/ Ecommerce
Should I sell on Etsy, Amazon, or my own website?
Marketplaces for reach, your own site for margin and customer ownership. Most small brands should do both.
/ 01
The short version
Marketplaces bring traffic you can't get alone, and take a cut plus your customer relationship.
/ 02
What actually matters
- • Etsy: strong for handmade and personalised, 6.5%+ fees plus listing costs.
- • Amazon: enormous reach, brutal competition and fees.
- • Own site: best margin, full data, but you supply the traffic.
- • Use marketplaces to fund and feed your own site.
- • Include a card in every parcel pointing to your site.
/ 03
The bit most people get wrong
You don't own marketplace customers — you can't email them freely and you can be suspended without notice. Treat it as rented reach.
/ 04
What to do next
Add a printed insert to every marketplace order offering a discount on your own site.
/ 05
Where RIOT fits in
We're a small Colchester studio helping UK SMBs get sales channels right without agency waste or freelancer flake. If you've read this far and you want a second opinion on your specific setup, book a 20-minute call and we'll tell you honestly whether it's worth doing anything at all.
We work with clients across Essex, Suffolk, London and the wider UK — and remotely with brands abroad. No lock-in, no monthly retainer minimums, no pretending your problem is bigger than it is.
/ FAQs
Common questions
Can I run both?
Yes — just keep stock synced.
Is Etsy SEO worth learning?
Yes, it's the main driver of Etsy sales.
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