One of the biggest decisions in online games retail is where to sell.
Your own website gives you control. Marketplaces give you access to customers. For many independent games businesses, the strongest answer isn't one or the other. It's understanding how to use both.
Selling Through Marketplaces
Established marketplaces already have something extremely valuable: customers.
A buyer looking for a particular game may already be searching there, which means a small independent retailer can put stock in front of a huge audience without first building that audience themselves.
Marketplaces can also provide established payment systems and customer confidence.
But that reach comes at a cost.
There may be listing or selling fees, payment costs, advertising charges and marketplace rules to follow. You're also building your business on somebody else's platform. Policies can change. Fees can change. And your relationship with the customer is influenced by the marketplace.
Selling Through Your Own Website
Your website is different.
You control how your business is presented, how products are organised and how customers experience your brand. You aren't competing with dozens of other sellers on the same product page.
A direct customer can also become a returning customer who remembers your store, not simply the marketplace where they bought the product.
The challenge is traffic. Having a website doesn't mean people will automatically visit it. You need to give customers reasons to find you and reasons to return.
Why Multi-Channel Selling Becomes Complicated
Suppose you own one copy of a rare game. You list it on your website and a marketplace. It sells on your website at 2:01pm. At 2:02pm somebody buys the marketplace listing. You've now sold one game twice.
This is why inventory management and marketplace integrations become so important as a retailer expands. The more places you sell, the more important it becomes to establish which system controls your stock and how quickly quantities are updated elsewhere.
Don't Expand Everywhere at Once
More channels don't automatically mean more profit.
Every additional marketplace can create more listings, messages, orders, returns, fees and administration.
Start with channels you can manage properly. Learn how they work. Measure the results. Then decide whether adding another genuinely benefits the business.
The aim should be: Sell in more places without creating five times the work.
If you're deciding where to sell your first products, explore the Start a Game Store sessions at YourGameStore.
If you're already established and want to connect ecommerce, marketplaces and inventory more effectively, explore the Grow Your Game Store sessions.
YourGameStore — Learn. Build. Grow.