Strategy
Where to sell first: Amazon vs Etsy vs Shopify
The right first marketplace depends on one question: do you have traffic, or does the platform? Here's how the three compare for a beginner.
Amazon — the demand machine
- Traffic: enormous, and shoppers are ready to buy.
- Cost: ~15% referral fee plus fulfillment; FBA adds fees.
- Difficulty: high competition, strict rules, reviews matter.
- Best when: you sell a real product with a clear demand and can differentiate the listing.
Etsy — the discovery marketplace
- Traffic: built-in, but best for handmade, vintage and personalised items.
- Cost: listing fee, ~6.5% transaction, plus payment fees.
- Difficulty: moderate; saturated in popular niches.
- Best when: your product is unique, custom or gift-oriented.
Shopify — your own store
- Traffic: none by default — you bring it.
- Cost: monthly fee plus payment processing; no referral cut.
- Difficulty: high, because marketing is on you.
- Best when: you already have an audience or a brand you want to own.
Amazon and Etsy rent you their traffic. Shopify gives you ownership but no traffic. New sellers almost always underestimate the second part.
The honest recommendation
If you're starting cold with no audience, launch on a marketplace that already has demand (Amazon or Etsy depending on your product) so you don't have to build traffic from zero. Once you have sales and repeat customers, add a Shopify store and move that audience onto your own land.
One thing regardless of platform
The bottleneck is almost never the platform. It's the listing — the title, images and copy that decide whether the traffic converts. Fix that first, wherever you sell.