cost to sell games?
Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace are free for standard local listings — you keep the full sale price. eBay's fees typically add up to around 13% of the sale once you include the final-value fee plus payment processing (the exact number varies by category and whether you have a store). Vidsmark charges a flat 8% seller fee on protected (escrow) sales — the separate 2% buyer protection fee is waived during launch, so buyers pay nothing extra — and local pickup deals on Vidsmark are free.
A worked example: selling a $60 game
| Platform | Roughly what comes out of the sale | What the seller keeps (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Vidsmark (protected sale) | 8% seller fee = $4.80 (the buyer's 2% protection fee is waived during launch) | ~$55.20 |
| Vidsmark (local pickup) | Free | $60.00 |
| eBay | ~13% in combined fees ≈ $7.80 | ~$52.20 |
| Kijiji / Facebook Marketplace | Free (no protection) | $60.00 |
The free options keep the most money — but they give you nothing if a deal goes sideways. The real question is how much that protection is worth to you on a given sale. eBay figures are approximate and depend on your category, store level and any shipping included in the total.
Which is safest — how do I sell games without getting scammed?
This is where the platforms differ most. On a protected Vidsmark sale, the buyer pays at checkout and Vidsmark holds the funds in escrow. The seller ships or hands off the item, and the money is only released once the buyer confirms it arrived as described. Sellers are protected too: a shipped order requires carrier tracking before it can be released, local pay-online buyers confirm in person at handoff, and disputes are evidence-based, not decided on a buyer's word alone. Both sides build a reputation through two-way ratings.
eBay also runs buyer and seller protection programs on platform payments, which is part of why it's trusted at scale. Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace are classifieds — they connect you, but they don't hold money or guarantee anything. A cash or e-Transfer handoff there is entirely on you. That's not a knock on them; it's the trade-off for being free. If you go that route, meet in a busy public place in daylight, test the item before money changes hands, and trust your gut.
One honest note on Vidsmark: the free local cash/e-Transfer lane is not escrow-protected either — it works just like a Kijiji or Facebook meetup. Escrow only applies to payments Vidsmark holds and releases through checkout.
Which is best for retro and collector games?
If you're selling sealed, CIB or rare retro titles, the details matter — and that's where general classifieds fall short. Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace have no fields for condition or completeness, so everything ends up buried in a free-text description and a few photos. eBay has dedicated game categories and a big collector audience, but condition is still mostly something you type out yourself.
Vidsmark treats collector attributes as first-class: CIB (complete in box), loose, sealed and tested are structured fields buyers can filter on, and honest grading is the rule. For a collection where condition drives the price, that structure helps the right buyers find exactly what you've got.
Which should I use for buying games?
For buyers, the math flips a little. eBay offers the deepest selection and nationwide shipping, so it's hard to beat for tracking down a specific title. Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace can land you great local deals if you're patient and careful. Vidsmark is built around buyer confidence: escrow means your money is held until you confirm the item, condition is clearly graded, and buy-now-pay-later through Affirm or Klarna is available on eligible orders of $150 or more. If you'd rather not send an e-Transfer into the void, that protection is the point.
So where should you sell?
- Choose Vidsmark if you want gaming-specific listings, escrow protection, a lower 8% seller fee, and the option of a free local lane — all in one place built for collectors.
- Choose eBay if maximum reach matters most and the higher fees are worth it to you.
- Choose Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace for fast, free local deals when you're comfortable handling payment and trust yourself on safety.
Plenty of sellers use more than one. The point isn't that the others are bad — it's matching the platform to the sale.
Ready to try Vidsmark?
Vidsmark is in beta, and we're seeding the first inventory in Greater Sudbury before expanding across Canada. If you'd rather sell games with protection built in, list your first game — it's free to list. Want the details on fees, escrow and payouts first? Read the FAQ.