Your own online store or marketplace?

According to the latest market research, up to 71% of internet users do online shopping. While you decide on selling through the internet, you have a chance to increase the number of the recipients of your offer and get customers from the whole country and abroad. At the beginning you have to make a hard choice - whether to create your own online store or to start the sale on external portals, like Amazon or eBay. Both options have their flaws and benefits and give a totally different spectrum of possibilities. Below we will describe the difference between selling in a marketplace and opening your own online store.

Portals Amazon and eBay are frequently chosen as a first step of online sale, especially by the owners of small companies. The reason for this is that Amazon and eBay are verified and popular solutions, which give the sense of security and from the very beginning offer a large group of consumers, who while searching for their desired product, may encounter your offer. In addition Amazon and eBay allow for quick and easy opening and running the sale, for example additional solutions take care of integration with payment systems or delivery companies. However, you will be challenged with distinguishing yourself from other offers, especially if your assortment is popular. Of course you can use some additional promotion tools, but there are not many, so your competitors will use exactly the same methods of advertisement. Furthemore you have to remember that when you run a store on Amazon or eBay, you are restricted by their regulations and policies, which change frequently. You also have to pay the provision, which amount may also suddenly change.

Despite the fact that opening your own online store demands more engagement, it’s really worth considering this decision. If you run your own e-store, you create your personal, individual brand and consequently you will appear more professional and reliable for customers. What’s more you will not be limited with any regulations of external entities, so you will be independent and able to decide on your own about the company and the direction in which it’ll develop. In addition, if you have your online store, you can use various channels of advertisement, for example natural positioning or running campaigns in Google Ads or in social media. You’ll have greater possibilities of development - a well-prepared online store may be freely expanded in the future. Despite the fact that running your own online store gives multiple perspectives, it may also raise many doubts. Entrepreneurs often fear that they won’t be able to reach their target group and as a result they won’t have enough sales. The lack of specialistic technical knowledge is also demotivating for people, who believe that they won’t deal with the maintenance of an online store.

We know from our experience that the doubts connected with creating an online store disappear as quick as their owners realise what potential it carries. Selling on Amazon or eBay is also profitable, but it shouldn’t be the only one solution you use. This is why we think that the best option is to combine those both sales channels - gain customers on Amazon or eBay and at the same time build your own online store, which will be the showcase of your brand and after a few years of really hard work, you will gain really big and stable income.