Amazon vs TikTok Shop vs Temu vs Shopify: Where Should You Sell in 2026?

Choosing where to sell is not really a choice between websites. It's a choice about who sets your price, who holds your stock, who brings you customers, and who runs your logistics. Amazon, TikTok Shop, Temu, and your own Shopify or WooCommerce store answer those four questions very differently, and the right answer depends more on your product and your cash than on which platform is growing fastest this year.

Quick answer

• Amazon FBA suits products people already search for. You set the price, Amazon stores and ships your stock, and you pay for that in fees and strict inbound rules.
• TikTok Shop suits products you can demonstrate in a short video. Demand comes from creators and arrives in spikes, so fast replenishment matters more than anywhere else.
• Temu suits low-cost, high-volume products. Fully managed is easy but Temu sets the price; semi-managed gives you control but makes logistics your job.
• Your own store (Shopify or WooCommerce) gives you the brand, the customer data, and the best possible margin, but you have to buy every visitor and run the whole supply chain.

How each channel works

Amazon FBA: search demand, strict operations

On Amazon, buyers arrive with intent: they search for a product and compare listings. You set your own price and send inventory into Amazon's fulfillment network, which picks, packs, ships, and handles returns. In exchange you pay referral fees, fulfillment fees, storage fees, and, depending on how you ship in, inbound placement fees.

Operationally Amazon is the strictest channel. Since January 1, 2026 Amazon no longer preps or labels inventory in US fulfillment centers, so every unit must arrive with the right barcode, packaging, and carton labels. That's very manageable when prep happens at the factory. Our guide to prepping FBA inventory in China explains how.

TikTok Shop: discovery demand, campaign spikes

TikTok Shop sells through content. Buyers weren't looking for your product until a creator showed it to them. That makes TikTok Shop powerful for products that are visual, demonstrable, or a little surprising, and hard for products that need a long explanation.

The logistics challenge is timing. A single creator video can sell a month of stock in a weekend, so sellers need base stock moving by sea and a fast lane for top-ups. Inventory can go into Fulfilled by TikTok or be shipped from your own warehouse.

Temu: price-driven, two operating models

Temu is built around low prices. In the fully managed model you supply goods to Temu's warehouse in China at an agreed supply price, and Temu sets the retail price and handles logistics. In the semi-managed model you keep inventory in the destination country, set your own price, and fulfill orders yourself. We compare both in Temu fully managed vs semi-managed.

Shopify or WooCommerce: your brand, your traffic

Your own store is the only channel where you own the customer relationship. You keep the data, control the brand, and avoid marketplace referral fees, but there's no built-in traffic. Every visitor comes from ads, content, email, or social media you pay for or build yourself.

Logistics is entirely yours too. Shopify and WooCommerce run the storefront; they don't touch freight, customs, or warehousing. Since the US ended duty-free de minimis entry, most growing stores have moved from per-parcel shipping from China to bulk freight into a domestic 3PL.

Five questions that decide it

1. Does demand already exist in search? If people already type your product into a search bar, Amazon is the natural first channel.
2. Can you show the product's value in 15 seconds of video? If yes, TikTok Shop can create demand that doesn't exist yet.
3. What's your price point and gross margin? Very low price points with thin margins fit Temu's model. Premium products fit Amazon or your own store.
4. How much cash can you tie up in inventory? Amazon and semi-managed Temu need stock in the destination country before you sell. Dropshipping from your own store needs the least cash, but has the weakest unit economics.
5. Do you want to build a brand you own? If yes, plan for your own store eventually, even if you start on a marketplace.

Start with one channel, build for several

Most successful sellers start on one marketplace, prove the product, then add channels. The mistake is building a supply chain that only works for the first one. If your stock lives inside one platform's logistics program, adding a second channel means building a second supply chain.

Platforms change. Your product, your suppliers, and your supply chain from China are the assets that move with you from channel to channel.

Whatever you choose, the same three things decide whether your first year works: a verified supplier, goods inspected before you pay the balance, and a freight plan that gets stock in on time. The first-shipment guide walks through all three, and our marketplace seller playbooks show how the flow differs per channel.