One e-commerce retailer is soaring past Amazon this year: eBay.

The smaller e-commerce player has surged 40% since January, while Amazon has struggled to keep up with even the broader market gains.

Piper Jaffray chief market technician Craig Johnson sees a clear winner ahead of their respective earnings on Wednesday and Thursday.

"We've seen eBay outperform Amazon, 2-to-1 year to date," Johnson said on CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Monday. "When you look at the chart, you can see a clear downtrend reversal and you can see a series of higher highs and higher lows and the recent price action is correct, you're right back to the 200-day moving average, which might I add is trending higher."

Amazon, meanwhile, looks to be stuck in a range from which it has struggled to break free, Johnson added.

"Amazon is a stock that's been basically in a two-year consolidation range," said Johnson. "So I look at these two charts and I would rather play eBay into the quarter rather than playing Amazon."

Mark Tepper, president of Strategic Wealth Partners, says he's sticking with Amazon as its growth plans unfold.

"We want to invest in companies that are growing, while at the same time strengthening their competitive advantage, and that's what you're getting with Amazon. And the reason Amazon's been underperforming is because they're doing the exact opposite of eBay — they're actually spending money, they're investing in trying to roll out this Prime one-day shipping, and when that happens investors get worried, it drags down the multiple any time spending goes up with Amazon," said Tepper.

In the long run, those expenses should pay off and lead to more growth for the company, he adds.

"It's led to a short-term increase in costs, but it's strengthening their competitive advantage in the long run," said Tepper.

Disclaimer

Disclosure: Strategic Wealth Partners owns shares of Amazon.