Pick the Channel, Price It Right, Ship It Well

01 Match the channel to the product1 ×

Etsy, Amazon and your own store are built for different buyers. Etsy reported 86.5 million active buyers in 2025, and it wants things you make, design, handpick or source, and its buyers search for personal and custom work: custom or made-to-order items were about 30% of its 2025 sales. Amazon’s shoppers usually search for a specific product and compare price, delivery and reviews, and more than 60% of its sales come from independent sellers. A Shopify store brings no shoppers at all; it rewards sellers who already have an audience. Start with Etsy vs Amazon vs Shopify: Matching the Channel to the Product.

02 Know what every sale costs1 ×

Platform fees are percentages, so they grow with the price. On a $40 item with $6 shipping, Etsy’s standard fees come to $4.82 and Amazon’s to $7.89 on the Individual plan in a 15% category. Add the shipping label, packaging, the occasional return and your own time, and the share you keep can shrink fast. The Payout check below runs the arithmetic for your own numbers, and Pricing Handmade Products: A Formula That Pays You, Covers Fees and Stays Honest shows how to work backward from the margin you need.

03 Ship what you promise1 ×

Shipping is both a cost and a promise. USPS Ground Advantage includes tracking, and boxes over one cubic foot may be charged by dimensional weight, so the smallest box that protects the item is usually the cheapest. Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes are free from USPS and ship anywhere in the country for one price up to 70 pounds, which suits heavy, dense items going far. The FTC’s mail order rule expects a reasonable basis for any shipping time you state, or shipping within 30 days if you state none. Realistic processing times matter most for made-to-order work.

04 Let the listing do the selling1 ×

Online, the photo is the product until it arrives. Etsy recommends listing photos of at least 2000 pixels on each side, and Amazon’s main image must sit on pure white with the product filling 85% of the frame. Amazon titles are capped at 75 characters. Claims need proof: an unqualified “Made in USA” means all or virtually all made in the United States, and a “was” price must be one you really charged for a substantial period.

05 Earn the second sale1 ×

Etsy’s 2025 report shows how much loyal customers matter: habitual buyers were about 7% of active buyers but about 40% of sales. Amazon applies its own return rules to every order, whatever your store policy says, while Etsy lets you set a return policy listing by listing. Handle returns by each channel’s rules, ask every customer for a review the same way, and never suppress negative reviews, which the FTC’s 2024 rule prohibits. Once one channel runs smoothly, a second channel or your own store can follow; Selling on More Than One Channel: Inventory, Policies and Fees Without the Chaos covers the inventory side.