Eh, not quite.
There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing an online marketplace: What are the costs?
Do they charge a flat, up-front payment or ongoing fees?
Jennifer Boaro, owner of The Cat Ball, sells on multiple platforms: Amazon, Etsy and Shopify. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Boaro
Are there restrictions on who can join and what can be sold?
What bang out of products do well?
What is the overall ease of use?
Its a lot to consider, but this is your business were talking about, after all.
You want to verify the time, effort and expenses youre putting into a platform are paying off.
Maybe youve heard of it.
No Interest Til Almost 2027?
But at the same time, youre also competing with a lot of other sellers.
Its a small fish, monstrous pond scenario.
Jennifer Boaro, owner of The Cat Ball, sells on multiple platforms: Amazon, Etsy and Shopify.
However, Amazon does have an easy-to-use self-search help tool.
The individual plan is for people who plan to sell fewer than 40 items a month.
For those selling more than 40 items a month, theres the professional plan.
So what are these mysteriousselling fees?
Another reason she likes the FBA option is because it just makes her day-to-day life easier.
It also allows me to get items out of my garage and into their warehouse, she says.
Its less work for me to send one box of 10 than send 10 shipments.
If youre torn, Amazon has a niftyrevenue calculatorto help you out.
One notable difference: Etsys requirements are less stringent.
Sellers can list goods that arent necessarily handmade, such as craft wares or vintage items.
Katrin Lerman owns a handmade jewelry shop called Frosted Willow and started selling on Etsy nine years ago.
Etsy really caters to the handmade, she says.
There arent any monthly subscription fees to sell on Etsy, but of course there are the variousselling fees.
One is Permafrost Beards, an Alaska-based companyowned by Nick and Courtney Adkins.
Plus, a friend and fellow small business owner recommended Shopify, so the rest is history.
(Its the one the Adkinses use.)
Each plan also gives access to shipping discounts with the U.S.
Postal Service, UPS and DHL Express.
Similar to the payment processing fees, the more expensive your plan, the bigger the discount you get.
Upon signing up, youre given a free myshopify.com domain name.
Im OK with computers.
Im not amazing, he says.
But [Shopify has] some of their own videos to tell you how to do things.
A major selling point for Shopify is the amount of free resources it offers.
There areguidescovering topics such as analytics, marketing and fulfillment andtoolslike a pay-stub generator and gift-certificate templates.
But one drawback is the lack of an easy way to print invoices, according to Nick Adkins.
Each costs about $5 per month.
Depending on what youre doing, these fees can add up, Nick Adkins says.
As you get different apps and want to do more things… youve got to assess the value.
He used to have an Etsy store as well, but didnt stick with the platform for long.
A glassblower by trade, Wingards pieces typically range anywhere from $100 to $1,000.
Like Shopify, you get a free 14-day trial.
Squarespace offers four plans broken into two categories:websitesandonline stores.
Alternatively, you’re able to opt for an online store plan.
The basic plan is $312 annually or $30 month to month.
The advanced plan is $480 annually or $46 month to month.
Both plans come with everything you get from the business website plan and then some.
Also, that 3% transaction fee is waived from the online store plans.
The platform also offersmarketing tools, such as email campaigns and search engine optimization assistance.
Wingard says he pays an extra $10 per month so his page ranks higher on Google searches.
Kaitlyn Blount is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
Probably not as good as youd like.
It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.
But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?
Ask one of these companies to help…
