How to Price Products Across
Multiple Platforms

Why the same price doesn't work everywhere

Most new multichannel sellers make the same mistake: they list their product at $40 everywhere and assume that means they're making the same amount on every platform. They're not.

Platform fees vary wildly. A $40 sale on Etsy leaves you with a different amount than a $40 sale on Amazon, which leaves you with a different amount than a $40 sale on your own Shopify store. The difference can be $8 or more on a single transaction. Multiply that across hundreds of orders per month and you've handed thousands of dollars to platforms you didn't account for.

There's also the question of customer expectations. Etsy buyers expect handmade goods to be priced at a premium. Amazon buyers comparison-shop ruthlessly and punish prices that look out of line. Shopify customers are already on your branded store and have opted into a more direct relationship. Each context supports a different pricing approach.

Good multichannel pricing isn't about picking one number and stamping it everywhere. It's about understanding your true cost per channel and pricing from the bottom up.

Platform fee breakdown: Etsy, Amazon, Shopify, eBay

Here are the fees that actually affect your net revenue per sale. Memorize these or bookmark this page -- you'll need them every time you set a price.

Etsy fees

• Listing fee: $0.20 per listing, renewed every 4 months (or when it sells)
• Transaction fee: 6.5% of the sale price including shipping
• Payment processing: 3% + $0.25 per transaction (Etsy Payments)
• Offsite Ads: 12-15% if you're opted in and the buyer came from an ad (not avoidable for most sellers)

On a $40 sale with $5 shipping, your fees are approximately: $0.20 + $2.93 (6.5%) + $1.50 (3%) + $0.25 = $4.88 in base fees, before cost of goods or shipping costs.

Amazon fees

• Referral fee: 8-15% depending on category (most categories are 15%)
• FBA fees: $3.22 to $6.16+ per unit for fulfillment (if using FBA)
• Monthly storage: $0.87 per cubic foot (January-September), $2.40 (October-December)
• Professional selling plan: $39.99/month flat (required for most sellers)

Amazon's fees are the highest of any major platform. A $40 item in most categories costs you $6+ just in referral fees before any fulfillment costs.

Shopify fees

• Monthly plan: $39/month (Basic), $105/month (Shopify), $399/month (Advanced)
• Transaction fee (Shopify Payments): 2.9% + $0.30 (Basic); 2.6% + $0.30 (Shopify plan)
• Third-party processor fee: 2% extra if you don't use Shopify Payments
• No per-listing fees, no referral fees

Shopify is the lowest-fee option if you're generating enough volume to offset the monthly plan cost. At Basic ($39/month), you need about 20 orders per month at $40 each just to break even on the plan fee.

eBay fees

• Insertion fee: Free for the first 250 listings per month, then $0.35 each
• Final value fee: 13.25% for most categories (capped at $750)
• Payment processing: Included in final value fee since eBay Managed Payments

These are simplified figures. Your actual net depends on your specific category, shipping charges, return rates, and whether you're running ads. But this table shows the directional reality: Shopify keeps the most per transaction; Amazon keeps the least.

The margin formula every multichannel seller needs

Before you can price correctly, you need to know your floor price on each channel. The floor price is the minimum you can charge without losing money. Work backwards from there.

The formula

Let's walk through a real example. You make a ceramic mug. Your costs:

• Cost of goods (COGS): $8.00 (clay, glaze, kiln time, packaging)
• Shipping cost: $6.00 (USPS Priority, includes supplies)
• Overhead allocation: $1.50 (your share of platform plan fees, tools, etc.)
• Desired margin: 40%

On Etsy, the transaction fee is roughly 9.5% (6.5% + 3%). Your floor price calculation:

On Amazon with 15% referral, your floor price is higher:

If you price your mug at $28 everywhere, you're making your target margin on Etsy but bleeding money on Amazon. This is the hidden math that kills multichannel businesses.

Build a simple spreadsheet with your COGS and run this formula for each platform. Update it quarterly when platform fees change. For pricing in context with the rest of your product data, see our guide to managing listings across platforms.

Static vs dynamic pricing across channels

Once you know your floor prices, you have two strategic options: set prices once and leave them (static), or adjust them continuously in response to competition and demand (dynamic).

Static pricing

You set a price per channel, verify it covers your margin, and move on. You revisit prices quarterly or when your costs change. This works well for:

• Handmade or unique items where there's no direct competitor to track
• Low-volume sellers who can't justify the time investment of price management
• Sellers with strong brand loyalty where price isn't the primary buying trigger

Dynamic pricing

You use tools or rules to adjust prices automatically based on competitor prices, inventory levels, or demand signals. This is common on Amazon, where the buy box is directly tied to price competitiveness. Dynamic pricing works well for:

• Commodity or branded products where direct competitors sell the same item
• High-volume sellers where a 2% price improvement compounds significantly
• Sellers on Amazon where winning the buy box is critical

For most small and mid-size multichannel sellers, static pricing with periodic reviews is the right call. Dynamic pricing tools add complexity and cost, and they're most valuable in commodity categories where you're fighting over the same item as 50 other sellers.

When to charge different prices per platform

You're allowed to charge different prices on different platforms. Most sellers don't realize this or feel uncomfortable doing it. But it's both legal and smart in certain situations.

When different prices make sense

• Fee differences justify it: If Amazon charges 15% and Etsy charges 9.5%, charging the same price means you're subsidizing Amazon buyers with margin you don't have. Price Amazon 5-8% higher to account for the fee gap.
• Audience expectations differ: Etsy buyers expect a premium for handmade goods. Amazon buyers expect competitive pricing. You can often charge 10-20% more on Etsy for the same item without affecting conversion.
• Fulfillment costs vary: If you ship yourself from Shopify but use FBA on Amazon (which adds $4-6 in fulfillment costs per unit), your Amazon prices must be higher to preserve margin.
• Testing new markets: When entering a new platform, starting at a slightly higher price gives you room to run promotions or match competition without going below floor.

When to keep prices consistent

• When your customers actively compare prices across your channels (this is rare but happens with established brands)
• When platform rules prohibit price differences (Amazon has rules about this in certain categories)
• When managing price differences adds more operational complexity than the margin improvement justifies

Check Amazon's fair pricing policy before pricing significantly higher there -- they can suppress listings they determine are priced unfairly relative to other channels. In practice, this is triggered by extreme differences, not the modest adjustments described above.

Pricing mistakes that kill margins

Frequently asked questions

For more on understanding your actual profitability per channel, see our guide on how to calculate profit margins across channels. For a broader overview of selling on multiple platforms, see the complete guide to selling on multiple platforms.