Marketplaces vs Your Own Website -- Which Makes More Money in 2026?

Marketplaces look free to join, but every sale carries hidden costs. As of 2026, typical Thai marketplace sellers face:

- Commission fee: 3-7% per transaction (varies by category and seller tier) - Payment fee: ~3.2% on every order - Service fee: 2-3% for premium-tier sellers and ad-eligible accounts - Voucher/coupon co-funding -- you pay part of every platform-run discount that touches your listing

On a 1,000 baht order, you keep roughly 870-900 baht. Sell 100,000 baht/month and a typical marketplace takes 10,000-13,000 baht before you pay product cost or shipping. That is 120,000-156,000 baht per year going to one platform.

A self-hosted ecommerce site has predictable, much lower costs:

- Platform: a flat $3-25/month with Rukter -- no per-transaction cut - Domain: $10-15/year for a .com or .co.th - Payment gateway: 1.65-2.95% per transaction (PromptPay, Stripe, Omise) -- no extra platform commission stacked on top - Marketing: variable, but 100% of your spend builds YOUR brand, not the marketplace's

At 100,000 baht/month, your true cost is around 3,000-4,000 baht (gateway fee) + $25 platform = under 5,000 baht. You keep 95,000+ baht of every 100,000 baht in sales.

On a marketplace, your buyers are not your customers -- they belong to the marketplace. The platform hides phone numbers, shows only last name and initials, and never releases the email. You cannot:

- Send a follow-up promotion to past buyers - Build a repeat-customer base - Run retargeting ads to people who already bought - Export your customer list if you ever decide to leave

On your own website, you collect emails, phone numbers, and order history. Repeat customers cost 7x less than acquiring new ones -- and you cannot run that math on a marketplace.

Marketplaces are not always wrong. They work well when:

- You sell low-cost commodity products where customers compare purely on price (phone cases, basic accessories) - You are testing a brand-new product before investing in a website - You need traffic on day one and have no following or budget for ads - Your customers are explicitly marketplace-native and refuse to check out elsewhere

For these cases, run a marketplace listing as a secondary channel -- not your only one.

Most successful Thai sellers in 2026 run BOTH:

1. Marketplace for discovery -- low-margin SKUs to attract first-time buyers from the marketplace audience 2. Own website for profit -- premium products, bundles, and repeat-customer offers where you keep 95%+ of revenue 3. Cross-promote in packaging -- include a thank-you card with your website URL and a discount code (e.g. WEB10) for the next order

Rukter syncs orders from third-party marketplace channels into your dashboard so inventory stays consistent across all surfaces.

If you already sell on a marketplace, here is how to start moving customers without violating platform rules:

1. Print a small thank-you card with QR code linking to your website (most marketplaces allow physical inserts) 2. Offer 10-15% off the second order, redeemable only on your site 3. Include care/usage instructions on the card -- adds value beyond the receipt 4. In your marketplace bio, mention your brand name (do not paste a URL -- many marketplaces auto-flag those) 5. Search Google for your brand name -- buyers who liked your product will look you up

Expect 5-15% of marketplace buyers to convert to direct customers within 6 months. That is your moat.

A marketplace is rented land. Your website is owned land. Renting is fine while you build, but every long-term ecommerce business in Southeast Asia eventually moves the majority of its revenue to direct channels.

If you sell more than 30,000 baht/month, marketplace fees alone justify a website within 2-3 months. If you sell less, start your website now anyway -- SEO and brand take 6-12 months to compound, so the earlier you plant, the earlier you harvest.