How to Start Selling on Amazon and Walmart From Your BigCommerce Store

You've built a solid BigCommerce store. Orders are coming in, your product catalog is dialed in, and you're starting to wonder: Should I be selling on Amazon too? What about Walmart? The answer for most growing BigCommerce businesses is yes, but how you expand matters as much as whether you expand. Adding a marketplace without the right preparation can create more operational problems than revenue.

The good news is that BigCommerce has native integrations with the three biggest U.S. marketplaces: Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. You don't need to rebuild your catalog or start from scratch on each platform. But "native integration" doesn't mean "plug it in and forget it." There are real decisions to make before you list, and real operational challenges to plan for once orders start flowing from multiple channels.

In this article, we'll walk through what BigCommerce's marketplace connections actually do, what you need to have in place before you go live on a new channel, and how to avoid the most common mistakes that trip up BigCommerce businesses when they go multichannel.

What BigCommerce's Marketplace Integrations Actually Include

BigCommerce's Channel Manager is the built-in tool for connecting your store to outside marketplaces and social selling platforms. Through Channel Manager, you can connect to Amazon, Walmart Marketplace, and eBay, along with social channels like Facebook and Instagram. Here's what each major marketplace connection offers and what it doesn't.

BigCommerce and Amazon

BigCommerce's native Amazon integration will let you list products from your BigCommerce catalog directly on Amazon, import Amazon orders into BigCommerce for centralized processing, and sync inventory between the two platforms. You'll need an Amazon Professional Selling Plan (currently $39.99/month) and products with valid UPC, EAN, or GTIN identifiers.

A few limitations worth knowing: The native integration doesn't support Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) orders. If you use or plan to use FBA, you'll need a third-party connector app. Amazon sales also count toward your BigCommerce trailing 12-month gross merchandise value, which could push you into a higher BigCommerce plan tier. And product descriptions are capped at 2,000 characters through the integration.

BigCommerce and Walmart Marketplace

Walmart Marketplace is application-only, which means you'll need to be approved before you can sell. Remember that Walmart's seller requirements include a U.S. business tax ID, a W9 or W8 with EIN verification, and a fulfillment method capable of handling B2C shipping with returns. BigCommerce is an official Walmart solution provider, which can help streamline the application process.

Once approved, you can sync your BigCommerce product catalog to Walmart, manage orders from both platforms in BigCommerce, and keep inventory aligned between your storefront and the marketplace. Walmart charges no monthly subscription for sellers. You'll pay referral fees only on completed sales, which vary by category.

BigCommerce and eBay

eBay integration through Channel Manager will let you list BigCommerce products on eBay and import orders back into BigCommerce. eBay charges listing fees and final value fees that vary by category and listing type. Like Amazon, eBay's integration works through BigCommerce's centralized dashboard, so you won't need to manage orders in a completely separate system.

What to Set up Before You List on Amazon or Walmart From BigCommerce

Going multichannel from BigCommerce isn't just a matter of clicking "Connect" in Channel Manager. A few hours of preparation will save you significant headaches once orders start coming in from multiple sources. Start with the following steps.

• Clean up your product data first. Every marketplace has its own requirements for product titles, descriptions, images, and identifiers. Amazon requires a main image on a pure white background. Walmart has its own listing quality score that penalizes thin descriptions and missing attributes. Before you list, audit your BigCommerce catalog to make sure your UPCs are accurate, your images meet marketplace standards, and your descriptions are complete. Products that fail to meet requirements will be rejected or suppressed, which wastes time and delays launch.

• Decide on your inventory strategy. Will you list the same inventory across all channels, or will you reserve a portion for each? If you list 100 units on both BigCommerce and Amazon, and 80 of them sell on Amazon in one day, you could end up overselling on your BigCommerce store. Some businesses set inventory buffers (listing only 80% of available stock on each channel) to reduce this risk until they have a more robust inventory sync system in place.

• Understand your fee structure. Each marketplace takes a different cut. Amazon's referral fees range from 8% to 15% depending on category, plus a $39.99 monthly subscription. Walmart charges referral fees only (no monthly subscription), typically ranging from 6% to 15%. eBay charges insertion and final value fees. If you don't factor these fees into your pricing before you list, you could end up selling products at a loss on certain channels without realizing it.

• Plan your fulfillment workflow. When an order comes in from Amazon, who picks and packs it? Does it follow the same process as a BigCommerce order? If you're self-fulfilling, you'll need a clear workflow for processing orders from multiple sources without doubling up or missing shipments. If you're considering Amazon FBA for Amazon orders and self-fulfillment for BigCommerce, you'll need to manage two separate inventory pools, which adds complexity.

What to Watch for Once You're Selling on Multiple Channels From BigCommerce

The first week of multichannel selling usually feels exciting. The second week is when the operational reality sets in. Here's what catches most BigCommerce businesses off guard.

Inventory sync isn't always real-time. BigCommerce's native marketplace integrations sync inventory, but there can be a delay between when a sale happens on one channel and when the stock count updates on another. During high-volume periods, that delay can result in overselling. Monitor your sync frequency closely in the first few weeks and be prepared to adjust.

Accounting gets complicated fast. Each marketplace deposits revenue on its own schedule, deducts its own fees, and handles refunds through its own system. Your month-end close will take longer and be harder to reconcile than it was when you were selling on a single channel. Build a reconciliation process before you need one, not after.

Customer expectations differ by channel. Amazon customers expect Prime-speed shipping and easy returns. Walmart shoppers expect competitive pricing and reliable fulfillment. Your BigCommerce customers may have different expectations entirely. If your fulfillment process can't meet the service level each marketplace requires, your seller ratings will suffer, and marketplaces can throttle or suspend sellers with poor performance metrics.

For a detailed breakdown of what happens to your orders, inventory, and financials when you start selling multichannel, our article on managing BigCommerce orders across multiple channels covers the operational side in depth.

When You'll Outgrow BigCommerce Channel Manager

Channel Manager is a strong starting point for marketplace selling, but it has limits. As your order volume grows and you add more channels, you'll likely reach a point where the native integrations aren't enough to keep your operations running smoothly. Common signs include spending hours each week manually reconciling inventory or orders, overselling regularly despite sync being active, and your accounting team struggling to close the books on time because revenue data is scattered across platforms.

At that point, you'll have two paths: a dedicated multichannel order management tool that centralizes orders and inventory across all your channels, or an ERP platform that connects your channels, your inventory, your warehouse, and your financials into a single system. Which one is right depends on whether your problems are limited to order and inventory management or whether they extend into accounting, fulfillment, and financial reporting. Our article on the signs you've outgrown BigCommerce's built-in tools can help you evaluate which category you fall into.

Planning Your BigCommerce Multichannel Expansion

If you're considering adding Amazon, Walmart, or eBay to your BigCommerce store, you're making a smart growth move. BigCommerce's native marketplace integrations make the initial setup straightforward, and the revenue potential of reaching millions of additional shoppers is real.

But going multichannel changes how your business operates. Every new channel adds another source of orders, another set of fees, another inventory feed to manage, and another layer of complexity to your accounting. The businesses that expand successfully are the ones that plan for that complexity before they connect, not after they've already oversold their first 50 orders.

If you're still figuring out which channels make sense for your products and your margins, start by understanding the fee structures and fulfillment requirements for each marketplace. And if you're already selling on multiple channels and feeling the operational strain, our guide to the top multichannel order management tools for growing businesses can help you evaluate what comes next.

Not sure if your current setup can handle the added complexity? Take our ERP Readiness Quiz to find out where you stand.