How much the marketplace takes
Marketplaces typically take between 8% and 30% depending on category. Fashion runs around 15-20%, electronics 10-15%, beauty can hit 20-25%. On top of that comes logistics: if you ship from your own warehouse, you pay for delivery to the customer and for returns. If you use the platform's fulfillment, you pay storage fees on inventory you don't always control.
Most platforms work similarly - commissions vary slightly by category, but there are additional costs for visibility. To show up high in search results, you need to run internal ads and participate in promotions. Without that, organic reach is nearly zero.
Here's an example. A product sells for $100, cost of goods is $40. Platform commission at 15% is $15. Logistics and returns eat another $10. That leaves $35 gross profit. Subtract internal advertising - another $7-13 per unit if you want to be visible. You're down to $22-28.
What it costs to bring a customer to your own site
Your own store doesn't generate traffic by itself. You pay for every visitor: search ads, social ads, SEO.
Search ads for competitive product terms cost $1-7 per click. Conversion from cold traffic is 1-3%. So to get one order, you need to bring in 30-100 people. Do the math: 50 clicks at $3 each is $150 for one order. If your average order is $100, you're losing money.
SEO is cheaper per visitor but requires time and upfront investment. Promoting an online store costs $1,500+ per month, and you'll see results in 4-6 months. If you're in a narrow niche or have low search volume, SEO may never pay off.
Social ads are cheaper per click - $0.50-2 - but conversion is lower because people are browsing, not searching for a specific product. To make social work, you need a funnel: lead magnet, nurture sequence, retargeting. That's separate costs for creative, setup, and testing hypotheses.
When a marketplace is better
If you're just starting out, you have no brand recognition and no budget for a long ramp on traffic - a marketplace gives you a ready audience. People come there specifically to buy, so conversion is higher than on an external site.
If the product is impulse or seasonal. On a marketplace it's easier to catch a demand spike: before the holidays or during sale seasons, traffic grows on its own without you having to scale ads manually.
If you have a wide range of similar products with low margin - apparel, accessories, small electronics. The economics here are built on volume: the marketplace commission is less than what it would cost to bring one customer to your own site.
If you're not ready to deal with logistics, returns, and support. The marketplace handles those, you just supply the product.
When you need your own site
If you have high margins - 50% and up. Then you can afford expensive traffic and still come out ahead. Examples: handmade goods, niche cosmetics, specialized equipment.
If you have repeat purchases. A customer who bought from you once comes back without ads - through email or just a bookmark. On a marketplace that doesn't exist: people buy from the platform, not from you, and next time they might go to a competitor.
If you sell under your own brand and controlling perception matters. On a marketplace you're one listing among hundreds. On your own site you can build the presentation, tell a story, show expertise.
If you work with corporate clients or take payment upfront. Businesses often don't want to deal with marketplaces due to accounting and working through an intermediary. You control your own site: you can issue an invoice, sign a contract, set up payment plans.
Hybrid model: when it pays to do both
Many sellers use marketplaces as a channel for initial reach and their own site for retention. The logic is simple: a new customer finds you on the marketplace, buys, receives the product with an insert or card showing your website and a discount code for the next purchase. The second time they come directly to you, and you save the platform commission.
This doesn't work everywhere. Marketplaces prohibit direct contact info in listings and package inserts, but enforcement is spotty. If caught, they can suspend your account. The risk exists, you decide.
Another option - use the marketplace to test demand. Launch a new product on a platform, see how it sells, collect reviews. If it works, add it to your own store and promote it there where margin is higher.
What it takes for your own store to pay off
Calculate unit economics before launch. Take average order value, subtract cost of goods, delivery costs, and customer acquisition cost. If less than 20% is left, the store won't pay off until you build repeat purchases or lower traffic costs.
Set up analytics from day one. Without end-to-end tracking you won't know which channel makes money and which burns budget. Analytics platform, goal tracking, integration with your CRM - not optional, necessary.
Budget for 6 months of breaking even or losing money. If you expect the store to be profitable in a month, you're wrong. You need to test traffic, warm up the audience, build a list. Fast payback only happens if you already have an audience on social media or an email list.
What it costs to launch your own online store
A ready-made solution on a website builder - $1,000 to $2,500. Works for getting started if you have under 50 products and simple sales logic. Limitations: weak integration with business systems, awkward to manage a large catalog, no flexibility in customization.
A store on WordPress with WooCommerce runs $2,500-5,000. You can integrate with CRM, inventory, set up automation. Downside - slow with a large catalog and requires regular plugin updates.
A store on React and Node.js - from $10,000. Built for your specific needs from scratch, runs fast, scales easily. We at EFIMOV DEV build these when you need integration with internal systems or complex order logic. Exact quote comes after discussing the project, prices on the site are approximate.
Add marketing costs to development: at least $1,500-3,000 per month on search and social ads if you want visible results. SEO starts at $1,500 monthly, results in six months.
How to decide
Calculate what you're paying the marketplace now. Take monthly revenue, multiply by platform commission, add logistics and internal advertising. If the total is over $5,000-7,000 per month, it's worth running the numbers on your own store.
Assess how many repeat purchases you get. If customers come back, your own site will pay off faster because you stop paying for the same traffic twice. If every sale is one-time, a marketplace is better.
Ask yourself if you're ready to invest in promotion for 6-12 months without quick returns. If budget is tight and you need sales now, stay on the platform. If you have runway and see long-term potential, build your own.
A marketplace is better at the start and with low margin - it gives you a ready audience but takes 15-25% of every sale. Your own site pays off if you have high margin, repeat purchases, and budget for promotion for at least six months. Calculate unit economics before launch: if customer acquisition cost eats all the profit, start with a marketplace and test demand, then launch your own store once you know what sells.
Frequently asked
Can I sell on a marketplace and my own site at the same time?
Yes, it's common practice. The marketplace works as a channel for initial reach, your own site for repeat sales and working with loyal customers. Main thing is to sync inventory so you don't sell the same item twice.
How much do I need to sell per month for my own store to pay off?
Depends on margin and traffic costs. If margin is 50% or higher and revenue is $15,000+ per month, your own store starts being more profitable than a marketplace. With margin under 30%, the breakeven threshold shifts to $30,000-60,000 in revenue.
What's cheaper: search ads or SEO?
SEO is cheaper long-term but requires upfront investment and takes 4-6 months to show results. Search ads work immediately but every click costs money. If you need sales now, search ads. If you have time, SEO.
Can I pull customers from a marketplace to my own site?
Technically marketplaces prohibit this. In practice, sellers include business cards and promo codes in shipments. Risk is account suspension if caught. The legitimate way is to build your brand and promote it outside the platform so people search for your site on their own.