Marketplace vs. Own Store: How Much Are You Really Paying to Sell on Amazon and OLX
If you sell products online, you've probably already done this calculation — or you should have. Listing on Amazon, OLX, or another marketplace seems simple and cheap. But when you add up the commissions, inflated shipping costs, internal promotion fees, and the complete loss of control over your customer, "cheap" turns out to be very expensive. In many cases, you're handing over between 15% and 45% of every sale to a platform that won't even let you communicate directly with the person who bought from you.
In this guide, I'll break down to the cent exactly how much you're really paying to sell on marketplaces in 2026, compare it with the real cost of having your own online store, and show you which scenarios each option makes sense for — because yes, there are situations where a marketplace is worth it, but probably not in the way you think.
If you've been losing sales at checkout or something just doesn't feel right about your margins, this article will help you understand why — and what to do next.
The true cost of selling on Amazon in 2026
Amazon has made a strong push into the Iberian market and, in 2026, Amazon.es (which serves Portugal) is already one of the most-used platforms by Portuguese sellers. The appeal is clear: millions of visitors, FBA logistics, and a ready-built conversion machine. But let's look at the real numbers.
Fixed fees and per-sale commissions
Professional Plan: €39/month (required for anyone selling at volume)
Referral fee per sale: between 7% and 15%, depending on category — most popular categories (electronics, fashion, home) sit at 12–15%
Closing fee (media/books): €0.81 per unit in certain categories
FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon): €2.70 to €5.90+ per unit (varies by weight and size), plus €0.50–€3.60/month per unit for storage
A concrete example: selling a backpack at €45
Imagine you're selling a handmade backpack at €45 on Amazon:
Amazon commission (15%): -€6.75
FBA (shipping + handling): -€3.80 (estimate for a 0.8kg item)
Storage (average 2 months in stock): -€1.20
Monthly plan spread across sales (50 sales/month): -€0.78
PPC advertising (average cost to gain visibility): -€2.50 per sale
Total Amazon costs: €15.03 per sale — that's 33.4% of the selling price.
And that's without counting returns (which on Amazon are free for the customer and paid for by you), or the cost of the product itself. If your production/acquisition cost is €18, you're left with €11.97 gross profit — less than 27% of the retail price. If you'd sold through your own store, even after paying for shipping and a payment gateway, the margin would be dramatically different.
The invisible cost: you don't own the customer
This is the point most sellers overlook. On Amazon, the customer belongs to Amazon, not to you. You don't have access to their email, you can't run remarketing campaigns, you can't build a brand relationship. If Amazon decides to change its algorithm, raise commissions, or suspend your account (it happens far more often than you'd think), you lose everything overnight.
According to Marketplace Pulse data, in 2025 more than 50,000 sellers were suspended on Amazon globally — many without prior warning and with no effective means of appeal.
OLX, CustoJusto and local marketplaces: the illusion of "free"
OLX is the most popular classifieds platform in Portugal, with millions of monthly visits. And it seems free. But is it really?
OLX's real business model in 2026
Basic listing: Free (but with minimal visibility — your listing disappears within hours)
Simple highlight: €2.49 to €7.99 per listing (lasts 7 days)
Urgent highlight: €4.99 to €14.99
Professional packages (OLX Pro): €29.90 to €149.90/month
OLX Deliveries: 5% commission + fixed fee, charged to the seller or reflected in the price
If you sell regularly (say, 30 products a month) and need highlights to get your listings seen, you'll easily spend €100 to €300/month — and you still have no website, no brand, no customer database, and no control whatsoever over the buying experience.
The perception of value problem
On OLX, the context is "second-hand" and "bargain hunting". Even if you're selling brand new, premium products, the platform's environment devalues what you're offering. Buyers expect to negotiate, ask for discounts, and compare you against car boot sale listings. It's the opposite of the positioning you need if you want to build a brand.
At Webfy, we see this constantly: entrepreneurs who started on OLX and only managed to charge fair prices once they moved to their own store — because the visual and brand context justifies the value.
How much does it really cost to have your own online store
Now let's look at the other side of the equation. Having your own online store in 2026 no longer requires thousands of euros in investment or advanced technical knowledge. But there are real costs you should know about.
The fixed costs of your own store
E-commerce site creation: between €197 and €597 at Webfy (one-off payment) — including a product catalogue, shopping cart, integrated payments, and a professional design built from scratch. See available plans
Monthly hosting: €14.90 to €29.90/month (first month free)
Domain: €10 to €20/year (.pt or .com)
Payment gateway (Stripe, MB Way, Multibanco): 1.4% + €0.25 per transaction (Stripe for European cards) — no fixed monthly fee in most cases
SSL certificate: included with professional hosting
The same backpack at €45: a direct comparison
Let's go back to the handmade backpack example at €45, now sold through your own store:
Payment gateway (1.4% + €0.25): -€0.88
Shipping CTT/GLS (negotiated rate): -€3.50 (or charged to the customer)
Hosting spread across sales (50 sales/month): -€0.40
Customer acquisition cost (Google Ads/Meta Ads): -€3.00 per sale (conservative estimate)
Total own store costs: €7.78 per sale — that's 17.3% of the selling price.
With the same product cost of €18, you're left with €19.22 gross profit — 61% more than on Amazon. And better still, you keep the customer's email address, you can run remarketing campaigns, set up loyalty programmes, and build a brand that's worth something in the long run.
But what about traffic? Isn't it harder to attract customers?
This is the legitimate argument in favour of marketplaces: they already have traffic. And that's true. But there are important nuances:
Marketplace traffic isn't free — as we've seen, you pay through commissions and internal advertising. When you add those costs up, the "customer acquisition cost" is often similar to that of a well-run Google Ads campaign.
Your own traffic is cumulative — every visitor who comes to your site can be captured (email, retargeting). Every customer who buys can return at no additional cost. On a marketplace, every sale starts from scratch.
Local SEO works particularly well — according to Google data, 78% of consumers search online before buying locally. If your site is well-positioned, that traffic is organic and free.
The hybrid strategy: when it makes sense to use both
It doesn't have to be an either/or decision. In fact, the smartest e-commerce strategy in 2026 is often a combination — but with a clear hierarchy.
Your own store as the foundation, marketplace as a supplementary channel
The model that works best for most small and medium businesses is:
Your own store as the central platform — this is where you build your brand, collect data, control the experience, and maximise margins
Amazon as a discovery channel — to gain initial visibility and reach customers who don't know you yet (including, inside the product packaging, a flyer with your store URL and an exclusive discount)
OLX only for clearing stock — products with cosmetic defects, production surplus, or market testing
At Webfy, we helped a ceramics brand from the Alentejo region set up exactly this strategy. They started selling exclusively on OLX and Amazon.es, with tight margins and zero brand recognition. After launching their own store — with a professional product gallery, brand story, and optimised checkout — within 6 months, 65% of sales were coming directly from their website, with an average margin 22 percentage points higher than on Amazon.
When a marketplace makes sense on its own
There are scenarios where a marketplace might be enough — at least temporarily:
You're testing a product and want to validate demand before investing in a website
You sell generic/commoditised products where brand doesn't matter (e.g. USB cables, phone cases)
You have no online presence at all and need immediate sales to stay afloat while you build your store
But be careful: even in these scenarios, a marketplace should be a springboard, not a destination. The longer you remain dependent on a platform you don't control, the more vulnerable your business becomes.
Comparison table: marketplace vs. own store
To help you make your decision, here's a direct comparison with 2026 figures:
Initial cost: Marketplace: €0–39/month | Own store: €197–597 (one-off) + €14.90/month
Commission per sale: Marketplace: 7–15% + fees | Own store: 1.4% + €0.25 (gateway)
Real cost per sale (€45): Marketplace: ~€15 (33%) | Own store: ~€8 (17%)
Brand control: Marketplace: Minimal | Own store: Total
Customer data: Marketplace: No access | Own store: Email, behaviour, preferences
Own SEO: Marketplace: Doesn't exist | Own store: Builds value over time
Suspension risk: Marketplace: High | Own store: Zero (you're in charge)
Speed to launch: Marketplace: Immediate | Own store: 1–2 weeks
Remarketing and loyalty: Marketplace: Impossible | Own store: Full control
The most expensive mistake: ignoring your store's checkout
If you already have your own store or are thinking about creating one, there's one critical factor that determines success or failure: the checkout process. There's no point driving traffic if you lose sales at the final step.
We've already written about the 7 most common reasons why online stores lose sales at checkout — from missing Portuguese payment methods (MB Way and Multibanco are essential) to overly long forms. It's an article I'd recommend reading before you launch or optimise your store.
One of the reasons why stores built by Webfy have above-average conversion rates is precisely because the checkout is designed specifically for the Portuguese market — with the right payment methods, minimal steps, and a design that builds trust.
How much you'll save over the next 12 months with your own store
Let's do the final sums for a realistic scenario:
Scenario: 100 sales/month, average order value of €40
Annual revenue: €48,000
Marketplace costs (Amazon, ~33%): €15,840/year
Own store costs (~17% + initial investment): €8,760/year (including site creation, hosting, and gateway)
Annual saving with own store: €7,080
That's over seven thousand euros a year staying in your pocket — or that you can reinvest in marketing, product development, or growth. And this difference grows as your sales volume increases, because the fixed costs of your own store spread further, while marketplace commissions scale linearly.
Conclusion: the marketplace is the landlord, your own store is your home
Selling on a marketplace is like renting a unit in a shopping centre: you get footfall, you get visibility, but you pay a hefty rent and you don't build anything that's truly yours. If the landlord changes the rules, you're out on the street.
Having your own online store is investing in a digital asset that grows in value over time. Every visit, every customer, every review builds value on your platform. And in 2026, with solutions like those from Webfy — where you can have a professional store from €197, with a unique design, optimised checkout, and Portuguese payment integration — there's no excuse to keep handing over 30%+ of your sales to third parties.
If you're thinking about making the leap to your own store (or finally backing up your marketplace presence with a platform you actually control), create your free Webfy account and get in touch with us via WhatsApp. We'll explain exactly what you need for your specific situation — no commitment, and no commission on your sales. That's what marketplaces are for.
