Best Sites To Sell Online: A Brief Overview
Finding a place to start selling your products can often become a struggle itself, so we have created a beginner-friendly guide on the best sites to sell online. Find answers to the most common questions regarding eCommerce platforms and marketplaces and pick the best option for your store.
- Which sales channel should you choose?
- What are the pros and cons of each one?
- Which best fits your needs?
On this page, you will find everything you need to know about which sales channel is right for you. We’ll go over all the perks each channel has to offer as well as which option might best suit your professional or personal needs.
Depending on what your goals are, what your vision is, and how much time you’d like to spend – or can afford to spend at this point in your journey – we’ll give you all the details necessary for you to make an informed decision.
Printify Works With The Following eCommerce Sales Channel Services:
All the sites mentioned above can host your online store and integrate with Printify.
Before we dive into the specifics of each channel, however, we need to clarify one big difference: what is the difference between an eCommerce Platform Model and an eCommerce Marketplace Model?
eCommerce Models: Platform vs. Marketplace
eCommerce Platform Business Model
The Platform model is the ideal way to sell online if you have a very specific vision about how your store’s own website will look.
In short, the platform approach means you have your own, personalized website for all your products. It’s highly customizable, gives you more control over your content, branding, promotions, and customer information collection.
Pros:
- Highly customizable looks
- More control over customer data
- Can re-target customers & create repeat buyers
- Brand-friendly
Cons:
- Time-consuming to set up & customize
- Requires some technical knowledge to setup
- Higher costs to drive traffic to your site via ads/marketing
- Payment setup is not always convenient or free
eCommerce Marketplace Business Model
This is a place where multiple sellers can list their products for sale. That means that all virtual stores are hosted on a single website and you compete with other sellers who may sell similar items to yours.
Usually, this type of selling gives you less control over your store’s appearance, content, branding, and the information you can collect. However, it’s faster to set up and online marketplaces tend to have big amounts of free buyer traffic, as they’re well-known.
Pros:
- Easy and fast setup
- Easy maintenance
- Pre-existing customer traffic – cheaper to run
- Beginner-friendly
Cons:
- Less creative control over customization
- Highly competitive
- Each Marketplace has its own set of strict rules
- A hefty percentage on each order goes to the marketplace
- Trickier when it comes to gathering customer data
Difference Between eCommerce Platform and Marketplace
Here is a thorough comparison between the platform and marketplace models, including all the main features from setup and customization to commissions and integrations.
| Platform Model | Marketplace Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Difficulty | Time-consuming to set up & customize May require some technical knowledge to setup |
Easy and fast setup Easy to maintain Newbie-friendly |
| Traffic/ Ad Cost | Higher cost as you can drive traffic to your site only via ads/marketing | Pre-existing customer traffic – cheaper to run You can choose to run ads to your store if you wish |
| Customization | Highly customizable looks Time-consuming to set up and customize |
Minimal predetermined themes |
| Customer Data Control | More control over customer data More control over branding, promotions, and content Can re-target customers and create repeat buyers |
Very limited No upselling possibility No email or data collection |
| Rules | Great customer support Bigger communities to seek help about selling in certain categories |
Each Marketplace has its own set of strict rules Potential penalties if you don’t abide by the platform regulations |
| Commission | Payment setup is not always convenient nor free | A hefty percentage on each order goes to the marketplace |
| Competitiveness | As competitive as you make it | Highly competitive |
| Integrations | Virtually unlimited Can become costly |
Very limited |
| Setup Difficulty | |
|---|---|
| Platform Model | Time-consuming to set up & customize May require some technical knowledge to setup |
| Marketplace Model | Easy and fast setup Easy to maintain Newbie-friendly |
| Traffic/ Ad Cost | |
| Platform Model | Higher cost as you can drive traffic to your site only via ads/marketing |
| Marketplace Model | Pre-existing customer traffic – cheaper to run You can choose to run ads to your store if you wish |
| Customization | |
| Platform Model | Highly customizable looks Time-consuming to set up and customize |
| Marketplace Model | Minimal predetermined themes |
| Customer Data Control | |
| Platform Model | More control over customer data More control over branding, promotions, and content Can re-target customers and create repeat buyers |
| Marketplace Model | Very limited No upselling possibility No email or data collection |
| Rules | |
| Platform Model | Great customer support Bigger communities to seek help about selling in certain categories |
| Marketplace Model | Each Marketplace has its own set of strict rules Potential penalties if you don’t abide by the platform regulations |
| Commission | |
| Platform Model | Payment setup is not always convenient nor free |
| Marketplace Model | A hefty percentage on each order goes to the marketplace |
| Competitiveness | |
| Platform Model | As competitive as you make it |
| Marketplace Model | Highly competitive |
| Integrations | |
| Platform Model | Virtually unlimited Can become costly |
| Marketplace Model | Very limited |
Key Takeaways
Marketplace
Marketplaces are a great point to start your print-on-demand journey. With limited risks, faster setup, and less to worry about, it can be an ideal gateway if you’re a beginner.
Verdict: Great for newbies but not for someone who wants to build brand awareness.
eCommerce Platform
Platforms give so much more control over the finer details, making them truly powerful in the right hands. However, with a steep learning curve along with the setup times and running effort that is needed, it’s recommended for experienced sellers with a unique brand vision in mind.
Verdict: Great for mid to advanced level sellers who need all the extra power in their hands.
Note to new sellers: While this might seem discouraging, don’t let it keep you from trying your hand on a Platform-model website. Our verdict’s reasoning is due to our data, showing that many sellers begin on Marketplace websites like Etsy. When they gather more experience, they graduate to a Platform website or expand to other marketplaces.
11 Best Sites to Sell Online –
A Brief Overview of Your Choices
Picking the right sales channel is often half the battle, especially when you’re just starting off. That’s because once you’ve made your choice, you’re more likely to stick with what you know and try to make it work.
Our goal is to help you stay as informed as possible so that you hit the ground running. No one wants to spend days if not weeks setting their store up only to realize that the selected channel is not a great fit for your needs.
That being said, here are all the channels that Printify integrates with and their basic perks.
1. Etsy
- Easy and straightforward setup
- No hosting fees
- Huge traffic to draw from
- Beginner-friendly
Pros. Etsy is the ultimate place to sell products online, especially for beginners. Set up your store completely free of charge in only a couple of minutes by creating a profile, adding products and their information.
Another Etsy plus is a large amount of traffic drawn simply by Etsy’s popularity. It’s an online marketplace where customers find your products, so you don’t have to promote your own brand that much. Join this beginner-friendly platform and chime in on free traffic with a very simple and easy approach.
Cons. Etsy has various transaction fees that can eventually leave an impact on your business. From $0.20 listing fees, a 5% transaction fee on items you sell through Etsy, to a standard 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee. Another con is the strict rules about what you can sell through the marketplace. Only handmade goods, craft supplies, and vintage items are allowed.
Start your own Etsy shop and take advantage of their popularity, power tools, services, support, and beginner-friendly costs. Manage, promote, and grow your business with a helpful hand and guidance along the way by being a part of a worldwide community.
Starting a business on Etsy is the best way to enter the world of sales with a low-risk investment approach. No need to build a website or deal with domain and hosting fees. Set up a professional shop in just a couple of minutes and list your products online for a small symbolic fee. Etsy truly is the perfect place to start.
2. Shopify
- Subscription plans for businesses of various scales
- Great functionality
- Personalization
- Variety of useful integrations for dropshipping
Pros. Shopify is extremely scalable. It is built for all types of stores – big brands and small businesses. Another major pro from their end is the no-restrictions policy when it comes to selling products. Sell an unlimited amount of physical goods and services, as well as digital items. There are no rules for the product types you can sell on Shopify.
Cons. Customers have to search for your online business specifically, so your traffic solely depends on you, the brand, and your marketing skills. Another con can be the add-ons. While there are various Shopify apps that you can use to customize and advance your store in a good way, adding apps can make the monthly costs too high for beginners and small-scale sellers.
3. Printify Pop-Up Store
- Instant store page set up with a unique shareable link
- No website building or domain hosting necessary
- Great option for independent creators with an existing community
- Printify manages all customer support
Pros. This setup is by far the easiest gateway to bring your products to an audience for one-time events or as a quick merch line. Pop-up stores skip the entire eCommerce development process, offering you to effortlessly produce and sell Printify products without relying on third-party sales channels.
Printify automatically hosts a pop-up store domain under your unique URL. The store can be shared across your personal media accounts.
Cons. A pop-up store is not a replacement for eCommerce sales channels. Apart from the Google Analytics and Meta Pixel setup functionality, the page lacks integrated marketing or platform management plug-ins and will rely exclusively on your own ability to build an audience for sales.
Note
This sales channel is currently available only to merchants based in the United States and supports shipping to all destinations.
4. BigCommerce
- Small-to-medium size business
- Personalizable with 7 free themes
- $145 to $243 per month for more themes
- $29.99 per month starter pack
- Fully hosted website
Pros. Receive your own built-in blog with many advanced features and free themes that other platforms only offer for premium plans. BigCommerce does not apply any transaction fees, compared to other eCommerce platforms, even if you use a third-party payment gateway. Another major pro is the real-time shipping costs and calculations, which are available on any plan, not just premium.
Cons. Annual online sales are limited. If you exceed them, you have to upgrade to a bigger and more expensive monthly plan. Also, compared to competitors, the abandoned shopping cart recovery feature is quite expensive. And while the free themes are a bonus, they tend to be quite similar, and the number of included typefaces is very limited.
5. WooCommerce
- WordPress is an Open Source platform
- Free but merchant needs to cover hosting costs
- Great support
- Highly Customizable
- WordPress Knowledge Needed
- Not newbie-friendly, catered towards advanced sellers & coders
Pros. WooCommerce is one of the best online selling platforms for advanced sellers, without serving only a specific niche market. Business owners can sell all kinds of products, from physical and downloadable items to invites to training sessions or webinars. Another major pro is customization. WooCommerce helps merchants create a store specific to their type of products. It has a large number of free plugins, as well as themes that you can customize from the header to the smallest detail.
Cons. One of the biggest cons is the WordPress-specific build. WooCommerce cannot be used in sites that are not hosted by WordPress. This can be a problem for established businesses, as they would need to re-make their entire website in order to use WooCommerce. Another major con is the expenses. While WooCommerce is free to download and install, some extensions require a service fee.
6. Wix eCommerce
- Great for businesses of all sizes
- Great integration
- Built-in SEO
- On-page support
- Omnichannel Sales
- Upselling features
- Marketing automations
- Fully customizable storefront
Pros: Great site speed and a massive template collection are only some of the pros Wix has. Templates provide a hassle-free approach for those who don’t know how to or don’t want to build their own online store from scratch, and Wix is very generous with them. Another great feature is the built-in SEO management. Tell Wix about your own store and main focuses by filling in keyword tags, and the platform will make sure your online store is found on Google. The easy setup, use, and great support team are what make this platform so popular.
Cons: Nothing in life is completely free, there’s always a catch. If you choose to stay on the free Wix plan, your site is forced to display Wix branding. Furthermore, if you wish to track sales for each item sold, which item sells, which doesn’t and other measures, it will cost you. Tracking and analytics require a paid plan. And lastly, one of the biggest Wix cons is the fact that your site isn’t transferable. If you sign up for Wix, they have you for life.
7. PrestaShop
- Open-sourced
- Needs technical know-how to set up
- Extensive integration across the board
- Active community for troubleshooting
- Slow to load & costly
- Limited integrations with 3rd Party marketing tools
Pros. This open-source software is quite easy to use for any merchant with minimal technical knowledge. A large amount of free plugins helps you set up a great basic shop for online selling. PrestaShop is very flexible when it comes to customization, making it easy to add, remove or personalize a page to your liking. Another great feature is localization. PrestaShop supports multiple currencies and languages, allowing you to easily sell items online around the world.
Cons. PrestaShop designs are most suitable for low-budget stores, as they lack a professional touch. The biggest and most important con is the lack of an official support team. There are no PrestaShop troubleshooting experts or support channels. However, the community comes together and helps out each other by listing problems and solutions on various support pages.
8. eBay
- Allows to sell multiple categories of products (used, etc.)
- Generalized accessibility
- Huge pre-existing traffic especially in the US and UK
- Option to sell in bulk & reselling/ flipping items
- Easy to set up
Pros. One of the biggest pros eBay has is the ability to sell anything, new and used. From books, crafts, clothing, electronics to car parts and more. The options are endless. Selling products online can be tricky, but with eBay, the process is simple and easy. Sell locally or worldwide with affordable prices for your products. eBay’s popularity will attract the traffic for you. No need to spend much on marketing tools and campaigns.
Cons. Selling fees are one of the main reasons people opt out from selling on this online marketplace. If you have low profit margins, you might not benefit from selling things online, especially on items with lots of competition. However, to avoid confusion and highlight hidden fees, eBay even has a fee calculator and help site that will advise and guide you through the processes. The competition is fierce, as eBay has millions of active users. If you want to successfully sell products online, come up with better deals or prices to stand out amongst the others.
9. Squarespace
- Unlimited number of products
- User-friendly
- 100+ templates
- All-in-one platform
- Excellent support
Pros. One of the biggest pros for Squarespace is their 100+ templates, optimized for tablets, desktops, and mobile devices. They allow users to build relevant, professional, and easy-to-customize pages, bringing their ideas to life.
Squarespace is a user-friendly all-in-one platform, leaving merchants worry-free of additional plugins, apps, or widgets. Website analytics reduce the number of troubleshooting issues and makes this platform easy to use even for beginners.
One of the most important pros for Squarespace is its amazing support team and system. The platform offers 24/7 customer support via email and chat, leaving no merchant in a bind when it comes to their business.
Cons. Since Squarespace is an all-in-one platform, it doesn’t play well with third-party plugins, apps, or extensions. Merchants have less control over their store, since any features used in the process must be owned by Squarespace.
Another major con is the overall lack of advanced SEO and marketing tools. SEO is limited to basic meta description and title, and all you have is a ‘share’ button. Keywords and separate segments are not an option, making it harder for people to find your website.
10. TikTok Shop
- Active user base providing a massive new audience
- Seamless shopping experience for users
- Free analytics tools for monitoring your store
Pros. You don’t need a fan base or a certain amount of following to set up a store on TikTok Shop. The platform provides a vast user base for you to chime into. And the seamless shopping experience allows users to easily find, check, and buy your products without leaving the app.
Cons. It might be a bit time-consuming to create content that promotes your products. TikTok only allows video-format promotions, so you’ll need to be extra creative to make your goods appeal to others.
Disclaimer. For now, the TikTok Shop x Printify integration is only available for merchants located and shipping within the US. But stay tuned – we’re working on expanding this integration to other countries and regions.
11. Printify API
- Needs coding experience
- Great choice if you have an existing community or custom platform
- Great for scaling & monetizing through an existing audience
- A great solution for individual merchants/ large businesses with custom needs
For Ecommerce platform owners:
Allows hundreds of thousands of Merchants to sell on your custom platform
For individual merchants:
Allows you to connect Printify to your custom eCommerce store or application
Whether you use your own mockup generator or capture user-generated designs, with the Printify API, you can easily place those images on any products from our catalog, list them online, and fulfill.
If you don’t use Shopify, Etsy, BigCommerce, or any other eCommerce platform and marketplace, the Printify API allows you to connect your own custom store with the same benefits of automation that our existing integrations do.
Pro Tip: It’s up to you where to sell, however, Printify highly recommends starting with Etsy. Their beginner-friendly policy will make your entry in the sale’s world simple, easy, and exciting.
Would You Like to Learn More?
We Got Your Back!
Want to read more on each specific platform that Printify integrates with? Below you’ll find a list of detailed blog pieces about each sales channel.
We go through the details and help you make informed decisions that will best help your print-on-demand path to rock stardom:
Make It Happen Today!
Written by
Baiba Blain
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53 comments
Etsy closes you down with no reason and no consideration. EBay are friendlier. I hate the way etsy treated me.
Hi David,
Sorry to hear that. Just in case, perhaps this article might be helpful.
This informative blog from Printify provides a concise yet comprehensive overview of the best sites to sell products online. The article serves as a valuable resource for individuals looking to venture into e-commerce, offering insights into various platforms and their unique features
I want to know that its real to make money
Hi there,
You can check out the Success Story section in our blog or our latest podcast – Printing Profits, where we interview successful print on demand sellers.
I haven’t been able to connect my store, I don’t know why.
Hi Anngeorge,
Sorry to hear that! Please don’t hesitate contacting our merchant support team. They will look closer into the issue and help you sort it out.
How can i get my printify web for sell the product
Hi Hayat,
The marketing and sales aspects are completely up to you and may very much depend on the type of store you have set up. You may want to consider Paid Ads or social media marketing strategies to attract more sales.
I can recommend checking out our other blog articles, specifically about marketing and sales tactics, or you can also check out our YouTube channel, where you will find plenty of tips on how to make more sales.
Hi!! My log out of my Shop and when I log in it says the email is taken so please help me thanks you for reading it!
Hi there!
Please email our Support team at [email protected], so they can look into the matter and help you sort it out.
I want to set up Esty lam having difficulty
Hi there!
Please feel free to get in touch with our Merchant Support team here and they will gladly assist you further, and help you sort it out.
Can I use PayPal for my eCommerce my own website to processes the orders at art shows
then would Printify, be able to take care of the production and shipping of the products ordered.
Would I be able to offer Printify’s products with my design on them sold at art shows, on my website, ebay, and maybe FB marketplace and others? Would this change the production and shipping process, I would still charge my customer the retail price, which would include Printify’s production and shipping costs.
Hi there,
Theoretically, you can sell your products wherever you wish – Etsy, eBay, Shopify, other store platform or even your own social media channels. Some of these have a direct integration with Printify to automate things for you, but you can always place manual orders. For example, if you prefer selling in art shows on spot, you will have to place the orders manually on Printify. You will also have to make sure that your Printify Balance has enough funds to cover each order (you can top up the balance with PayPal or add a credit card – whichever suits you best). Then we will take care of each order as per usual.
So, the short answer is, yes, you can sell your products wherever and it won’t impact the production and shipping process – just the order placement process. You can learn more about manual order placement here.
I cannot find the shipping address of the t shirt company i am using and etsy requests this info
Hi Denise,
This information will be filled out automatically. You can find more information here.
Our website is hosted through GoDaddy. Is there an integration between Printify and GoDaddy so I can use Printify through our current website?
Hi there Mike!
Currently we do not have an integration with this channel, however, you can still use our platform by placing manual orders. Please see more information here.
Will I be charged anything if I publish my product ?
Hi Riya,
Printify will charge you only for an order when it is sent to production. As per the default settings, orders will be sent to production 24 hours after they have been received. However, these settings can be changed in your Printify account and can be different for each of your stores. Please see more information here.
Hi, is Printify available in Australia?
Hi there Eleni! Yes, it is! 🙂
How can i start a business in Germany with help of your company?
Hi there Michael!
You would need to choose a product from our catalog and select the most suitable print provider for your needs, based on location, color variants or other criteria. Then you can add your design to the product and publish it to your store. Please see more information here.
Will Printify be connecting to Amazon stores?
Hi there,
At the moment, there is no direct integration between Printify and Amazon. However, there are a few workarounds that you can try, if you are interested to sell on Amazon with Printify. Please reach out to our merchant support team via the live chat on our website to learn more.
Thanks for the info. You might want to update it, though, as the Shopify Lite plan is no longer available to new merchants.
Hi Brandon,
Thank you for letting us know, we will look further into this and update accordingly.
Hello! I sell most of my designs locally. Until now I’ve made the items myself, taken payment and delivered directly. However, customers want different designs, colours, sizes – more than I can physically keep in stock. I would like somewhere to refer them so they can order my designs, on the T-shirt or clothing item they prefer, ‘someone’ takes the payment, ships them out and pays me the difference after costs. I need something quick set up and easier for me so I can scale up easily but remain focussed on design. Am I in the right place here?
Hi Kathleen,
Yes, you are! The way Printify works is: you add your designs to Printify products you wish to sell, add them to your store that is connected to Printify (it can be Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, eBay, or other). When a customer will place an order on your store, it will automatically come through to Printify, and we will then take care of the production and shipping for you.
As for the payment, Printify will charge you for production and shipping, while you should charge your customer retail price, which includes production costs, shipping and your profit. In other words: your customer pays you, you pay us, and you keep the profit.
You can check out our YouTube channel for tutorials. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to our support team via the live chat on our website.
This advice is not valid in all areas of the United States of America. A message appears saying they are working hard to incorporate all areas. 🙁
Hi printify people
Which one is better for people in Bangladesh.?
Hi there!
It really depends which one you would prefer and your target audience.
Just in case, here is more information.
Hey u have a clothing brand and im soo clueless on how to get started. I would like to use dropshipping. Is that possible here?
Hi there Breona!
Yes, that is exactly how you can use Printify. Please see some articles about getting started here.
Hi, Does printify connect to Walmart marketplace?
Hi Killari,
Yes, you can learn more about it here.
I’m a newbie Exploring the possibility of a simple beginner business I’m thinking of using printify starting with T-shirts to sell on Etsy. Can you give me some guidance on some focused information to help me get started
Hi Ken,
So happy to hear you are ready to start your print-on-demand journey with us! We have a lot of useful materials that will guide you through the processes and help you succeed.
Our blog will provide you with useful tips and tricks on how to grow and success.
For setting up and getting started, though, I would suggest checking out our Help Center or YouTube channel. If you have any specific questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to our merchant support team via the live chat on our website. Our agents work 24/7 and will assist you the best they can.
Can I use Primtify API and share the links on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest?
Hi Camila,
Yes, you can do that.
What about printing and Webflow?
Hi Tiona,
Thank you for bringing this up! We will consider adding more information about this in the future.
Etsy seems very difficult to set up and their guides in the help centre don’t seem to be up to date with the current website. They don’t tell you what’s missing in your store set-up, but printify picks up on it so its impossible to actually add printify products to the store
Hi Ameenah,
Sorry to hear about this! I suggest you reach out to our support team via the live chat on our website, so they can assist you with setting up your store.
Hi! I’m hoping to work with Printify for print on demand clothing through my own created website without using Shopify or Etsy, et. al. Is that possible?
Thank you!
Philip
Hi Philip,
Yes, it’s possible. Most likely you will have to integrate Printify to your website using API integration, and if any help is necessary, feel free to reach out to our merchant support team.
I find it very hard to connect my store
They keep telling “we couldn’t authenticate your store” which is very frustrating
Hi Francis,
Sorry to hear this! Please reach out to our merchant support team via the live chat on our website, or via email – [email protected]. Our team will carefully investigate the matter and help you sort this out.
It’s not entirely true that you’d need to remake your whole website to use woocommerce. I have often set up a subdomain or subdirectory and hosted a WordPress/Woocommerce install there for my clients. We just style the web store to fit in with their overall branding, ensure that the navigation is the same on both ‘sites’ et voila.
Hi Doug,
Thank you for sharing this, I’m sure it will come in handy to someone!
I have had 2 etsy shops for about 7 years. One sells jewelry and the other fine art prints. I create both products. I sell almost nothing online but do sell a lot of jewelry locally in a gallery. I also have business websites that don’t sell much either. I am trying to decide whether to add printify to my etsy shop, or close it and go with my own website.