Selling on line
When deciding where to sell your products online, many people will choose between selling on a marketplace and creating their own website. While each option has its own set of pros and cons – and there is no one-size-fits-all solution that works perfectly for everyone – we believe businesses that are truly serious about ecommerce should have their own website.
Of course, marketplaces (like Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and Walmart) can be great sales channels for many merchants, but there are plenty of limitations. A no-brainer when it comes to Amazon is that the competition will be sky-high. Amazon is one of the biggest players in its field, so there may be thousands of other sellers that your business will have to compete with.
Their rules
By signing up to a marketplace, you must abide by its rules. Amazon focuses on the products, not the sellers. This means that you have very limited means to showcase your brand presence.
Fees
Although your revenue is sure to increase by being on Amazon, it does come at a cost. Regardless of whether you have a professional account or you opt for FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon), you’ll still be faced with fees. It’s definitely worth doing your research on your Amazon fee plan before setting up your marketplace account.
Control
It’s your website, so you control it: from content, to design, right down to where your Twitter icon sits. It’s not just the display you’ll have control over, either, because you’ll have the say on how, when, and where you present your products.
It’s all about you
Unlike Amazon, your website is all about you and your ecommerce business. Using your site as the go-to place for consumers to buy from your business will help reduce customer distraction. There isn’t any ‘others viewed this’ or ‘today’s deal’, because the site user will solely be exposed to only your products.
With this in mind, you should think about using Amazon in conjunction with your own website. This will help with international reach, but will also allow you to remain in control of your own website. Amazon will give you the increase in sales without being detrimental to your customer acquisition, because your website takes care of that.
Online retailers that have noticed the need for Amazon use the technique of including a flyer in their marketplace orders offering their Amazon customers 10% off if they make their next order direct from their website. This saves the seller the Amazon fee on any repeat purchases, and drives traffic direct to their site. Investing time and effort into both Amazon and your own website is sure to stand you in good stead to remain competitive in the ecommerce industry.