Seller worksheet

Marketplace Channel Comparison Worksheet

Use this worksheet before moving a product into another channel. It helps sellers compare contribution margin, traffic model and operational complexity.

Worksheet

Worked example

A product may earn stronger contribution profit on Shopify but sell faster on TikTok Shop. That does not mean one channel is always better. The seller should decide whether the current goal is cash recovery, demand discovery, customer data or scalable profit.

How to use this in a review

Use this worksheet with real numbers from your seller dashboard, payment reports, supplier invoices and campaign data. If a number is not yet known, use a conservative estimate and label it clearly. Unknown costs should be investigated, not ignored. The worksheet is most useful when it becomes part of a repeatable decision habit instead of a one-time calculation.

After completing the rows, write a clear next action. A good action may be to test a smaller coupon, improve product images, reduce bids, delay a reorder, request a better supplier quote or pause scaling until more orders arrive. Avoid vague actions like "monitor performance" unless you also define the metric, threshold and review date.

Quality check

Before acting, ask whether the result depends on optimistic assumptions. If the product only works with low return rate, cheap traffic, perfect fulfillment and a high conversion rate, it is not yet a strong product. Build a stress case with worse inputs and decide whether the product still deserves money, time or inventory.

Related resources

How to turn this page into an operating habit

Do not use this resource only once. The value comes from repeating the same review after new information arrives. Start by recording the current assumption, the source of the number and the date it was checked. Then decide which number is most likely to change the conclusion. For Marketplace Channel Comparison Worksheet, the most important lens is usually channel economics. That means the seller should review fee structure, fulfillment method, traffic source, return behavior and operational complexity before treating the result as reliable.

A product can be profitable on Shopify but weaker on Amazon if the FBA and PPC cost structure removes the margin buffer. A good review does not need to be complicated. It needs to be consistent. Use the same rows, the same definitions and the same decision threshold each time. When the product changes, update the assumptions rather than starting from memory.

Seller review notes

The next practical step is to create separate channel scenarios instead of using one blended margin target. Write down the answer in a short note: continue testing, improve the offer, reduce spend, adjust price, delay inventory or pause the product. This written decision matters because ecommerce dashboards can change quickly. Without a note, it is easy to forget why a product was approved or rejected.

If several people work on the same store, use the note as a shared decision record. The operator, media buyer and sourcing person should be able to see the same assumptions. That makes the resource more useful than a private calculation because it turns numbers into a team workflow.

Questions to answer before acting

• Which input is estimated rather than confirmed by real store data?
• What happens if acquisition cost is 20% higher than expected?
• What happens if returns, refunds or shipping cost increase?
• Is the decision based on one product, one campaign or enough data to be trusted?
• What specific action will be taken if the result is below target?