Ruby Lane: Marketplace for Vintage & Home Made

What is Ruby Lane?

Ruby Lane, like Etsy, is a place to sell antiques, vintage goods and home made items. It operates a bit differently than Etsy, however, in that sellers need to pay a monthly fee to list on the site. You also pay a commission on sales.

How it works

To register as a seller on the site, you need to go through Ruby Lane’s extensive list of terms. These terms spell out what can and can’t be sold on the site.

These terms are highly specific, calling out do’s and don’ts in each specific category — collectibles, art, lighting, furniture, jewelry, dolls, glass, porcelain, toys, etc.

They also say that consumer complaints can get you booted from this marketplace. And, so can any violation of the terms that Ruby Lane perceives. There does not appear to be an appeals process.

To have a store here, you’ll need at least 10 items for sale. And you’ll need a PayPal business account.

Ruby Lane review

Ruby Lane is an online antique and collectible store. Whether you’re selling vintage tableware, dolls, furniture or jewelry, the site aims to connect you with buyers looking for old and unique goods.

The site draws roughly 1 million visitors a month — all looking for vintage and antiques. Some sellers say they’ve found good success with this site. However, it’s worth noting that the site also draws complaints both about it’s fee structure and it’s rules, which some sellers maintain are poorly explained.

Sellers, who have had their stores closed due to rule violations, say that the site never gives personal feedback on what is wrong. It merely points to its voluminous listing requirements during disputes. Worse, the site officials who determine whether or not to boot sites are often also sellers on the site, leading to conflict of interest complaints.

Ruby Lane maintains that officials who also sell on the site are not conflicted, they’re experienced. But, it’s not surprising that a booted seller might question whether a competitor could have an ulterior motive.

Commissions and fees

Ruby Lane has altered its commission and structure multiple times in the five years we’ve reviewed the site.

Currently, there’s a $45 monthly fee. The site also imposes a tiered fee on sales. You pay 9.9% on sales of up to $2,500; 5% on the portion of the sale that exceeds $2,500 up to $7,500. There’s a 2.5% fee on the portion of the sale that exceeds $7,500.

Thus, if you sold a $10,000 item, you would pay $560 in commissions. That’s slightly less than you would pay to Etsy on the same sale. However, if you sold items of lesser value, the commissions you’d pay to Etsy would be far smaller.

Demand

Etsy and eBay have millions more buyers than Ruby Lane. According to SimilarWeb, Ruby Lane gets about 1 million site visitors each month. Etsy gets about 500 million site visitors each month, while eBay gets about 600 million visitors.

To be sure, Ruby Lane’s narrow focus means that most of its visitors are likely interested in antiques and collectibles, while the audience for eBay and Etsy is far broader. Still, that’s a vast difference in the number of potential customers.

Shop owner complaints

More importantly, where Etsy has a relative handful of complaints about getting booted from selling there, shop owner complaints appear to be more frequent and serious here. Shop owners say their products are blocked and they get booted without good explanation. And they maintain that Ruby Lane’s oft-maligned customer service may be getting even worse.

Recommendations:

Overall, we think Etsy is the better marketplace, offering more customers and easier listing guidelines. We also think there’s less chance of getting booted from the Etsy marketplace. However, there are also far more stores listed on Etsy, so while you’re presented with more customers here, you also have more competition.

However, if you prefer Ruby Lane’s tighter niche, you can sign up for Ruby Lane here. 

What their users say:

eCommerceBytes does an annual survey of online sales sites and ranks Ruby Lane fourth out of 10. Notably, the comments included in this Ruby Lane review indicate that sellers were better satisfied in previous years, when Ruby Lane appeared to be doing more advertising.

(From SiteJabber):

Don’t buy or sell with this company, their fees are hidden and they are engaging in practices that are possibly illegal including closing down shops but keeping the balances paid. Their Customer Service is a joke and they treat their sellers and employees really badly. Their best shops have left or are leaving, and they will probably be out of business within the next 18 months.

Don’t buy or sell with this company, their fees are hidden and they are engaging in practices that are possibly illegal including closing down shops but keeping the balances paid. Their Customer Service is a joke and they treat their sellers and employees really badly. Their best shops have left or are leaving, and they will probably be out of business within the next 18 months.

Sketchy practices

This company is engaging in really sketchy practices. They’re requiring sellers to collect sales tax, even if the seller is overseas, and so nut subject to sales tax. If an item is returned the seller is forced to refund the sales tax from their own account, but the tax paid to RL goes into their pocket. Huh? And DON’T trust Trust Pilot reviews! Sellers who have left or been kicked off for complaining about illegal practices have their TP reviews deleted.

Their Customer Service is a joke and they treat their sellers and employees really badly.

*Updated 2/8/2023