Amazon is similar. Listing your products on there does not lead to sales. So, in addition to the 15% cut, I pay Amazon roughly 5-10% more to advertise my produc

Amazon is similar. Listing your products on there does not lead to sales. So, in addition to the 15% cut, I pay Amazon roughly 5-10% more to advertise my products as sponsored listings. But I can tell you that Amazon has resulted in way more sales than advertising on Goole and sending customers directly to our site. There is tremendous value to being on Amazon. Despite the constant declarations of Amazon having a counterfeit product epidemic, customers are comfortable buying on Amazon. They know that Amazon will have their back if we rip them off. As a result, there are lots of consumers who only buy certain classes of goods from Amazon. And it is Amazon, not me, who has cultivated that relationship. It makes sense that they charge me a significant amount to participate.