Technical Analysis: List Perfectly vs Vendoo
List Perfectly and Vendoo are the two largest solutions to crossposting/cross-selling. Both companies focus on providing listing automation, so you can save time and focus on finding that next deal, instead of staring at a screen all day. While most people generalize and compare features, at their core they really are two separate products that work very differently from each other. We’ll explore some of their technical differences here today.
What is an API, and why would I care?
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) serve as the communication bridge between software applications, this allows applications to send information back and forth to each other. In the context of listing tools like Vendoo and LP, APIs play a crucial role in accessing and manipulating data on e-commerce platforms such as eBay, Poshmark, and Mercari.
Vendoo’s API Dependency
Have you ever wondered how your product gets from Vendoo to the other platforms? Well, the answer is through each of the platforms APIs. A company, like eBay or Mercari or Poshmark, chooses certain functionality for their APIs to enable other companies to be able to write code to interact with their services. Take a look for yourself, at the Mercari API, or eBay’s documentation, lots of companies have them. This is also why Vendoo has mobile apps and LP does not, because of the API systems.
What does this mean though?
It means that Vendoo can do ONLY what the company allows them to do. If eBay suddenly decides they want to remove a feature from their API, that’s it, there’s nothing you can do about it, and that feature won’t be available in Vendoo anymore.
List Perfectly’s Approach
LP, on the other hand, does not rely on the APIs of these tech companies to perform their magic. They have developed a Chrome Plugin that does the automation, so you don’t have to. This is why during your crossposting (when you’re singing along to Heart, The Cranberries, or Kendricks new diss track), the browser automatically opens new tabs with your information in them.
The browser plugin is really just emulating what you would do. Just faster and without mistakes.
So why does this matter?
Well, it matters because LP is not shackled to the APIs and it can do anything that the platforms would let a person do on their site, which is going to be more that what is allowed via the API. This leads to freedom, and the opportunity to take risks building the features that people want.
You may ask “But what if eBay changes their website?”. Oh well, the LP team will just update the plugin. Since real people have to be able to post things from the browser, so too will the LP plugin always be able to post things from the browser.
ELI5
If you can picture each marketplace (eBay, Mercari, etc) as a physical store front, where before crosslisting you would take your product and drive it to the store, find a shelf to set it on, and leave it there for people to see.
Enter Vendoo, they said, we’ve setup special pipes that go from our building to each of the stores, just bring your stuff here, and we’ll send it to each store because we have a special relationship where they have agreed to accept things from us through the back door.
LP is more like having your very own team of robots that go walk in the front door of that store and set your product on the shelf.
Could the companies decide to close the back door to people? Absolutely.
Could they decide to close the front door? No! Because the regular people wouldn’t be able to get in the door LOL
Try out our very own, custom, time-savings calculator!
