Online shop or marketplace: choosing where to sell your products
By Martin Soliman,
If you sell products, you will eventually ask whether to list them on a marketplace, build your own online shop, or do both. Boutiques, florists, gift retailers, studios with merchandise and makers all face the same choice. Neither option is right for everyone. The useful approach is to understand what each one does for you and what it asks in return.
What a marketplace offers
A marketplace is a platform where many sellers list products in one place. Its main appeal is that shoppers are already there, so you do not have to bring every visitor yourself. Listing can be quick, and the platform usually handles much of the checkout. In return, your products sit next to other sellers' products, the platform sets its own rules, and fees or commissions usually apply. Read the current terms and fee schedule on the platform itself before relying on any figures you hear elsewhere.
What your own online shop offers
Your own shop is a place where you decide how everything looks and works. Your brand, photography, descriptions, delivery information and returns policy are presented the way you choose. You can build a relationship with the people who buy from you, for example by looking after their enquiries and keeping in touch in ways that respect their privacy. The trade off is that you need to help people find the shop, through search, social media, email and your Google Business Profile. A shop does not bring itself an audience.
Questions to ask before you decide
Who is your customer, and where do they already look for what you sell? How many products do you have, and do they change often? What would the marketplace's fees and rules mean for your margins and your day to day work? How will a happy buyer find you again next time? Who handles packing, delivery and returns, and how clearly can you explain these to a customer? Writing down honest answers usually points toward a clear first step.
Many businesses use both
Choosing one does not rule out the other. Some retailers use a marketplace to reach new people, and use their own shop as the home base where they present the full range and encourage repeat orders. If you take this approach, keep prices, product details and stock information consistent in both places so customers are not confused.
Whichever you choose, get the basics right
Good photography does a lot of the selling when a customer cannot pick the product up, so show it clearly from more than one angle. Write plain descriptions that say what the item is, its size and what it is made from. State delivery times and costs before checkout, and make returns easy to understand. Check the experience on a phone, since that is how many shoppers will browse.
How Conciergia handles it
Conciergia is a done for you online system run by one provider. For selling products, a simple native shop or a full Shopify store is available. Around the shop sits the rest of the system: a custom built website with unlimited pages and revisions, with hosting, maintenance, professional email, Google Business Profile and a logo included; Front Desk, which captures and qualifies enquiries and supports bookings; search, covering SEO, AEO and GEO with keyword research and articles; and social content that is planned, made, scheduled and published. Facebook and Instagram ads are available as an add on. The enquiries your site collects belong to you. Pricing is a one off setup fee plus a weekly plan, with no lock in, and you can cancel anytime. See the pricing page and send an enquiry to talk about what suits your products.