Marketplace vs. Your Own Store
- Marketplace fees: large marketplaces charge a referral fee on every sale, plus optional advertising and fulfillment fees. Check the current schedule, for example Amazon's seller pricing.
- Your own store: you pay a monthly plan and payment processing instead of a per-sale referral cut, and you keep the customer's contact so you can sell to them again.
- Best of both: many small producers keep a marketplace listing for discovery and send repeat customers to their own store.
Getting Started
- List your best sellers first, with clear photos and your story: who makes it, where, and how.
- Tell existing customers (farmers market, CSA, wholesale buyers) where to order online.
- Compare total costs before choosing a platform: monthly plan, payment processing, and any add-on apps.
One option: Shopify
A widely used platform for running your own online store. Compare its current plans and fees with alternatives before deciding.
Start a Shopify store →Affiliate disclosure: Shoptegrity earns a commission if you sign up for a paid Shopify plan through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never affects any rating on this site. Details.