The 8 Best Alternatives to Selling on Amazon for Your Ecommerce Brand

Amazon is the undisputed retail giant in the ecommerce world. It gets over 2.5 billion visits to its website monthly and sells billions of products yearly. For many shoppers, Amazon is the first place they go when they need something.

Given its size and vast customer base, being on Amazon is an absolute no-brainer for many online retailers.

But Amazon isn’t the be-all and end-all of the online shopping world. There are other marketplaces where you can sell online and make a profit. In this article, we’ll look at 8 options you can try for your brand.

Why search for an Amazon alternative?

Although Amazon is the place to be for many sellers, it’s not for everyone.

Here are some of the drawbacks of selling on Amazon:

• It’s a tricky marketplace to figure out, especially if you’re just starting your online business. To become an Amazon seller, you need to jump through a number of technical hoops, and many aspiring sellers get rejected outright.

• It needs a lot of maintenance. It’s not just about joining the platform, you’ll need to constantly keep up with Amazon’s requirements for product listings, shipping times, customer satisfaction, and other elements.

• Amazon fees can get quite high. There’s a monthly fee of $39.99 for the Amazon Seller Account just to be able to sell on Amazon. And there are commissions and other fees that eat into your profits.

• The competition is especially fierce. Although you can access Amazon’s massive customer base, so does everyone else who sells there.

• The customer base is split among regional websites. If you want to sell and ship internationally, you need to maintain a presence on all Amazon sites, which means extra work.

• It’s harder for your brand to stand out. When people shop on Amazon, they think they buy from Amazon even if the item comes from an independent seller.

Given all these factors, let’s take a look at 8 other Amazon alternatives you should consider.

The top 8 Amazon alternatives

Here, we’ve listed 8 alternatives to Amazon, from other online marketplaces to platforms that make creating your own online store a breeze. Let’s jump right in.

1. Shopify

Source: Shopify

Having an online store with its own website ensures that when shoppers buy from you, they know you’re the seller. And if they’ve had a good shopping experience and the product lives up to their expectations, they can become repeat customers in the future.

Shopify is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms for creating your own online store. The setup process is smooth even for beginners, and Shopify lets you customize your store and build your brand identity.

Shopify even helps you source products—its app store offers integrations with dropshipping and print-on-demand platforms like Printful.

Price: 3-day free trial, followed by subscriptions starting from $29/month + a percentage-based transaction fee per order

Pros:

• Shopify is a highly customizable and beginner-friendly ecommerce platform

• It offers simple integrations with print-on-demand services like Printful to help you source products

Cons:

• The transaction and monthly fees can get quite expensive

• Shopify is not a marketplace, so you’ll need to direct your own traffic to your store

2. Etsy

Source: Etsy

Etsy is a popular marketplace that’s particularly apt for small businesses. Initially created for handmade product sellers, Etsy has become a major player in the ecommerce world, entering other product categories and allowing sellers to sell products like custom clothing, digital items, and much more.

It’s a beginner-friendly platform with a relatively easy setup process. Unlike Amazon, Etsy’s online marketplace lets your brand stand out more since it’s presented as a hub for small businesses.

Price: free to start (in some cases, a one-time setup fee may apply), 6.5% transaction fee per order + $0.20 listing fee per product + payment processing fees

Pros:

• Etsy’s narrower target audience of people shopping for gifts and other custom items may be the perfect fit for your brand

• Etsy has a built-in audience of active users but with less competition than on Amazon

Cons:

• The transaction, payment processing, and listing fees can build up and eat into your profits

• Depending on the products you sell, your ideal customer base might not be shopping on Etsy

3. eBay

Source: eBay

Another Amazon alternative to consider is eBay. Like Etsy, eBay has changed quite a lot over the years. Originally, it started as a site for people to sell their items second-hand through auctions. Although that option is still available, these days, eBay offers the same kind of marketplace experience as Amazon.

Like with any marketplace, you’ll need to figure out how to stand out among all the other sellers in the search results, and the competition can get tough. But in return, you get access to all the buyers who visit eBay. Many are looking to buy highly specific items, and that’s where you come in.

Price: free to start, percentage-based transaction fee + $0.35 listing fee per product

Pros:

• eBay offers pretty much all product categories imaginable, so the customer base is more varied than on Etsy

• eBay has several local marketplaces, and your listings will automatically show up on all of them

Cons:

• Although eBay is a regular marketplace now, people still come there looking for bargains, so competitive pricing is a must

• If you sell products with Printful, your items won’t be available for auction, one of eBay’s main selling points

4. Walmart

Source: Walmart

Walmart is a popular retail brand known for its brick-and-mortar stores worldwide, but particularly in the United States. It also has its own marketplace though, and any seller can join Walmart’s platform to offer their goods there.

With its lengthier setup process, the Walmart marketplace is better suited for more experienced sellers. Like Amazon, building your brand on Walmart is harder because shoppers will think they’re buying from Walmart, not a unique seller.

Price: free to set up, 5–20% referral fees, depending on the product category

Pros:

• Walmart is a trusted brand, so shoppers will be less hesitant to make purchases on their marketplace

• The Walmart marketplace has a built-in audience that you can tap into by adding your products to their online platform

Cons:

• The Printful integration is currently only available for businesses in the US

• When people shop on the Walmart marketplace, they think they’re buying from Walmart, so it’ll be harder to highlight your brand

5. Storenvy

Source: Storenvy

If the big marketplaces aren’t for you, one of the Amazon alternatives you should consider is Storenvy. It’s also an online marketplace focusing mainly on small businesses, with particular emphasis on artists. Like all marketplaces, it has a built-in audience of loyal customers. This, combined with the easy setup process, makes it a great starting point for your ecommerce business.

Price: free to start, subscription plans starting at $4.99/month if you want to list more than 20 items + 15% total sale commission fee

Pros:

• The competition is not as tough as on the bigger marketplaces

• Storenvy puts a special emphasis on the fact that shoppers are buying from unique brands rather than Storenvy itself

Cons:

• It’s a lesser-known platform, so the visitor traffic will be much lower than for Etsy, Amazon, or Walmart

• Like with all marketplaces, your products are listed along with other sellers, so it can be trickier to stand out

6. Wix

Source: Wix

Let’s look at another great platform if you want to create your own ecommerce site. Wix is a terrific choice if customizing your storefront is a must for you. Wix is simple to use, even for beginners, and has many ready-made templates. But it also offers enough customization options for advanced users.

The integrations available on its app market will help you build your business however you want, no matter your goal—starting a clothing brand or any other type of store.

Price: subscriptions starting at $29/month + percentage-based payment service fees

Pros:

• The monthly subscription fee is lower than for Shopify, making it a more affordable option

• The drag-and-drop website builder is simple to use, even for beginners

Cons:

• Since it’s not a marketplace, you’ll need to figure out how to drive traffic to your site

• Unlike Shopify, Wix doesn’t support live shipping rates

7. TikTok Shop

Source: TikTok Shop

Although it’s not exactly a marketplace, TikTok is another platform with the benefit of a built-in audience. TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms, and if you’ve established your presence there, selling your merch can mean an additional income stream.

But keep in mind that although people go to TikTok for product recommendations, it’s primarily used for entertainment, news, etc. So, you’ll need to figure out how to market and sell your products differently than you would on other marketplaces—here, it’s all about your brand.

Price: free to start, 8% order commission

Pros:

• TikTok is a great option for established brands to expand their reach and find new customers

• It’s particularly suitable for brands whose target audience skews younger

Cons:

• You’ll need an established online presence on TikTok to make sales

• The Printful integration for TikTok shops is currently only available in the US and the UK

8. ShipStation

Source: ShipStation

If you’re more tech-savvy, you can connect with other third-party marketplaces with the help of ShipStation’s platform. It functions as a middleman between Printful and your desired selling place. However, it can be tricky to set up, plus you’re adding another service with fees to your list of expenses. But if you want to sell on marketplaces that Printful doesn’t directly integrate with, ShipStation can make it happen.

Price: subscriptions starting at $9.99/month

Pros:

• ShipStation lets you connect Printful with platforms that we don’t have a direct integration with

• If you sell non-Printful products as well, ShipStation will help you manage everything in one place

Cons:

• ShipStation is best for ecommerce experts—it’s not a platform for beginners

• It comes with additional expenses since you’ll have to pay ShipStation’s fees on top of your chosen marketplace’s fees

How to choose the right Amazon alternative

As you can see, there are a number of different alternatives to Amazon, so picking the best one can take time and effort. When making your choice, put together a list of factors that are most important to you and compare all your potential picks.

Here are some things to consider:

• Competition in your niche

• Shipping costs and features (check if you can offer free shipping or live shipping rates)

• Payment processing options and fees

• Integrations with dropshipping partners like Printful

• Ad programs on the marketplace

Once you establish the criteria that’s important to you, the choice among the different alternatives becomes much easier.

Remember that you’re not bound to only one place. Selling online means you can take advantage of as many Amazon alternatives as you wish.

Connecting with Printful

All the platforms and marketplaces listed in this article directly integrate with Printful. This means you can automate the selling process and add new products with ease.

Source: Printful

The steps for launching and connecting your store with Printful will be different for each platform. However, we provide step-by-step instructions in each case so you can conquer even the trickiest platforms.

Check out our ecommerce platform & online marketplace comparison to find out more.

Time to unlock new marketplace horizons

Although Amazon has been a game-changer in the global retail world, it can be hard to survive there. If that fight isn’t for you, consider the Amazon alternatives outlined here—you might find even more success with your online sales!

And remember that you don’t have to put all your ecommerce business eggs in one basket. You can join more than one marketplace, including Amazon, so feel free to experiment and find what works for you.