--- title: "Etsy, Walmart or Your Own Store?" description: "Compare Etsy, Walmart Marketplace and an owned storefront by eligibility, catalog setup, fees, customer data, fulfillment and a practical transition plan." canonical: https://www.ordering.co/blog/online-marketplaces-seller-guide/ --- # Where to sell online: Etsy, Walmart Marketplace, or your own storefront Compare Etsy, Walmart Marketplace and an owned storefront by eligibility, catalog setup, fees, customer data, fulfillment and a practical transition plan. 4 min read· Ordering.co· Guides ## Decide whether you are selling or operating the marketplace A seller lists its products under another platform’s participation rules. A marketplace operator recruits independent sellers, sets transaction rules, and runs the shared customer experience. Opening a seller account on Etsy or Walmart Marketplace does not make you the operator of either network. For a local merchant, a third-party listing and an owned storefront can play different roles. Compare access to relevant demand with the work and contribution of fulfilling each order. If your aim is to recruit other merchants under your own brand, use the [two-sided marketplace model](https://www.ordering.co/blog/two-sided-marketplace-business-model/) rather than treating a seller application as a platform build. ## Etsy: check product eligibility before building the shop Etsy’s [Creativity Standards](https://www.etsy.com/legal/creativity/) organize eligible products around what the seller makes, designs, handpicks or sources under the policy’s definitions. It is not a general invitation to resell any item in a local shop. The [official opening guide](https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015672808-How-to-Open-an-Etsy-Shop?segment=selling) covers the seller account, shop preferences, eligible location and setup. Prepare accurate listings with product images, variants, prices, processing times and fulfillment policies. Confirm the payment and verification requirements for your country before planning a launch date. Read the [current fee policy](https://www.etsy.com/legal/fees/) for listing, transaction, payment-processing and any applicable advertising, conversion or setup charges. Record the basis of each fee; do not assume that no monthly subscription means no selling costs. ## Walmart Marketplace: prepare a business and fulfillment operation Walmart’s [U.S. getting-started page](https://marketplace.walmart.com/about-walmart-marketplace/) describes business verification, catalog eligibility, payout arrangements, fulfillment and returns expectations. Assess these requirements for your business and market rather than assuming every seller can open immediately. Prepare consistent item identifiers, product data, variants, images, availability and prices. Assign a person to monitor catalog errors, customer questions, shipment updates and returns. Choose a seller-operated fulfillment route that meets the applicable standards or evaluate Walmart Fulfillment Services separately. Walmart’s [pricing page](https://marketplace.walmart.com/pricing/) distinguishes category-dependent referral fees from fulfillment and storage charges. Price the actual item, dimensions, weight, storage pattern and return scenario you intend to sell. A referral percentage alone cannot describe the cost of WFS or the seller’s own warehouse. ## Your storefront: more control, and your own acquisition work An owned storefront lets a merchant organize the ordering experience around its brand and operating process. It also needs demand generation, product maintenance, payment handling, fulfillment and support. Domain control does not automatically grant rights to use another marketplace’s customer data or remove dependencies on a hosting, payment or delivery provider. For restaurant and local-commerce ordering, review [Ordering Web](https://www.ordering.co/platform/ordering-web/) and compare it with the [restaurant website builder guide](https://www.ordering.co/blog/best-restaurant-website-builders/). Evaluate product fit: a local ordering operation is not automatically a substitute for every Etsy product type, national parcel-shipping workflow, or marketplace seller tool. ## Compare the same order across channels Use one representative product and delivery promise. For each channel, record collected product revenue and the costs of product, packaging, marketplace fees, payment, advertising, shipping or local delivery, returns and support. Include fixed software and storage under explicit volume assumptions; missing charges remain unknown. Then test a damaged item, late dispatch, a return and a refund. Define which system owns sellable stock and prevent the same last unit being promised twice across channels. Map the order, payment, fee, refund and settlement references. Multi-seller distribution introduces different responsibilities; use the [marketplace payment guide](https://www.ordering.co/blog/marketplace-payments-and-payouts/) to distinguish them. A store offering local delivery can use the [courier launch checklist](https://www.ordering.co/blog/how-to-start-a-courier-delivery-business/) to define pickup, acceptance and failed-handoff procedures. Do not assume a parcel fulfillment service and a local courier have identical item or territory rules. ## Add a direct channel without breaking the existing one 1. Reconcile your catalog, image rights, identifiers, inventory ownership and product eligibility. Start with a manageable subset. 2. Set up the direct domain, payment account, fulfillment area, support contacts and lawful customer-consent choices. Do not move marketplace contacts into a marketing list without the rights to do so. 3. Test order acceptance, stock changes, shipment or delivery, refund and bank reconciliation in both channels. 4. Introduce the owned destination through your own permitted marketing and customer relationships. Follow the marketplace’s rules; a channel transition is not a reason to divert transactions improperly. 5. Compare contribution, repeat purchase and support load by channel before expanding or withdrawing listings. Preserve open orders, returns and account records through the transition. If Facebook is part of the proposal, the [Marketplace API planning guide](https://www.ordering.co/blog/facebook-marketplace-api-for-local-commerce/) separates sign-in, catalog work and Marketplace access. Use the [demos](https://www.ordering.co/demo/) to evaluate the owned ordering process, not to assume that an external marketplace connection already exists. ## Keep reading. - ## [B2B marketplace examples: where to buy, sell, or build your own channel](https://www.ordering.co/blog/b2b-marketplace-examples/) Compare Faire, Amazon Business, JOOR and Ankorstore by buying model, category, geography, payment terms and the case for your own B2B channel. - ## [How to choose Online Ordering to Run a Marketplace + Direct Together](https://www.ordering.co/blog/best-online-ordering-to-run-a-marketplace-direct-together/) A practical guide to help you choose Online Ordering to Run a Marketplace + Direct Together, including the scope, operational decisions, and verification questions to consider. - ## [How to choose Online Ordering Where You Own Your Customer Data](https://www.ordering.co/blog/best-online-ordering-where-you-own-your-customer-data/) A practical guide to help you choose Online Ordering Where You Own Your Customer Data, including the scope, operational decisions, and verification questions to consider. ## See it running on your own menu. The shortest way to understand any of this is to watch an order go from a storefront to a store to a driver, on your locations. [Book a demo](https://www.ordering.co/contact/?meeting=demo#book)[See a live demo](https://www.ordering.co/demo/)