There's no single best marketplace. I sell on Amazon, Walmart, eBay, TikTok Shop, and my own Shopify store, and each one does something the others don't. The useful question is where a specific product belongs. That comes down to four things: fees, buyers, fulfillment, and how much work it takes to get listed.
The quick comparison
| eBay | Amazon | Walmart | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main fee, most categories | 13.6% + $0.40 | 15% referral | 15% referral |
| Electronics | 13.6% + $0.40 | 8% | 8% |
| Monthly fee | None (Stores optional) | $39.99 Professional | None |
| Fulfillment service | None built in | FBA | WFS |
| Getting started | Open to anyone | Open, with verification and category approvals | Application and approval |
| Barcodes | Optional for most | Required or exemption | Required or exemption, strict on brand |
| Best for | Used, collectible, one-off items | New products at volume | New products, second channel |
eBay: best for one-offs and used items
eBay is built around individual listings. If you're flipping thrift finds, selling used electronics, collectibles, parts, or anything where each item is a little different, eBay is the natural home. You can list one item in a few minutes with no barcode, and buyers on eBay expect used and vintage goods.
Fees are slightly lower than Amazon on most general merchandise, though remember eBay charges its percentage on shipping and sales tax too. The bigger cost is your time. There's no fulfillment service, so you pack and ship every order. Promoted listings are close to required in competitive categories, which adds a few percent. The full breakdown is in eBay fees explained.
Amazon: best for volume on new products
Amazon has the most buyers by a wide margin, and they're there to buy, not browse. If you have a new product you can stock in quantity, Amazon will almost always sell the most units. FBA lets you hand off storage and shipping entirely, and Prime eligibility matters a lot for conversion.
The costs are real, though. FBA fees, storage, and the $39.99 monthly plan mean cheap items struggle. Many categories are brutally competitive, so ads become part of the cost of doing business. And you're competing for the Buy Box with every other seller of the same item. Read Amazon FBA fees explained before sourcing anything for FBA.
Walmart: the underrated second channel
Walmart Marketplace has fewer sellers than Amazon in most categories, no monthly fee, and referral rates similar to Amazon's, with cuts in 14 categories in June 2026. WFS works a lot like FBA and gets your items fast-delivery badges.
The friction is upfront. You need to be approved, and Walmart is stricter about product data, especially barcodes and brand names. I had a GTIN exemption rejected twice before switching the brand from "Generic" to my own brand name got it through. Walmart does offer an Express Setup that imports your catalog from Amazon, which is how I got approved and listed quickly. Expect less volume than Amazon on the same item, but often less competition and better margins. Full details in Walmart Marketplace fees.
Where TikTok Shop and Shopify fit
TikTok Shop sells through content. A product that demos well in a short video can sell in bursts that no search marketplace matches, and nothing at all when there's no video behind it. It's a good fit for visual, impulse-priced products.
Your own Shopify store has the lowest fees (just card processing), and you own the customer relationship. But nobody shows up unless you send them. Most small stores get their traffic from social, email, or ads. I run mine alongside the marketplaces and fulfill it from my FBA inventory using Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment.
How to decide for a specific product
- Is it new, in quantity, with a barcode? Start with Amazon, add Walmart. If it's used or one of a kind, start with eBay.
- Run the payout on each platform. The comparison calculator shows marketplace fees side by side. Category matters: electronics favors Amazon and Walmart, general goods slightly favor eBay.
- Check demand where you'll list. On eBay, look at sold listings. On Amazon, look at the competition and reviews for similar items. On Walmart, see whether the item already exists and who's selling it.
- Decide who ships. If you want to hand off fulfillment, FBA and WFS are the main options. If you ship yourself, compare your label costs to their fees.
- List on more than one if you can keep inventory in sync. Different platforms reach different buyers. The sales data will tell you where to focus within a few months.
What I'd do starting today
If I were starting with new products and a small budget, I'd launch on Amazon with FBA for the volume, list the same items on Walmart through Express Setup with WFS for a second stream of sales, and use eBay for anything used, returned, or slow-moving that I want to turn into cash. A Shopify store comes after there's a reason for people to visit it, like a brand or a product people search for by name.
Questions people ask
Is it better to sell on eBay or Amazon?
For used, vintage, collectible, and one-of-a-kind items, eBay is usually better, since it's built for individual listings and has lower fees on general merchandise. For new products you can stock in quantity, especially ones you can send to FBA, Amazon usually sells far more volume.
Is Walmart Marketplace worth it for small sellers?
Often yes, as a second channel. There's no monthly fee and competition is lighter in many categories. The trade-offs are an approval process, stricter barcode and listing requirements, and less traffic than Amazon for most products.
Can I sell the same product on all three?
Yes, and many sellers do. The hard part is inventory sync so you don't oversell. Keeping stock in FBA and using Multi-Channel Fulfillment for other channels, or using an inventory sync tool, solves most of it. Note that Walmart doesn't allow Amazon-branded packaging on its orders.
Which marketplace has the lowest fees?
On most general merchandise, eBay's 13.6% plus $0.40 is slightly cheaper than Amazon's and Walmart's 15%. For electronics, Amazon and Walmart are much cheaper at 8%. Walmart has no monthly fee, while Amazon's Professional plan is $39.99 a month.