You list a product at ₹1,000. A customer orders it. A week later, the payout in your seller dashboard says ₹690. When comparing a marketplace vs own online store, that missing ₹310 tells the real story.

If you sell online, this moment is familiar. Marketplaces bring ready-made customers, but they also take a cut in more places than most new sellers expect. An own online store looks cheaper on paper, yet it has costs of its own, and the biggest one is getting customers to show up at all.

This guide breaks down what small sellers actually keep on each route, with a worked example you can adapt to your own products.

Why the listing price is not your income

The pricea customer pays is only the starting point. Between that payment and your bank account sit commissions, fees, taxes, shipping, returns and advertising. Two sellers with the same product at the same price can end up with very different profits, depending on where they sell and how closely they track these costs.

So when evaluating a marketplace vs own online store, the useful question is not “which channel has lower fees?” It is “after every cost, how much of each order do I keep, and what else do I get besides the sale?

What marketplaces really charge

Marketplace fees are rarely a single number. When you read your seller rate card, look for these:

• Referral or commission feeA percentage of the sale price, set by product category. Fashion, electronics, home goods and beauty all carry different rates.

• Fixed or closing fee. A flat amount per order, often linked to the price band of the item.

• Shipping and fulfilment fee. Based on weight, size and delivery distance, and sometimes charged again when an order is returned.

• GST on fees. The marketplace charges GST on its own fees, so the real deduction is higher than the headline percentage. If you are GST-registered you may be able to claim this as input credit, so check with your accountant.

• Advertising. On a crowded marketplace, visibility often means paying for sponsored placement.

• Returns and cancellations. Return shipping, damaged goods and fees that are not refunded can quietly eat into profit.

• Payout timing. Settlements can arrive days after delivery, which ties up your cash.

What your own store really costs

An own store has no marketplace commission, but it is not free to run:

• Payment gateway fees. Usually a small percentage per transaction, plus GST on that fee.

• Platform costs. Your monthly plan, domain, hosting and any paid apps or plugins.

• Shipping. Typically through a courier aggregator. You either charge the customer or absorb the cost.

• Marketing. This is the big one. On a marketplace, shoppers come to you. On your own store, you pay for them with ad spend, influencer collaborations, or months of steady SEO and social media work.

• Packaging, support and your time. These are easy to forget, and they add up.

A worked example

The numbers below are illustrative, not the rates of any particular platform. Assume the product sells for ₹1,000 and costs you ₹500 to make or buy.

• Marketplace: commission ₹120, fixed fee ₹25, shipping ₹70, GST on fees ₹39, advertising ₹50 and returns ₹10 add up to ₹314. You keep ₹686, which is ₹186 profit after the ₹500 product cost.

• Own store, new customer: gateway fee ₹20, shipping ₹70, GST on the gateway fee ₹4, platform and tools ₹20, customer acquisition ₹150 and returns ₹10 add up to ₹274. You keep ₹726, which is ₹226 profit.

• Own store, repeat customer: the same costs, but customer acquisition falls to ₹30, so deductions drop to ₹154. You keep ₹846, which is ₹346 profit.

A few things stand out.

On a first order, the own store comes out only slightly ahead, ₹226 against ₹186, because winning a new customer is expensive. If your cost to acquire a customer is ₹300 instead of ₹150, the first-order profit on your own store drops to ₹76, which is worse than the marketplace.

The picture changes with repeat orders. A returning customer who comes back through an email, a WhatsApp message or a saved bookmark costs far less to serve, and the profit per order jumps to ₹346. On a marketplace, every repeat order pays the full set of fees again.

The part most comparisons miss: who owns the customer

On a marketplace, the customer belongs to the platform. You rarely get an email list or a way to follow up, and the shopper often sees your competitors’ listings right beside yours. That pushes sellers to compete mainly on price, which squeezes margins further.

With your own store, you build an audience you can reach again, with their consent. You decide the branding, the packaging experience, the bundles and the offers. You are also protected from sudden changes, such as a commission increase, a policy update or an account suspension that stops your sales overnight. Of course, your own store depends on ad platforms and search engines instead, so no channel is risk-free.

Where marketplaces still win

Instant traffic and trust. A new seller with no reviews can still get found.

Built-in logistics and payments. Fulfilment, payment collection and returns are largely handled for you.

Low upfront cost. You can start listing with very little investment.

Fast product testing. You can see what sells before committing to stock or a brand.

Where your own store wins

Better margins on repeat orders. Loyal customers cost less to serve.

Control over price, brand and experienceYou are not sitting next to a cheaper lookalike.

Customer data. You learn who your buyers are and what they come back for.

Better fit for brand - led products.Handmade goods, gifting, bundles and higher-value items often sell better with a story around them.

A practical approach: use both

For most small sellers, the smartest answer is not either-or.

1. Start on a marketplace to prove that people want your product.

2. Launch your own store once you have a few products that sell steadily.

3. Build direct channels such asInstagram, WhatsApp and Google Business so people can find your store without paying per click. Read each marketplace’s policy first, because many restrict moving customers off the platform at the point of sale.

4. Split your catalogue Keep fast-moving, price-sensitive items on marketplaces, and move your higher-margin, brand-led products to your own store.

How to work out your own number

Before you decide, spend half an hour with a spreadsheet:

1. Write down the selling price and the cost of the product.
2. Pull every fee from the latest rate card of the marketplace you use.
3. Add GST on those fees.
4. Add your average advertising spend per order and your return rate.
5. For your own store, use your real cost of acquiring a customer, not a hopeful guess, and track how many customers order again.
6. Compare profit per order, and also profit as a percentage of the selling price.

Fees and policies change often, so repeat this exercise every quarter.

Conclusion

Marketplaces give small sellers speed and reach, but they take a larger share of each sale than the headline commission suggests, and they keep the customer relationship. An own online store asks for more effort upfront, yet it rewards you with better margins over time, mainly through repeat customers.

Do not choose by commission percentage alone. Look at what you keep per order, how much you pay to win each customer, and who owns the relationship afterwards. For most small sellers, that comparison points to a mix: marketplaces to get started, and your own store to build something that lasts.