Selling on Amazon vs. Your Magento 2 Site

Do you have to choose between selling on Amazon versus your Magento2 site? By now, it’s obvious that selling products or services online is the trend. Your online store is open to a limitless number of customers and does not depend on foot traffic alone. But, before you start counting sales, decide if you will be selling on Amazon or your own Magento2 site. What are the pros and cons of each? Let’s find out

There are many ways to sell with minimum effort, the Amazon arbitrage method is one of them. With this, you source products from a supplier then resell these products on Amazon. To set up an Amazon store, sign up for an account and add your products. The e-commerce giant provides all the tools you need to put up your listing or create your store.

To create your own site, get an e-commerce program such as Magento and link it to your website. Add the products you intend to sell, and you’re good to go.

The difference between the two is the level of control you have over your store. If Amazon has an issue with your seller account, you have no control over when your store is going back up. With your own site, you can immediately work on getting it up and running at the earliest.

Selling either on Amazon or your Magento 2 site comes with a cost.

On Amazon, you need to pay subscription fees for your seller account. Moreover, using FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon) also comes with a cost. Technically, what you’re doing is removing the expense from your end and handing it over to Amazon. Last but not least, you need to give a small referral fee for every item you sell on Amazon. So, how is it viable, considering that Amazon’s fees are not cheap?

You save money since you’re not putting up a facility for storage and fulfillment. You also need fewer people to run the business. What else do you get out of it?

You gain guaranteed inclusion in a high-traffic site, and the potential to sell your items quickly due to the level of exposure Amazon affords its sellers. If you’re selling on Amazon, you aren’t burdened by high costs at the start, but if you calculate operational costs annually, it might pile up.

What about on your site?

Running your own Magento 2 site involves a different set of costs. You only need to pay for the hosting and the acquisition of the Magento 2 program. The hosting subscription is an annual payment, while the acquisition of the Magento 2 program is a one-time payment. It is up to you to hire a developer to handle your e-commerce platform.

You may also need to pay someone to take care of the e-commerce side of things or learn to do it yourself. Putting up your own site involves higher up-front costs, but it will eventually pay for itself in the long run.

Most online sellers will agree that Amazon is also a search engine as much as it is a marketplace. With 54% of product searches taking place on Amazon, it has surpassed Google as the largest search engine in the world for e-commerce.

The only problem is, you’re not the only one jockeying for a position to get the attention of prospective buyers. With nearly 564 million products listed on Amazon.com, and given that over two-thirds of clicks happen on the first page of search results, you don’t need a guru to tell you that competition is stiff. As an Amazon seller, you’ll need to do all you can to rank among the top in search results.

On the other hand, you have a lot more control of marketing and promotion on your own Magento2 site. After all, you have nearly 100% control over everything, from the customer interface to the assignment of keywords and more. You can also control SEO activities to gain more customers.

In the end, the effort you put in to attract customers directly affects the income you generate. Amazon guarantees faster results while running your own site has the potential to ensure long-term commitment to your brand. Which is better for you?

How would you like a business that runs itself with little to no participation on your end? This is what Amazon does for you! Amazon takes care of your inventory, product labels, packaging, and shipping.

With your own site, you have to figure out how to pack and ship your items. You also have to know the lowest costs to get these items to your customers. You may need to pay for fulfillment services if you can’t do this yourself.

Can’t make up your mind between the two? Here’s a third option. If you want the best of both worlds, you can now integrate your Amazon store into your Magento2 platform! This lets you enjoy the vast marketplace offered by Amazon and the level of control with Magento2. Here are other features you can enjoy if you choose this route:

• Upload Products in Bulk – How would you like to fill your shelves up with a single click? Now you can do that with Amazon integration with Magento2. This helps reduce your workload and time spent uploading individual products.
• Receive Detailed Notifications – Stay on top of your game by getting notifications on time and responding to them promptly. You can be notified when your stocks run low if your products are rejected due to errors, or when a new order comes in.
• Get Your Store in Sync – Your inventory synchronizes regularly between Amazon and Magento2 automatically! Now, how’s that for convenience?

Deciding about selling on Amazon versus your own site is a big move and may dictate your success down the line. It doesn’t mean you should choose one over the other. You can start with either one and then switch or even add platforms later on.

For example, if you’re just starting out as an online seller with a product similar to others, you might do well on Amazon. As your business grows and you acquire different products to sell, creating your own Magento2 site isn’t a bad idea.

Then again, it might be best to integrate Amazon with the Magento platform and have the best of both worlds!