It is one of the first choices anyone selling online faces. Amazon gives you a ready-made crowd of buyers. Your own store gives you control and margin. There is no single right answer - there is the answer that is right for your product and your situation.
What Amazon gives you
- Ready traffic. Millions of people are already there, searching for products. You do not have to bring them in.
- Instant trust. The buyer trusts Amazon, so it is easier for them to click "buy" from an unknown business.
- A fast start. You list a product and sell the same day, without building anything.
For many businesses, it is the fastest way to even test whether a product sells.
What Amazon will not give you
- Margin. Commissions and fees eat into the profit on every transaction.
- The customer. The buyer is Amazon's customer, not yours - you have no data on them, you cannot build a relationship, and it is harder to sell to them again.
- A brand. You look like hundreds of other sellers, side by side, where the main difference is price.
- Peace of mind. The rules, fees and the position of your listings depend on the platform, not on you. You are a tenant, not an owner.
What your own store gives you
- Full margin. You pay for hosting and payments, but you do not hand over a commission on every sale.
- The customer, for keeps. You have their data, you can send a newsletter, build loyalty, sell again.
- A brand. The store looks the way you want and builds recognition that stays with you.
- Control. You set the rules, not the platform.
The price of this freedom is one thing: you have to bring the traffic yourself - through SEO, ads and social media. Nobody shows up on their own.
When both make sense
In practice, many businesses do both at once, because they complement each other perfectly:
- Amazon as a source of reach and first customers,
- your own store as the full-margin place you gradually draw repeat buyers to.
You sell on both, and you encourage a customer who once bought via the platform to come straight to you next time.
A marketplace lends you customers. Your own store lets you keep them. The healthiest move is to use one to build the other.
A simple rule for choosing
- A new, unknown product, you want to test demand fast → start with Amazon.
- Repeat purchases, a brand, margin matters → build your own store.
- You are thinking long term → do both, but treat your own store as the goal, not an add-on.
Where to start
Work out your margin after Amazon's fees. If little is left once the fees are paid, that is a sign your own store will pay off sooner than you think.
Want us to help plan your sales - marketplace, own store, or a sensible mix of both? Get in touch or start with a free audit.