Amazon vs TikTok Shop UK: fees, verification and fulfilment for new stock
A comparison for UK businesses with new stock deciding between Amazon.co.uk and TikTok Shop UK, or running both.
- This page is for a UK business with new stock choosing between Amazon and TikTok Shop. Both expect a registered seller: Amazon needs a Professional plan for a listing tool to connect, and TikTok Shop needs identity checks even for a sole trader.
- TikTok Shop charges a flat 9% commission on most categories, with no monthly account fee. Amazon UK’s Professional plan is £25 a month plus a referral fee that is 7% to 15% in most categories, rising to 45% on Amazon device accessories.
- Amazon buyers search for what they already want. TikTok Shop buyers are shown products inside videos and live shows, so a listing needs content behind it, not just photos.
- Used stock is awkward on both: Amazon UK keeps clothing, shoes and bags to New condition only, and TikTok Shop only allows second-hand goods through an invite-only second-hand programme. This page is about new stock.
- With FLUF Connect, Amazon sales are not detected, so you mark an Amazon sale as sold yourself. A TikTok Shop sale is detected and FLUF removes the matching listing elsewhere. FLUF supports UK TikTok Shop sellers only.
- You can try it with 7 days for £1, then from £9/month.
Is this comparison for you?
This guide is for a UK brand owner, retailer or small manufacturer with new, boxed stock, choosing between Amazon.co.uk and TikTok Shop UK, or running both.
If most of your stock is used, neither site is a natural home for it. Amazon UK’s condition guidelines require New condition for apparel, shoes, handbags, sports and outdoor goods, and anything consumable or applied to the skin. TikTok Shop treats second-hand goods as a restricted category: sellers apply, and its restricted products policy caps a second-hand fashion listing at £500 and requires the title to say “Second-hand”, “pre-owned” or “pre-loved”. A vintage or pre-loved business will get more from eBay, Vinted or Depop.
If your stock is new and you can photograph or film it, both sites will take it. The rest of this page compares them on that basis.
Who can sell, and what they check
Amazon has two selling plans. The Amazon UK pricing page lists Individual at £0.75 per item sold and Professional at £25 a month, both excluding VAT. Individual accounts cannot connect a third-party listing tool. Amazon’s own comparison of the two plans reserves bulk listing and outside app access for Professional, so if you want to run Amazon from FLUF Connect, you need the Professional plan.
TikTok Shop UK does not have separate priced tiers. Its seller registration guide sets out five seller types: sole trader or individual, privately-owned business, publicly-listed business, state-owned business and charity. A sole trader does not need a limited company, but does need a UK government-issued passport or driving licence, a selfie for identity verification, and a UK bank account, since TikTok pays sellers into UK accounts only. A limited company additionally gives its Companies House number and an authorised representative’s own ID.
Both platforms check who you are before you list anything. Amazon’s check is really “which plan did you pay for”. TikTok Shop’s check is an identity and business-type verification that applies from the first sale, whichever seller type you register as.
What a sale costs you
TikTok Shop’s commission rate policy sets a standard rate of 9% of GMV, worked out on the net sale plus any shipping the customer paid, minus refunds. Two categories carry a reduction to 5%: Electronics, and Beauty & Personal Care. A seller with items in both a discounted and a standard category pays each item’s own rate; the reduction is not applied shop-wide.
Amazon’s referral fee is worked out on the total the buyer pays, including postage, and the rate depends on category:
| Amazon UK category | Referral fee |
|---|---|
| Clothing and accessories | 5% up to £15, 10% from £15 to £20, 15% above £20 |
| Consumer electronics | 7%, minimum £0.25 |
| Home products | 8% up to £20, 15% above £20 |
| Amazon device accessories | 45%, minimum £0.25 |
Most categories fall somewhere between 8% and 15%, with a minimum charge per item of around £0.25.
Worked example: a £45 homeware item with £4.99 postage
The buyer pays £49.99 including postage.
- Amazon UK, Home products: 8% on the first £20 (£1.60) plus 15% on the remaining £29.99 (about £4.50). The referral fee comes to about £6.10. The Professional plan’s £25 a month sits on top, spread across everything you sell that month.
- TikTok Shop, standard rate: 9% of £49.99 is about £4.50, and that is the only selling fee. There is no monthly account charge.
At this price and category, TikTok Shop’s commission is lower and there is no fixed monthly cost behind it. Amazon’s referral rate drops in some categories, such as consumer electronics at a flat 7%, where the gap narrows or reverses depending on volume against the £25 plan fee.
How buyers find your products
Amazon works like a search engine. A buyer types what they want, filters by price, brand or rating, and buys from whichever product page wins the Featured Offer slot. Amazon says price, delivery speed, seller performance and stock all count towards which offer is shown there. Your job is to be findable on a search a buyer already knows how to make.
TikTok Shop works the other way round. Products appear inside short videos, live shows and the shop feed, chosen by TikTok’s recommendation system rather than typed in by the buyer. A listing with no video behind it, or one an affiliate has not picked up, gets little reach beyond a buyer who already found your shop directly. Selling well there is closer to making content that happens to be shoppable than to writing a good product page.
The two sites also ask for different things on the listing itself. TikTok Shop’s listing requirements call for images at least 800 by 800 pixels, up to nine per listing, and a description of at least 30 words. Titles cannot carry promotional language, your own name or URL, or a mention of another platform. Amazon’s requirements sit inside the product page itself: an accurate title, category-appropriate images and, for most items, a barcode or an existing ASIN to attach to.
Getting orders to the customer
On Amazon you choose between fulfilling orders yourself and Fulfilment by Amazon, where Amazon stores, packs and ships your stock and the listing carries a Prime badge. FLUF Connect lists merchant-fulfilled offers; stock you send into Amazon’s FBA warehouses is managed inside Seller Central.
TikTok Shop has an equivalent programme called Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT), open to UK-based sellers shipping within the UK. TikTok stores, picks, packs and ships the order, and covers lost or damaged parcels. Packages must stay under 30kg and under 31.5 litres. Sellers who fulfil their own orders instead choose their own courier and label, the same way most sellers already work on other marketplaces.
Returns
Amazon’s returns page says Amazon.co.uk and most sellers on it accept returns within 30 days of delivery, longer than the 14-day statutory cancellation period the same page describes.
TikTok Shop’s order cancellation, return and refund policy gives UK buyers 30 calendar days from delivery to open a change-of-mind return, and up to 90 days for anything that arrives damaged or faulty. Both platforms land on a 30-day window as the practical standard, so budget for it in either case.
Getting paid
TikTok Shop pays out on a settlement schedule rather than a fixed weekly date. Its payment settlement policy starts new sellers on a 31-day Introductory period from the delivery date. Sellers who clear probation move to an 8-day Standard settlement, and strong performers can reach 3-day Accelerated or 1-day Express settlement. Funds then take a few days to clear into a UK bank account.
Amazon does not tie payout speed to performance in the same way. Sellers choose a payout frequency in Seller Central, and Amazon deducts its fees before the transfer goes out.
Which one fits your stock
Amazon suits a product a buyer already knows the name of: a specific tool, a branded accessory, a book, anything searched for by model or ISBN. It also suits a seller who wants Fulfilment by Amazon to take delivery off their hands entirely.
TikTok Shop suits a product that sells itself once someone sees it used: homeware, beauty, a visual gadget, anything a short video can make obvious in five seconds. It rewards a seller who can make content regularly, and does little for one who cannot.
Many sellers run both: Amazon for search demand, TikTok Shop for discovery, with the same catalogue behind each.
Selling on Amazon and TikTok Shop with FLUF Connect
FLUF Connect copies a listing from one product record to both marketplaces, and you check each one before it goes live. This is what it does on each channel:
| Task | Amazon | TikTok Shop |
|---|---|---|
| Create and update listings | Yes | Yes |
| Detects a sale on this channel | No | Yes |
| Removes the listing here when it sells elsewhere | Yes | Yes |
| Relisting and offer management | No | No |
When something sells on TikTok Shop, FLUF removes the matching Amazon listing for you. When something sells on Amazon, open it in FLUF and mark it sold; FLUF then clears the TikTok Shop listing so a second buyer cannot order stock you no longer have. The TikTok Shop connection is only open to sellers registered in the UK.
Connecting both channels
- Have an Amazon Professional seller account and a registered TikTok Shop UK seller account.
- In FLUF Connect, open Channels and connect each marketplace. You approve the connection on the marketplace’s own page, and FLUF never asks for your password.
- Choose the Amazon marketplace you want to sell in. FLUF lists on Amazon.co.uk, .com, .de, .fr, .it, .es and .nl.
- List a small batch on each channel first. If either marketplace flags a field, fix it before listing the rest of your catalogue.
What FLUF Connect costs
You can try it with 7 days for £1, then from £9/month. Starter is £9 a month with unlimited listings. Crosslisting, inventory sync, order sync and bulk operations are on every plan. Relisting, offer management and smart pricing come with the plans above Starter, and cover channels such as eBay, Depop and Etsy rather than Amazon or TikTok Shop.
| Plan | Monthly | Crosslisted products |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | £9/month | Unlimited |
| Seller | £29/month | Unlimited |
| Pro | £99/month | Unlimited |
| Super Seller | Custom pricing — tell us what you need | Unlimited |
Sources
- Amazon UK: selling plans, referral fees and FBA fees
- Amazon UK condition guidelines (PDF)
- Amazon.co.uk: about our returns policies
- Amazon: the Featured Offer
- TikTok Shop UK: Commission Rate Policy
- TikTok Shop UK: Restricted Products Policy
- TikTok Shop UK: how to register as a seller
- TikTok Shop UK: order cancellation, return and refund policy
- TikTok Shop UK: payment settlement periods
- TikTok Shop UK: Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT)
Sources checked September 2026.
Related guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Not easily. Amazon UK keeps clothing, shoes, handbags and several other categories to New condition only. TikTok Shop only allows second-hand goods through an invite-only programme, and caps a second-hand fashion listing at £500. This guide is written for new stock; used-clothing sellers get more from eBay, Vinted or Depop.
You can register as a sole trader or individual without a limited company, but TikTok Shop still asks for a UK government-issued passport or driving licence, a selfie for identity verification, and a UK bank account. There is no private-seller path that skips this check.
Amazon's Professional plan is £25 a month plus a referral fee of 7% to 15% in most categories (45% on Amazon device accessories). TikTok Shop charges no monthly account fee, only a commission of 9% on most categories, reduced to 5% on Electronics and on Beauty & Personal Care.
No. Both are optional. You can fulfil orders yourself on either marketplace, or use Amazon's FBA or TikTok Shop's Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT) programme, which is open to UK sellers shipping within the UK.
Both land close together. Amazon gives buyers up to 30 days from delivery. TikTok Shop UK gives 30 calendar days for a change-of-mind return, and up to 90 days if the item arrived damaged or faulty.
It depends on your settlement tier. New sellers start on a 31-day Introductory period from the delivery date. Once you clear probation you move to an 8-day Standard settlement, and strong-performing sellers can reach 3-day or 1-day settlement.
It knows for TikTok Shop, and removes the matching listing on another channel automatically. It does not detect Amazon sales, so you mark those sold in FLUF yourself, which then clears the listing elsewhere. The TikTok Shop connection is open to UK-registered sellers only.
There is a 7-day trial for £1. Plans start at £9 a month for Starter, with unlimited listings and no cap on the 50+ marketplaces FLUF supports. Bulk editing, inventory sync and order sync all come included, on every plan.