TikTok Shop, Amazon or Etsy: choosing your first UK sales channel
If you have decided to build an e-commerce side income, the first real decision is not what to sell. It is where to sell it. TikTok Shop, Amazon, and Etsy are three of the most popular UK channels, and they are not simply different websites. They are different business models, with different buyers, different economics, and different demands on your time.
Choosing the wrong one for your product and your life is one of the most common early mistakes. This guide compares the three on the things that actually decide profit and sustainability for a busy professional, so you can pick the channel that fits, rather than the one that is loudest.
The core point
The channel is not the business. It is a distribution choice, and each one suits a different product, buyer, and way of working.
TikTok Shop rewards content and discovery. Amazon rewards search and logistics. Etsy rewards distinctive, handmade, and digital goods. Match the channel to what you sell and how you want to work.
What this article covers
The three channels at a glance
| TikTok Shop | Amazon | Etsy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline fee | Around 9% commission | Referral typically 8% to 15% | 6.5% plus payment and listing fees |
| How buyers find you | Video and live, discovery | Search, high intent | Search within a niche marketplace |
| Best suited to | Visual, impulse, trend-led products | Everyday products at scale | Handmade, vintage, digital goods |
| Typical startup cost | Low | Higher, often £1,500 to £2,000 | Low |
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TikTok Shop is built into the app, so buyers can discover, explore, and purchase without leaving the feed they are already watching. Its headline seller commission sits at around 9%, and its real strength is distribution: the algorithm can put a product in front of large audiences through video and live shopping, without you paying for reach up front.
That is also its demand. TikTok Shop rewards content, and it suits products that are visual, impulsive, and trend-led. If you enjoy making short video, or can partner with creators who do, it can move stock quickly. If you have no appetite for content, its main advantage is harder to unlock. A fulfilment service is available for sellers who would rather not pack orders themselves.
Amazon, search and scale
Amazon is a search engine for buying. People arrive already intending to purchase, which means less persuasion and more competition. Referral fees typically run from about 8% to 15% depending on the category, and most serious sellers use Fulfilment by Amazon, which handles storage, picking, packing, and delivery for a per-unit fee.
The trade-off is capital and rigour. Beginners commonly need somewhere around £1,500 to £2,000 to source a first product, cover launch costs, and hold working capital to reorder. In return you get access to an enormous buyer base and a logistics network you could never build yourself. It rewards research, unit-economics discipline, and patience, and it punishes guesswork.
"Pick the channel that matches how you want to work. If making video drains you, TikTok is the wrong home. If holding stock scares you, Amazon is not the place to start."
Etsy, distinctive and handmade
Etsy is a niche marketplace for handmade, vintage, and digital goods, with buyers who come looking for something distinctive rather than the cheapest option. Startup cost is low, which makes it accessible, but its fees stack in a way sellers often underestimate.
Etsy UK fees, stacked per sale
Add a small regulatory operating fee, VAT charged on Etsy's own fees, and optional or mandatory advertising fees, and many sellers find that a meaningful share of each sale goes to the platform before any product cost. None of this makes Etsy a poor choice, but it does mean you must price with the full fee stack in mind, not just the headline 6.5%.
Which one fits you
Choose TikTok Shop if
You can create or commission short video, and your product is visual and impulse-friendly. You want reach without paying for it up front.
Choose Amazon if
You have startup capital, an appetite for research, and a product with steady demand. You want scale and logistics handled for you.
Choose Etsy if
You make something handmade, vintage, or digital, and you want a low-cost start with a buyer base that values the distinctive.
A final point worth making: these are not mutually exclusive forever. Many established sellers run two or three channels in parallel, using each for what it does best. But at the start, focus beats breadth. Pick the one channel that fits your product, your budget, and the way you want to spend your evenings, and learn it properly before you add another.
Not sure which channel suits your product and life?
Take the short assessment. Answer a few questions about what you want to sell and how you want to work, and get a personalised path plus the resources to start today.
Take the assessment →The tax point that applies to all three
Whichever channel you choose, the tax treatment is the same, because HMRC cares about your income, not your platform. Once your gross trading income passes the £1,000 trading allowance, you need to declare it, and the platforms now report seller data to HMRC directly. Keep clean records from your first sale, whichever channel you are on, and set aside tax as you earn.
This is general information rather than tax advice, and platform fees and rules change often, so confirm the current fee schedules on each platform and your tax position on GOV.UK before you commit. But the strategic point stands: choose the channel that fits what you sell and how you want to work, then give it your full focus.
Build first. Leave second. Choose third. Start with the assessment →