For this webinar, we looked at how marketplace selling works and what sellers should consider when choosing where to offer their products. Amazon, Etsy, Wayfair, and Walmart each attract different shoppers, so understanding those differences can help print-on-demand businesses decide where their products are most likely to fit.
In simple terms, a marketplace lets you sell through an established platform, while ecommerce can also involve running your own standalone store. Many online businesses use print-on-demand dropshipping to sell through marketplaces and their own websites without keeping large amounts of finished inventory.
As marketplace trends continue to change, the important thing is not simply being present on every platform. Sellers need to understand the audience, costs, listing requirements, and fulfillment expectations of each marketplace before expanding.
Watch the original discussion here: Amazon, Etsy, Wayfair and Walmart Trends for the New Year – Lumaprints Learning Series 27.
If you like reading more than watching, we’ve got you. Read on for the main points. You can also jump to any topic from the list below.
Understanding Marketplaces
Before diving into the specifics, let’s briefly look at what makes each marketplace different:
- Amazon: One of the broadest ecommerce marketplaces, with products covering almost every major category. That reach can be useful for sellers, but it also means there is plenty of competition.
- Etsy: A marketplace with a strong focus on creative, original, handmade, vintage, and personalized products. It can be particularly relevant for artists and designers with a clear style.
- Wayfair: Specializes in furniture, furnishings, and home décor, making it a natural marketplace to consider for wall art and other products designed for interior spaces.
- Walmart: A major retailer with an established online marketplace for approved third-party sellers.
One thing worth remembering when following marketplace trends is that a product may need a different approach depending on where it is listed. Customers on Etsy may respond differently to a wall art listing than customers browsing Amazon or Wayfair.
Amazon: A Seller’s Paradise
Let’s start with Amazon. Its large customer base gives independent sellers plenty of opportunities, but customers can also compare similar products quickly. Clear listings, accurate information, strong images, and realistic pricing all matter.
- Third-Party Sellers: Independent businesses can sell through Amazon using their own fulfillment setup or other available fulfillment options. For POD sellers, it is worth making sure production and shipping can keep up before increasing order volume.
- Selling Plans: Amazon currently offers Individual and Professional selling plans, along with referral fees that vary by product category. Sellers should review the latest Amazon selling plans and pricing before setting their margins. (Sell on Amazon)
- Bestselling Categories: What sells well can change over time. Instead of assuming one type of artwork or design will always perform best, test a smaller group of products and watch which designs, sizes, and price points customers respond to.
Etsy: Crafting Success in a Niche Market
Etsy stands apart because many shoppers visit the platform specifically looking for products that feel creative, personal, or different from mass-market items. That can make it a useful marketplace for artists selling their own original designs.
- Community-Centric: Etsy’s creative focus can work well for original wall art, personalized prints, and products built around a recognizable artistic style.
- Listing Costs: Etsy uses listing and transaction fees, along with other possible seller costs depending on the services used. Sellers should include these expenses when calculating the final price of a print. (Etsy Help)
- Trending Genres: Design trends change, so avoid building an entire shop around a temporary style. Testing a few pieces within a theme can help you see what people actually click, favorite, or purchase before you expand the collection.
Print-on-demand is allowed on Etsy when a production partner is producing the seller’s original design or a buyer-customized item. Sellers using qualifying production partners are also expected to disclose them. (Etsy Help)
That is an important part of selling on online marketplaces. Platform rules can change, so it is worth reviewing them whenever you change a supplier or introduce another type of product.
Wayfair: Redefining Home Shopping Experiences
As a destination for furniture and home décor, Wayfair gives wall art sellers a different type of shopping environment. Customers are already thinking about the rooms they are decorating, so size, color, placement, and presentation can matter just as much as the artwork itself.
- Approval Process: Wayfair requires potential partners to provide business information, product content, and other details as part of its onboarding process. (Sell With Wayfair)
- Pricing: Pricing should take production, fulfillment, marketplace requirements, and your own margins into account. It is better to work from your actual costs rather than simply copying prices from competing listings.
- Targeted Marketing: Wayfair offers advertising tools, including pay-per-click options, that partners can use to promote products to shoppers on the platform. (Sell With Wayfair)
For wall art in particular, realistic room mockups can help customers understand scale. A print may look great on its own, but shoppers often want to picture how it will look above a sofa, bed, or desk before they order.
Walmart: Bridging the Gap Between Retail and Online
Walmart Marketplace gives approved third-party sellers another way to reach people who are already familiar with the Walmart brand. For print-on-demand businesses, however, getting a product listed is only one part of the process.
- Vetting Process: Walmart verifies businesses as part of its marketplace onboarding process, so sellers should be ready to provide accurate business and catalog information.
- Commission-Based Model: Walmart Marketplace does not charge a standard setup or monthly marketplace fee. Instead, sellers generally pay referral fees when products sell, with the percentage depending on the category and product type. (Walmart Marketplace)
- Marketplace Growth: A larger sales channel can create more opportunities, but it can also put more pressure on production and fulfillment. POD sellers should make sure they can print, pack, and ship orders reliably before increasing their catalog or sales volume.
Choose the Marketplace That Fits Your Business
Following marketplace trends does not mean you need to put your products on every marketplace at once. In many cases, it makes more sense to begin with the platform that best matches your artwork and audience.
If Etsy is bringing the right customers, improve your Etsy listings before adding another channel. If Amazon is producing consistent orders, look at the designs and sizes that are already working. The same approach can be used with Wayfair and Walmart.
When selling on online marketplaces, each new platform brings another set of listings, policies, fees, customers, and orders to manage. Expanding is much easier when your current sales channel and fulfillment process are already running smoothly.
For a print-on-demand wall art business, the marketplace may bring the customer to your listing, but the finished print is what they will remember. Reliable production, careful packaging, and dependable fulfillment are still a big part of the overall customer experience.
Want to hear the original discussion? Watch Amazon, Etsy, Wayfair and Walmart Trends for the New Year – Lumaprints Learning Series 27.
All previous and upcoming webinar videos are available on our YouTube channel: Lumaprints YouTube Channel.
