Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Etsy, Shopify: what do you keep from the same product?

Sample product and assumptions

To keep the math concrete, we use a single sample product. The numbers may not match your product exactly; the point is to compare each channel's fee structure on the same footing.

• Product: home and kitchen category, $29.99 sale price, free shipping for the buyer.
• Dimensions and weight: 1 lb, 12×8×3 inches. With a dimensional weight of 2.07 lb, Amazon and Walmart charge based on that weight.
• Landed cost in the US (manufacturing, freight, duties): $8 per unit.
• Because eBay and Etsy charge fees on the total including sales tax, we assumed 7% sales tax, so the buyer pays $32.09 in total. The marketplace collects and remits the tax; it does not go to the seller.
• For your own fulfillment or a third-party logistics provider (3PL), we assumed $9.50 per order: about $3 for pick and pack and $6.50 for a domestic shipping label. This is not an official rate; it depends on your own agreement.
• Amazon: the off-peak FBA fee in effect on October 13, 2026, plus the 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge. eBay: no store subscription. Shopify: Basic plan with Shopify Payments.
• Advertising, subscriptions, returns, storage and inbound shipping are excluded.

The result: what you keep per unit

The two marketplaces with their own fulfillment networks, Walmart (WFS) and Amazon (FBA), leave the seller the most in this example. Most of the gap comes from fulfillment, not commission: both marketplaces' fulfillment fees are well below the $9.50 we assumed for your own fulfillment. The lower your own fulfillment cost, the higher the eBay, Etsy and Shopify rows climb.

Shopify's $11.26 can be misleading: a marketplace's commission is really the price of bringing you customers. On your own site, you pay for traffic through advertising. Even with no ad spend, the Shopify row trails Amazon FBA and Walmart WFS; once ad spend per order passes about $3.30, it also drops below Amazon and Walmart with your own fulfillment.

Line-by-line breakdown

The table below shows how each setup gets from $29.99 to what you keep, per unit. Product cost ($8) is the same in every row and isn't listed separately. Etsy's commission column includes the $0.20 listing fee.

Fee structure by channel

Main fee components for the home and kitchen category. Rates vary by category; beauty and apparel have tiered rates.

Shipping other channels from Amazon's warehouse: MCF

Amazon's Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) ships Walmart, eBay, Etsy and Shopify orders from your FBA inventory. It's one of the simplest ways to sell across channels without renting another warehouse or splitting your stock, but it's expensive for single-unit orders.

• For our sample product, a single-unit standard MCF order costs $12.16 including the 3.5% surcharge. The FBA fee for the same product on an Amazon order is $6.13, so MCF costs roughly twice as much.
• The per-unit fee drops on multi-unit orders: $8.41 per unit on a two-unit order.
• During peak season, October 15, 2026 to January 14, 2027, the single-unit fee rises to $12.59, reducing what you keep on the MCF rows by $0.43 per unit.
• New MCF users get 25% off their first 100 units.
• Walmart allows MCF only with neutral packaging and unbranded delivery vehicles. MCF orders ship in unbranded boxes by default; you also need to block Amazon's own delivery network (Amazon Logistics). The 5% surcharge normally charged for this block is waived on MCF orders, including Walmart orders, until January 14, 2027.

Easy-to-miss deductions

• Etsy Offsite Ads: on orders from Etsy's external ads, a percentage of the order total is deducted. For shops with more than $10,000 in sales over the past 365 days, the rate is 12% and participation is mandatory, capped at $100 per order. For our sample product, that's roughly $3.85 extra on an ad-driven order, bringing the Etsy US bank row down to $5.28.
• eBay currency conversion: if your sale and payout currencies differ, eBay charges a conversion fee of 3% in most countries, rising to 3.25% for US-registered sellers from October 14, 2026. Our calculation assumes payouts in USD, so this fee doesn't apply.
• Because eBay charges commission on the total including sales tax, the 13.6% rate effectively works out to about 14.6%.
• For Etsy sellers with a Turkish bank account, sources conflict on the payment processing fee, and a 2.5% conversion fee applies when the listing currency differs from the account currency. That's why the Türkiye row is approximate; fixed deductions and regulatory fees are not included, so the actual amount may be slightly lower.
• Amazon's monthly storage fee rises from $0.78 to $2.40 per cubic foot from October through December (the sample product is about 0.17 cubic feet). Low-inventory and inbound placement fees can also add to unit costs.

What changes with accounts opened under a US company?

Even on the same channel, whether your account is registered outside the US (in Türkiye, in our example) or under a US company changes what you keep. Most of the difference comes from international seller fees and currency conversion.

• eBay: sellers registered outside the US pay an international fee of 1.30–1.55% of the total; a US company account selling domestically does not. In our example, assuming 1.55%, that's $0.50 per unit.
• Etsy: with a US bank account, payment processing is 3% + $0.25; with a Turkish bank account, sources indicate a higher rate, and a 2.5% conversion fee is added. In our example, the gap is about $1.60.
• Shopify: Shopify Payments isn't available in Türkiye. It can be activated with a US company and US bank account, although Shopify may also look for a physical business presence in the US; with any other payment provider, Shopify charges an extra 2%.
• Walmart: payouts to sellers in Türkiye are available only through Payoneer; a US company opens the option of direct payouts to a US bank account.
• Amazon: for payouts to a non-US bank through Amazon's currency converter, 0.75–1.50% is deducted depending on volume; payouts in dollars to a US bank account carry no such deduction.

Which channel fits whom?

• Amazon FBA: branded products with repeat demand, for sellers who can ship inventory to the US in bulk. The widest traffic, but many fee components.
• Walmart WFS: sellers with a proven Amazon product, GS1 barcodes and US inventory who want a second channel. No monthly fee; seller approval is selective.
• eBay: low-cost test sales, clearing inventory and products such as spare parts. No fulfillment service.
• Etsy: handmade, designed or personalized products. Generic wholesale products may run into Etsy's product rules.
• Shopify: sellers with their own traffic sources and an established brand. It makes more sense once the brand has found its footing on a marketplace, not as a first channel.