💡 Quick Answer
It depends on your monthly revenue:
- Up to $500/month: Marketplaces are more advantageous
- $501 to $1,500/month: Consider having both
- Above $1,500/month: Own store is more profitable
With sales of $3,000/month, you save $420/month having your own store instead of paying 15% commission.
📊 Complete Comparison Table
| Criteria | Marketplace (Amazon/eBay) | Own Store |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Cost | $0 | $0 to $100 |
| Monthly Fee | $0-40 (pay per sale) | $29 to $299/month |
| Sales Commission | 8% to 15% + $0.30 | 0% (only gateway 2.9%) |
| Payment Gateway Fee | Included in commission | 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction |
| Organic Traffic | ✅ Millions of visitors | ❌ Need to build |
| Brand Control | ❌ Limited | ✅ Total |
| Customer Database | ❌ Marketplace's | ✅ Your own |
| Marketing | ✅ Done by platform | ❌ You invest |
🧮 Real Cost Calculator
Simulation with $3,000/month Revenue:
Amazon/eBay
$450
Commission (15%) per month
Own Store
$116
Platform ($29) + Gateway (2.9%)
Monthly Savings
$334
Having own store
Annual Savings
$4,008
A nice vacation!
📈 Break-Even Table
| Monthly Revenue | Marketplace Cost (15%) | Own Store Cost | Best Option |
|---|---|---|---|
| $300 | $45 | $38 | Own Store (+$7) |
| $600 | $90 | $46 | Own Store (+$44) |
| $1,500 | $225 | $73 | Own Store (+$152) |
| $3,000 | $450 | $116 | Own Store (+$334) |
| $10,000 | $1,500 | $319 | Own Store (+$1,181) |
✅ Advantages and ❌ Disadvantages
Marketplace (Amazon/eBay)
✅ Advantages
- Ready traffic: 300M+ visitors/month
- Established brand trust
- No fixed monthly cost
- Integrated logistics (FBA)
- Buyer protection program
- Free marketing exposure
- Immediate start
❌ Disadvantages
- High commission (8-15%)
- Direct competition visible
- No experience control
- Customer belongs to marketplace
- Limited customization
- Platform dependency
- Suspension risk
Own Store
✅ Advantages
- No sales commissions
- Total brand control
- Own customer database
- Unlimited customization
- Customer data ownership
- Own strategies
- Scalable growth
❌ Disadvantages
- Fixed monthly cost
- Need to attract traffic
- Marketing investment
- Build trust from scratch
- Technical maintenance
- Full responsibility
- Learning curve
💰 Hidden Costs Nobody Tells You
🟡 Hidden Marketplace Costs:
- Sponsored Products: $0.50-5.00 per click
- Professional Account: $39.99/month (Amazon)
- FBA Fees: Can reduce margin by 15-25%
- Returns: You pay return shipping ($5-15)
- Time lost: Managing repetitive questions
- Price wars: Margin squeezed by competition
🔵 Hidden Own Store Costs:
- Domain: $10-15/year
- Professional email: $3-6/month
- Apps/Plugins: $20-100/month
- Initial marketing: $200-1000 (first months)
- Design/Photos: $200-1000 (one-time)
- Management time: 2-4 hours/day initially
🎯 Definitive Decision Guide
📌 Use ONLY Marketplace if:
- Just starting out (less than 6 months)
- Revenue less than $500/month
- No time for marketing
- Selling generic products/commodities
- Want to validate product before investing
✨ Use BOTH (Hybrid Strategy) if:
- Revenue between $500 and $3,000/month
- Want to diversify sales channels
- Have different products for each channel
- Can manage two channels
- Seeking accelerated growth
🚀 Use ONLY Own Store if:
- Revenue over $3,000/month
- Have strong/differentiated brand
- Want to build a real business
- Have marketing strategy
- Seeking long-term growth
📈 Real Success Cases
Case 1: Sarah - Fashion Accessories
Situation: Selling $5,000/month on Amazon paying $750 commission
Action: Created own store keeping Amazon for specific products
Result: Saving $600/month, revenue grew 40% in 6 months
Case 2: Mike - Electronics
Situation: Started on eBay with $1,000/month
Action: At 6 months created own store, kept eBay
Result: Today 70% of sales are own store, saves $1,200/month
🔄 How to Migrate from Marketplace to Own Store
📅 90-Day Timeline:
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Don't abandon marketplace at once!
Make a gradual transition to avoid losing revenue.
Month 1: Preparation
- Choose and set up your platform
- Import products and organize categories
- Configure payment methods
- Create institutional pages
Month 2: Soft Launch
- Launch to existing customer base
- Offer exclusive opening discount
- Start collecting emails from marketplace
- Test processes and fix issues
Month 3: Acceleration
- Invest in paid traffic (Google/Facebook)
- Implement SEO and content
- Add exclusive products to store
- Monitor metrics and optimize
💡 Expert Final Tips
- Start with both: Use marketplace for cash flow while building your store
- Differentiate products: Premium products in store, commodities on marketplace
- Always collect data: Email and phone from all customers
- Invest in remarketing: Customer who bought once, buys again
- Calculate LTV: Customer lifetime value justifies having own store
- Automate processes: Use tools to manage both channels
- Monitor competition: Adjust prices and strategies constantly
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