The Real Cost of Selling on Each Platform
Every marketplace comparison lists the headline fees but misses the hidden costs. Here's an honest breakdown of what each platform actually costs for a UK seller in 2026, including the fees most guides forget.
Amazon UK
Headline fees: £25/month subscription + 8-15% referral fee (category dependent)
FBA costs: Pick & pack (£2-5 per unit depending on size), monthly storage (varies seasonally), long-term storage fees after 365 days
Hidden costs: FBA return processing fees, removal/disposal fees for unsold stock, Amazon Vine (free products to reviewers), A+ Content creation time, PPC advertising (most categories require it)
Realistic total cost: 25-38% of sale price (FBA), 18-25% (FBM)
eBay UK
Headline fees: Store subscription (£0-350/month) + final value fee (10-14.6%)
Promoted listings: Optional but increasingly necessary (2-10% of sale price)
Hidden costs: Insertion fees above your free allowance, international shipping programme markup, payment processing (built into final value fee now)
Realistic total cost: 13-22% of sale price
Etsy
Headline fees: £0.16 listing fee (per item, per 4 months) + 6.5% transaction fee + payment processing (4% + £0.20)
Offsite ads: 15% fee on sales from Etsy's offsite advertising (mandatory for sellers over $10k/year, optional below)
Hidden costs: Listing renewal fees add up, Etsy Ads (internal PPC), pattern fees if using custom domain, postage label markup
Realistic total cost: 12-22% of sale price (higher if offsite ads trigger)
TikTok Shop
Headline fees: Commission rate 5-8% (varies by category, often promotional lower rates for new sellers)
Hidden costs: TikTok Shop ads if used, content creation costs (the platform rewards video content), affiliate commission if using creators (negotiable)
Realistic total cost: 5-15% of sale price (currently the cheapest marketplace)
Shopify
Headline fees: £25-79/month subscription + payment processing (1.5-2% + 25p via Shopify Payments)
Hidden costs: App subscriptions (£0-200+/month), theme costs, domain name, advertising spend (you must drive your own traffic)
Realistic total cost: 3-8% of sale price in platform fees, BUT you need to add customer acquisition costs (ads), which often total 15-30% of revenue
The Bottom Line
TikTok Shop is currently cheapest on raw fees. eBay is the best balance of cost and built-in traffic. Amazon is the most expensive but has the highest sales volume. Etsy can be expensive once offsite ads kick in. Shopify appears cheapest but requires you to pay for your own traffic.
The right platform isn't the cheapest one — it's the one where your products sell best and your total cost (including time spent managing it) leaves the most profit.
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