THE DETAILS, WHEN YOU NEED THEM

Frequently asked
questions.

Our service, your store, and how it all fits together.

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What is Paired Media by Allodia?

A product photograph and its matching video, presented side by side. Shoppers can study the still image while the video shows movement, texture and changing light, without switching between the two.

We prepare the presentation around your actual product photos and videos. Your originals remain yours. Products without video use a photo gallery.

Paired Media is Allodia’s exclusive, proprietary presentation feature, available under a separate license during your Allodia service. Your quote confirms its inclusion. See what changes if that service ends.

What happens to Paired Media if I leave Allodia?

Your photos and videos remain yours. Paired Media stays with Allodia. Paired Media is a proprietary feature with a separate service license. That license ends when the agreed service term ends.

Under our handover policy, the standard store uses a conventional gallery: click to see one photo or video at a time. Paired Media, its private processing and authoring tools, and access to its services are excluded. Your agreement confirms the license scope before work begins. Read the standard-store handover policy.

Allodia vs Shopify

A store built for you, with the work taken care of.

What MattersWith AllodiaShopify, doing it yourself
Store Control

Your domain, customer records and original media remain yours. Allodia hosts and maintains your store during service. See our planned standard-store handover.

Your domain and brand on Shopify’s hosted platform. Continued access depends on its subscription and terms, which allow account suspension or termination.

Design & Launch

We design your storefront, connect the agreed services and guide your launch.

Themes and building tools; you configure the store or hire a professional.

Your Existing Catalog

We prepare and import your products, organize their details and review the result with you.

CSV import and editing tools; you prepare the data and check the result.

Photos & Video

We prepare both, upscale where it improves quality, and preserve an honest view of each product. Paired Media presents photos beside matching video.

Product media tools; you arrange preparation and the presentation your theme or apps support.

Getting Found

Search engine setup at launch. Ongoing improvements to site speed, page titles and product information within your agreed monthly scope.

SEO tools and documentation; you or a specialist carry out the work.

A Person to Turn To

A guided launch with the team building your store. Ongoing help and scheduled calls through your agreed monthly care scope.

24/7 chat support. Eligible free themes include up to 60 minutes of limited design assistance.

After Launch

You manage everyday products and inventory. Catalog work and channel synchronization can be added separately.

You manage products and inventory using the admin, import and bulk-edit tools.

How You Pay

One-time design, build and launch fee, plus required monthly care. 0% Allodia sales commission.

A platform subscription, payment processing and any chosen apps or professional services.

Compare services and responsibilities, alongside price. Payment processing and other provider charges are separate. Shopify support · Catalog import · Shopify pricing · Platform terms

Allodia vs Squarespace

Your products deserve a store designed around them.

Allodia brings design, catalog preparation, media, search setup and launch into one project. You make the business decisions. We do the work to get your store ready.

What MattersWith AllodiaSquarespace, doing it yourself
Design & Launch

We deliver your finished storefront. Layout, product details and presentation are designed around your catalog. We connect payments and agreed shipping services, test the store and guide your launch.

Templates and a visual editor. You customize and configure the store, or pay a professional to build it.

Catalog Preparation

We handle the migration work. We prepare your product data, organize categories, import the catalog and review the result with you.

Imports from Etsy, Shopify and Big Cartel are available. You prepare the catalog and check the result. These imports do not continuously sync stock.

Photos & Video

Show the details that help customers decide. We prepare photos and videos, with optional upscaling and detail crops. Paired Media by Allodia puts photos beside matching video. Originals are preserved.

Image galleries and video content tools. You arrange the media preparation and page layout, or hire someone to do it.

Your Etsy Reviews

Bring your reviews into the right context. Supplied review exports can be included. We match reviews to products where the export provides a reliable match, and identify shop-wide reviews separately.

Etsy review import is supported. Imported reviews display as store reviews across products, rather than only on the reviewed product.

Search & SEO

We carry out the search work. Product structure, page titles, search-friendly data, image and video descriptions, speed and Search Console setup. Your agreed monthly scope covers ongoing search maintenance.

Built-in SEO features and guides. You direct the SEO work; customer support excludes SEO strategy and specific SEO advice.

Help After Launch

Keep working with the team that knows your store. We manage hosting, updates and backups. Search maintenance, support and any scheduled calls are agreed in your monthly scope.

Hosting and platform support are included. Email support is available 24/7, with live chat during published hours. Expert design services are separate.

Ongoing Choice

Managed during service. A standard-store handover on departure. Our policy is to provide a working store for compatible hosting, excluding Paired Media. Handover validation and terms.

Your store runs on Squarespace’s hosted subscription platform. Separately hired services have their own scope and price.

What You Pay For

$1,500–$3,500 for software, design, build and launch. Required managed hosting, with the monthly price agreed in your quote. 0% Allodia sales commission; provider costs are separate.

Lower software cost: Core is $29/month billed annually ($348/year), or $39 billed monthly. Core has 0% online-store transaction fees; payment processing is additional. Professional setup is extra.

Choose Allodia for the finished result and the people behind it. A DIY subscription can cost less if you want to do the setup yourself. With Allodia, the design, preparation, testing and launch are part of the service.

US Core pricing checked September 25, 2026. Fees vary by plan, payment method and country; digital content and memberships have separate fee schedules. Pricing · Catalog imports · Etsy reviews · Product media · Support scope

What are the marketplace comparison points based on?

The visual comparison shows archived Etsy listings from September 8, 2026. The broader Marketplaces points name each platform individually; they do not imply that the image is an Amazon or eBay listing. Long titles refer to the examples shown, not a requirement imposed on every seller. The CrystalClearVibe listing shows materials truncated at “…” and a partially visible description that fades out above “Learn more about this item.” Reading the full materials and description requires expanding those controls; the details are not absent from the listing.

Allodia: 0% sales commission. Your build fee, required monthly care, payment processing, domain and agreed third-party costs are separate. This compares sales commissions, not total operating cost. Paired Media is separately licensed; your quote confirms inclusion.

The $100 examples: US seller, one $100 item, no separately charged shipping or sales tax. Additional services, optional advertising other than the specified Etsy Offsite Ads example, and subscriptions are excluded. These are different fee packages, not identical services or a promise that Allodia has the lowest total cost.

Etsy: the example totals $9.95: $6.50 transaction fee, $3.25 US Etsy Payments processing (3% + $0.25), and one $0.20 listing fee. An attributed Offsite Ads sale adds $12 or $15, bringing it to $21.95 or $24.95. Once qualifying shop sales reach $10,000 over the preceding 365 days, Offsite Ads participation is required and the 12% rate continues even if sales later fall below the threshold. Orders placed within 30 days of a buyer clicking an off-site Etsy ad can be attributed to that ad; last-click rules and regional exceptions apply. Etsy previously raised its transaction fee from 5% to 6.5% on April 11, 2022. 2022 fee announcement. Etsy fees and conditions · Payment processing.

Amazon Handmade: 15% referral fee or $0.30, whichever is greater; a $100 sale incurs a $15 referral fee. The ongoing Professional subscription is waived for approved Handmade sellers after the initial month; other services can add costs. Other Amazon categories have different rates, so this is not a universal Amazon fee. Amazon Handmade · Category fee schedule.

eBay US: the standard schedule for most categories charges 13.6% of the total sale amount up to $7,500 per item, plus $0.40 for an order over $10. The $100 example therefore costs $14. The fee base includes applicable shipping and sales tax; category, Store subscription and other conditions can change the rate. eBay selling fees.

Paid competition: Amazon Sponsored Products are cost-per-click ads that can appear in shopping results and on product pages. Paid placements compete for the buyer’s attention alongside organic results. Amazon’s sponsored placements.

Customer relationships and selling access: Amazon’s buyer communication policy prohibits promotional messages. Etsy can suspend accounts for policy violations. An independent store gives you your own customer relationship and presentation, while privacy, consent, hosting and payment-provider rules still apply. Amazon’s communication policy · Etsy’s seller policy.

Advertising is not the same as organic ranking. Etsy and Amazon also offer organic discovery. Etsy says paid ads do not improve the ranking of organic results. An independent store needs its own marketing and audience; Allodia does not promise free traffic, search positions or lower total acquisition costs. How Etsy search works.

We do not present long Amazon titles as a current requirement: Amazon introduced a 75-character limit for most non-media titles in July 2026. Amazon’s title update. Fee and advertising sources checked October 3, 2026; regional rates and policies can change.

How do Squarespace, Wix and Shopify compare on fees and service?

These are website platforms, not marketplaces. They support independent branded stores. A standard subscription includes hosted software and platform support; a bespoke store design, catalog setup and an ongoing relationship with a designer are separate services. Each has a directory of professionals you can hire. Allodia combines the design, build, launch and agreed ongoing care in one service.

Squarespace: for ordinary physical-product commerce on the newer plans, Basic charges a 2% transaction fee; Core, Plus and Advanced charge 0%. Payment processing and the subscription are additional. Legacy plans, digital content and memberships have different schedules. Design work from a Squarespace Expert is hired separately. Squarespace fees · Squarespace Experts.

Wix: its online-store guidance states that it does not add a transaction fee on top of the payment provider’s fee. Standard US Wix Payments credit/debit cards cost 2.9% + $0.30, excluding American Express, which costs 3.7% + $0.30. Other payment methods and cross-border payments differ. A paid commerce plan is required. This describes ordinary store sales, not every subscription app or Wix service. Custom design and store setup can be purchased from independent Wix professionals. Wix’s store guidance · Wix Payments fees · Wix professionals.

Shopify: US Basic costs $39 per month billed monthly, or $29 per month billed annually. Standard online Shopify Payments card processing starts at 2.9% + $0.30. Using a third-party payment provider generally adds a Shopify transaction fee: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced, in addition to the processor’s fee. Eligible Shopify Payments transactions avoid that additional fee; processing and subscription costs remain. Payment-method exceptions, including certain gift-card and store-credit transactions, apply. Custom store design and ongoing specialist work can be commissioned from Shopify Partners. Shopify pricing · Transaction-fee conditions · Shopify Partners.

0% commission is a benefit, not an exclusive claim. Allodia’s distinction is the combination of a store designed and built for your business, ongoing care, Paired Media and Immersive Buying Experience. Pricing checked October 3, 2026; rates depend on region, plan, product and payment method.

Allodia vs Etsy

Keep your marketplace. Build a destination of your own.

What MattersWith AllodiaOn Etsy
Store Control

Your own domain and store, independent of your Etsy selling account. Your hosting, software license and payment-provider terms still apply.

You operate within Etsy’s marketplace and rules. Etsy can suspend or terminate selling access. Appeals are available, with Etsy’s specialists deciding reinstatement.

Reaching Customers

We establish search foundations at launch; your monthly scope defines ongoing search maintenance. Your marketing and existing channels still matter.

An established audience, marketplace search and advertising tools. Visibility and sales are not guaranteed.

Catalog & media

We prepare and import the catalog you supply, organize product details and prepare photos and videos for launch.

You create and maintain listings, product details, photos and videos using Etsy’s tools.

How You Pay

One-time design, build and launch fee, plus required monthly care. 0% Allodia sales commission; payment processing and other provider costs are separate.

$0.20 USD per listing or renewal, plus a 6.5% transaction fee. Payment processing, a possible setup fee and applicable advertising or other charges are additional.

Running Both Stores

Keep Etsy alongside your independent store. You update stock on each channel; automatic synchronization is a separately scoped service.

You manage the Etsy shop and fulfil its orders. Etsy’s tools do not by themselves update stock in an independent Allodia store.

Help After Launch

We guide your launch. Our monthly care covers managed hosting and technical maintenance, with search work and support agreed in your quote.

Seller support, help guides and community resources for operating your Etsy shop.

Fee examples checked September 24, 2026. Processing rates and other charges vary by location and service. An independent store can complement Etsy; it does not automatically inherit Etsy traffic. Etsy selling tools · Etsy fees · Account terms · Suspension appeals

Allodia vs Amazon

Your own storefront, alongside the marketplace.

What MattersWith AllodiaOn Amazon
Store Control

Your own domain and store, independent of your Amazon selling account. Your hosting, software license and payment-provider terms still apply.

Listings and eligible Brand Stores sit within Amazon. Amazon can remove listings or deactivate selling accounts for policy or performance issues; reinstatement goes through its appeal process.

Reaching Customers

Search foundations at launch and ongoing SEO within your agreed monthly scope. You develop traffic through your marketing and existing channels.

Access to Amazon shoppers, marketplace search and advertising options. Placement and sales are not guaranteed.

Catalog & Launch

We prepare your supplied product data and media, design the store, connect agreed services and guide the launch.

You match or create product listings, supply the required data and media, and manage them in Seller Central.

How You Pay

One-time design, build and launch fee, plus required monthly care. 0% Allodia sales commission; processing, shipping and other provider costs are separate.

US Individual: $0.99 per item sold; Professional: $39.99/month. Both add category-based referral fees. Fulfilment, storage, advertising and other services can add costs.

Packing & Delivery

We connect agreed shipping services. You or your fulfilment provider store, pack and dispatch orders; Allodia does not provide warehouse or delivery services.

Fulfil orders yourself, or use paid Fulfillment by Amazon for storage, packing, shipping and related customer service.

Selling on Both

An independent store can sit alongside Amazon. You manage inventory across channels; automatic synchronization requires a separate integration and fee.

You continue to manage the Amazon channel under its seller requirements. An Allodia store does not replace that account or its fees.

US selling-plan examples checked September 24, 2026. Referral fees depend on category; regional rates and additional service charges vary. Amazon fees · Amazon Brand Stores · Amazon fulfilment · Account deactivation & appeals

Allodia vs WooCommerce

A store delivered for you, with Allodia-managed hosting and maintenance.

What MattersWith AllodiaWooCommerce DIY
Software & Control

Allodia software and a store on your own domain. The software is proprietary; your agreement defines its license and included features.

Free, open-source ecommerce software for WordPress. You choose your host, themes, plugins and developer.

Design & Launch

We design the storefront, prepare your catalog and media, connect agreed services and guide your launch.

You assemble and configure the store, or hire a developer or agency to do that work.

Day-to-Day Catalog

You manage everyday products and inventory. Additional catalog work and channel synchronization can be scoped separately.

Product editing, CSV import and export, and bulk-edit tools. You or your team manage the catalog.

Hosting & Maintenance

Allodia-managed hosting, updates, backups and technical maintenance are part of the required monthly care. We do not offer installation on your existing hosting at launch.

You choose who handles hosting, backups, updates and plugin compatibility: yourself, a host or a maintenance provider.

SEO & Guidance

Search engine setup at launch, plus ongoing improvements to site speed, page titles and product information through your agreed monthly care scope.

WordPress and plugin tools, documentation and available support. You or a specialist carry out SEO and coordinate help across providers.

How You Pay

One-time design, build and launch fee, plus required monthly care. 0% Allodia sales commission; processing and other provider costs are separate.

The core software has no platform subscription or revenue share. Budget for hosting, a domain, processing, and any paid extensions or professional services.

Both routes support an independent store. A WooCommerce agency can also provide design and maintenance; compare the actual scope and ongoing responsibilities, as well as the software price. WooCommerce costs · Catalog tools · Maintenance guidance

Why pay a build fee instead of using a website builder?

You’re paying for the work that gets your store ready to open. The Allodia build fee covers your software, storefront design, catalog preparation and import, agreed photo and video work, payments and shipping connections, search setup, testing and a guided launch.

Your time matters, too. Every hour spent learning a builder, fixing product data or arranging media is an hour away from making, sourcing or selling your products. You share your content and business decisions, review the result and approve the launch. We handle the build.

Shopify and Squarespace can be less expensive if you want to do that work yourself. For a service comparison, include the price of hiring someone to deliver the same scope. Allodia’s one-time fee is $1,500–$3,500; Monthly care includes Allodia-managed hosting, security updates and backups, priced in your quote.

Why Allodia instead of hiring a Squarespace designer?

One team for the store, the products and the launch—with a clear path to ongoing help. We take responsibility for the agreed storefront design, catalog preparation, photos and videos, search setup, connections and testing. Monthly care keeps that team involved after launch.

Squarespace’s expert directory does offer paid professional builds, and some experts provide ongoing services. Compare what the actual quote includes: catalog cleanup, media enhancement, product review placement, Paired Media, SEO work and support after opening. Those details are central to Allodia’s offer.

Squarespace’s expert directory and hiring process

Do I need an existing store?

No. Start with an idea, a first collection or an established catalog. We agree what needs to be created, prepared and connected before the build begins.

How will customers find my store?

Keep the channels that already bring you customers. Your own store gives search visitors, social followers and returning buyers a destination on your domain.

A site search engines can find and read. We organize your pages and links, provide a map of your products for search engines, and connect Google Search Console to check how your store appears in search.

Pages that clearly explain what you sell. We set up clear page titles, product categories and descriptions for images and video. This helps shoppers and search engines understand your products.

Help people find you beyond search. The optional Launch kit carries your store’s design into business cards, a thank-you card and a market sign, with your domain and a QR code linked to your store. Use the kit for orders from your own store, and the buyers you meet at markets and events.

After launch: we keep working on site speed, fix problems that prevent pages appearing in search, and improve page titles and product information within your agreed scope. Advertising and ongoing content campaigns are separate. Search rankings and sales aren’t guaranteed.

Can Allodia design and print materials for my new store?

Yes. The complete Launch Kit brings together business cards, thank-you cards and a market sign. It is an optional add-on to your store; individual pieces are also available for a custom quote. Each piece uses your store’s colors, typography and photography, with your web address and a QR code that leads to your store.

The complete starter kit. Design only is $295 for all three pieces and print-ready PDFs. Our design-and-print target is $445, subject to confirming local production costs: 250 two-sided 3.5 × 2-inch business cards, 150 two-sided 4 × 6-inch thank-you cards, and one single-sided 12 × 18-inch rigid PVC market sign with a basic tabletop stand. Individual pieces are custom quoted.

What the price covers. Both options adapt your store’s existing identity into one coordinated design direction, with two consolidated revision rounds, a checked web address and QR destination, and final print-ready PDFs. New logo design, photography, extra versions and premium finishes are separately quoted. We confirm paper, finishes, hardware and your proof before printing.

Your final total. The printed target includes printing, a basic tabletop stand and standard packaging; shipping and tax are extra. Your written quote itemizes production, handling, shipping, tax and any hardware changes, with the final total agreed before you approve an order. Local production costs and the final printed price are still being confirmed.

Reorders cost less. Unchanged artwork does not incur the original design fee again. Reorders cover printing, handling, shipping and tax; artwork changes are separately quoted. With design only, you can print wherever you like.

Your message, your way. Invite buyers to explore your collection, see what’s new or use an optional discount. We agree on the wording, formats and revisions before design begins.

Use the kit for orders from your own store, and the buyers you meet at markets and events.

Choose my Launch Kit
Can my store reduce reliance on paid ads?

Yes, over time. Useful pages can earn organic visits. Customers can remember your domain, return directly and subscribe to your emails. Those assets can build on one another, so paid ads don’t have to be your only source of business.

Customer acquisition still has a cost. Customer acquisition cost (CAC) measures what you spend on sales and marketing to win a new customer. Repeat purchases can make that initial investment more valuable. Marketplace selling fees apply to repeat orders too; Allodia takes no sales commission on any order.

Pausing ads stops paid placements, not all discovery. Etsy and Amazon also have organic search. Ads don’t buy Google rankings, and a domain alone doesn’t create traffic. Shopify and Squarespace also support your own domain, search visibility and returning customers. Allodia adds the design, catalog preparation and search work done for you.

We establish search foundations at launch; your monthly scope defines ongoing improvements to how search engines find and understand your store. Advertising, email campaigns and ongoing content creation are separate. Lower acquisition costs and search rankings aren’t guaranteed.

Sources: Etsy search & ads · Etsy fees · Amazon fees · Google on ads & organic rankings · Shopify SEO · Squarespace features · Shopify email

Who adds new products and manages stock?

You manage everyday products, prices and inventory. We prepare and import your initial catalog within the launch scope, then guide you through the included store tools.

Want us to prepare additional listings? We agree the work and price separately. Multi-channel stock synchronization is a separate integration; the initial import does not connect live inventory.

Can I bring products from another platform?

Yes. Bring a catalog export from Etsy, Shopify, Squarespace, WooCommerce or another platform. We prepare the import, organize product details and categories, and review variants and media with you before launch. Share your shop link in the quote request to start the conversation; the Studio can preview a CSV you supply.

Try catalog import in Studio
Can I keep selling on marketplaces?

Yes. Your independent store can sit alongside your existing channels. You can manage stock on each channel yourself. Automatic synchronization is an optional integration with a separate scope and fee; importing products does not connect live inventory.

What can I change myself?

Studio demonstrates control over your branding, presentation, product copy, properties, prices, discounts and media pairings. Your project proposal confirms the production features included in your store. Allodia handles hosting and technical maintenance. Paired Media and its authoring tools are licensed separately from your standard store.

What if I don’t have a logo or product videos?

We can scope a logo around your business. Products without video can use a beautiful photo gallery; we do not present animated photographs as seller footage. New photography, video or bespoke branding is quoted separately.

Can Allodia enhance my product photos and videos?

Media processing includes optional upscaling to higher resolution and deliberate crops that reveal useful details. Originals are preserved. We agree the enhancement work in your setup scope.

How long does the build take?

It depends on your catalog, available content and required connections. We agree milestones and a launch target in your proposal. The Studio is a design preview, not a promise of an instantly completed store.

Is monthly care required?

Yes. The build fee covers your store’s design, catalog preparation, setup and launch. Monthly care covers Allodia-managed hosting, security updates and backups. We agree the monthly price and support scope before work begins. You keep ownership of your domain.

What does monthly care cover?

The build fee covers creating your store. Required monthly care covers Allodia-managed hosting, security updates and regular backups. You manage your products, stock and customers; we keep the store running.

Your quote defines search maintenance, support response targets, any scheduled calls and change allowances. Paired Media has a separate license, with inclusion confirmed in your quote. New product entry, content campaigns, channel synchronization, additional development and creative work are quoted separately.

Does Allodia take a percentage of sales?

No. There is a one-time fee, required monthly care, and 0% Allodia sales commission. Payment processing, postage, your domain and any agreed third-party services are separate.

Can I take my store with me if I leave?

Our policy is a working standard store, not just a data export. The planned handover includes your storefront design, catalog, customer and order records, and original media, with a continuing license to run the delivered standard store on compatible hosting. Your domain and payment account stay yours.

The standard store must work independently of Allodia. Paired Media and private tools are excluded; a conventional photo and video gallery takes their place. You or your next provider arrange the new hosting and maintenance. Future Allodia updates, support and migration assistance are not automatically included.

Your written agreement sets out the continuing store license, notice, handover arrangements and any migration assistance before work begins.

Can I use my existing hosting?

For launch, we host and maintain your store in an environment managed by Allodia. We do not install active-service stores on outside hosting.

You keep your domain. Existing domain and email arrangements are reviewed before any changes. If you later leave, the planned standard-store handover is for compatible hosting; it does not include Paired Media. See the handover policy.

How do cancellation and the handover work?

Your agreement will set the notice period, handover timing, continuing standard-store license and any separately quoted migration assistance before you sign. It will also state when Paired Media access ends and what happens to retained data. See what the planned handover includes.

Real products.
Original media.

The CrystalClearVibe design study uses CrystalClearVibe’s original photographs and video of its hemimorphite specimen. The historical Etsy listing is retained in the interactive comparison. This is a design demonstration; checkout is unavailable.

The opening film is a close crop of that same original footage, slowed and looped forward and backward. No product detail has been generated. The full specimen is shown in the store study.

Explore the design study