If you're working out how to build a website for a vintage store, the first decision is the platform underneath it. That choice decides what you pay each month, how much of each sale you keep, how long listing takes and how easy it is to move later.
Rather than compare brand names, this guide compares kinds of platform, because the kind decides most of what a one-of-one shop will run into. Whichever you look at, the same questions apply.
Where VYA fits: VYA is a website platform built only for one-of-one pieces, with unique inventory, listing from a photo, cross-listing and consignment in one place rather than in separate apps. We describe each kind of platform fairly below, so you can decide what suits your shop. See how VYA compares.
What a vintage shop needs from a website
Before looking at platforms, write down what your shop actually needs. For most vintage and resale shops, the list is something like:
- A good-looking storefront you can change without a developer.
- Inventory where each piece is unique and comes down everywhere when it sells.
- Selling on marketplaces as well as your own site, if you do.
- Consignment, if you take it.
- In-person selling at a shop, market or pop-up.
- Shipping labels, customer emails and basic reporting.
- The total monthly cost, including any add-ons you'd need, and the card rate.
The five kinds of platform
General-purpose store builders
Hosted platforms where you pick a theme, add your products and pay a monthly plan. Most online shops run on one. They're reliable, checkout and security are handled for you, and there are many polished themes and plenty of designers who know them. If you need something extra, such as reviews, loyalty or wholesale, an add-on probably does it.
The friction for a one-of-one shop comes from building for products you can restock. Every piece becomes a separate product with a quantity of one, listing is done by hand, and selling on resale marketplaces or running consignment usually means paying for add-ons. Some cheaper plans cap how many products you can list, and every piece counts as one, so a growing vintage shop can reach the limit quickly.
Selling only on marketplaces
Some shops skip their own website and sell only on Etsy, eBay or Depop. It's the lowest-effort way to start, and the marketplace brings the buyers. In return you pay commission on every sale, follow each platform's rules, and the customer relationship belongs to the marketplace. Our guide to where to sell vintage clothes online compares the fees.
Self-hosted sites
Free, open-source shop software that you install on web hosting you rent. You pay for hosting, a theme and any add-ons, and you or a developer look after updates, backups and security. It's very flexible and you own everything, but it asks for more technical time than a hosted platform.
Cross-listing add-on tools
Not a website on their own. These tools sit beside your shop or your marketplace accounts and copy each listing to several marketplaces, and some take the other listings down when a piece sells. They're popular with resellers who sell mainly on marketplaces, and they usually charge a monthly fee based on how many listings you have. Paired with a website, they're one more system to keep in step with your shop. Our guide on how to cross list covers what to ask of one.
VYA
VYA is the option we'd suggest if most of what you sell is one of a kind. It's shop software built for that from the start, so the things that need add-ons or workarounds elsewhere are part of the shop:
- Every piece is unique by default, so a sold piece comes off your site the moment it sells, and off your marketplaces too if you cross-list.
- Listing starts from a photo. VYA drafts the title, description, brand, era and material for you to check, with a suggested price.
- Cross-listing to eBay and Depop from the same record as your site, on Studio and Pro.
- Consignment with splits, a consignor portal and payouts, on Studio and Pro.
- Checkout, sales tax, shipping labels and customer emails on every plan, plus Market Mode for selling in person from the VYA app.
Memberships are $49 (Starter), $129 (Studio) and $199 (Pro) a month. If you're coming from another platform, we bring your products, photos and pages across. See how VYA compares.
It's a newer and more focused platform than the big store builders, with no add-on marketplace. If you sell restockable products alongside vintage, or rely on a particular add-on, check that VYA covers what you need before you move.
How they compare
Cost
Entry plans on general-purpose store builders usually run from free to around $40 a month, with higher tiers for bigger shops and discounts for paying yearly. Self-hosted software is free to install, but hosting, a theme and add-ons cost money, and so does a developer's time. Marketplaces have no monthly fee but take commission on each sale. Cross-listing tools are a monthly fee on top of whichever of these you use.
One-of-one inventory
On most store builders and self-hosted sites, a piece is a product with a stock count of one. That works, but you'll want "keep selling when out of stock" switched off on every piece, and a plan for what happens to sold pages. Marketplaces handle single pieces well, one marketplace at a time. On VYA, every piece is unique by default and comes down everywhere once it sells.
Transaction fees
Every option charges card processing on online sales. A typical US online card rate is around 2.9% plus 30 cents. Some store builders add their own fee on each sale if you use a payment provider other than theirs, or on their cheapest plans, so check before you choose. Marketplaces take commission as well as processing. On VYA, you connect Stripe inside VYA, pay its card processing on each sale, and payouts go to your own bank.
App add-ons
A big add-on marketplace is a real strength of general-purpose builders and self-hosted sites. For a vintage shop, the add-ons you're most likely to need are for marketplace selling, consignment and in-person selling. Each is reasonable alone, but several together can cost more than the plan itself. VYA builds those into the plans instead, so there are fewer moving parts and fewer bills.
| Kind of platform | Monthly cost | One-of-one stock | Marketplaces and consignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Store builder | Free to around $40 to start | A product with a stock of one | Usually paid add-ons |
| Marketplaces only | None, commission on each sale | Handled, one marketplace at a time | No website of your own |
| Self-hosted | Hosting, theme and add-ons | A product with a stock of one | Add-ons or a developer |
| Cross-listing tool | A monthly fee on top | Delisting on some plans | Marketplaces only |
| VYA | $49, $129 or $199 | Unique by default | Built in on Studio and Pro |
Moving your shop
Hosted store builders and self-hosted sites let you export products, customers and orders as CSV files, so you can leave when you want to. Marketplaces generally don't hand over your buyers' contact details, which is one reason many sellers add a site of their own as they grow. Whatever you choose, check how you'd get your listings, photos and customer list out before you put years of work in.
Work out the real monthly cost
Compare total cost, not plan price. A simple worksheet for any platform:
Example: a shop selling $3,000 a month online, across 50 orders.
| Cost | How it's worked out | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plan | The monthly price | $39.00 |
| 2 | Card processing | Online sales × 2.9% | $87.00 |
| 3 | Per-order card fee | Orders × $0.30 | $15.00 |
| 4 | Add-ons | Cross-listing, consignment, anything else you'd need | + ? |
| 5 | Platform fee on sales | Online sales × the platform's own fee, if it has one | + ? |
| Monthly cost | Rows 1 to 5 added up | $141.00 + add-ons |
Do the same sum for each option you're considering, with the add-ons each one would need for your shop. The cheapest plan isn't always the cheapest platform.
If you decide to move
Moving platforms is very doable with a little planning:
- Export everything. Products, customers and order history, as CSV files. Download your original photos too. If you're moving to VYA, you can drop those files in as they are and VYA works out which is which.
- Keep your domain. Your web address moves with you; only where it points changes. VYA's domain page walks you through the two records to change at your domain provider.
- Redirect old links. Make sure old product and page addresses forward to the new ones, so links from Google and social media keep working.
- Tell your customers. A short email about the new site, ideally with a new drop, brings regulars over.
- Run both briefly. Keep the old shop open until the new one has taken its first orders, then switch the domain and close it.
- Reconnect marketplaces. If you cross-list, check that every live listing is linked to the right piece in the new system before you turn the old one off.
So which should you choose?
- Choose a general-purpose store builder if you sell restockable products as well, want the widest choice of themes, or rely on a particular add-on.
- Sell only on marketplaces if you're just starting and want buyers before you build a site.
- Choose a self-hosted site if you want full control and have the technical help.
- Add a cross-listing tool if you sell mainly on marketplaces and want to reach many of them.
- Choose VYA if most of what you sell is one of a kind, and you'd rather have your website, listing, cross-listing and consignment in one place than in several apps.
How VYA helps
VYA is built for shops where every piece is one of a kind:
- One-of-one inventory, so every piece is unique and comes down when it sells.
- Listing from a photo, with the title, description and a suggested price drafted for you to check.
- Your storefront on your own domain, with checkout, sales tax paid to you, and shipping labels.
- Cross-listing to eBay and Depop from the same record, on Studio and Pro.
- Consignment with splits, a consignor portal and payouts, on Studio and Pro.
- A move done for you. We bring your products, photos and pages across from your current site.
Memberships are $49 a month for Starter, $129 for Studio and $199 for Pro. Storefront, listing, checkout and labels are on every plan; cross-listing and consignment are on Studio and Pro.
Common questions
What is the best website platform for vintage clothing?
How do I build a website for a vintage store?
What is the cheapest way to get a website for a small shop?
Can I move my shop to a new platform without losing my Google ranking?
Do I need my own website if I sell on marketplaces?
Plans, prices and card rates change. Figures in this guide are typical ranges checked in October 2026 and are approximate; confirm current pricing with any provider before you decide.