Your own shop website is yours: your prices, your brand and your customers. But millions of people shop on Amazon, eBay and TikTok Shop, and many supplier apps can send your products there too. Before you list anything, it is worth knowing what each marketplace allows and what changes when you sell through one.
Which supplier apps connect to the marketplaces
From each app's own website:
- DSers names eBay, TikTok Shop, Amazon and Walmart, as well as shop websites.
- Avasam names eBay, Amazon, TikTok Shop and OnBuy.
- CJ Dropshipping names TikTok Shop, Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Temu.
- AutoDS names eBay, Amazon, Etsy, TikTok Shop and Facebook Marketplace.
- Spocket names eBay and Amazon, but only on its bigger plans, and says its products must not be sold on some marketplaces, including Etsy.
- Zendrop names TikTok Shop.
What Amazon says
Amazon's UK dropshipping policy says you can use another company to send orders only if it is clear to the customer that you are the seller. You must be the only seller named on the packing slip, the invoice and the outside of the parcel, remove anything that names the supplier, and handle returns yourself. If you don't, Amazon can restrict your selling. Check with your supplier that they can send parcels this way before you list on Amazon.
What eBay says
eBay says dropshipping from a wholesale supplier is allowed, but you are still responsible for the item arriving safely within the time you gave in your listing. What it doesn't allow is listing an item and then buying it from another shop or marketplace to be sent straight to your customer.
Each marketplace takes its own fees
Marketplaces charge their own selling fees, on top of what your supplier and your supplier app cost. Read the fees on the marketplace's own website before you set your price there, because a price that works on your own website may not work on a marketplace.
VAT and HMRC when you sell through a marketplace
gov.uk says that when goods worth £135 or less are sent from abroad and sold through an online marketplace, the marketplace is responsible for the VAT, not you. Our guide to import VAT and customs explains the rules when you sell on your own website instead.
Since January 2024, online marketplaces have had to report details of their sellers to HMRC, including your name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number, and what you sold. gov.uk says you may be reported if you make 30 or more sales, or receive more than about £1,700, in a calendar year, and the marketplace must give you a copy. A report doesn't mean you owe tax, but it does mean HMRC can see your sales. Our guide to setting up as a sole trader explains when you have to tell HMRC yourself.
Your own website first
On a marketplace, the customer belongs to the marketplace, and you compete side by side with every other seller of the same product. On your own website, the customer is yours to come back to. Many sellers use a marketplace to reach more people and their own website to build something of their own.
Compare the supplier apps → Which apps work with your shop? →
