On this label
- A Shopify store has no built-in shoppers: traffic is your job.
- Shopify charges an extra fee (2% on Basic, 1% on Grow) when you use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments.
- On your own store you write the shipping promise, the return policy and the review display yourself, and the FTC rules apply to you directly.
Moving from a marketplace to your own store is less like changing shops and more like opening one. Etsy and Amazon bring buyers, handle payments and set the rules. A Shopify store hands all of that to you. That is the attraction, and it is also the risk.
Signs you are ready
- Customers ask for you by name. Repeat buyers search for your brand, not the product type.
- You have an audience outside the marketplace. A mailing list, social media followers, local customers or wholesale accounts.
- Marketplace fees take a share you can no longer accept. Our Marketplace Fees Compared: What Etsy, Amazon and a Shopify Store Take From a $40 Sale guide shows how to calculate it.
- You need flexibility the marketplace does not allow. Bundles, subscriptions, wholesale pricing or products outside its rules.
- Your operations are steady. Inventory counts, shipping and customer service already run without daily firefighting.
Signs you are not ready yet
- Most of your sales come from marketplace search and you have no other way to reach buyers.
- You have not yet found a product that sells consistently.
- You do not have time to create content, run ads or send emails every week.
What it costs
When we checked Shopify’s pricing page in October 2026, it listed three main plans billed yearly: Basic at $19 a month for solo entrepreneurs, Grow at $49 for small teams and Advanced at $299. Paying monthly costs more. New stores get a free three-day trial, and most plans then cost $1 a month for the first three months. Shopify shows prices by country, so check the current page for yours.
| Cost | What the pricing page says |
|---|---|
| Plan fee | Basic $19, Grow $49, Advanced $299 a month, billed yearly |
| Third-party payment providers | Extra 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, if you use a provider other than Shopify Payments |
| Synced marketplace orders over 50 | 1%, up to $99 a month |
| Apps, themes, domain, shipping labels | Separate, depending on what you choose |
On top of those come card processing fees, marketing and your own time. The plan fee is rarely the biggest cost of a store. Traffic is.
Tip: Before you launch, estimate how many orders a month you need just to cover the plan fee and processing. If that number is higher than your current marketplace sales, keep the marketplace running alongside the store.
What you take on
Shipping promises
The FTC’s Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule applies to online orders. You must have a reasonable basis for any shipping time you advertise; if you state none, you must have a reasonable basis to expect to ship within 30 days. If you cannot ship on time, you must seek the customer’s consent to the delay or cancel the order and promptly refund it. On a marketplace, the platform’s systems nudge you through this. On your own store, it is your process.
Reviews and testimonials
A store displays its own reviews, and the FTC’s Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, in effect since October 21, 2024, applies directly. You may not write or buy fake reviews, offer incentives conditioned on positive reviews or suppress negative ones. The FTC’s guidance adds that a business which merely hosts genuine reviews is not liable for fakes it did not write or buy, but testimonials you put on your own site are advertising and you are responsible for them.
Pricing claims
If you run sales, federal guides on deceptive pricing in 16 CFR Part 233 say a “was” price should be one you actually offered openly, in good faith, for a reasonably substantial period. See Pricing Handmade Products: A Formula That Pays You, Covers Fees and Stays Honest.
Taxes and records
Payment processors file Form 1099-K when payments for goods exceed $20,000 across more than 200 transactions, according to the IRS, and may send one for smaller amounts. All business income is taxable whether or not a form arrives. Keep records from day one.
The middle path
Opening a store is also a good moment to settle whether you are running a business or a hobby. The IRS lists factors it considers, including whether you run the activity the way similar profitable activities are run, whether you follow accepted business practices, how much personal time and effort you put in and whether losses are normal for the start-up phase of that kind of business. If an activity is not carried on to make a profit, its losses cannot offset other income, and hobby income is reported on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8.
Most sellers who succeed with their own store do not abandon marketplaces at once. They keep the marketplace for discovery and use the store for repeat customers, bundles and direct relationships. That is a multichannel business, with its own inventory challenges, covered in Selling on More Than One Channel: Inventory, Policies and Fees Without the Chaos. If you are still deciding which marketplace to start with, begin at Etsy vs Amazon vs Shopify: Matching the Channel to the Product.