Why It Makes Sense to Move On From Marketplace and Start Selling on Your Own Website
One of the easiest ways to start a business nowadays is to use various services like dropshipping, marketplaces, and so on to help facilitate different logistics processes. For example, if you don’t want the hassle of manufacturing products and shipping them globally, you could dropship. Similarly, if you don’t want to buy shirt blanks and print on them yourself, you can hire an intermediary to do it for you instead.
While these are fantastic options for getting started, one of the first things you should aim to do is move on from these services to do your own business–and here are a handful of reasons why.
Creating your online store isn’t difficult anymore
Thanks to affordable web design and a plethora of services ranging from payment processing to security, it’s surprisingly easy to create your own online store nowadays. Sure, you’re technically still relying on another service to sell products, but there are fewer limitations and more benefits, as we’ll explain below.
So, if the idea of creating an online store is daunting, don’t worry–there are lots of services that can make it easier to manage.
Fewer fees mean more savings
When you stop relying on marketplaces to sell for you, you’ll save a lot more money on each sale since nobody is taking a cut. Instead, you’ll probably be paying a monthly subscription or service fee for a web host. These costs are predictable and often inexpensive, even for a startup.
The great thing about these savings is that you can pocket them as bonus profit or pass them on to your customers in the form of discounts and lowered costs. Either way, it’s a win-win situation to save more money.
Tap into new markets
Setting up your website offers opportunities to tap into new markets and expand your reach. Some marketplaces may have limits in terms of who you can sell to and how you process payments. If you go it alone and set up a store, you have more freedom and control. You can explore different payment methods and options for international customers and research how to send and receive payments seamlessly. Whether you want to send money to India to work with other suppliers or target customers in Canada or Australia, it makes sense to learn more about launching an independent website. By moving away from marketplaces, you’ll also be able to use your ideas and selling methods and set prices and delivery fees. You can also entice new customers and discover markets with tailored promotions and perks for loyal customers.
Establishing your own brand identity
Another good reason to create your website is to establish and strengthen a brand identity. If you’ve been selling through Amazon, eBay, or another marketplace, chances are your store is directly tied to those services. People don’t recognize your seller name, and there’s a slight chance they even know who you are!
So, if you’re serious about advancing your business, you must learn to establish your brand identity–and it all starts with breaking away from those marketplaces!
More control over the customer experience
Using some marketplace means you have a minimal say in customer experience. You have to use the support systems offered by those marketplaces, and you don’t have much say in terms of returns, refunds, and so on. So, by creating your website and moving away from those services, you have far more say in the customer experience.
For instance, it’ll be much easier to contact your customers, and you’ll also be able to set your own returns policies and warranties. While this comes with a bit more responsibility, it also offers more control, meaning you can fine-tune the customer experience to align with your business and its goals.
