When I first looked into selling on 1000Markets I compared their fees to other sites I was already using to determine if it was an affordable venue or not. Today I compared fees from 1000Markets, Etsy, eBay, Big Cartel, and Amazon and found the results worthy of sharing for others who may never have taken the time to look closely at them. Please keep in mind that I sell handmade items only on Etsy, Big Cartel, and 1000Markets, and use eBay exclusively for merchandise I sell in the brick and mortar shop that are not handmade. I also used the fee rates that apply to those types of items I sell which are included in the categories of toys or everything else, however, the fees vary based on type of item. Notable differences to me include whether or not there are PayPal fees, if there is a listing fee or not, and whether or not the commission fee includes the shipping price.
Amazon Pro- $39.99/month subscription fee
15% commission fee (total cost meaning item cost plus shipping cost)
.50 closing fee
Amazon Individual- no listing fee
.99 closing fee when item is sold
15% commission fee (total cost)
.50 closing fee
eBay- I pay $15.95/month Store subscription fee
3 ways to list- Store Inventory, Fixed Price, or Auction Style
Store Inventory- .03 listing fee
12% commission fee when item sells
Fixed Price and Auction Style- .35 listing fee
9% commission fee when item sells
plus PayPal fees- 5.3% fee (total price, including shipping)
Etsy- .20 listing fee
3.5% commission fee when item sells (item price only, not including shipping charge)
plus PayPal fees- 5.3% fee (total price, including shipping)
1000Markets- no listing fee
5.5% commission fee when item sells (total price including shipping)
.50 closing fee
Big Cartel- no listing fee
free up to 5 items
$9.99/month subscription fee up to 25 items
$19.99/month subscription fee up to 100 items
plus PayPal fees- 5.3% fee (total price) when item sells
The results can be understood easily by using the example of a $10 item with a shipping cost of $4.95. The final fees when this item is sold would be different on each site (monthly subscription fees are noted for the sites that have them):
eBay Store Inventory- $2.63 (monthly subscription fee)
eBay Fixed Price or Auction Style- $2.50
Etsy- $1.35
Amazon Pro- $2.74 (monthly subscription fee)
Amazon Individual- $3.73
1KM- $1.32
Big Cartel- .80 (monthly subscription fee)
I think it's important to consider how many items are sold in a month and how that
effects the monthly subscription costs. Also, Amazon may appear more expensive
here but they get more page views than any of the other venues. There are many
factors involved in examining venue fees and I encourage everyone to take a closer
look at their own expenses.
Wow! Thanks for breaking that down!
Posted by: Kim Lapacek | April 16, 2009 at 10:11 AM
That's very interesting. I always wondering if it would be worth it to have a Big Cartel shop. I'll have to look into that.
Posted by: Liesl | April 19, 2009 at 06:46 PM
That was great information! Thanks for doing all the work!
Posted by: Beccijo | April 23, 2009 at 03:23 PM