The rapid growth of online marketplace sales leaves small business owners and entrepreneurs asking one question: to sell or not to sell on online marketplaces?
Today, there are hundreds of “best” sites to sell online you’ll come across when running an online business. Some are focused on specific niches, like video games and tech. Others allow retailers to sell anything from clothing to books to furniture and beyond.
While there are benefits to selling online through marketplaces, it’s important to consider factors such as commissions and transaction fees to find the best platform for you.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through some of the best online selling sites for selling in India, the benefits of starting your own online store, and how using both can help reach new customers and make more online sales.
Building your own store
Starting an online store may seem like a challenging task, but it can be rewarding and incredibly profitable when done right. The only drawback is that you have to market your own business and get people onto your site. Building a brand can also take some time.
The major advantage is that the profit is yours. You don’t pay endless fees on each sale or have to abide by any rules but your own. If this sounds interesting to you, here’s what you can do to build your own website from scratch.
Shopify
Shopify is the easiest and most reputable way to create your own store. As an ecommerce platform, one of the top online sites to sell, Shopify makes it easy to get up and running without tech skills or a huge budget. To date, Shopify powers over one million businesses and is known for its affordable prices, professional designs, and useful marketing tools.
If you want to use a website builder to build a website, you can choose from over 100 templates with built-in features. With Shopify, you get your own website, blog, SSL certifications, abandoned shopping cart recovery, and many other beginner-friendly marketing tools. You can sell stuff on your website, across multiple marketplaces like Amazon or eBay, and create personalized shopping experiences that lead to more sales.
Top websites to sell products online in India in 2023
- Amazon
- eBay
- Flipkart
- Snapdeal
- Myntra
- IndiaMart
- Shopclues
- Pepperfry
- Facebook Marketplace
- Etsy
- Meesho
- Limeroad
Amazon
As global ecommerce sales continue to grow, it’s no surprise to see Amazon on a list of best online selling sites. As the top ecommerce company in the world, Amazon’s fiscal numbers show that it made $127.1 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2022, a 15% increase from one year prior. It’s reported that Amazon sells over 400 products per minute, providing sellers with an active, built-in audience to sell to.
How has Amazon become the best online selling site? People have come to trust Amazon and the things they buy on its marketplace. Amazon is known to vet sellers and remove fake products. It also delivers items in as little as one day (in some areas) through Amazon Prime. And it has great prices and deals that people love, which is why they continue to do their online shopping there.
The cost to sell on Amazon depends on your plan, product category, fulfillment strategy, and other variables. At minimum, you’ll pay $39.99 per month for a Professional seller plan (plus the additional selling fees mentioned above). This plan is good if you want to sell more than 40 units per month, advertise your products, qualify for top placement on product detail pages, and need advanced selling tools like APIs and reporting.
Overall, Amazon is the best online store to sell items if you want to reach a broad, global audience.
eBay
Chances are you’ve come across eBay once or twice in your day. It’s the original best place to sell merchandise online, having been online since 1995. eBay has over 1.3 billion listings and 182 million users worldwide, according to the latest eBay statistics.
You can sell anything on eBay, from everyday items like shoes and watches to weird stuff (yes, that’s a product category) like popcorn-scented pillows, bottles of air, and vintage ’70’s hand chairs. Browse through the what’s sold told, and you’ll be amazed to see what kind of item sells.
If you plan to sell on eBay, take the online selling site’s selling fees into consideration. It charges a non-refundable listing fee for each product and another insertion fee if you list the same items in two different categories. It also charges a final value fee (usually between 10%–12%), calculated as a percentage of the total amount of the sale, including any shipping and handling charges.
Similar to Amazon, eBay is one of the best sites to sell online because it has a massive audience you can sell to, it’s fast, and it can make a good additional sales channel for your online store.
Flipkart
Flipkart is another popular online marketplace to sell products in India. This marketplace has become a household name owing to its Indian origin and similar to Amazon, houses vendors across all product categories - be it fashion and apparel, health and wellness, beauty and cosmetics, furniture and more. It’s also a great platform to resell products like vintage jewelry or limited edition apparel collection from brands.
They too require you to create a seller profile for verification, followed by listing products in the format they offer. Their commission fees vary based on the product category and sub-category.
Flipkart offers shipping services as well to sellers, but the costs are calculated based on the product weight and pincode. You can learn more about their fees structure here.
Snapdeal
Snapdeal is another one of the top online marketplaces with an Indian origin. It’s again a marketplace where you can sell products as small as stationery items to home decor and furniture, owing to its wide target audience and customer base.
To sell on Snapdeal, you need to register your business on the platform and list out your products. They let you manage the orders received via their own portal, and also offer shipping services at additional costs.
Their commission fee varies depending on the type of product you sell and the selling price. You can find more details here.
Myntra
Myntra is one of the leading fashion and lifestyle online marketplaces in India. The platform has recorded over 40.59 million monthly visits, of which 91.12% are from India itself.
Now Myntra allows only business entities to list products on their marketplaces. This means if you’re an individual, you do not get access to their platform and require owning a legally registered business to sell on it.
While there are no seller fees for registering with them, depending on the product category and brand, Myntra charges a flat commission of 4-5%. You can learn more about their marketplace program here.
IndiaMart
IndiaMart is one of the leading online marketplaces in India with over 10 crore registered users on the platform. They have been reported to hold almost 60% of the market share when it comes to selling through online marketplaces in India.
Whether you sell to customers or to businesses, IndiaMart is a go-to marketplaces for all ecommerce business models. You can sell anything from medical essentials, clothing and apparel, packaging, fabric and more on the marketplace. It’s also a great platform to sell thrifted products or resell items you no longer need.
To sell on IndiaMart, you’re required to create a seller profile which is then verified before you list out products. You’re required to list a minimum of 3 products/ services for your free listing page. They do not charge any commission or transaction fees on the sales you make. You can learn more about it here.
Shopclues
Shopclues is another online marketplace in India that businesses can explore to list their products. Their marketplace reports empowering over 75,000 merchants selling over 10.5 million SKUs on the platform. With a wide user base, it gives merchants an opportunity to reach customers in the remotest corners of India.
The marketplace is again well-suited to sell any type of product - from home decor, kitchenware, fashion and apparel, and more, there’s a place for all types of businesses.
To sell on Shopclues, you need to register for a seller account on the marketplace, which is followed by a verification process. Post which, you can list out the products you want to sell on the platform with detailed descriptions and pricing.
Their commission fees are based on the ‘pay when you sell’ model and vary based on the product you sell. It ranges from 6-10% or higher based on the product category. You can learn more about it here.
Pepperfry
Pepperfly is an online marketplace for only home decor and furniture products in India. They’re a home grown brand that enables merchants and vendors across India to list products in this specific niche to sell to their target audience online.
To sell home decor and furniture online on the marketplace, you’re required to sign up for a seller account on the platform. After your account is verified, you can list out your products using their dashboard.
They provide shipping services to over 1000+ cities as well to make fulfillment of orders simpler. Their commission fees vary based on the product category, sub-category and selling price.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is an online selling site where individual people can discover, buy, and sell items on Facebook. More than one in three people use Marketplace each month, offering a huge opportunity for sellers to reach an active audience. It’s completely free to list, and Facebook takes no fees, but there are guidelines you need to follow to sell on the platform.
Facebook has also partnered with platforms like Shopify to let merchants show their inventory, advertise items, and find new customers for their business.
Etsy
Etsy is one of the best selling sites for handcrafted and vintage items. In 2015, it began including maker-developed manufactured goods, but only for select accounts on the marketplace. As of Q2 2021, there were over 96 million buyers on Etsy, making it a lucrative way to start selling online.
You’ll be charged a $0.20 listing fee for each item you sell on Esty. Listings expire every four months. So if your item doesn’t sell and you renew the listing, you’ll be charged an additional $0.20. When you make a sale, you’ll be charged a transaction fee of 5% of the display price, plus the amount you charge for shipping and gift wrapping.
If you’re new to online selling sites, Etsy can be a great place to sell your stuff. You’ll get access to an active buyer network, a pop-up storefront, and tools to help market your business on the platform.
Meesho
A comparatively new online marketplace, Meesho is another platform you can explore to sell a variety of products. They have businesses selling fashion and apparel, footwear, home decor and kitchen products, electronics and much more on the marketplace, giving even individuals an opportunity to sell to thousands of users.
They currently do not charge any commission fees on the sales you make through their online marketplace. But the process does require you to set up your seller profile and verify your account using government approved documents. You can learn more about it here.
Limeroad
LimeRoad is another platform similar to Meesho, but a little older in age. They too let businesses from different industries and categories list products on the marketplace, but is predominantly known for its fashion and apparel user base.
To sell on LimeRoad, you’re required to create a seller account on the marketplace. They take you through a verification process before letting you list products on the platform.
The online marketplace charges a commission starting from 2-20% of the sale you make through the platform, depending on the product you sell. You can get an estimate of the commission you will be required to pay using this calculator.
Finding the best online selling sites and strategies
Every online business owner should explore different online selling sites, regardless of whether you’re running a dropshipping store or selling custom products. Sometimes they can help new businesses get off the ground with a built-in audience of active buyers and marketing opportunities.
Regardless, it’s important to not rely only on online marketplaces. You’ll want to create your own online store to build your brand, connect with shoppers, and retain more profits. With a digital home base, you’ll stop paying out commissions and fees to each online selling site and grow your business for the long-term. After all, the best sites to sell online are the ones you own.
Illustration by Rachel Tunstall
Read more
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- How to start an online store in India for your Fashion and Apparel business
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- 10 Essential Dropshipping Business Tips for Beginners (2021)
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Online Selling FAQ
How can I start selling online?
- Use an ecommerce platform to create your own online store.
- Become an individual seller on existing online selling platforms like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy.
- Sell on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
- Start a dropshipping business.
- Sell old stuff through a resale app like decluttr or VarageSale.
Where can I sell my products online in India?
- Shopify
- Amazon
- eBay
- Flipkart
- Snapdeal
- Myntra
- IndiaMart
- Shopclues
- Pepperfry
- Facebook Marketplace
- Etsy
- Meesho
- Limeroad
Where can I sell my stuff online for free?
- Facebook Marketplace
- Craigslist
- eBay
What is the best site to sell stuff locally?
- Shopify
- Facebook Marketplace
- Craigslist
- eBay
- IndiaMart
- Shopclues
- Pepperfry
