I've been researching this very thing on and off for the past couple of months. Not an exhaustive pros and cons list but here is what I've found.
Wix vs Squarespace vs Shopify vs WordPress
I'm sure Wix and Squarespace work fine for some purposes but I read a bunch of reviews and I wasn't really sold. They seem very much form over function and their flashiness hides problems. Then due to proprietary management, there is potential for problems should you wish to move on if they can't offer what you need any longer/issues with hosting. Though I suppose the same can be said for Shopify but Shopify seems considerably more scalable with less hidden costs too and just generally better. Issues with Wix mobile site scaling seemed to come up quite a bit too.
WordPress is the ultimate goal it seems for e-commerce but requires a significant amount of time/knowledge or funds as you need the WordPress specific hosting (ideally), payment plugins etc. A bit too advanced for my needs.
Etsy store vs own store. I primarily looked at a Shopify store so will use this. There are other alternatives but ultimately quite similar in most regards
Etsy pros
- Quick setup. This is a big draw for most people. Just register. Put in a small amount of work of writing descriptions and uploading photos and you're good to go as all the infrastructure is in place
- Exposure. This probably won't effect someone selling 3D printed airsoft accessories but as Etsy gets a lot of general traffic people can stumble on your store whereas perhaps if it wasn't on Etsy, they would have to be looking for it. Let's face it, the average person scrolling through Etsy probably isn't your target demographic so competition/being seen is largely irrelevant
- Fees are not too bad for low volume selling
Etsy cons
- The fees are notable once you hit a certain sales figure. Better than ebay but you're paying for the privilege of using their system and everything that goes along with it.
- Limited template to sell your things. For instance, I don't believe you can use videos
- Similar to the previous point, you don't have a lot of control of the look and feel of your brand. Perhaps more important for some people than others
Shopify pros
- More professional looking having your own site
- More control, extra sub categories etc as Etsy can be a bit limited
- Cheaper once you hit a certain amount of sales
Shopify cons
- Monthly subscriptions start at $29 (lite plan excluded). So that's a monthly drain on funds even if you're selling nothing. Though this is countered by their low payment processing if you're selling enough stuff and no transaction fees if using Shopify payments
- Depending on your skills, it could require further costs e.g. web design fees or adding apps for additional features (though I've not looked into apps so I don't know costs/considered necessary)
- Requires effort to get traffic. Pay for ads, word of mouth, social media posts, FB ads etc though as mentioned, this will probably be the case for selling niche 3D printed stuff on Etsy too
Imo, you're best off starting on Etsy, getting some sales, establishing a brand etc and then start your own web store. Over time you can funnel the majority of your buyers to your Shopify store and just leave the Etsy one running with minimal/zero upkeep.
That is unless you already have a massive social media following on IG or whatever that are itching to buy your products in which case I suppose you could jump straight to a Shopify store.
