If you’re running an e-commerce store, you already know how much of a hassle deciding which platform to use is. You’ve probably even decided on one.
What you might not know is that, if you’re planning to expand to the UK, well, British customers have their own preferences. It is Europe’s most mature e-commerce market, after all.
You basically have three options: eBay, Shopify, or Amazon.
| eBay | Shopify | Amazon | |
| What is it? | Marketplace | Website builder (with lots of integrations from dedicated ecommerce providers) | Marketplace |
| Time to start | A few minutes | A few days (assuming you know what you’re doing) | A few minutes to a few days (if you use FBA) |
| Main advantages | Large existing audienceSeller protection Simple to use | Many, many toolsFull ownershipFull customization | Largest UK audienceAmazon AdsAmazon FBA program |
| Shipping from Europe to UK | Figure it out yourself Or find a fulfillment provider | Figure it out yourself Or find a fulfillment provider | Figure it out yourself Or the Amazon FBA program (expensive but takes care of everything) |
| Store design options | None | CompleteIncluding domain and design | Minimal (just the Amazon page) |
| Subscription fee | $7-$2,999 a month | $29-299 a month | $0 or $39 per month |
| Transaction fees | Purchase fee: usually 10% | 2.4%-2.9% + 30c per transaction 0.5-2% per transaction if not using Shopify Payments (depends on the subscription plan) | $0.99 per item sold on Individual plan; $0 if using Professional plan |
| Other fees | Insertion fee when you list a product: $0.35/listing. Listing upgrade fees: $0.1 – $6. Advertising fees, dispute fee, and international selling fees (vary) | Add-ons and integrations (many are over $100) | 8-40% (depending on category) per each sale, as a referral fee. |
To sum it up:
- The fastest one to start with: eBay. It’s the easiest to implement, and the best if you sell collectibles, antiques, or anything else that’s rare, niche, and hard to find. If you want to build a brand, though, try something else. Also, eBay fees are high – in many cases double-digit percentages of your sales. 👀
- The best option for sellers who don’t want to do too much work, and have significant margins, seem s to be Amazon. The biggest downside: exorbitant fees! The upside is that you can use Amazon ads (which are much cheaper than Google or Facebook), there is a small level of store customization as well. The best part? 86% of UK online shoppers go straight to Amazon, skipping Google entirely. Might as well meet them there – although how easy it will be to get them to purchase when they’re faced with so many similar-looking options is a whole other issue…
- Overall, we believe the best option is Shopify (or a similar ecommerce website builder, like WordPress and WooCommerce). This is especially true if you’re selling premium or luxury items, and you want to build a strong, long-term brand. You’ll also have 100% control of the experience, the delivery options, and so on. On the downside, you will need more money to invest in it, though, since you’ll have to promote the website via Google, Facebook or Instagram – the UK market is very competitive when it comes to digital ads.
There’s also the issue of Brexit (of course): here, Amazon provides a few solutions under their Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) programme umbrella.
There are basically different types of FBA, with each type designed to fit companies in certain stages: the European Fulfillment Network (EFN), Multi-country Inventory (MCI), the Central Europe Program (CE) and Pan-European FBA (PAN-EU).
The EFN is the most comprehensive one, where basically you can have a warehouse in one European country and sell all across Europe (including UK), while Amazon handles duties and VAT.
With Shopify or eBay, you’ll need to do the legwork yourself – although many fulfillment providers do integrate with both of these platforms, and they can be much cheaper to use than the very pricey Amazon FBA.
And, again, that’s not even considering the savings you make from not paying the incredibly high Amazon fees.
To sum it up and make it even easier for you:
Total beginner? eBay
Selling something with very high margins, not fussed about fees, wanting to hit the ground running, and really hating figuring out fulfillment options, taxes, or returns? Amazon.
Good marketing skills, and wanting to keep up as much as possible from what your store earns? Shopify
Of course, if you go the Shopify route you’ll have to figure out a few things by yourself – especially if you sell internationally.
This is where we can help.
About Duty Refunds:
At Duty Refunds, we believe selling internationally should be just as easy as selling locally. Customs duties can be one of the most frustrating things a customer has to deal with – and in the event of a return, they can be lost forever to the government.
On Duty Refunds, you can help your customers reclaim this money through our easy-to-use app. As the first and only online import duty and VAT refund platform for UK shoppers, we’ve already helped customers refund half a million pounds worth of purchases.
We’re rated a 4.8 (excellent) on Trustpilot, and we’re integrated with courier companies (eg: DHL, DPD, Fedex and Parcel force) and HMRC, making the whole process seamless.
Partnering with us lets you focus on sales while we take care of customers’ inquiries and complaints regarding import charges. If you need any help on duty & tax refund for your international orders, please email us at [email protected] to set up a call or visit our retailer page.
What you get by partnering with us:
- Boost your average order value in the UK market by increasing trust with UK consumers – they’ll know they can get a full refund, no matter what
- Increase your customer lifetime value through a higher-than-expected level of customer service and a smooth, no-headache, easy returns process
- Reduce the time your team needs to spend on customer service
- Gain an entirely new revenue stream through our shared commission scheme
