The trade-off in one table
| Marketplaces | Your own store (D2C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Demand | Buyers already searching | You must bring every visitor |
| Trust | Borrowed from the marketplace | Built by you |
| Margin per order | Lower after commission and fees | Higher, but acquisition costs more |
| Customer data | Limited | Yours |
| Control | Rules and fees can change | Full control of price and experience |
When marketplaces should come first
- Your product is searched for by category (“cotton bedsheets”, “running shoes”).
- You don’t yet have a brand people look for by name.
- You need sales volume to fund growth.
When D2C deserves investment
- Customers buy again, so their lifetime value justifies acquisition cost.
- Your story or product needs more explanation than a listing allows.
- You want to launch new products to an audience you own.
Avoiding channel conflict
- Decide your pricing rule: the same everywhere, or D2C-only bundles and exclusives.
- Plan stock allocation so one channel doesn’t starve the other.
- Track contribution margin by channel, not just revenue.
From our work: [How a PURSHO client sequenced marketplace and D2C growth, and what the channel mix looked like after]
Deciding your channel mix is part of our eCommerce consulting.
How PURSHO approaches this
See how we help with this in eCommerce Consulting, or book a free 30-minute consultation. Related case study: Marketplace seller, [category].
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