How to compare shop costs without misleading fee savings
By Kyle Davey · Reviewed
Use your own orders, costs and traffic assumptions to judge whether a direct shop makes commercial sense.
Compare the whole cost
A marketplace and an independent shop offer different things. A marketplace may bring discovery as well as checkout; your own shop usually needs a separate traffic plan. Comparing only transaction percentages misses subscription charges, build costs, paid apps, acquisition costs and your time.
Make a simple sheet using current provider terms and your actual order values. Separate one-off setup costs from recurring monthly costs and variable costs per order. Include relevant tax treatment and ask an accountant where you are uncertain.
Illustrative maths, not a platform promise
Suppose, purely as an example, one route costs £3 per order and another costs £1 per order. The apparent difference is £2. If the new shop costs £1,000 to build, 500 comparable orders would be needed to recover that build from the £2 difference alone.
Those numbers are fictional assumptions, not Etsy or Shopify prices and not a forecast. A £30 monthly subscription or extra advertising would increase the required volume. Lower order values, refunds and different payment methods can also change the calculation.
Count orders that can realistically move
Do not apply the saving to every existing sale unless you have a reason to expect that sale on the new channel. Someone discovering you through a marketplace may continue to prefer its checkout. Repeat buyers reached through your own channels may behave differently.
Avoid using customer lists or marketplace messages for marketing without checking permissions and applicable rules. A direct shop does not remove your responsibilities for privacy, customer service or product compliance.
Look beyond fees without inventing benefits
A clearer brand presentation, control over content and a useful destination for social posts may matter to your business. Describe those benefits separately from the fee calculation, and test whether visitors use the shop before spending more.
Record visits, enquiries, orders, average order value, direct costs and the time spent maintaining the channel. Review a small pilot with that evidence. A build should solve a specific business need, not depend on a guaranteed saving or sales claim.
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