Hi, I sell on marketplaces. Monthly revenue isn't bad but the commissions feel way too high. I figure if I open my own site, I'll get rid of these commissions.
But on the other hand, customers come ready-made on marketplaces, whereas on my own site there's nobody. I'm confused, what should I do?
I run marketplace operations, let me tell you the most common calculation mistake.
Getting rid of commissions can mean getting rid of profit. Because the commission you pay on marketplaces isn't just infrastructure, it's the cost of traffic. On your own site, you'll buy that traffic via ads, and ad costs are higher than commissions in most categories.
Do the math like this: what's the marketplace commission percentage? What's the estimated ad cost to get a sale on your own site? If you don't know the second number, try it for a month with a small budget, don't guess.
The real value of your own site isn't escaping commissions: owning customer data, enabling repeat sales, and building a brand. If you want these three, open it. If you're opening it just for commissions, you'll likely be disappointed.
I agree with Sıla, plus a practical note on running both together.
If you open your own site, stock synchronization will be an issue from day one. If you're selling the same product on two channels and stock is managed separately, you'll keep selling items that are already sold out. The penalty for this on marketplaces is heavy.
That's why solve the integration side before opening your own site. Fixing it later is twice as expensive.
I run both together, I can say this: sales start slow on your own site but customer quality is different.
Customers from marketplaces come comparing prices, customers from your own site come looking for the brand. The return rate for the latter is noticeably lower for us and the repeat purchase rate is higher. I measured it, it's not a guess.
An addition from the email side: the biggest benefit of your own site is the customer list.
You can't reach a customer a second time on a marketplace. If you build a permission-based email list on your own site, the cost of making sales during campaign periods becomes almost zero. This is what makes the difference from the second year onwards.
Note: don't use non-permission lists, it's both a legal issue and it doesn't work.
Doki · Server maintenance contract · 2025
Don't miss this: The harder it is to reverse a decision the slower you should make it.
The real issue isn't the number but what it's based on. Good luck with that.
If you're going this route, sort this out first. When you try to change everything at once, nothing settles.
Doki · Log management setup · 2025
Could you elaborate on that? Most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval.
When you try to change everything at once, nothing settles. That's all, sorry if I went on too long.
I went through the same thing two years ago. Changing habits is harder and more expensive than setting up a system.
Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late. Hope this helps.
I agree. Don't hesitate to ask; those who don't ask always pay more.
This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.
There is something to watch out for. Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late.
I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.
Doki · Phishing awareness training · 2024
I think it's hard to be that definitive about e-commerce. The harder it is to reverse a decision, the slower you should make it.
Don't hesitate to ask; those who don't ask always pay more. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Absolutely... tbh if I were to add anything: Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late.
Splitting your budget without knowing where you're losing users is just throwing money in the dark. If you post the result here, it will help others too.
I'd say don't rush. If you don't write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later.
I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.