Crescentek

Marketplace Platform Support

Amazon, eBay, Etsy — run the maths first.

Honest marketplace platform advice for Irish sellers. Amazon for volume, eBay for mixed goods, Etsy for handmade, NotOnTheHighStreet for curated British gifts — all take fees, and only some fit your business. We'll tell you which make sense.

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marketplace-calc.crescentek.ie · Fee comparison
Product sale price
€32.00
Live calc
€10
€60
Your take-home per sale
A
Amazon UK
15% + €25/mo (Pro)
€27.20
after fees
Fee: €4.80-15.0%
e
eBay IE/UK
~13% final value fee
€27.84
after fees
Fee: €4.16-13.0%
E
Etsy
6.5% + €0.20/listing + ads
€29.92
after fees
Fee: €2.08-6.5%
N
Not On The High Street
~25% commission
€24.00
after fees
Fee: €8.00-25.0%
The honest trade-offs

Marketplaces give reach — and take a cut.

Every marketplace trades visibility for fees, control, and customer ownership. Knowing exactly what you're giving up is half the decision.

Huge audience you didn't build

Amazon has 300M+ active buyers. eBay has 130M+. You can't match that traffic independently. For visibility, marketplaces are unmatched — but it's their audience, not yours.

Fees that eat margin fast

Amazon's 15% + FBA + advertising easily reaches 30%+ of revenue. Thin-margin products don't survive on marketplaces. Run the unit economics before you list — not after.

No customer relationship

Amazon buyers are Amazon's customers, not yours. No email list, no retargeting, no LTV — they buy once and the platform keeps the relationship. Strategic loss you should count.

Suspension risk is real

Amazon accounts get suspended for inventory issues, policy interpretations, or competitor complaints. No email, no appeals process, no recourse. Running a business solely on Amazon is building on rented land.

When we recommend each

Each marketplace has a specific sweet spot.

Not all products work everywhere. These are the specific conditions where each platform earns its commission.

Amazon strategy

When we recommend Amazon first

Branded products with repeat purchase pattern
Willing to handle FBA logistics + returns
Margin over 40% to absorb 15-20% in fees
Product category with clear keyword demand
Operational capacity for Amazon's demands
eBay strategy

When we recommend eBay alongside

Used, refurbished, or unique items
Lower-priced items Amazon won't favour
Irish-targeted sales (stronger than Amazon IE)
Willing to handle individual shipping
Brands needing budget-conscious audience reach
Etsy / NotOnTheHighStreet

When niche marketplaces win

Genuinely handmade or vintage (Etsy policy)
Personalisation as a differentiator
Gift brands with British provenance (NOTHS)
Lower-volume but higher-margin SKUs
Craft story that fits platform ethos
The platforms at a glance

Four marketplaces, four different fits.

Fee rates and positioning current to 2026. No affiliate commissions — we'll tell you honestly which serve your product vs which erode it.

A

Amazon UK

Volume leader, brutal fees
Pricing
15% + €25/mo (Pro)
Ideal for
Repeatable SKUs, volume sellers, branded products
e

eBay IE/UK

Mixed new + used, flexible
Pricing
~13% final value fee
Ideal for
Unique items, used goods, auction model
E

Etsy

Handmade, vintage, craft
Pricing
6.5% + €0.20/listing + ads
Ideal for
Handmade, vintage, personalised products
N

Not On The High Street

UK curated gifts
Pricing
~25% commission
Ideal for
Unique British-made gift brands
Is it a fit?

Marketplaces add reach — but take a fee for it.

They're excellent for the right brand. They destroy margins for the wrong one. The maths must work before the launch — not in month three.

Right fit
We should talk if…
You already sell products and want reach beyond your site
Your margins can absorb marketplace fees (40%+ typical)
You can handle marketplace-level shipping and returns
You want an honest opinion on which platforms fit
You're ready to run the unit economics before launching
Not a fit
We'll point you elsewhere if…
You've not launched your own store — build that foundation first
Your margins are thin (under 30%) — marketplaces will destroy profitability
You can only handle one channel — more isn't better by default
You want us to validate a platform you've already committed to
When we're most useful

Common marketplace platform scenarios.

Where independent marketplace advice saves Irish sellers from expensive channel mistakes.

Choosing which marketplace to launch on
Amazon vs eBay decisions
Adding marketplaces to existing stores
Marketplace fee audits
Cross-border marketplace strategy
Etsy seller strategy work
NotOnTheHighStreet application prep
Multi-marketplace sync setup
Common questions

Marketplace platform questions, honestly answered.

The questions Irish SMBs ask us most often.

For most Irish brands with repeatable branded SKUs: Amazon UK (not Amazon.ie which is very limited). You get reach but absorb 15%+ fees and the usual Amazon operational tax. eBay Ireland wins for used/refurbished, lower-priced items, or when you want Irish-specific buyer traffic. Few brands need both initially — pick the one that matches your catalogue.
Much more than most sellers realise. Etsy's policies require items to be made by the seller or their tight-knit team, or be genuinely vintage (20+ years). Getting flagged for policy violations happens fast. If your products are manufactured at scale, Etsy isn't where you should be — you'll get suspended and lose the investment.
FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) means Amazon handles storage, shipping, returns for ~20-30% of revenue on top of selling fees. FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) means you handle it yourself — cheaper per unit but massive operational lift. For under ~100 orders/mo, FBM is fine. Above that, FBA usually pays for itself. Depends entirely on your SKU velocity.
Brutal — among the highest in any marketplace. Only works if your margins can take it AND you benefit from NOTHS curation (they reject most applicants). For gift-led British-made brands, the premium positioning may be worth it. For most Irish sellers, the maths doesn't work out.
Yes. Account setup, listing creation and optimisation, inventory sync with your main store, category approvals (Amazon restricted categories need them), A+ content for Amazon brand-registered sellers, and ongoing optimisation. See our Marketplaces service page for the full build service.
Properly — which is unusual. We set up IOSS for EU sales under €150, VAT registration per market as needed, EORI numbers, commodity codes, and customs documentation. Getting this wrong means packages rejected, buyers refunded, and reputational damage. We've done it for enough Irish sellers to know where the traps are.
Works well with

Services that pair with this one.

Thinking of going multi-channel?

Free 30-minute marketplace strategy call. Share your product and margins — we'll run the fee maths honestly and tell you which marketplaces are worth the effort.

Reply within 1 working day GDPR compliant Based in Ireland