Comparison · Retail & e-commerce
The answer
A marketplace sells your product to people who do not know you yet; it charges a commission on every sale and keeps the customer relationship. A shop of your own costs little per sale — with Shopify, for example, CHF 29/month1 and payment fees — but you have to bring every visitor. With no audience, start with a marketplace or by testing demand; with customers who know you and good margins, your own shop becomes more profitable; doing both takes time.
Facts checked on · Updated · Market Switzerland
This analysis is available in French and English.
You are torn between selling on a marketplace, which brings buyers but takes a commission, and opening your own shop, which belongs to you but has no visitors at the start.
The comparison
Ratings from 0 to 4, from the point of view of someone in your situation — higher is better. The reasoning behind each rating is in the analysis.
| Criterion | Test first | Marketplace | Own shop | Both |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up-front costWhat you invest before the first sale. | ||||
| Cost per saleWhat goes on every order: commission, payment fees. | A commission on every sale, per the marketplace’s grid. | |||
| ReachHow many buyers can find you without you bringing them. | No visitors without your marketing or audience. | |||
| Customer relationshipWho owns the customer contact and can sell to them again. | ||||
| BrandHow much of your image and pricing you control. | ||||
| WorkloadThe time it takes to run the channel. | Two channels to run. | |||
| IndependenceWhat happens if the platform changes its rules or fees. |
Sell a few pieces through your current channels — messages, markets, your store, payment links — before committing to an online channel.
For
Against
List your products on an online marketplace, Swiss or international, that already has buyers.
For
Against
A shop on your domain, for example on a hosted platform such as Shopify, that you promote yourself.
For
Against
The marketplace to be discovered, your shop for returning customers.
For
Against
The analysis
People often compare a marketplace’s commission with an own shop’s fees, and the shop always wins. That forgets what the commission buys: buyers who were already there. An own shop with no visitors costs almost nothing per sale… because it does not sell.
The right comparison puts the commission against what you would have to spend — on ads, content, time — to bring the same buyers to you. That is what the calculation below does: the same revenue, a commission on one side, a marketing budget on the other.
We could not read the Swiss marketplaces’ fee grids on 23 October 2026: the commission in the calculation is an assumption. Use the one of the marketplace you are considering, category by category.
A hosted shop costs a subscription and payment fees. At Shopify, for example, the Basic plan costs CHF 29/month1 billed monthly and a card payment 2.95% + CHF 0.30. That is little per sale — the Shopify or WooCommerce comparison details these costs.
What costs is everything else: bringing visitors, photographing, describing, answering, shipping. An own shop pays off when some of your customers already look for you by name, or when your margins pay for the marketing.
On a marketplace, the buyer buys from the platform first. Its rules decide what you may write to them afterwards, and a change in fees or ranking can swing your sales overnight.
In your own shop, the customer contact is yours: you can sell to them again without paying commission. That is often where the margin is made over time — if your products are bought again.
A product that has not found its buyers yet is saved neither by a marketplace nor by a shop. A few sales through your current channels tell you what appeals, at what price and to whom — before committing time and fixed costs.
Your recommendation
Five questions are enough for a first answer. Every rule applied is shown under the result.
Recommendation
Answer 4 more key questions: without them, a recommendation would be a guess.
Missing
Decision rules v1.0.0
The costs
The same revenue in every channel. Verified Shopify prices are pre-filled; the commission and marketing are assumptions to replace with your figures.
Cheapest over 36 months Marketplace
No crossover within 5 years.
Marketplace
Own shop
Both
What this calculation shows
What it does not prove
First product
A product not sold yet, no audience, little time, no marketing budget.
Test demand first. Sell a few pieces through your current channels before committing to a platform or a shop.
Why →Reseller
Already online, products others also sell, thin margins, no marketing budget.
A marketplace. Your buyers already compare prices there; bringing the same traffic to a shop would cost more than the commission.
Why →Brand with a community
Customers who know you, your own products, good margins, a marketing budget.
Your own shop. Your customers look for you by name: the commission no longer buys anything you do not already have.
Why →Growing brand
Already online, an emerging audience, good margins, a team and a budget.
Both. The marketplace to be discovered, the shop for returning customers — you have the time to run two channels.
Why →What we do not know
The most uncertain part: how many sales each channel will bring you. Nobody can predict it for your product; the calculation compares costs at equal volume, and the decision remains a bet to test small.
With no audience, a marketplace brings you buyers for a commission. With customers who already look for you and good margins, your own shop keeps the margin and the customer relationship.
It depends on the platform and often on the product category. We did not verify it for Swiss marketplaces: check the seller grid of the one you are considering and put it in the calculation.
Yes, it is common, but it doubles the handling of stock, prices and orders. Some marketplaces also restrict sending their customers to your site: read their rules.
Every fact on this page points to a source read on the date shown. Prices and availability are re-checked at least every 90 and 120 days.
Shopify Basic costs CHF 29 per month billed monthly (CHF 21 per month billed yearly); VAT is added to Shopify fees for a Swiss store.
verified · read on
Pay monthly | CHF29/mo … Pay yearly | CHF21/mo — If your store is located in Switzerland, then you’re charged […] VAT on your relevant Shopify fees.With Shopify Payments (Basic plan), an online card payment costs 2.95% + CHF 0.30 and a TWINT payment 1.75% + CHF 0.30.
verified · read on
Online standard card rates | 2.95% + CHF0.30 … TWINT rates | 1.75% + CHF0.30No vendor mentioned pays to appear here, and no link on this page is an affiliate link. What Bynilson sells is labelled as such and plays no part in the recommendation rules.
Research and writing assisted by AI tools; every fact was read on its source on the date shown, and the decision rules are written and tested by hand.
Useful steps whatever you decide.