What does Amazon really cost sellers?

Referral fee (8–15% depending on category) plus FBA fulfillment fees (from $3.22 per unit), long-term storage fees, and advertising. Effective total often 25–35% of revenue for FBA sellers.

Is Etsy cheaper than Amazon?

For small-volume handmade sellers, yes — 6.5% transaction fee + $0.20 listing + payment processing ~3%. But Etsy Offsite Ads adds 12–15% on advertised sales and is difficult to opt out of.

Why is GeraMarket cheaper?

Lower infrastructure costs, newer platform, and a commitment to passing more value to sellers. 3–8% commission with no listing fees, no advertising mandatory fees, no storage penalties.

What should I factor in beyond commission?

Payment processing fees (usually 2–3%), currency conversion, fulfilment and storage if using marketplace warehousing, mandatory advertising participation, return processing, and platform subscription if applicable.

Marketplace Commission Rates Compared: Amazon, eBay, Etsy, GeraMarket (2026)

The headline commission on major marketplaces is misleading. Amazon's referral fee of 8–15% becomes effective 25–35% of revenue once FBA fulfillment fees, storage, and mandatory advertising participation are factored in. eBay's 10–15% includes PayPal/managed-payments fees but excludes promoted-listings cost. Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee excludes Offsite Ads (12–15% on advertised sales). Here is a true-cost comparison across the major marketplaces in 2026.

Amazon: the full fee stack

Referral fee: 8–15% depending on category (45 categories, each with its own rate)
FBA fulfillment fee: from $3.22 per small standard unit, up to $160+ for heavy oversize
Monthly storage fee: $0.87/cubic foot standard, $2.40/cubic foot in Oct-Dec
Long-term storage surcharge: items aged 365+ days
Aged inventory surcharge: added 2022
Subscription: Professional seller plan $39.99/month
Advertising: optional but essentially mandatory for visibility — typically 5–15% of revenue
Return processing fees: added 2024

Total effective cost for a typical FBA seller: 25–35% of gross revenue.

eBay

Final value fee: ~13% most categories (eBay UK), different tiers for eBay US
Listing fees: first 1,000 free per month, then ~£0.35 each
Managed payments fee: built in but there is a per-order flat fee (~£0.30)
Store subscriptions: optional but reduce final value fees
Promoted listings: optional, typically 2–5% of sale
International fees: 1.5% on cross-border

Etsy

Transaction fee: 6.5% of sale including shipping
Listing fee: $0.20 per listing, valid 4 months
Payment processing: ~3% + $0.25 per order
Offsite Ads: 12% (or 15% for stores under $10k/year revenue). Difficult to opt out for high-volume sellers.
Currency conversion: 2.5% if listed in non-home currency
Etsy Plus subscription: $10/month optional

Shopify + Facebook/Google Ads

Shopify Basic is $29/month plus 2.9% card fees. But Shopify itself doesn't drive traffic — you must pay for Facebook, Instagram, Google, or TikTok ads. For most DTC brands, customer acquisition cost via ads runs 20–40% of revenue, significantly higher than marketplace commission. Shopify suits brands with strong direct-to-consumer pull; marketplaces suit products that need discovery.

GeraMarket

Commission: 3–8% by category
Listing fees: none
Subscription: none
Payment processing: included in the commission
Advertising: optional, 0% mandatory — organic discoverability via llms.txt, JSON-LD, and MCP exposure
Storage fees: none (sellers fulfil or use GeraMarket Fulfillment at market-rate logistics cost)
Cross-border: no separate fee

How to calculate your true cost

Take all fees (commission + listing + payment processing + advertising + fulfilment + returns processing + subscription) divided by gross revenue. Then compare that to alternatives. For most sellers selling on Amazon + eBay + Etsy concurrently, consolidating on a single marketplace with lower all-in fees typically improves margin by 8–15 percentage points.