Want to build a website like Amazon? You’ll need a marketplace website that converts! Let's look at some of the most popular marketplaces: marketplaces like Amazon are some of the most highly visited websites in the world.
Throughout this Yclas blog series, ‘How to Build a Website Like Amazon,’ we will guide you through the steps to launch your marketplace website.
We will start with what marketplace websites are (including their types and range of functionality and features), idea creation, business models (revenue streams), monetization, and finally, going live.
Over the course of this blog series, ‘How to Build a Website Like Amazon,’ we are going to guide you through the steps to launch a marketplace.
First, let's get started with some fundamentals. If you want to skip the basics, keep scrolling for more information and links to other blogs in the series.
In short
- Amazon.com is still the top marketplace with about 2.6 billion visits in September 2026, and Temu is now second, so compete on conversion in a niche, not on traffic.
- About 70% of online carts are abandoned. The top reason is extra costs (40%), so show the full price, including fees, on the listing page.
- Before building, narrow your target customer and test the idea cheaply by talking to potential users and researching competitors and their prices.
- Keep it free or cheap for the side you need more of. Amazon waives fees for new sellers and eBay UK charges private sellers no final value fee.
- Only charge a commission when the payment passes through you. Otherwise charge for featured listings, paid categories or seller memberships, and mix models as you grow.
Part of the guide Starting a marketplace
What is an Online Marketplace or Classified Website?
Marketplace and classified websites can work in similar ways. They provide an easy-to-use platform for users to buy and sell their items. Users can access services and products from virtually any device.
While Amazon is a ‘prime’ example, there are many other smaller-scale ventures, such as real estate websites, online job boards, car dealership listings, etc.
What Types of Online Marketplaces Exist (Other Than Amazon)?
Marketplace builder software allows you to build peer-to-peer (P2P) websites. On a P2P website, you can provide a marketplace platform for both buyers and sellers to use your services rather than focusing your efforts on directly selling to businesses or customers.
These P2P marketplaces rely on the “network effect” to grow their business.
On P2P sites, you provide a platform for both buyers and sellers to use your services rather than only selling to businesses or customers.
For example, P2P sites (like Airbnb, Etsy, Amazon, and eBay) offer features that ensure sellers can set up their inventory easily while providing safe and efficient buyer check-out systems.
Their value resides in providing an efficient and trustworthy platform.
What is the Easiest Way to Build a Marketplace Website?
The easiest way to build a marketplace website is with marketplace builder software.
In a nutshell, if you do not have experience in website building (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, etc.), a marketplace website builder will save you:
- Time
- Money
- Frustrations (that come with trying to work out what line of code is stopping your whole website from loading)!
Marketplace website builders do not necessarily require previous website building, marketplace, or coding experience.
Marketplace website builders do not require any previous website building, marketplace, or coding experience.
Amazon-Style Marketplaces in 2026: Who Gets the Traffic and What Stops Buyers Converting
The chart at the top of this article uses 2021 data. The market has changed since then. In Similarweb's worldwide marketplace ranking for September 2026 (updated October 1, 2026), amazon.com is still #1, but temu.com, which isn't on the 2021 chart, is #2. They are followed by ebay.com, ozon.ru, walmart.com, aliexpress.com, amazon.in, amazon.co.jp, etsy.com and amazon.de.
| Marketplace | Est. visits, September 2026 | Global rank (all sites) |
|---|---|---|
| amazon.com | 2.6 billion | #9 |
| temu.com | 1.1 billion | #30 |
| ebay.com | 626.3 million | #43 |
| etsy.com | 458.6 million | #63 |
Source: Similarweb estimates for September 2026, taken from each site's free Similarweb page.
Online shopping keeps growing: the U.S. Census Bureau's quarterly e-commerce report (released August 18, 2026) puts Q2 2026 e-commerce at $340.2 billion, 17.1% of all U.S. retail sales. You can't compete with Amazon on traffic. You can compete on how well a focused marketplace turns visitors into contacts and sales.
Why buyers leave before converting
Baymard Institute's cart abandonment research (updated September 22, 2025) puts the documented average online cart abandonment rate at 70.22%, based on 50 studies. Its survey of reasons for abandoning during checkout, excluding people who were only browsing, points directly at fixes:
| Reason buyers gave (Baymard) | Share | What to do on your marketplace |
|---|---|---|
| Extra costs too high (shipping, tax, fees) | 40% | Show the full price, including any buyer fees, on the listing page. Don't add costs at the last step |
| Delivery was too slow | 20% | Ask sellers to state delivery or pickup times in each listing, and offer local pickup where it makes sense |
| Didn't trust the site with card details | 19% | Use well-known payment providers, show clear contact details, and display seller ratings or verification |
| Site wanted me to create an account | 18% | Let visitors browse and contact sellers with as little sign-up friction as possible |
| Checkout too long or complicated | 17% | Keep the steps from listing to payment or contact as few as possible |
| Unsatisfactory returns policy | 13% | Publish a simple buyer-protection or returns page and link it from every listing |
Amazon became the leader by removing friction at every one of these steps. A niche marketplace can do the same for a much smaller audience, and that is where it can beat a general site.
Template
Refund and returns policy for a marketplace
Use this if buyers pay through your marketplace; set your own time limits and who pays return postage, and remove the parts about fees if you do not charge them.
A starting point, not legal advice: have it checked for your country. More free tools →
Want to Start a Marketplace? Not Sure What to Offer?
If you don’t have an idea for your marketplace yet, start here:
- Examine your local neighborhood to see what physical marketplaces exist
- What problems/challenges can you see that could be solved online?
- Are there gaps in the niche industry that you might already be familiar with?
- Can you improve on existing solutions (if any exist)?
Let’s look at some of the original ideas behind some of the world’s biggest marketplaces.
A ‘Prime’ Story – Online Bookstore to Online ‘Everything’ Store
The Amazon story started in 1994 when Jeff Bezos left his job to start an online bookstore from his garage. Bezos did not know he wanted to sell books initially.
After he did some market research, he noticed a gap in the market and saw an opportunity to offer consumers alternatives to brick-and-mortar bookshops.
Bezos did not know he wanted to sell books initially.
In 1998, Amazon started selling CDs and VHS tapes. 1999 ushered in a suite of new product categories, and you might say the rest is history.
The company started growing when he leveraged his knowledge to transform his website into a marketplace for others to sell their products.
What has made Amazon stand out is its passionate focus on being one of the easiest platforms to shop on, and then leveraging this for others.
In many ways, that should be your goal when you create a marketplace.
You want to be passionate about creating a community and platform for your niche that encompasses their shopping needs.
You want to be passionate about creating a community and platform for your niche that encompasses their shopping needs.
Use Other Marketplace Websites for Inspiration When Generating Ideas
eBay started in 1995 as AuctionWeb, a side project of founder Pierre Omidyar (the popular story that it began as a way to trade Pez dispensers was invented by a PR manager in 1997). Etsy was established to provide a way for creatives to sell their hand-made wares.
Upwork was the result of a merger of two freelance websites. With a fresh marketing approach and updates to functionality and features, Upwork attracted employers and freelancers worldwide.
Starting a marketplace is often a journey to find where your platform adds the most value. Where these marketplaces started isn't always where they ended up.
Another way to be inspired can be to grab a copy of your local paper and check out the classifieds.
The classified papers will have listings that have been turned into niche marketplaces like job listings, local real estate, services, accommodation, events, news and more.
Most online marketplaces are digitalized versions of the traditional classifieds we used to only find in the paper.
Airbnb Solved a Local Problem
Housemates and designers Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk, and Joe Gebbia offered local visitors a couple of airbeds and a home-cooked breakfast.
What prompted them to do this? All the local hotels were booked solid due to an overwhelming amount of people attending the Industrial Design conference.
Before the lads knew it, their ‘AirBed and Breakfast’ was booked out. It was only then that their vision for a marketplace started.
From Idea to Revenue: Testing Your Idea, Choosing Features and Pricing Like the Big Marketplaces
This page also replaces our older post on designing and building a global marketplace like Amazon, which covered the next decisions after the idea: testing your market, choosing features and deciding how to make money.
Test the idea before you build
Start by narrowing your target market. "Anyone with internet access and money" worked for Amazon's everything store, but it is far too broad for a new marketplace. Ask who your ideal customer is: their age and work, where they live, what they do in their spare time, what motivates them and what frustrates them in daily life.
Template
Customer interview script for marketplace research
Use it for 20 to 30 minute conversations with possible sellers or buyers before you build or change your marketplace; swap the examples in brackets for your niche.
Compliments about your idea are not evidence; a past problem they spent money or time on is. More free tools →
- A test user group shows how the idea is received before you commit a lot of money, gives regular feedback and lets you experiment with pricing. It can also be expensive and time-consuming, and often delays the launch.
- On a budget, talk to people. If your idea makes life easier for hairdressers, visit a few salons and chat with the staff. You test the idea and build a network of future users at the same time.
- Research online: who your competitors would be, which similar products exist, and a matrix of competitor pricing that balances the value you offer with profitability. Social media is a free way to learn about your audience.
Choose features from the buyer's journey
Picture the path a customer takes from arriving to buying, and you will see which features they need. A buy-and-sell marketplace like eBay or Amazon needs listing and purchasing for every user. A location-based marketplace like Airbnb needs sellers to add their location and buyers to search by location. If money changes hands on your site, security, easy search and a secure checkout come first.
What big marketplaces charge in 2026
The large marketplaces have all changed their fees in recent years, and the changes follow one pattern: keep it cheap or free for the side you need more of, and earn from the side that gets the most value.
| Marketplace | Model (as published by the company) | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Individual plan $0.99 per item sold, or Professional plan $39.99/month, plus a referral fee of 5% to 45% depending on the category, 8-15% in most categories. New sellers can get over $50,000 in automatic referral-fee waivers in their first year. | A subscription for serious sellers plus a commission. Even Amazon pays new sellers to join. |
| eBay UK (help page updated 30 Sept 2026) | UK private sellers pay no final value fee and no regulatory operating fee (vehicles excluded). They get 300 free listings a month, then 35p per listing. Optional upgrades and an eBay Shop (£19.99/month) are paid. | To win back casual sellers, eBay stopped charging them commission and earns from upgrades, shops and business sellers instead. |
| eBay Australia | Pro sellers pay a final value fee on the total the buyer paid, plus a per-order fee. Every seller gets 250,000 free listings a month. Promoted listings are charged per click or per sale. | Advertising is now a second revenue line alongside commission. |
| Airbnb | Phasing out the old split fee (3% for the host plus 14.1-16.5% for the guest) for one host-only service fee, 15.5% for most hosts. Services typically pay 15% and Experiences 20%. | A commission works because Airbnb takes the payment and so controls the transaction. |
Three pricing rules to take from this
- Only charge a commission where the money passes through you. In a classifieds-style marketplace, buyer and seller often settle offline, so a commission is easy to avoid. There, charge for visibility (featured listings, bumping a listing back to the top), for posting in high-value categories, or for monthly seller memberships.
- Subsidize supply first. Amazon's fee waivers and eBay's free private selling show that even the biggest players pay to attract sellers. A new marketplace with few listings should make posting free and charge later, the freemium model.
- Mix models as you grow. Every company in the table combines at least two revenue streams, such as subscription plus commission, or free listings plus paid upgrades and ads.
Whatever you charge, take payments through a well-known provider such as PayPal or Stripe. Buyers want to know a reputable company is keeping their details private.
Calculator
Which way of charging earns more for your marketplace?
The same sellers and listings, charged four different ways. Change the numbers to your market: the share who pay is the honest guess that decides it.
Revenue a month for each model on its own. Many marketplaces mix them: free listings with paid promotions is the most common start, because it keeps listings coming in. More free tools →
What’s Next in Your Online Marketplace Journey?
In the next blog in this series, learn to take your ideas to the next step!
• How to choose your online business model.
• Decide how you will generate income.
• Discover the unique features and functionality your website will need for success.
If you want to start immediately, head to the Yclas website for a free trial. With a free trial, you can test out all of the marketplace website builder’s features and functionality for 15 days.
You can start building your website today and adding products and services to your marketplace. You'll get a base website and the ability to create your product and list pages.
Till next time.
References
1. Hayes, A. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Service. Investopedia. 2021.
2. Hartmans, A. Jeff Bezos Originally Wanted to Name Amazon ‘Cadabra,’ and 14 Other Little-Known Facts About the Early Days of the E-Commerce Giant. Business Insider. 2021.
3. Sherman, E. 20 Years of Amazon’s Expansive Evolution. CBS.
4. Wells, S. The Beginnings of eBay. The Balance Small Business. 2019.
5. Majewski, T. A Brief History of Etsy on its 10th Anniversary. Built in NY. 2015.
6. Brier, E & Pearson, R. Upwork’s SVP of Marketing Explains What It Takes To Perfect An Offering That Relies On People. Tech Day. 2022.
7. Keycafe Team. The History of Airbnb. Medium. 2019.
Thinking of starting a buy-and-sell site of your own? See our marketplace website builder, software for a second-hand marketplace and how to start an online marketplace.
