Why retailers should decide on their own online store

Do you have a business idea or already working as a retailer looking for a suitable way to offer your products online? How do you proceed exactly? Is it advisable to use a marketplace like Amazon or Ebay, or is there another way to do it by yourself? We would like to clarify these questions on our comparison ''online marketplace vs. own online store'' and show you the advantages of having an own branchbob store.

Expenses

First things first: How much does an online shop cost compared to the big marketplaces? Getting started and opening an account or a store is usually free of charge, both with e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon or Ebay, and with online store providers as well. However, almost all providers charge monthly fees after an initial test phase.

For convenience and service, marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay sometimes charge high fees from their merchants. Both basic amounts (up to 39€ / month) and annoying sales commissions (7-20%) become due. If these are not paid, one has to expect heavy fines. Sometimes it also happens that accounts are getting blocked completely.

Even with most online store providers, there is no way around basic fees and other costs. branchbob, on the other hand, does not charge any transaction costs or monthly fees and thus offers a unique service in the world of e-commerce. You earn 100% of what you sell! This makes branchbob the world's first free provider for professional, cloud-based online shops!

Preconditions

In general, you do not need a lot of seed capital or special IT skills to sell through the mentioned marketplaces. The entry hurdles are correspondingly low and your account is usually set up quick and easy.

Many people think of more work when running their own online store: But our shop setup and its administration is specially designed to be easily understandable for every user. branchbob also offers you plenty of support if questions should appear. Our live chat will gladly answer your questions and our extensive help center offers you instructions and video tutorials for all kinds of questions. So the only resource you need is passion and some time!

Flexibility and individuality

At this point it should become clear why an own online store is worthwhile. Here you can let off steam and design your store according to your wishes. Different themes, product placement options and all kinds of promotions offer you a lot of space. Also things like delivery time and return policy are in your hands.
The large online marketplaces offer you much less leeway and impose strict rules. You will often have to deal with returns and need to make a great effort to avoid negative rankins and compy with the standards. If you do not comply with certain rules, your account can be blocked.

Your own online store also offers you the possibility to set up your own domain. With your own website you can create an own name and your brand does not simply disappear under the label of the big marketplaces.

Range and competition

For the first moment, Amazon, Ebay & Co. offer you the advantage of having a wide reach, as there are many customers in the online marketplaces. The infrastructure is already in place, the name of the platform is known to people and if you manage to find a product niche that is not very busy, you can even appear on the first pages of the search ad!
However, the competition is established and omnipresent, making it difficult to address customers directly and build a relationship with them. Many suppliers have been on the market for a longer time and can therefore sell at better conditions and have more ratings as well. Since your customers can always make a direct comparison of prices and rankings, this could quickly become a disadvantage.

Making your own online store known, on the other hand, requires a little more time. After all, you are a new reatiler and not well known in the beginning. You can start by making the store popular at the circle of your frieds. After all, you represent the shop by yourself and the store is not under the label of a large corporation.
With newsletters or discount promotions you can win new customers and strengthen the bond with your existing ones. Your customer base also grows through marketing, for example by promoting your store via social media or by integrating your products into the Google Shopping Feed. Our help-center will offer you some advice!

You can now build up a personal relationship with them, for example by offering an own login for your costumers. Step by step, you will build up a regular clientele that will recommend you to friends and acquaintances. In the end, the reach and visibility of the store is in your hands and through clever marketing and intelligent search engine optimization you can quickly expand it!

Conclusion

Online marketplaces may be the easier and faster way to offer your products online on the short run. However, you do not sell under your own name and have to give away a larger part of your profit. You are also surrounded by competitors, depending on the business of the platform operators and you are not your "own boss". Setting up and publicizing your own online store takes some time, but it can offer you greater success in e-commerce in the long term. You can build your own trade step by step and design it according to your wishes. You can present your products in the way you want without someone telling you what to do or what not to do. You can develop your personal brand with great recognition value!

Are you interested? Here you can learn more about how to create your own online store for free!


Create your free onlinestore


Do you have any questions? Just contact us in our live chat or under support@branchbob.com!

We are looking forward to welcome you,
your branchbob team!