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What features exactly does your marketplace platform need?

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features blog post header

You've just spent a year of your life and a whole lot of your (or other people's) money building an online marketplace platform.

It looks perfect and offers hundreds of custom-built features for your vendors and customers.

Then, you launch – and they don't come. A few sellers that join hardly use any of your beautiful features.

What a waste, right? You wish you'd started with a simpler setup and less features. Well, read on:

What features exactly do you need to start an online marketplace that doesn't suck?

Not as many as you think.

marketplace features need the most

There are 3 main parties that make a marketplace platform possible – sellers, buyers and the platform itself.

Now, put yourself in their shoes. Think of their needs. What do they want first and foremost?

  • Sellers primarily want to sell. This means listing, selling and dispatching products efficiently.
  • Buyers primarily want to buy. This means searching for the best products and purchasing them quickly.
  • The platform connects buyers with sellers and generates revenue doing it. This means offering the right tools and being optimized for sales.

Sounds about right? Now, the features:

 

Essential marketplace features for sellers

multimerch features seller account

Quick onboarding for sellers

Entrepreneurs are busy people. You'll have to make their lives easier, not harder.

Make the signup and onboarding process for your vendors as straight-forward as possible.

The less effort it takes to get started on your platform, the more likely people will sign up to sell with you.

If you have an account with Etsy, you know what I mean – they make it really easy to just hop on and start selling.

Streamlined product management

Your marketplace is probably not the only way for vendors to sell their products. They might be already running their own Shopify stores and selling products on Etsy and Amazon.

So, make it easy to list products for sale! This means streamlined product listing forms, a convenient way to create product variations and getting rid of non-essential fields.

Consider offering an easy way for new vendors to import products from third party platforms like Amazon and Shopify if you're working with small businesses.

Order processing that's convenient

marketplace print shipping label

Running an ecommerce business takes a lot of effort. You'll need to offer your vendors a way to manage and process orders quickly and efficiently.

Notify your sellers about newly received orders and allow them to print shipping slips and mark orders as dispatched.

Offering a way to specify tracking numbers is another nice to have feature your customers will appreciate.

Features to promote listings and sell more

Give your sellers the power to sell more!

Let vendors take part in discount campaigns, create and distribute coupon codes and feature their products more prominently to drive sales.

Tools to communicate with the buyers

Communication builds trust and makes it easier for the buyer to commit to the purchase.

Offer your vendors a way to receive and answer customer questions, ask for and receive reviews and communicate with buyers to quickly resolve order issues if they arise.

 

Essential marketplace features for buyers

multimerch marketplace features for buyers

Powerful product search and display

If you can't find what you need on Amazon you'll go eBay. Make it easy for your buyers to find products they want or they'll go elsewhere.

"Streamlined marketplace navigation, clean and modern interfaces, good-looking and informative product pages – we're seeing that all of this is important as ever for a modern online marketplace in 2019." – Dmitry Sokolov, Project Manager at Roobykon Software

A good starting point is to offer a great product search, faceted category filters and well-designed and informative product pages.

(Did you know your buyers will search for products in a LOT of different ways?)

Checkout flow tailored to your buyers

marketplace features checkout

What are the most popular payment methods in your region? What delivery methods do your competitors use?

Do your research and really understand how people buy – don't offer PayPal if the industry standard is cash on delivery.

Your checkout process should be as straight-forward as possible and support the payment and delivery methods your buyers expect.

Reliable order processing and tracking

Taking orders your vendors can't fulfill is a great way to disappoint your customers and drive them away for good.

Make sure your vendors are reliable, keep the customer notified about the status of their order and offer them a way to track it.

Communication between the buyer and the vendor

If questions arise you want them to get handled quickly and efficiently.

Your customers will be much more likely to purchase again if they can ask vendors questions prior to the purchase, communicate with them after placing the order and leave reviews.

 

Essential marketplace platform features

essential platform features

 

Suitable payment gateways and delivery methods

If you can't process payments your marketplace platform is worthless.

Make sure your software supports the payment and delivery methods you'll use in your marketplace.

Tools to manage your marketplace operations

You have to be on top of things and keep track of everything as a marketplace platform owner.

Features like notifications and alerts, catalog moderation tools and marketplace activity overview will be a good start.

Marketing features to grow your platform

How do you run a marketplace platform successfully if nobody knows about it? You can't.

You'll have to promote it – and you'll have a much easier time doing it if the platform itself is built with marketing in mind.

Automated search engine optimization, social media integrations, user-friendly interfaces and a modern design are all must haves in this day and age.

Monetization tools to help you generate revenue

It's not a marketplace business if you're not making money. If you can't monetize it, you can't sustain it.

There's a lot of ways your marketplace can generate revenue (wrote about it a while ago). Vendor subscriptions, signup, insertion and selling fees, featured and sponsored products and stores and more.

Have a business plan at hand and make sure your platform makes it possible.

 

That's it with the essentials. If your platform can do these – you're good to go (but make sure the features you're offering work as expected)!

"You'll generally want to start with the essentials, like allowing your users to leave reviews and communicate. We didn't have an app until six months after we launched and it was fine. But you have to make sure the core features you start with work flawlessly." – Duane Brown, Founder & Head of Strategy at Take Some Risk

Now as your marketplace grows, you'll probably want to offer more tools to your marketplace users.

Here are some non-essential features that are nice to have once your marketplace is off to a good start:

 

 

Non-essential or nice-to-have marketplace features

essential marketplace platform features

These are the features your marketplace platform can live without – at least during the early stages of your business.

Advanced analytics and reporting

Giving yourself and your vendors a set of basic analytics and reporting tools is a good idea, but leave advanced analytics to professional analytics software.

If you really think your vendors need something more advanced, offer an integration with existing analytics platforms like Google Analytics instead.

Customizable front stores for your vendors

Remember how Myspace allowed people to build glittery colorful backgrounds and add background music to their profiles?

If you want your marketplace to look and feel like a unified whole (you do), offering vendors too much customization options will absolutely backfire.

Some customization is fine, though – especially if you're running a marketplace like Etsy where sellers are individuals, not faceless companies.

Too many payment gateways

marketplace features many payment gateways

You might think offering your users as many payment options you can think of is a good idea.

In reality, usability studies show that even just displaying multiple payment methods makes checkout more complex. Now consider using them all for settlements with vendors.

Different regions have different payment preferences, but it's better to start with one or two most popular payment gateways and offering more later as needed.

Consider using a marketplace payment gateway like Stripe Connect that allows you to instantly transfer payments between the buyers and the sellers.

A complex vendor plan structure and fees

Many marketplace platforms allow you to create multiple different subscription plans for your vendors and charge them a whole lot of fees depending on their plan.

This doesn't mean you should jump right into it and design a fee structure that takes up multiple Excel sheets.

Remember – the simpler your offer to your vendors, the more likely they'll be to join your platform. (Even Amazon offers vendors two base plans only).

Standalone mobile apps

It feels good to offer your users a standalone marketplace app they can use on their smartphones.

However, unless your software offers it out of the box, mobile apps are expensive to build and maintain – and it's not an essential feature, especially for smaller projects.

Instead, make sure your marketplace website is responsive and leave standalone apps for later.

Advanced product management

Your first priority is to make it easy for your vendors to list products for sale.

Advanced features like product drafts, custom templates and bulk stock management is something you can offer professional vendors down the road.

Seller badges and performance scores

A vendor performance system allows you to automatically track and reward your best sellers with badges, lower fees or other benefits.

It also brings an extra layer of complexity into your system. And unless you're starting out with thousands of vendors, you can handle promotions manually.

Vacation or holiday mode

While helpful as your platform grows, this is a feature your vendors can live without when you're just starting out.

As a workaround, you can make it possible for vendors to get in touch with you and have you temporarily place their store on pause while they're away.

Digital products and file management

Unless you're running a digital marketplace, your vendors don't need a file manager and ways to deal with digital downloadable products.

Integrations with third party shipping providers

Automating all of your shipping processes is a good idea, but doing it in an online marketplace is a difficult task from a technical perspective.

Start with a simple way for your vendors to specify shipping prices themselves, then offer integrations with hand-picked shipping services as you grow.

Multi-user access to vendor accounts

Larger, enterprise-grade vendors may want to have multiple different users control their vendors accounts.

But unless your marketplace is specifically tailored to enterprises, you'll probably not need this feature. (And if you're in enterprise, you'll know better than me what features you do and don't need.)

 

Well, this list has gotten pretty long by now. The point is: start small, have the basic marketplace features available to your users and expand as you grow – not the other way around.

Did I miss an essential marketplace feature? Let me know!

The post What features exactly does your marketplace platform need? appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.


What's MultiMerch Standalone and what will it look like?

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multimerch standalone blog post header

We've recently started offering early access to MultiMerch Standalone, our next-gen marketplace platform software.

In this blog post I'll cover Standalone and its features in more detail, offer some development insights and share our roadmap for the platform.

Why MultiMerch Standalone (the state of OpenCart in 2019)

Although MultiMerch 8 is built for OpenCart, it's more than a multi vendor OpenCart extension. We've always been building MultiMerch as an all-in-one marketplace platform.

However, we still have to rely on OpenCart for the core ecommerce functionality and we've been paying close attention to the evolution of OpenCart itself.

Back in 2017 and 2018, I published a few blog posts highlighting the problems with OpenCart:

My point back then was that OpenCart has a number of major flaws that it needs to address to stay relevant as an ecommerce solution today.

Today, a little more than a year later, nothing has fundamentally changed (unfortunately). And with OpenCart 3.1 being delayed since July 2018 it's not looking great for the project.

multimerch standalone opencart

And as long as we're offering MultiMerch as an extension, we can't fix OpenCart's underlying core flaws:

  • we can't fix OpenCart's outdated core ecommerce feature set and its usability issues
  • we can't fix OpenCart's poorly designed upgrade, theme and extension systems
  • we can't fix OpenCart's development processes and its lack of a clear roadmap

In today's world of modern cloud commerce, all of these issues make OpenCart an obsolete second-class shopping cart framework at best. It's something for indie developers to play with, but not a solution you'll chose to build your next successful online store, let alone a marketplace.

However, we can – and did – make sure MultiMerch software itself is better than this:

  • we release at least one major MultiMerch version a month with bugfix releases in between
  • we keep our upgrade process really simple, safe and straight-forward
  • all MultiMerch 8.x releases backward-compatible and you can install 2 years worth of updates at once
  • we design our features and interfaces based on the latest ecommerce research (such as Baymard)

Now, it's time to take what we learned building MultiMerch for OpenCart and apply it to the system as a whole.

This is where MultiMerch Standalone comes in.

 

What's in Standalone for the user?

Standalone is our take at building a better modern all-in-one marketplace platform that is:

  • designed for sales and usability based on current ecommerce research
  • really easy to use – for buyers, vendors, marketplace owners and developers
  • stable, reliable and easy to deploy, customize and keep maintained

This will require a lot of improvements both in MultiMerch multi vendor core and the underlying ecommerce systems, but we can do it.

Here are some of the major improvement points we're working on:

Modern design and layouts

multimerch standalone design layouts

You can't expect to run a successful modern online marketplace if your design and layouts aren't up to the job. The design and layouts is what we'll be focusing on first and foremost.

Powerful product search and display

multimerch standalone categories

If the buyer can't find a product they're looking for on your platform they'll go elsewhere.

The catalog features of Standalone are built with this in mind – powerful product search, information-dense categories with automated faceted product filters and product cards that provide exactly the information customers look for.

Automated marketplace SEO

standalone marketplace seo

Search engine optimization can make or break your organic customer acquisition.

MultiMerch Core already provides most of the SEO your vendors need in an online marketplace and we will be expanding it in Standalone to cover the whole platform.

This includes automatic generation of all metadata, SEO-friendly products, categories and sellers, microdata, URL structures and more.

 

Clean, informative product pages

multimerch standalone product pages

The product page is where the customer decides whether or not they'll buy the product. Unfortunately OpenCart doesn't offer a great product page experience out of the box.

Standalone comes with its own product pages designed with the buyer in mind.

Think great images, information density, seller info and review sections, shipping details tailored to the current customer and so on.

 

Better product management for vendors

multimerch standalone product publisher

The product publisher in MultiMerch Core is designed to be as flexible as possible, but it still suffers from OpenCart's underlying product system drawbacks.

We plan to introduce a number of major product publishing improvements into Standalone, such as a more powerful category-based attribute and variation system, multiple vendors offering the same product and various third party ecommerce platform integrations.

 

Better notifications, emails and messaging

In one of the recent major updates we've introduced our own multichannel notification system and onsite notifications for vendors.

This will be extended to support beautifully designed email templates, onsite and mobile notifications for vendors and customers and a more powerful RabbitMQ notification queues.

 

Better localization, shipping and tax management

multimerch standalone localization

OpenCart offers basic localization, zone and tax settings, but they're not as useful in marketplace environments compared to regular stores.

We will be introducing our own region and taxation systems to make MultiMerch's existing vendor shipping and reporting systems even better.

More sales & marketing tools

multimerch standalone upsells

A modern marketplace needs a number of important tools to generate revenue which OpenCart doesn't offer out of the box.

Standalone will include automated customer review procurement and mass discount campaign management for vendors to intelligent product bundling, product recommendations, up- and cross-selling and sponsorships.

 

API, integrations and mobile apps

First and foremost, Standalone will have its own API for developers to work with.

We will also offer a number of the crucial payment, shipping and marketing integrations and a way to offer a mobile app out of the box.

 

Core architecture improvements

OpenCart offers a decent MVC architecture, but not much more than that – I already mentioned the lack of a decent upgrade process and not so well-thought-out extension and theme systems. This makes OpenCart a pain to use, customize, update and maintain.

We will take what we've learned designing MultiMerch Core and apply it to the whole marketplace system.

When can we expect it?

"That's great, Martin, but when can we expect it?"

Well, all of the screenshots you've seen in this post are real. Standalone isn't production-ready yet, but we plan to get the initial version rolled out around Q2 this year.

At the moment, you can purchase early access for MultiMerch Standalone at a lower cost. This gives you a Standalone license and an OpenCart extension if you plan to start working at once. Once Standalone is production-ready enough we'll be offering a way to migrate to it from OpenCart.

And another important thing - this doesn't mean we're abandoning MultiMerch Core. In fact, most of the Standalone features will be introduced into Core as well (unless we absolutely can't due to OpenCart limitations). So, if you're currently using MultiMerch for OpenCart - don't worry, it's not going anywhere.

If you're looking for an early demo of MultiMerch Standalone, visit our Demos page and sign up for a quick demonstration.

The post What's MultiMerch Standalone and what will it look like? appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

7 WooCommerce Multi Vendor Plugins for WordPress Marketplaces

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woocommerce multi vendor plugins

Can you build a multi vendor marketplace with WordPress?

What is the best WooCommerce multi vendor plugin?

When do you pick Easy Digital Downloads over WooCommerce?

Today, I'm looking at 7 different plugins for WordPress marketplaces to help you pick the best one:

Even if you're new to WordPress, you probably know that WooCommerce is the most popular ecommerce plugin for WordPress.

WooCommerce lets you turn your WordPress into an online store and currently powers around 7% of the entire ecommerce landscape.

Alternatively, you can use Easy Digital Downloads, which isn't quite popular as WooCommerce and is aimed primarily at (you guessed it!) digital stores.

However, these plugins alone aren't enough to run a WordPress-powered marketplace with vendors.

You need something more – a multi vendor plugin for either WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads to create a two-sided platform and pursue a sustainable marketplace business model.

That's exactly what we'll be looking at today – multi vendor plugins for WordPress marketplaces:

  1. WC Marketplace
  2. Dokan Multivendor Marketplace
  3. WCFM Marketplace (WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace)
  4. WC Vendors
  5. YITH WooCommerce Multi Vendor
  6. WooCommerce Product Vendors
  7. Frontend Submissions for Easy Digital Downloads
  8. Conclusion: the best WooCommerce multi vendor plugin?

(This blog post is part of our series on online marketplace software.)

 

1. WC Marketplace

woocommerce multi vendor wc marketplace overview

WC Marketplace is a WooCommerce multi vendor plugin for WordPress by The Grey Parrots.

The free version of WC Marketplace is available on WordPress Plugins, has 10,000+ downloads and 261 reviews with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 (pretty good!)

 

WC Marketplace pricing and features

woocommerce multi vendor wc marketplace pricing

The core version of WC Marketplace is completely free and can be downloaded from WordPress plugins.

I'll go ahead and say this: it packs an outstanding set of features for a free WordPress marketplace plugin (and isn't just a "free-but-useless-pay-for-everything" money grab). The plugin's description confirms it:

woocommerce multi vendor wc marketplace really free

The free version of WC Marketplace can be extended with paid addons that cost between $20 and $250 per year. These usually offer more advanced features like Stripe payments, memberships and invoicing.

As of March 2019, a bundle of 10 paid WC Marketplace addons is available for $369 (with 12 months of support).

 

WC Marketplace themes

woocommerce multi vendor wc marketplace themes

WC Marketplace doesn't include a theme out of the box, but provides a list of 22 compatible multi vendor themes from ThemeForest.

These are some of the WC Marketplace recommended WordPress themes: XStore, Rigid, Milano, REHub, Aqua, ShopMe, Techmarket, Flatastic, Zorka, Claue, Branchy, Jewellery, Orson.

 

WC Marketplace examples

The official demo of WC Marketplace is available at https://wcmpdemos.com/WCMp/.

Additionally, these are a few examples of live marketplaces powered by WC Marketplace:

 

2. Dokan Multivendor Marketplace

woocommerce multi vendor dokan overview

Dokan is a WordPress multi vendor marketplace plugin for WooCommerce by WeDevs.

The free version of Dokan has 10,000+ downloads and 207 reviews on WordPress Plugins with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5.

 

Dokan pricing and features

woocommerce multi vendor dokan pricing features

Dokan comes in 5 different plans, from $0 to $999/year:

  • The Free version includes the core vendors system, but no product publishing for vendors and no vendor management
  • The $149/year version comes WordPress.org support and also includes: marketplace commissions, front end product publishing, vendor management, reporting and social logins
  • The $249/year version also includes: vendor reviews, ticketing system, seller verification, Stripe, PayPal & Moip payments and subscriptions
  • The $499/year version also includes support for WC Booking, vendor geolocation, imports/exports, staff management and auctions
  • The $999/year version also includes 1 hour of theme compatibility and installation services as well as priority live chat support

The main difference between Dokan plans is in the features/modules included and the number of domains the license covers.

Dokan themes

woocommerce multi vendor dokan themes

Dokan includes the default Dokan marketplace theme out of the box, which I think looks pretty neat.

Additionally, Dokan supports and endorses 11 third party WordPress themes from ThemeForest: REHub, Marketo, Electro, Marketica, Lecraft, Gon, Media-center, StoreMate, UniCase, Yozi, Revo.

 

Dokan demo and live marketplace examples

You can find an on-demand demo of Dokan at https://wedevs.com/in/dokandemo

The WeDevs website also lists a number of marketplaces powered by Dokan:

 

3. WCFM Marketplace (WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace)

woocommerce multi vendor wcfm marketplace overview

WCFM Marketplace (or WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace) is a multi vendor WordPress plugin by WC Lovers.

The free version of WCFM Marketplace is available on WordPress Plugins and has 6,000+ downloads and 53 reviews with an average rating of 5 out of 5 (great job!).

 

WCFM Marketplace pricing and features

woocommerce multi vendor wcfm marketplace pricing features

Just like WC Marketplace, the core version of WCFM is available for free and, too, offers quite a lot in terms of features. 

WCFM core offers both the basic vendor management you usually expect as well as more advanced features like reverse withdrawals, seller verification and multiple sellers offering a single product.

Additionally, WCFM core can be extended with a number of addon packages that cost from $11 to $299 depending on the license.

 

WCFM Marketplace themes

woocommerce multi vendor wcfm marketplace themes

There is no official list of supported WCFM Marketplace themes, but the developers claim it does support all WooCommerce themes.

Additionally, according to a number of discussions on WC Lovers forums, some of the recommended themes are ReHub, Electro, MartFury and regular WooCommerce themes like Flatsome and Avada.

 

WCFM Marketplace demo and live examples

You'll find the official demo of WCFM Marketplace at http://wcfmmp.wcfmdemos.com/

 

4. WC Vendors

woocommerce multi vendor wc vendors overview

WC Vendors is a WordPress marketplace solution for WooCommerce by Jamie aka digitalchild.

The free version of WC Vendors is available on WordPress Plugins and has 10,000+ downloads and 110 reviews with an average rating of 4.4 out of 5.

 

WC Vendors pricing and features

woocommerce multi vendor wc vendors pricing features

WC Vendors comes in 4 different plans, from $0 to $599/lifetime:

  • WC Vendors Free: basic features, no front end management (not too useful for a marketplace)
  • WC Vendors Pro ($199/year): all features including front end dashboards, shipping, coupons and more
  • WC Vendors Pro ($349/2 years): same features, biennial renewals
  • WC Vendors Pro ($599/lifetime): same features, lifetime license

The Pro version includes all features so the three paid plans only differ in terms of renewals.

 

WC Vendors themes

woocommerce multi vendor wc vendors themes

WC Vendors does not include a theme out of the box, but officially supports a number of third party WordPress themes from ThemeForest.

Free WordPress themes supported by WC Vendors: Bento, Best Commerce, Easy Commerce, GeneratePress, OceanWP, Shopper, Storefront

Premium WordPress themes supported by WC Vendors: Flatastic, Hanata, Handy, MarketHub, REHub, Rigid, UX Shop, Xtocky, Zass

 

WC Vendors demo and live marketplace examples

You can find the official demo of WC Vendors at https://www.wcvendors.com/home/demo/

We reached out to Jamie, the founder of WC Vendors, and he shared a few live marketplaces powered by WC Vendors:

 

5. YITH WooCommerce Multi Vendor

woocommerce multi vendor yith overview

 

YITH WooCommerce Multi Vendor is a WooCommerce marketplace plugin by YITH.

The free version of YITH can be downloaded from WordPress Plugins and has 1,000+ active installs and 25 reviews (average rating 3.9 out of 5).

Note: most YITH Multi Vendor reviews on WordPress are from 2 years ago and older so it's not too actively reviewed.

 

YITH Multi Vendor pricing and features

woocommerce multi vendor yith pricing features

YITH Multivendor plugin itself comes in three different plans depending on the number of sites you'll install it on:

  • Single site ~$100/year (€89,99/year)
  • 6 sites ~$180/year (€159,99/year)
  • 30 sites ~$300/year (€269,99/year)

The plugin itself provides all of the core multi vendor features while the extra functionality is offered as paid addons.

YITH offers 30+ compatible addons costing anywhere between $100 and $300 per year.

 

YITH Multi Vendor themes

woocommerce multi vendor yith themes

There is no official list of supported themes available on YITH website.

ThemeForest has two WordPress themes listed as compatible with Yith Multi Vendor: ShopMe and Flatastic.

Further references to compatibility questions with SW Max Shop, Flatsome, Kupon and Avada themes can be found in YITH knowledge base.

 

YITH demo and live marketplaces

An official public demo of YITH Multivendor is available at https://plugins.yithemes.com/yith-woocommerce-multi-vendor/.

Unfortunately, we couldn't find any live marketplaces powered by YITH and didn't hear back from YITH after reaching out to them either.

 

6. WooCommerce Product Vendors

woocommerce multi vendor product vendors overview

WooCommerce Product Vendors is the official multi vendor plugin developed and maintained by WooCommerce.

It is not available on WordPress Plugins and can only be purchased from WooCommerce in 3 different subscription plans (depending on the number of sites):

  • Single site: $79.00/year
  • 5 sites: $99.00/year
  • 25 sites: $199.00/year

WooCommerce Product Vendors offers all of the basic vendor functionality, but unlike the rest of the plugins I covered here requires vendors to use the main WordPress dashboard to manage their stores.

There is no official public demo or examples of live marketplaces powered by WooCommerce Vendors available.

 

7. Frontend Submissions for Easy Digital Downloads

multi vendor easy digital downloads frontend submissions overview

This isn't WooCommerce, but I thought I'd cover it nevertheless.

Frontend Submissions is an official Easy Digital Downloads plugin that brings digital marketplace features to WordPress stores.

If you're building a digital marketplace with WordPress (like a software marketplace or the next ThemeForest competitor), this will be first plugin to look into since EDD is specifically designed for digital downloads.

It is the only multi vendor plugin for Easy Digital Downloads I could find out there.

 

Frontend Submissions pricing and features

multi vendor easy digital downloads frontend submissions pricing

Just like other Easy Digital Downloads plugins, Frontend Submissions comes in 3 different pricing plans depending on the number of domains you plan to use it on:

  • Single site: $199.00/year
  • 2 - 5 sites: $329.00/year
  • Unlimited sites: $419.00/year

Alternatively, Frontend Submissions can be purchased as part of Easy Digital Downloads extension bundles:

  • Professional pass: $299.00/year
  • All access pass: $499.00/year

And just like the WooCommerce multi vendor plugins, Frontend Submissions offers most of the core marketplace features you'll be looking for, such as vendor dashboards, order and product management, finances and buyer-vendor communication.

 

Frontend Submissions themes

multi vendor easy digital downloads frontend submissions themes

Frontend Submissions is designed to be used with the Vendd theme – a marketplace theme by Easy Digital Downloads.

Additionally, it should be compatible with the rest of the official Easy Digital Downloads themes: Themedd, Vendd, Shoppette, Lattice and Quota.

The Easy Digital Downloads team also recommends over 40 premium community themes from ThemeForest, including: Mayosis, Marketify, Webify, Market, Themeshop, Digital Download, Noor, Dew, DigiCraft and others.

ThemeForest itself has 2 WordPress themes listed as compatible with Frontend Submissions: Mayosis and Marketify.

 

Frontend Submissions demo and live marketplaces

There is no public demo of Frontend Submissions available, unfortunately.

However, we managed to get hold of one marketplace project powered by Frontend Submissions from the Easy Digital Downloads team: https://www.planmarketplace.com/

 

Conclusion: the best WooCommerce multi vendor plugin?

best woocommerce multi vendor plugin

So, unless you're building a digital marketplace you'll most likely go with WooCommerce over Easy Digital Downloads.

This leaves you with the following options:

  • WC Marketplace
  • Dokan Multivendor Marketplace
  • WCFM Marketplace (WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace)
  • WC Vendors
  • YITH WooCommerce Multi Vendor
  • WooCommerce Product Vendors

How do you choose the best WooCommerce vendor plugin for your WordPress marketplace?

I'd suggest the following steps:

  • first, give all free plugins a try (fortunately, all 4 offer free versions)
  • then, see which paid extra features you'll need
  • finally, pick the plugin that suits your requirements the best

I also recommend getting in touch with the developers to get to know them better before you commit to a particular WooCommerce marketplace plugin.

Finally, a quick disclaimer - I personally wouldn't build a multi vendor marketplace with WordPress.

Why? Because WordPress isn't really designed for ecommerce, let alone two-sided marketplace ecommerce.

The thing is, to build a marketplace with WordPress, you need:

  • a WordPress setup
  • an ecommerce plugin (WooCommerce)
  • a theme that's compatible with your WooCommerce
  • a multi vendor plugin for WooCommerce that's also compatible with your theme

So, you need a plugin for a plugin on top of a CMS. Not saying it's not possible, but each extra layer adds more complexity to your project.

What's the alternative? A dedicated marketplace platform like Sharetribe, a self hosted marketplace system like CS-Cart or MultiMerch or an ecommerce system like Magento or OpenCart with a multi vendor extension on top.

If you're curious about the whole spectrum of marketplace software, you'll want to check out our blog post covering all the different marketplace solutions.

The post 7 WooCommerce Multi Vendor Plugins for WordPress Marketplaces appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

10 Marketplace Business Models To Generate Revenue

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marketplace monetization multimerch

Starting an online marketplace with no revenue model is not the way you launch a successful marketplace business.

In this post I will cover 10 different marketplace business models that will help make your marketplace profitable.

I've seen a lot of two-sided marketplace platforms fail to generate revenues during my time here at MultiMerch.

Let me tell you – it's not pretty. You can have the best marketplace in the world and still go bust if you don't find the right business model.

These are the online marketplace business models you can try to generate steady revenues:

Let's jump right in:

1. Sign up fees

Sign up fees are simple – a sign up fee is a flat payment collected from your sellers when they apply to sell through your marketplace platform.

Collecting a sign up or registration fee is one of the most straight forward marketplace business models.

You've seen it, you know it. Sign up fees are simple, you don't need complex payment gateways and your sellers pay you upfront.

If you're brave enough you can charge sign up fees even before you have a thriving two-sided marketplace. (You only need to sell your idea to your vendors and convince them to pay to join your platform early.)

And it's a business model that makes sense to your sellers, too – paying a small amount to join a budding marketplace platform isn't a bad deal (if you have a valid business idea and can convince your sellers).

Here are a few tips for making the sign up fee business model work, especially in the early stages:

  • make sure the sign up fee is affordable and feasible for your vendors
  • think of the benefits your vendors will gain by signing up with your platform – and make an emphasis on the benefits!
  • create an incentive for early bird sign ups – make your vendors want to sign up early
  • offer a personal approach to vendors signing up – after all, they're investing in your idea

It's also possible to defer the sign up fee payment – for example, ClickBank charges you a $49.95 "activation charge" only after your first product is approved. While still essentially a sign up fee, it gives vendors a bit of assurance they'll only pay when they're ready to start selling.

If implemented properly, sign up fees can be a motivator for legit vendors and a safeguard against dummy signups.

Pros of sign up fees:

  • feasible in the early stages
  • simple implementation

Cons of sign up fees:

  • doesn't scale well in the long run
  • you'll need to be really convincing

The takeaway?

Sign up fees are a decent marketplace business model in the early stages of your business when selling fees aren't feasible due to low sales volumes.

However, you will have to combine them with a different revenue model to make it work in the long run.

 

2. Subscription business model with recurring payments

marketplace business models subscriptions fees.jpg

Subscription is king in 2019 – you know it, everyone knows it. The global sharing economy is powered by subscription businesses generating huge recurring revenues.

Over the past decade, businesses have been actively shifting from selling products and services to offering them as subscriptions.

Why? Because recurring revenue is the lifeline of any business, including online marketplaces. You can call subscriptions "the ultimate marketplace business model".

From digital products such as software, books, music and movies to services and even regular sales (think leases and installments), subscriptions rule the world – and for a reason.

First, subscriptions make it possible to split a large payments into multiple smaller ones, which are affordable. Shelling out $700 for a copy of Adobe Lightroom for personal use? Probably not. Subscribing to use Lightroom for $10 a month? Sounds like a bargain!

Second, recurring payments are a great way to help keep your business funded and evolving over the longer period of time. Doesn't matter if you're building an online marketplace platform or a mobile app – charging a subscription will let you keep your product maintained and improving as long as your users think it's worth paying for. Selling it for one time payments? Good luck surviving the first few years.

The most important rule of the subscriptions is simple – as long as your users are getting more value out of your services than it costs them keep being subscribed, they'll keep paying. The same applies to online marketplaces – your vendors won't mind paying $10 per month if this brings them 10x more.

While implementing subscriptions is a more complex feat than collecting one time sign up payments, you'll usually find many popular payment solutions like Stripe that are offering them out of the box. You can combine them, too.

If you're considering the subscription marketplace business model, here are a few tips:

  • make sure your vendors are be getting more value than it costs to keep being subscribed
  • offer a free trial if technically possible
  • describe exactly what is included and how you'll collect payments
  • try offering a few different plans with different options and a way to seamlessly switch between them (more on this below)
  • have a plan to keep your vendors engaged
  • offer incentives for larger payments at once (e.g. 15% off for a yearly vs monthly plan)

The actual payment periods and subscription rates will depend on the industry and the products or services you're offering, but weekly, monthly or yearly payments are the most common ones.

Pros of subscription payments:

  • great revenue model in the long run
  • in many cases more affordable than one-off payments

Cons of subscription payments:

  • more complex to implement than one-off payments
  • difficult to implement in specific industries

If you can find a way to successfully implement this business model in your marketplace and make sure your sellers gain value out of their subscriptions – you'll do great!

 

3. Product listing or publishing fees

marketplace business models etsy listing fee

Product listing fees are one of the most common marketplace business models among two-sided marketplace platforms.

When you're just starting out with your online marketplace you'll consider listing or insertion fees as it's one of the easier revenue models to implement.

A listing fee is a flat or a variable amount collected from the vendor when they list their products for sale.

There's a number of different ways for a marketplace platform to calculate product listing fees:

  • flat amount, e.g. $0.35 per product listing
  • price-based amount, e.g. 5% of product's listing price
  • category-based fee calculation, e.g. $25 to list a product in the Automotive category
  • feature-based calculation, e.g. +$5 for each additional product category
  • any combination of the above

Listing fees can be collected at once for each individual product or combined into a single invoice covering multiple products.

Here are a few tips to consider when implementing listing fees as your marketplace business model:

  • make it easy for sellers to pay the fees – especially if you want to encourage them to list lots of products
  • provide the sellers with a convincing argument why it pays off to list on your platform – via statistics, for example
  • if you use price-based calculations and work with expensive products, consider maximum fee caps

Insertion fees will work great for marketplaces offering handmade items where vendors sell one-of-a-kind-products, but they may not work as well in regular retail online malls.

This business model is also popular among classified and ad platforms that don't process transactions and thus can't collect selling fees.

Pros of listing fees:

  • straight forward approach that is clear to sellers
  • will work great for one-off, unique and handmade marketplaces as well as classified platforms
  • the way to go if you don't process transactions and can't collect selling fees

Cons of listing fees:

  • won't work as well in the early stages while the platform is still gaining traction
  • not suitable for all industries
  • no products = no revenues

Before implementing listing fees, make sure it's a viable strategy in your industry. (If none of your competitors are doing it, perhaps it's not.)

 

4. Selling fees

Selling or sales fees is pretty much the most popular marketplace business model among online store and marketplace owners.

It is also one of the most difficult revenue models to implement correctly, in my personal opinion.

When you run a marketplace with selling fees enabled, you have a revenue stream that brings you a small share of each sale, usually before the payment reaches the vendor.

Both flat selling fees and percentage-based fees (or a combination of both types) are common.

The exact way you'll collect selling fees from the vendors in your marketplace will depend on the payment flow you're using.

There are three common payment flows in an online marketplace:

  • direct payments, where customer's payment goes directly to vendor's account
  • aggregated payments, where your platform collects payments from your customers and then distributes them to vendors in the form of payouts
  • split or parallel payments, where the payment processor splits customer's payment between your vendors and your platform at checkout

With direct payments, you have no way of collecting the selling fee at the time of payment as the payment is made exclusively between the customer and the seller. You can still collect the selling fee as a reverse payment by invoicing your seller – either automatically at the time of sale or at regular intervals, e.g. monthly.

In case of aggregated payments, you'll keep track of the selling fees owed by the sellers, but collect them at the time of your payout to the seller. Depending on the amount of business your platform gets and the payment methods used you can either track the fee amounts manually or via toools designed to make it easier, such as seller transactions and balances.

Split or parallel payments usually take more time and technical skills to implement, but then make the process of collecting selling fees simpler than the rest of payment flows. In most cases, the payment processor you'll use to process split payments will let you handle selling fee collection automatically at checkout.

There are a few different levels you can apply different fee rates to when building your revenue model:

  • marketplace-wide fees, e.g. $0.35 + 3% on each sale
  • different rates based on plans or performance, e.g. 1.5% for power sellers, 3% for everyone else
  • individual rates for individual sellers – consider this if you're running a smaller niche marketplace
  • different selling fee rates for different product categories or even individual products

If you're building a marketplace platform with a tiered membership system, you'll have greated flexibility when planning your selling fees.

When considering whether or not to implement selling fees in your online marketplace, remember the following things:

  • selling fees scale well as your sales grow, but don't work as great in the early stages of the project
  • low selling fee rates may be enticing to your vendors, but might not be sustainable for yourself
  • when implementing selling fees, don't forget to take your own processing fees into account

Pros of selling fees:

  • they're great when scaling – 3% of $100 is $3, but 3% of $1,000,000 is $30,000
  • they'll work well in large retail online malls where quantity is more important, than quality

Cons of selling fees:

  • they're more difficult to implement compared to other marketplace business models
  • they won't work well in the early stages when your two-sided platform doesn't have many sales yet

Selling fees will get your online marketplace platform to success in the long run – just make sure you have other revenue streams to rely on while you grow (or just get some VC funding!)

 

5. Payment processing or transaction fees

This marketplace business model is similar to sales fees, but charging payment processing or transaction fees brings your revenue generation to the next level.

If you only charge selling fees, you only get a cut of the order at the time of the sale.

However, there are many more payment types that will happen in a regular online marketplace in addition to order payments:

  • sign up and listing payments from vendors
  • recurring membership payments
  • payments for promotions and featured listings
  • earning payouts to vendors, referrals and affiliates
  • payments from advertisers

With transaction fees, you get a small share of ALL payments that happen on your marketplace. You've heard the term "own the transaction". That's exactly what you're doing with this marketplace business model.

While the payment processing rates differ between companies and industries, even a 1% fee makes difference when you're processing millions in transactions.

Pros of charging your own payment processing fees:

  • earns your marketplace a great amount of money when scaling up
  • the more payments you're processing, the better off you are

Cons of charging your own payment processing fees:

  • difficult to implement from the technical perspective
  • shifting your processing fees to vendors will make them unhappy

It's a difficult business model to pull off, but it's the one you should be aiming for when building your online marketplace.

 

marketplace business models sponsored products

Promoting products and profiles is a great way to give your vendors that extra exposure after you've gotten your marketplace platform going.

It's a business model most of the popular marketplaces out there use to generate revenues.

Marketplace promotions can come in a few different forms, such as:

  • sponsored products on other product pages and in categories
  • promoted products in cart and at checkout
  • featured vendor profiles and products on the main page
  • promoted blog posts and newsletter mentions

Sponsored products will usually work best in product-focused marketplaces (such as eBay or Amazon, where the product is more important than the vendor), while featured vendor profiles are a great way to engage customers in vendor-centric marketplaces (where vendors sell unique or handmade products and build relationships with your customers).

When it comes to collecting payments for promotions, you can choose a few different approaches:

  • have vendors pay for individual product and profile promotions (and set different rates for different promotion periods and locations)
  • include product promotions in a higher-priced membership plan
  • implement a credit system to let vendors purchase credit in bulk and use it for promotions at their discretion
  • offer free promotions as part of a wider marketing campaign to attract new customers

If you decide to include paid featured listings and promotions in your marketplace business model, here are a few tips by MultiMerch:

  • make sure your offer to sellers is clear and makes sense for them – if it doesn't pay off, they'll be reluctant to do it in the future
  • consider the shopping experience of your customers who may be wary of sponsored products – will you promote everything or have some kind of validation in place?
  • don't forget about the technical part of implementing sponsored listings – can your current system handle them out of the box or will you need to have it developed first?
  • don't overdo sponsored listings so as to make your marketplace unusable for the organic purchase flow

Pros of sponsored listings and promotions:

  • sponsored listings scale well as your marketplace grows – the more exposure, the higher price that your vendors will be ready to pay
  • promotions are a flexible monetization strategy – the more placements you can arrange, the more combinations you'll be able to offer to your vendors

Cons of sponsored listings and promotions:

  • allowing promotions of low quality products may negatively affect your customers' experience
  • implementing featured listings may require custom development if your system doesn't support it
  • you'll need to convince your sellers that it's worth for them before they'll be ready to pay for it

You can implement paid sponsorships and product promotions in virtually any industry and marketplace type – just make sure you do it the right way!

 

7. Ads from third party advertisers

marketplace business models amazon display ads

This business model is a little different from promoted products or sellers – in contrast to your marketplace members, here you allow third party advertisers to promote their products, services or websites.

In general, the approach to ads is similar to the previous case – you have a number of ad placements and charge advertisers to publish their ads.

There are a few ways you can implement ads in your online marketplace:

  • using in-house ad software
  • using third party services, such as AdSense
  • manage ads manually

Depending on your requirements and your platform capabilities, you'll use one or more of the advertising models to collect payments from your advertisers:

  • CPI/CPM (cost per impression)
  • PPC/CPC (pay-per-click/cost per click)
  • cost per period, e.g. $125 daily or weekly for the homepage ad
  • cost per post, e.g. $250 per blog post

If you don't use a dedicated advertising system, the last one will be the easiest one to begin with – as long as you have at least some activity in your marketplace platform.

A few of the different ad types and placements you may consider:

  • display advertising, such as graphics and banners
  • text advertising, e.g. blog posts or newsletter mentions
  • mixed advertising, such as sponsored third party product listings

When considering third party ads to generate a revenue stream from your online marketplace, keep the following things in mind:

  • ads essentially drive visitors away from your website – is it worth it for your platform?
  • you don't always control the content promoted by third party ads – how will it affect the overall experience of your marketplace members?
  • if you don't have a built-in ad system, implementing one will require some technical skills – can your team handle it?

Pros of ads:

  • if implemented properly, relevant native advertising may provide the extra value to your marketplace members
  • monetization through ads scales well as long as you can reach the relevant advertisers in your industry
  • unlike affiliate and referral systems, you don't have to implement revenue sharing with vendors for advertisement

Cons of ads:

  • low quality non-native advertising will negatively affect the experience of your users and visitors
  • successfully implementing and managing online marketplace advertising requires a cooperation of multiple members of your team

Advertisement is a huge, but often controversial industry – if you go with monetizing your marketplace through ads, make sure you know what you're doing.

 

8. Pay per lead or lead fees

If you're running a contract-based or service-based marketplace and don't process orders through your platform, charging lead fees might be a viable marketplace business model for you.

In this case, your vendors will be able to browse the list of potential clients or deals, but will need to pay to view the details or an individual deal.

When it comes to charging the lead fee, you have two distinct options:

  • charge to access each lead
  • charge for successful deals only

In the first case, your vendors will have to pay to access the details of the lead or the deal, whether or not the outcome is good for them.

With the latter option, you'll only charge your vendors if the deal with this particular lead goes through – however, here you'll need to have some control over the deal flow.

 

9. Bidding fees for auction marketplaces

Bidding fees are similar to the pay per lead revenue model, but in this case you charge the other side – the customers.

The most common case of bidding fees are penny auction type marketplaces, where customers pay a small amount to bid on the product.

If you're running a penny auction marketplace, charging bidding fees will be a mandatory step as it's the primary revenue model for penny auctions.

In case you've got a different marketplace type – bidding fees are probably not for you.

 

10. Grow your marketplace through affiliates and referrals

marketplace business models etsy affiliate referral

While not a business model per se, running affiliate and referral systems will increase your marketplace customer and user base, thus driving sales.

Depending on your marketplace software capabilities and your requirements, you can choose either of these or run both at the same time.

The main difference between affiliates and referrals is:

  • in affiliate marketing, third party advertisers promote your marketplace products without being members themselves
  • in referral marketing, existing marketplace members refer new visitors to your marketplace based on their own experience

While running an affiliate system will usually result in a greater reach, it won't necessarily provide great results in terms of revenues.

Since affiliates are basically third party advertisers, they have a relatively low trust score among their audiences.

On the other hand, allowing your existing members refer new users to your marketplace will let you build an organic ecosystem and a community, provided you maintain the quality of your marketplace at a proper level.

If you're considering implementing a referral or an affiliate system of your own, here are a few things to consider:

  • while an affiliate system may be a good idea for larger marketplace, an organic referral system is great from the start as long as your existing users are happy
  • don't forget about fees and revenue sharing – if you sell products by third party vendors, who'll pay the affiliate/referral commission?
  • building your own referral system from scratch will be a complex endeavor – can you handle it?

Pros of affiliate and referral systems:

  • rewarding happy users to refer their friends will help you build an ecosystem within your marketplace organically
  • implementing an affiliate system may work good on larger marketplaces

Cons of affiliate and referral systems:

  • affiliates will often generate low quality traffic
  • you'll need to consider revenue sharing if you're selling products by third party vendors through affiliates

Referral programs will usually work well as a marketplace business model in most industries, affiliate systems are a bit more difficult – in any case, do your homework before rushing to implement these.

 

Bonus: designing a tiered marketplace membership system

marketplace business models membership tiers

If you're going to implement sign up, recurring, listing and selling fees in your online marketplace, you'll usually want to create a few different tiers for your marketplace members.

In this section, I'd like to share a few helpful tips on designing a tiered membership system.

There are a few differentiators you can use when designing your plans.

Fee rates and selling restrictions:

  • different sign up fee rates for different plans
  • lower product listing fees for higher tier plans
  • more expensive recurring plans with more features
  • lower selling fees for power sellers
  • maximum orders or maximum revenue per plan, possibly with automatic tier switching

While you're here, you'll also need to consider whether or not to offer free and freemium plans, as well as free trials.

When it comes to product listing, there are a few product publishing restrictions (or benefits) you can use to differentiate your plans:

  • allow a maximum number of product listings per plan, e.g. 15 listings per week
  • specify the maximum number of categories sellers can list to, e.g. one category per product at the lowest plan
  • restrict product publishing to specific categories only and unlock the rest at higher plans
  • allow sellers to upload up to a maximum number of product images and charge for additional images
  • specify minimum and/or maximum prices sellers can define for their products, e.g. only premium plan members can list expensive products

You'll need to be careful here, though – restrict your plans too much and watch members leave to a more open competitor.

In addition or instead to product listing restrictions, you can grant or restrict access to whole features depending on your seller's plan, such as:

  • limits on storage space, e.g. 200 MB on image storage for sellers on the free plan
  • discount codes and gift cards, e.g. only paid members are allowed to configure coupon codes and create gift cards
  • staff accounts, e.g. allow team access to seller control panels on higher tiers
  • advanced analytics, reporting and sales tools – free members only get basic reporting and no access to advanced marketing tools
  • manual order creation – allow premium plan subscribers to manually create orders for their customers
  • automatic fraud analysis – grant premium sellers access to your platform's fraud tools for their peace of mind
  • integrations with third party solutions – restrict free members to basic tools and enable integrations with custom tools for paid sellers only
  • support level by your company – provide personal, live support to sellers subscribed to higher tier plans

Basically, there's quite a lot of possible features you can use as a differentiator when designing the membership system for your online marketplace.

The main thing I'd recommend keeping in mind here is not to go overboard with restrictions and end up with a system that's unusable for your sellers.

As long as you don't forget about your sellers and keep your membership levels feasible for them, they'll be happy to switch to the next level when they're ready.

 

Conclusion: which marketplace business model is right for you?

When it comes to marketplace business models, there's no "one size fits all" approach.

So, when designing a revenue model for your online marketplace platform, keep the following factors in mind:

  • your industry and the competitors – if nobody else is doing what you have in mind, you could be wrong (or a visionary)
  • the size and life cycle of your marketplace – some business models work well in the early stages, for others you'll need large selling and traffic volumes
  • the nuances of your target market, geographical location and culture – what works great in one region, may not turn out so well somewhere else

In most cases, I'd recommend starting your revenue generation journey with exploring sign up fees, product listing fees, selling fees and featured listings before going deeper into advanced monetization.

The post 10 Marketplace Business Models To Generate Revenue appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

Sellers, vendors, stores – how do MultiMerch marketplaces work?

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multimerch seller system blog post header

MultiMerch is an online marketplace platform or a multi-vendor platform – same thing.

This means you can use MultiMerch to build a two-sided marketplace where multiple vendors have their own store fronts and sell their own products.

In this blog post, I'll describe how the seller system works in MultiMerch in a nutshell.

Note that sellers and vendors mean the same thing in MultiMerch, I'll use them interchangeably.

 

Sellers in MultiMerch – the basics multimerch seller system overview

The seller system in MultiMerch is designed in a similar manner to what you'll see on Etsy, Amazon and other popular online marketplaces.

You own and manage the marketplace platform where your sellers have their own accounts, storefronts and profiles.

Sellers list their goods for sale on your marketplace, buyers browse your marketplace and can purchase from multiple sellers at once.

New users and existing customers can sign up to become sellers – they will use the same username and password to use both their buyer and seller accounts.

This means:

  • simpler onboarding for your sellers as they don't manage a full blown online store, just a marketplace account
  • a much more consistent buyer experience across your marketplace and a way to buy from multiple sellers at once
  • you retain control over the actual platform and can focus on monetizing it

Now, here's how vendor stores and profiles work:

Seller stores and profiles multimerch seller system vendor stores profiles

Every MultiMerch vendor has two main public areas within your marketplace – their storefront and their vendor profile.

Vendor's storefront displays all products offered by a particular vendor. It's up to you whether to allow vendors to list directly into marketplace categories or into their storefronts only.

Vendor's profile page displays the additional information about the vendor, such as their description, stats, customer reviews and other helpful stuff.

MultiMerch also lists all sellers on a separate page so customers can browse and sort through seller profiles. You can enable the display of sellers on a map via Google Maps API.

Vendors can customize their profile images and store banners, but it's mostly up to you to pick the main marketplace theme – it will provide the same consistent browsing experience for your customers.

 

Seller accounts and dashboards

multimerch seller system vendor dashboards

MultiMerch lets vendors manage their stores through their seller accounts.

This includes everything from publishing products and processing orders to managing their finances.

Seller accounts are responsive and will adapt to the theme you're using to match the style of your marketplace.

 

Seller groups or plans

multimerch seller system vendor groups

You can create different seller groups (or plans) with different properties, such as marketplace fee rates or vendor badges.

If you make the plans public, your vendors will be able to pick a plan at signup and register into a specific group.

MultiMerch supports Stripe Subscriptions so you can tie seller plans to your Stripe account to collect signup fees or subscription fees via Stripe.

 

How do sellers sign up to sell on your marketplace?

multimerch seller system new seller landing page

Existing customers and new users can create a vendor account and sell their products on your marketplace.

To create a seller account, your users will usually start with a landing page where you describe your terms and benefits. We offer a landing page template that you can modify for your marketplace.

The landing page will direct them to the new vendor registration form where they'll fill out the basic information about their store, such as name, description and a few other details.

You can choose what information you'll ask from your vendors at sign up via MultiMerch settings.

multimerch seller system new seller signup form

After going through registration, the new seller can start configuring their store and publishing products for sale. You can also enable manual seller verification and approve all new signups manually.

Finally, your marketplace staff can create vendor accounts manually via MultiMerch admin area. MultiMerch lets you create vendor accounts for existing customers or create new users.

Seller account features

Vendors access their accounts by logging into your marketplace via the main login page.

The dashboard will contain the overview of their store, including the sales/orders chart, latest orders, reviews, invoices, messages as well as the top viewed and best selling products.

Sellers navigate their accounts via the navigation sidebar that contains links to product management areas, the list of orders, customer communication tools, finances and other marketplace features that you enable.

Here's what seller accounts consist of:

Product listing and catalog management

multimerch seller system vendor accounts product management

Your vendors create and manage their product catalog via the Products page and the Create product form.

As the marketplace owner, you can choose from 30+ default product fields to use in product forms as well as create custom fields yourself.

Additionally, you can allow sellers to create their own product categories to organize products within their own storefronts.

Furthermore, MultiMerch makes it possible for vendors to run their own discount campaigns by creating coupon codes in Coupons.

 

Order processing

multimerch seller system vendor accounts order management

MultiMerch notifies sellers about new orders from customers and lets them manage orders via Orders page.

Sellers can view and print order details, change the status of the order when it's dispatched an communicate with the customer directly within the order details page.

 

Seller finances – balance, transactions and invoices

Depending on your payment flow, your sellers will either get paid according to their seller balance or receive instant payments via Stripe or PayPal Adaptive.

If you aggregate buyer payments, sellers will receive a balance transaction to their balance for each completed order, which you will then use for payouts.

If you distribute payments automatically, sellers will mostly use payment invoices. Invoices will also be used if you collect sign up, insertion and subscription fees.

Sellers can view their transaction history, balance statement and invoices in Transactions and Invoices (as well as in Reports).

 

Marketplace communication – reviews, questions, conversations

multimerch seller system vendor accounts reviews communication

MultiMerch encourages communication between buyers and sellers within your marketplace platform to keep the experience of buying and selling as pleasant as possible.

Buyers can ask sellers questions about products that are displayed publicly, communicate with them via private messages and publish reviews for completed orders.

Vendors receive notifications and can respond to customer inquiries via Reviews, Questions and Conversations pages.

 

Store settings and vendor profile

multimerch seller system vendor accounts settings

Sellers can customize the look and feel of their store via Profile and configure additional settings via Settings.

These include addresses, vendor's shipping configuration and payment settings as well as holiday mode and a few additional settings.

 

Reports

multimerch seller system vendor accounts reports monthly

Your sellers have access to 6 different reports in their Reports section – list of sales, sales by day, month and product, transactions, payments and payouts.

These let sellers generate detailed reports about their sales performance and financial statements for specific date periods.

Managing your marketplace sellers via admin area

multimerch seller system admin area vendor management

You and your staff can conveniently manage seller accounts via the MultiMerch admin area. In most cases, you'll be doing it via administrator's seller list at Admin > MultiMerch > Sellers.

The table contains basic seller details and statistics and offers the administrator a way to view seller's public profile, log in as the seller as well as modify and remove the account.

The Edit seller screen provides further controls for individual seller accounts and makes it possible to view and modify most of seller properties.

multimerch seller system admin area create new vendor

This lets the marketplace staff create new user accounts from scratch or create seller profiles for existing marketplace users.

If you plan to use multiple different seller groups (or plans) on your marketplace platform, you'll be able to create them via Admin > Marketplace > Seller groups.

Each MultiMerch seller will always belong to one specific group and will have group properties applied to their account – such as commission rates and badges.

 

And that's the MultiMerch seller system in a nutshell!

You can give MultiMerch a try via our free hosted demos or get in touch with me if you have any additional questions.

The post Sellers, vendors, stores – how do MultiMerch marketplaces work? appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

Why use MultiMerch for your marketplace business (from the founder)

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why multimerch blog post header

"Hey Martin, we can get a cheap multi vendor module for a measly $100, why go with MultiMerch? You're expensive!"

I get these questions every now and then and I understand it – picking the right marketplace solution IS HARD.

Today, I will answer the question "Why MultiMerch?" by bragging about ourselves a little – honestly and overtly, in a no-bullshit way.

Here's why going with MultiMerch for your marketplace business is a good idea:

First, I want to directly address the cost objection with a question of my own.

Which of the following scenarios of building an online marketplace sounds better?

Scenario 1:

  1. You spend $99 on a cheap multi vendor module that you throw on top of a free WordPress, OpenCart, Magento, you-name-it system
  2. You now need a developer to iron out the inevitable glitches and build the missing features (possibly while dealing with lackluster customer support).
  3. A month+ of hard work later, you've spent ~$8,000 (say ~160 hours at $50/hour, your average development rate).
  4. If it works out, you're now launching your next Amazon killer powered by a flimsy piece of software that you somehow have to keep secure, maintained and updated.

Scenario 2:

  1. You spend ~$1,500 to purchase a decent marketplace solution (MultiMerch is less than that) that includes most of what you need out of the box.
  2. The whole setup takes you an hour from start to finish and your license includes lifetime support and regular updates.
  3. Your marketplace is now powered by software that's built by an expert team dedicated to marketplace commerce.

Is scrimping on software that your business will rely on the most worth it?

Now, pricing aside, here's why I think you'll find MultiMerch a great team to work with for your marketplace project...

 

1. We know exactly what your marketplace needs – and double down on it

multimerch seller system overview

Back in the early days of MultiMerch, we tried a number of different approaches to building a marketplace solution.

First, around 2013, we listened to our users and built every feature they thought they needed. Turns out, they didn't really need most of them – and I didn't know better. This made MultiMerch a cluttered mess that was a pain to use and maintain. Ultimately, we nuked ~80% of the newly added features – and no one noticed.

Later, around 2015, we stripped MultiMerch core of all but the very basic features and offered the rest as paid addons. Guess what? Again, a terrible idea. Paid addons only work in very specific cases and ours wasn't one of them – it made MultiMerch less useful, more difficult to work with and generally lead to poor user experience.

The solution?

Focusing on the most important marketplace features and executing them as well as possible.

Today, we're committed to making MultiMerch a truly all-in-one marketplace solution that provides most of what your marketplace needs out of the box.

So, you won't see me bragging about hundreds of MultiMerch features and showing off huge feature comparison tables. But you can be sure whatever goes into our software is built with you, the marketplace owner, in mind.

As an added benefit, you'll keep most of your time and budget to grow your marketplace business instead of wasting it on buying, installing and integrating paid addons.

How do we decide what goes into our software?

Here's how:

 

2. We design our software to be easy to use and save you time

why multimerch feature design process usability

I hate software that's difficult to use.

As the founder of MultiMerch, I'm literally juggling a million things running the business. I know we're in the same boat with you, the marketplace owner.

The more time we waste using crappy software, the less we have left for what's really important, whether business-related or personal.

What I'm saying is, we don't just build multi vendor software here at MultiMerch – we want to offer a solution that makes your life as a marketplace owner easier, not harder.

This means carefully planning what goes into MultiMerch and how exactly it should work by studying usability research data, working together with our clients and regularly talking entrepreneurs and developers.

If a feature makes things too complicated or isn't crucial for your regular marketplace, we don't build it and leave it to third party developers. So, you won't find thousands of customization options and settings in MultiMerch, but you'll find just enough to build a successful online marketplace.

Developing software isn't hard, developing GOOD software that's GREAT to use is hard.

And this is where our team comes in:

 

3. We're a small, personable, marketplace-focused team

multimerch personable marketplace team

Don't you love working with those big all-over-the-place software companies that promise they can do everything?

I mean the ones that also require you to fill out exhaustively long support forms before they can help you, then get back to you days later with a worthless response.

Yep, those that work on a thousand products and services at once and your opinion doesn't really matter.

If you've done your marketplace software research, I'm sure you've noticed this – most of it is built by software agencies that offer all kinds of software development services. So, marketplaces are just a tiny fraction of their business (and you'll be getting a tiny fraction of their attention).

I know because we used to be like that. Guess what? When you're doing everything, you're not doing anything really well.

Today, MultiMerch is your friendly neighborhood marketplace team:

  • we love marketplaces and marketplace commerce (I even created my free Marketplace Cheat Sheet for marketplace entrepreneurs)
  • we focus exclusively on building marketplace software
  • you can talk directly to me at any time and I'll listen (hit me up via our live chat, give me a call or drop by our Slack community)

This lets us work directly with marketplace owners, listen to their (your) feedback and make sure we're building exactly what marketplaces need.

Now, although we're a small team, we're really proud of our code quality and technical support:

 

4. We're proud of our code quality and technical support

I was a developer before I started MultiMerch so I know the difference quality code and technical support can make.

You can waste weeks of time digging through buckets of code spaghetti trying to figure out why it won't work and how to make it work.

You can waste weeks of time being bounced between clueless support representatives to get even the simplest issues solved.

Well, we don't do it here.

For one, I bring only the best developers on board to build our software and I want it to be as developer-friendly as possible. We still have a lot of leftover code from the past (not going to deny it), but we're actively rewriting it so I'm sure you'll like our 8.x codebase.

We're also preparing to launch MultiMerch Standalone with a complete API of our own that's built and documented from ground up.

And you've probably figured we don't use support tickets. You can always reach out to one of us (usually me) directly and have your question answered instantly.

Speaking about updates...

 

5. You're getting regular software updates for life – and no hidden costs

why multimerch regular lifetime updates no paid extras

Keeping software up to date and maintained is often more difficult than setting it up in the first place.

Sometimes, the process of installing updates is just too convoluted for a regular user. In other cases, companies will restrict access to updates unless you pay to renew your license. Yet in other cases, developers will simply refuse to release regular software updates at all.

I know it firsthand, by the way. In the past, we required annual license renewals and MultiMerch was difficult to update. This has lead to us losing clients rather than getting business.

So, now we offer two things to make your life as a marketplace owner easier.

First, MultiMerch is yours for a lifetime (of your project, obviously). No renewal or upgrade fees and no paid addons – so you can plan your business expenses upfront. You're purchasing the whole platform outright and we'll always be there for you and your marketplace business.

Second, I'm really proud of our development process and our upgrade system. We release about one update per month and all of our updates are backward-compatible and really easy to install. For example, if you had purchased MultiMerch 8.0 back in 2017, you would still be able to upgrade to the latest MultiMerch 8.24 (released a few weeks ago) and instantly receive two years worth of updates.

We're still somewhat limited by OpenCart as to what we can and can't do, but we'll be rolling out an even better upgrade system as part of MultiMerch Standalone.

And if you need more than what MultiMerch offers out of the box...

 

6. We're creating an ecosystem of partner companies

why multimerch partners implementation marketing services

Just like bad software is a waste of time and money, so are bad developers.

Ever hired a developer and invested in a project only to realize they have no idea what they're doing and you're suddenly left with a wasted budget and software that doesn't work?

I know, finding great developers is hard. And finding great developers who specialize in marketplaces is harder.

We don't do custom services (see part 3), but I know how important developers are to any marketplace project. To make life easier for you, we've partnered with great software companies like Roobykon and NIX who will help you get your project off the ground, in time and under budget.

All of our partners are hand-picked by me to ensure the quality of their services.

Better yet, I'm in talks with a number of marketing and service companies to be able to bring not just technical, but whatever services you need to build, launch and grow your marketplace.

Which brings us to...

 

7. Ultimately, MultiMerch is more than marketplace software

marketplace community slack

You need more than software to run a marketplace business.

Back in the early days, MultiMerch was just a regular multi vendor extension for OpenCart, one of the number of software products I created myself.

As MultiMerch evolved, my understanding of the marketplace ecommerce industry, its needs, demands and intricacies grew with it.

After having worked with OpenCart and being part of the community for years, I realized OpenCart is not evolving with the rest of the ecommerce world. As MultiMerch began outgrowing OpenCart, we've started building MultiMerch Standalone to meet the growing demands of marketplace businesses.

I also learned a lot about not just software, but everything that goes into a successful marketplace business – from doing market research to figuring out operations and marketplace business models to marketing and a lot more.

Today, MultiMerch is not just marketplace software – it's a tight-knit community for entrepreneurs all over the world to talk marketplaces, share their experience and help each other out.

You don't have to be using our software to be part of MultiMerch – but if you do use our software, hopefully everything I outlined above will convince you're in good hands.

And to be honest to the end...

 

8. Is MultiMerch a good match for you?

As good as we try to make MultiMerch, it's not a perfect solution for every project, and I admit it.

Here are a few cases when you'll probably want to look for a MultiMerch alternative:

If you're building a services marketplace (like Upwork) or a booking platform (like Eventrbite), you'll need a tailored solution – we focus on product marketplaces and they're quite different.

If you're already using a different ecommerce system (Magento, WordPress, etc.) and don't plan to switch – MultiMerch is only available as an OpenCart extension and as a Standalone version.

If you're on a zero budget, you'll want an free open source alternative to MultiMerch (although I'll say it, I think building a successful two-sided marketplace on a zero budget isn't feasible)

If you have basic requirements, no technical skills and no team, you might want to look into SaaS marketplace alternatives to MultiMerch – they usually offer less features, but also require almost no technical knowledge.

If you're looking for something MultiMerch can't do out of the box, but there's a solution that does it – definitely give it a try first.

But really, just reach out and let's talk about your next marketplace project, we'll figure it out.

 

Enough bragging for today.

The next steps?

I suggest the following (in whatever order you like):

  1. Read some of my popular blog posts about MultiMerch and online marketplaces
  2. Download my free "Building an online marketplace" cheat sheet
  3. Join our Slack community for marketplace owners
  4. Subscribe to my marketplace newsletter
  5. Try our marketplace solution demos and sign up for a personal demo call with me
  6. Grab a MultiMerch license and...

...let's build you a marketplace business!

 

The post Why use MultiMerch for your marketplace business (from the founder) appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

Introducing Typed & Category-Based Product Attributes for Better Product Catalogs

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multimerch product attributes blog post header

Specifying product attributes when listing an item allows your sellers to make their products more appealing and more visible to buyers on your marketplace platform.

Attributes are displayed on product pages and used in faceted filters to make it easier for buyers to find the right products.

The upcoming MultiMerch version features a new system of typed, category-based product attributes that I'll cover here.

Attributes are basic properties or characteristics of a product that are used to better describe the product.

If you're selling shoes, some examples of product attributes would be:

  • Type - casual, running, hiking
  • Season - summer, winter, all weather
  • Material - leather, textile, synthetic

Note that size and color aren't attributes if they can be varied on – in this case they would be product variations (more on this shortly).

The new MultiMerch 8.25 allows you to create sets of typed product attributes and make them available to sellers listing items in different categories.

This is especially useful if you're running a marketplace platform that offers products in multiple different categories, such as any regular retail B2C marketplace.

 

Attribute types

Attribute type controls how the attribute is be displayed to your sellers on the item listing form.

multimerch product attributes typed

You can use 3 different attribute types when creating product attributes:

  • select
  • checkbox
  • text

Select and checkbox attributes allow you to define a list of values for your sellers to choose from while text attributes accept free-form input.

 

Linking attributes to categories

Product attributes can be enabled globally via the default field configuration or linked to individual categories on the category form.

multimerch product attributes global category based configuration

Globally enabled attributes will be available to vendors listing items into any category.

You can override the global configuration for individual categories and their children, which will make attributes available to vendors only if they list an item into a particular category.

multimerch product attributes seller listing item

For example, you could create a following attribute hierarchy:

  • by default, Color and Style attributes are available in all categories
  • the Clothing & Footwear category additionally offers Material attribute
  • the Clothing & Footwear > Shoes category also offers a Shoe type attribute

Simplifying things here, but you get the idea.

 

Attributes and faceted filters

MultiMerch will automatically use product attributes for faceted category filters with no additional configuration required to make your life easier.

multimerch product attributes faceted filters

This allows your customers to quickly sort and filter products by every attributes in the current category selection.

To make things even better, the upcoming MultiMerch version will allow marketplace owners to modify the filter configuration and enable or disable specific attributes in product filters.

 

MultiMerch 8.25 will become available for download to all existing MultiMerch clients shortly.

If you're not yet using MultiMerch to power your marketplace platform, don't miss out on our $1,250 off MultiMerch Standalone early access offer which is ending soon.

The post Introducing Typed & Category-Based Product Attributes for Better Product Catalogs appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

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How To Make Your Online Marketplace Stand Out And Beat The Competition

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make your marketplace stand out header

The advent of online marketplaces has helped small businesses and entrepreneurs sell their products for decades. You don't have to set up your own online store, you've got a ready-made channel to sell your products, and the ability to operate around the clock means small businesses can scale fast.

However, with more possibilities, comes more competition. To make sure your platform connects with sellers in the most powerful way possible, you need to ensure that it stands out.

To rise to this challenge, follow the following tips and take on some practical advice to help your marketplace rise to the top!

This is a guest post created for us by Kayleigh Alexandra from MicroStartups.

Tell a story

Since the dawn of time, humans have communicated in stories. Today, nothing has changed. For online marketplaces starting out, telling a story is one of the best ways to tell customers what you're about and how your service can help them.

Not a good storyteller? Don't worry, there are several good places you can go to find a compelling narrative. Why you started your business, your core values, and the inspiration for starting your marketplace are all things that get people interested, engaged, and connected to a business.

Etsy is a prime example of an online marketplace that lets companies create stylized homepages, post photos, videos, and tell people why they should purchase products from them.

make your marketplace stand out story

The screenshot above is taken from Nina Thomas Studio, a company that sells unique wedding stationery. The company tells a great story by showing how things happen behind the curtains, the people making the products and why they are meaningful.

In addition to classic About Us pages, you can take this approach for every product description. Think about the problems that product will solve, anticipate common questions and list key features and benefits using evocative language.

 

Use high-quality images

You only get one chance to make a first impression. When meeting someone for a business meeting, dressing nicely is important. For the customer walking into your store, the decor is crucial. And in the highly visual online world, high-quality imagery can make or break how people perceive your online marketplace.

Take dog coats for sale on Amazon as an example. The screenshots below show the good and the bad approach to product photography. The one on the right shows you exactly what the coat will look like on your pet. The other one, not so much – it's hard to even tell you're looking at a dog coat in the first place.

make your marketplace stand out dog coats

In short, the more time and effort you put into making sure your images are of the highest possible quality, the higher the return on investment you're likely to enjoy.

Best practice for online marketplaces is ensuring your products fill at least 85% of the featured image.

Nowadays, most people will be viewing the product on a mobile device, so framing the product correctly is key to making it stand out as they scroll. At the same time, be wary of including extra props and accessories because they might make the product listing needlessly confusing.

 

Find niche, unique, and trending products

If you want to attract a wide portfolio of vendors to your online marketplace, you're going to have to prove it's a viable platform. That often means showcasing its value by finding niche, unique, and trending products to sell yourself. Fortunately, there are some tactics you can use to source products people will want to purchase on your marketplace.

Discover trending products

Sites like Pinterest and Instagram use hashtags to help people find trending topics, content, and, crucially, products.

Let's look at dog coats once more. Typing related hashtags into the search bar lets you find posts featuring products related to dog coat with the most likes, comments, and shares.

If you don't know where to start, use Hashtagify. One quick search using the keyword 'dog coats' reveals the #dogsweater #PetProducts and #woofwoofwednesday hashtags that will provide a rich avenue of research.

Get ahead of crazes before they happen

Free to use, Google Trends is a tool that shows you how frequently keywords — and, therefore, products — have been searched for in during a specific time period. It will also tell you which countries and regions specific terms are generating the most searches.

If you are looking for a toy that's about to blow up big, you could compare two up-and-coming products against one another, and see which one has the biggest recent spike.

make your marketplace stand out trends

The screenshot above displays the recent search trend for two children's toys: fingerlings (blue) versus fidget spinners (red).

 

Research top selling products on other online marketplaces

Other online marketplaces are a great way to find out what products are selling online. For example, the best seller page on AliExpress is a great place to find products that are selling fast.

Another tactic is to look at dropshipping sites. Exchange by Shopify is a marketplace where you can buy & sell websites, rather than products. Using the site's filters, you can search for dropshipping sites for sale by those generating the highest revenue.

make your marketplace stand out big red

And because most dropshipping sites have a top-selling products page — like Big Red Gadgets (found using this method) — you can easily find products that have made other sites highly valuable and which could do the same for your marketplace.

 

Choose the right marketing channels

Taking your online marketplace to the next level above the competition is about finding the right growth channels and knowing how to use them to your advantage.

Here, we're going to concentrate on three of the most effective: email marketing, social proof, and social communities.

Email marketing

According to research, increasing retention rates by just 5% can boost profits by anywhere from 25% to 95%. Email marketing is one of the best ways to turn first-time shoppers into loyal customers.

As such, it's a good idea to try and build a good email list for your online marketplace as quickly as possible. At the start of your venture, giving away coupons, exclusive discounts, and welcome offers are an effective way to incentivize email opt-in for your marketplace.

Social proof

eBay was one of the first pioneers of the online review system. Now, hardly anyone buys something online without at least glancing at those all-important star ratings.

multimerch seller system overview

Having a review system in place helps to create trust in the absence of being able to strike up a two-way conversation. For this reason, it's crucial to place customer testimonials or user-generated content front and center of your online marketplace.

Social communities

An increasing number of online marketplaces, like Etsy and Airbnb, have built a community around their platform to boost success.

make your marketplace stand out community

To do the same for an online marketplace your building, there are several steps you can take. These include building relationships with your early members, building a forum for users to communicate freely, championing users stories, and offering perks or rewards to your most valuable sellers.

 

Creating an online marketplace is getting easier – and with accessibility comes fierce competition. That's nothing to be scared of though. By following the tips and practical advice outlined above you can make your marketplace platform stand out from the crowd and beat the competition. It's just a matter of finding the right combination of tactics for what you're offering.

The post How To Make Your Online Marketplace Stand Out And Beat The Competition appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

Use seller properties to create custom signup forms in MultiMerch

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multimerch seller properties sharing

As a marketplace owner, you know how crucial a streamlined signup experience is for sellers joining your platform.

Up until now, MultiMerch has offered a basic set of fields for sellers to fill out during registration – including their store name, profile images and business information.

Today, I want to introduce Seller Properties – a new system that allows platform owners to create different sets of seller fields for different seller groups and display them during registration.

You know better than me – marketplaces from different industries have different requirements when it comes to onboarding new sellers:

If you run a traditional product platform like Adderah Marketplace, you may ask your sellers to specify product categories they want to offer.

If you run a digital music marketplace like The Patchbay, you may want new sellers to provide a link to their Bandcamp account to make sure the applications are legit.

And if you have different membership tiers for individual and professional sellers, you’ll want companies to provide some more business data like their tax numbers.

Now, all if this is possible on MultiMerch-powered marketplace platforms via seller properties.

Here’s how they work:

Seller property fields and types

MultiMerch lets you create seller properties of 3 different types – select, checkbox and text.

The type controls the way sellers will fill out the fields during registration.

multimerch seller properties signup fields registration

Seller properties allow you to request additional information from sellers signing up

After the seller signs up and fills out the property fields, they will be visible to the marketplace owner in the admin area.

Sellers themselves can update their custom properties later after registration via their Seller settings.

 

Attaching properties to seller groups

Similar to product attributes, you can assign seller properties to the global configuration (and make them available for all groups) or to individual seller groups.

This way, you can have a different set of seller fields for different seller tiers.

multimerch seller properties seller groups

An example of two different seller tiers with different seller properties

For example, you may want to ask your Professional sellers their VAT numbers, but ask Individuals their national identification number.

We will be further extending the seller property system to make it even more useful in the next MultiMerch releases.

Additional seller property types like images and files will make it possible for marketplace owners to request additional digital assets from sellers, such as document scans.

The new seller property system is available as of MultiMerch 8.26 – go ahead and download the new release from your account!

The post Use seller properties to create custom signup forms in MultiMerch appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

Create variable products using MultiMerch product variations

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multimerch product variations sharing

Today, I’m happy to introduce a brand new system of product variations for MultiMerch-powered marketplaces.

You can now enable your sellers to create variable products with individual prices and quantities per product variation.

But first, a quick backstory.

Having begun as an OpenCart extension, MultiMerch has often relied on many OpenCart’s core systems for basic ecommerce functionality. Unfortunately, OpenCart’s core features are often lacking and insufficient even for a modern online store, let alone for two-sided marketplace businesses.

OpenCart’s options can be used as variations, but they aren’t great

Over the past few years, we’ve been taking over large parts of OpenCart core by building our own systems MultiMerch can use instead – notifications, attributes and modifications are just a few examples.

OpenCart’s options was always one of the systems I never believed was good enough to handle variable products. The new MultiMerch product variation system is designed to replace the option system and allow marketplace owners to use true product variations.

Here’s how it works:

 

Creating and using product variations

Product variations are created by the marketplace staff. Every variation has a set of predefined values sellers can choose from when listing their products.

Allow sellers to create product variants of 3 different colors

For example, you can allow your sellers to create products of different Size and Color.

Sellers can select one or more values for every product variation. Selected values will then be used to create a variation matrix that allows the seller to specify individual SKUs, quantities and prices for every product variant.

Sellers use the variation matrix to create variable products

If a specific product combination is not available, it can be disabled altogether.

You can use as many variations as needed, but we recommend sticking to 2-3 variations per category to keep product listing and catalog management simple.

If there are multiple variants of a product, the customer will see the lowest possible price in categories and on other marketplace pages, but will be able to select the desired variation when adding the product to cart.

multimerch product variations product page

Customers will be able to select one of the available variants on the product page

Customers will not be able to select and purchase combinations that are not available or are out of stock.

 

Assigning variations to categories

To make the variation system more flexible, you can assign different variations to different product categories in additional to globally available variations.

For example, you may use a global Color variation, but use the Size variation only for the Shoes category.

multimerch product variations category based

You can assign different variations to different categories

Just like attributes, the seller will see the available category-based variations after selecting the primary category for their product.

 

Roadmap for future improvements

Due to OpenCart compatibility reasons, MultiMerch product variations are currently in Beta, but are fully functional with Default, Basel and Journal themes, as well as with MultiMerch Standalone.

Over the next few months, we will be introducing a number of improvements to the system:

  • a way to specify additional product fields per variant, such as SKU
  • specific product images linked to individual product variants
  • image-style variation selector for customers instead of dropdowns

The upcoming MultiMerch import/export system will also be designed with the new variation system in mind.

 

MultiMerch 8.26 with support for variations is now available to all MultiMerch marketplace owners.

Not a MultiMerch user yet? Get your license today and build your next marketplace with MultiMerch.

The post Create variable products using MultiMerch product variations appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

The Beginner’s Guide to Starting an Online Marketplace Business

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As the founder of MultiMerch, I've seen my share of online marketplaces start with a promising idea, fail to generate traction and close down shortly after.

The reasons are all over the place – no market need, unsustainable business model, poor software choices, lack of marketing, you name it.

In this guide, you'll learn the basics of starting a marketplace business – from doing market research and choosing the right business model to mastering operations, selecting software and building, launching and growing your marketplace platform.

But first...

...let's cover the basics.

What are online marketplaces exactly?

Multi vendor marketplaces (also called two-sided, peer-to-peer or just online marketplaces) are online ecommerce platforms where:

  • third party vendors (or sellers) offer their products for sale
  • buyers purchase products from multiple vendors
  • the marketplace handles payments and generates revenue via fees

This makes marketplaces different from regular online stores where the buyer purchases products from the store owner directly.

This guide is organized in 11 different chapters to make it easier to digest:

Now, here's why you want to start your own marketplace business:

 

Why start an online marketplace in 2019?

multimerch marketplace guide why start online marketplace

Why not?

In 2017, customers have spent $1.47 TRILLION on online marketplaces. That's nearly half of all global online sales.

It's a lot of money spent!

There's a great chance you have bought, booked or sold stuff via a marketplace platform this month without giving it a second thought.

That's because they span all industries – from large traditional online malls like Amazon and AliExpress to booking and rental platforms like Airbnb or Eventbrite, from service marketplaces like Upwork and Taskrabbit to digital software and asset marketplaces, gaming and music platforms and everything in-between.

Why are marketplaces so popular?

The main reason is the network effect that's baked into the marketplace model that brings together the two sides of a transaction (it's also why they're called two-sided marketplaces).

The network effect is what allows you to grow a scalable business with multiple different revenue streams without having the downside of managing your own inventory and logistics.

This makes marketplaces inherently different from the traditional online stores.

Growing a traditional ecommerce business in a sustainable manner requires you to be in the "Goldilocks zone" where your free cash flow, operating expenses and inventory sync up. Otherwise, you can end up growing yourself out of business.

You'll have a different set of challenges as a marketplace owner, but growing too quickly won't usually be your primary problem.

For example, if you have an ecommerce business selling guitars online, you can grow more rapidly by switching to a marketplace model and allowing others to sell their guitar accessories on your platform. You have just expanded your business without having to hire a bunch of extra employees or buy tons of new inventory.

Another benefit of a marketplace business compared to a regular ecommerce business is the loyalty and sense of community baked into the platform thanks to the underlying network effects.

Often, the community will self-organize and create its own ecosystem around your marketplace – think of the hundreds of unofficial Amazon seller forums, Uber drivers groups and Aliexpress buyer forums.

To sum it up, starting a marketplace is a great way to tap into the network effects and start a thriving ecommerce ecosystem or rapidly expand your operations without requiring a ton of extra capital, workforce and inventory.

 

1. Research your target market

multimerch marketplace guide market research

Whether you're starting a marketplace business from scratch or switching from regular ecommerce to marketplace commerce, there's no way around doing your market research.

According to CBInsights, "no market need" is the #1 reason startups fail (42% of all cases examined).

Starting an online marketplace without clearly understanding the target market and the needs of your users is a great way to learn a painful lesson, but not a great way to start a business.

This is where market research comes in.

To build a viable marketplace business, you need a clear understanding of the market, your users, their needs and the solution they're looking for.

 

Assess the market

You need to understand what you're getting yourself into before getting yourself into it.

What does the industry look like?

Assess the market size and volume to better understand if the business model you have in mind makes sense. It may sound easier to get into a smaller market, but if you want to charge selling fees and there's not enough transaction volume, you'll need a different business model.

Are there clearly defined niches in your target market? The better you understand the market segments, the more likely you'll be to choose the most attractive niche.

Today's big marketplace businesses have grown from small niches:

  • Amazon was initially a small online bookstore
  • Etsy grew from a community forum for crafters
  • Eventbrite was focusing on the tech community first

No matter what industry you're in, you will have the competition – either direct or indirect. Find out who your competitors are and how long they have been around.

Researching the competition lets you gain insights into the marketing strategies and the business models common in your target market – as well as the strengths and weaknesses you can exploit.

Pay attention to market trends – is the market going up or down, growing or shrinking?

If you can spot big changes or trends like technology breakthroughs, regulation or the change in customer behavior, you can use them for your advantage.

 

Identify your users

You aren't building your marketplace for yourself – you're building it for the users. If you don't know who your users are, you can't solve their problems efficiently.

"Focus on identifying your target customers (including creating personas and looking at the market opportunity), then undertake a competitor analysis, and create a list of potential users (both supply and demand). Then, survey or interview these potential customers and look for the 'Blue Ocean' opportunity."

- Kate Kendall, Founder at CloudPeeps

Start with the simple questions:

  • who are your target users and what are their main goals and challenges?
  • where do they buy, why do they buy and who do they buy from?
  • what are their motivations and what influences them?

At this stage, you can create a few simple buyer personas to better understand your audience.

Since you're building a two-sided marketplace, you'll have at least two distinct user groups:

Your buyers and sellers come with their own set of goals, challenges and motivations.

Make sure you understand both sides.

 

Understand the needs and solutions

Now when you understand the market and the users it's time to dig into their needs and the solutions that can solve their problems.

Here, you want to figure out the biggest pain points your target users have and how they alleviate them.

Do your target customers shop online? If so, where do they do it, how do they do it and why do they do it? Are they satisfied with their shopping experience? What could be better?

What about your sellers? By now you should have an idea about who will sell their items on your marketplace – go ahead and talk to them! Ask them how they sell their products right now, what other platforms they use and what they're happy and unhappy about. How can you make their experience better?

Asking these questions will help you better understand your user needs and the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors – and build a better solution as a result.

What you want to take away from your market research is a clear understanding of your target market and the audience you want to serve.

Doing it will allow you to select a suitable niche for your marketplace platform, design a solution that solves the problems of your users, draw up a business model that makes sense and prepare a marketing strategy that will make your new platform stand out from the competition.

 

2. Choose the right business model

marketplace business models subscriptions fees.jpg

We've already learned that most startups fail trying to build stuff no one needs.

Do you know the failure reason #2?

Ran out of cash.

That's right – building a valuable product that people need isn't enough. You need a way to make it profitable – and keep it profitable in the long run.

Fun facts ahead. Amazon had its first quarterly profit in Q4 2001, more than 6 years after it was founded. It took Etsy 5 years to start turning a profit in 2010. eBay, on the other hand, has (apparently) been profitable from the start thanks to monetization via listing and selling fees.

My point is – no matter your industry and background, it's a good idea to design a viable business model BEFORE starting your online marketplace, not when you're already going full steam ahead.

Now, the exact way your marketplace will make money depends on a lot of things. However, here are a few marketplace business models for you to consider.

 

Sign up fees

A sign up fee is a flat payment you charge your sellers to sign up (well, duh!) on your marketplace platform.

The great thing about sign up fees is that you can charge them even before you have a thriving marketplace – as long as you can sell your vision to new sellers.

Sign up fees are also pretty straight-forward to collect as you can use any regular payment gateway or even request payments manually (e.g. via PayPal, bank transfer or in person).

The main drawback is – sign up fees don't scale and once you've gotten the seller on your platform you'll need other monetization ways.

To grow a marketplace, you need to be in the middle of the transaction. As you grow your audience, inventory and volume, so will your business. If you don't do this, you don't have a sustainable marketplace – and will struggle to grow the platform.

- John Doherty, Founder at Credo

You will also need a solid proof that your platform is worth it to charge sellers a sign up fee upfront.

Because of scalability reasons, you'll rarely see the big marketplace players use sign up fees for monetization purposes. However, you can also charge a sign up fee to weed out the less serious sellers.

For example, it costs $25 to sign up as a Google Play vendor – and Google clearly doesn't make a killing off Play Store sign up fees.

Subscriptions

Subscription is king – I don't have to tell you that. The global sharing economy is powered by subscription-based businesses generating recurring revenues.

Gartner predicts that by 2020, all new software industry entrants and 80% of historical vendors will offer subscription-based business models.

Charging your sellers a specific amount on a regular basis is a great way to generate recurring revenues that will keep your marketplace going.

Here's the #1 rule of subscriptions – make sure your sellers get more value out of your platform than it costs them to stay subscribed.

They won't mind paying $19.99 a month if they generate $199.99 a month in profit.

Subscriptions are more difficult from a technical perspective. You will also need a payment gateway like Stripe that supports subscription payments (you can do manual invoices while you're an MVP, but good luck scaling this approach).

It's worth it, though. Combine the idea with multiple different tiers that let sellers unlock more features (like advanced selling tools) or lower their selling fees and you've got yourself a steady recurring revenue stream.

For example, Amazon offers two plans – an Individual plan with an extra $0.99 per item selling fee and a Professional selling plan at $39.99/month for larger sellers.

 

Listing or insertion fees

marketplace business models etsy listing fee

You can collect a listing fee from yours sellers when they list their items for sale on your platform.

Listing fees can be flat or variable amounts based on the price of the product, the category the product is inserted into and other parameters.

Just like with subscriptions, sellers will usually be fine with a small insertion fee to list their item as long as they can generate a profit in return.

And just like sign up fees, listing fees are relatively easy to collect – but they are much more scalable.

To reduce friction, consider deferring the charge to after the product has been sold instead of doing it at publication.

For example, Etsy charges a $0.20 insertion fee, but collects the listing fee for multiple quantities of the item only after it's been sold.

 

Selling fees

Selling fees are everywhere – and for a reason. It's a great monetization strategy.

You'll charge your sellers a selling fee each time they receive and process a new order on your platform. The more orders your marketplace receives – the more revenue you get in sales fees.

Sounds great, doesn't it?

The drawback is, selling fees are far more difficult to implement than other types of fees.

For one, you need a payment gateway that can split buyer payments so you can get your fee at the time of sale (unless you want to collect sales fees manually, which you probably don't – for various reasons, including legal).

And you need a steady stream of new orders coming in to generate enough revenue from small sales fees. When you're just starting out, it can be a problem.

It does scale really well, though.

If your platform gets enough traction and you can collect selling fees automatically, you've got yourself a good business going.

You'll find examples of selling fees on most popular marketplaces today:

  • Amazon charges per-item category-based selling fees
  • Etsy has a 5% "transaction fee"
  • Envato chargers sellers 12.5% to 55% on sales
  • Airbnb charges hosts a "service fee" of 3%+

More business models and monetization examples

marketplace business models sponsored products

These are just the most common marketplace business models – you can do more than that, including:

  • collect payment processing fees
  • promote featured stores and sponsored products
  • manage your own ad system

I covered these and other monetization strategies in my other blog post: 10 Marketplace Business Models To Generate Revenue

 

3. Plan your marketplace operations

multimerch marketplace guide marketplace operations

Starting an online marketplace website is one thing. Successfully managing a marketplace business is something completely different.

Even a regular ecommerce business gets complex at times due to the amount of stuff you have to deal with on a regular basis.

Marketplace operations can get more difficult than that due to the nature of two-sided platforms.

Here are the challenges you will be tackling as a marketplace owner on a day-to-day basis:

 

Managing sellers

Sellers are the cornerstone of your marketplace so you will be dealing with them a lot.

This includes everything from acquiring new sellers and helping them get started to keeping existing sellers happy and successful.

First, you will need to convince your sellers to join your platform. Hopefully, you've outlined your unique value proposition during your market research and planning.

Now, you'll need to create a set of landing pages that explain how your marketplace works and why it makes sense for sellers to join you.

Here's how Amazon explains the process on its seller landing page:

multimerch marketplace guide amazon landing

Next, you will need a streamlined signup process. Decide who can apply and what information you need from them, then design your registration flow with this in mind.

Will you allow anyone to sign up or are you accepting vetted sellers only? Make sure you have a way to review the applications if you want to keep freeloaders out.

If you're collecting sign up fees or subscriptions, you'll need to make sure you can either build payment processing into the registration flow or have a way to collect the fees manually through direct communication with the sellers.

And while you're at it, you'll also need to decide how much control your sellers will have over their stores, what their stores should look like and how customers will discover them.

Now, once the new seller signs up you'll want to make it as easy as possible for them to get their product catalog into your platform.

 

Managing products

As a marketplace owner, you won't usually have to deal with your own inventory. However, you'll still need processes in place to manage products sold by your sellers.

There are two distinct ways to organize your product catalog:

  • on marketplaces like Etsy or eBay every product belongs to exactly one seller
  • on platforms like Amazon a single product can be sold by multiple individual sellers

The way you organize the catalog will affect your software selection, the layout of your marketplace pages and how your sellers publish and manage their products.

Now, you want to make it really easy for new sellers to get started on your platform. You can do it by either offering them a way to import their existing products in bulk or providing them with an onboarding service where you do it for them.

If most of your sellers are existing ecommerce business owners, it's a good idea to offer them a way to import their catalogs from other platforms they already sell on, like Amazon or Shopify.

To make it easier for your sellers to list items for sale, optimize your product listing forms by removing the unnecessary details. If you plan to carry different product categories, keep in mind that different products may require different sets of fields.

(Pro tip: MultiMerch supports category-based product attributes and variations.)

As you grow, you may need a product moderation system or a set of content to ensure the quality of your listings and keep scammers off your platform.

 

Payment processing

Marketplace payment processing is always more complex compared to processing payments in a regular online store.

First, you will need specialized marketplace payment gateways to allow customers to purchase from multiple sellers at once and split payments at checkout.

More payment solutions are offering support for marketplace payments today, but the implementation can be tricky.

Second, you will be processing different types of payments.

Just a few examples of payments on a typical marketplace platform:

  • order payments from customers to sellers
  • subscription and fee payments from the sellers to your platform
  • payouts from your platform to the sellers

Different payment flows have different implementation requirements.

So, make sure you know what payment gateways you'll use and how exactly you'll use them.

If you can't find a suitable gateway and make it work with your marketplace software, you're in trouble.

Finally, keep in mind that you may be responsible for payment taxation, invoicing and reporting as a marketplace platform owner. These requirements will depend on your region and your industry.

We will take a closer look at payment processing in the next chapter.

 

Logistics and shipping configuration

You don't have to deal with the inventory yourself, but your sellers do – and your platform has to support it.

The first question to ask is whether you want your sellers to ship items or you want to do it yourself (like Amazon FBA).

If you ship yourself, the logistics will be more complex as you'll need to get the inventory from your sellers, then store and dispatch it to the buyer. In this case, estimating shipping costs and times and tracking the item at every stage will be more difficult.

If you make sellers responsible for shipping, they'll need a convenient way of managing delivery rules and communicating them to customers. You can use flat rate, price- or weight-based rules or custom per-product shipping rules, but make sure your sellers can specify different shipping rules to different locations via different carriers easily.

Whatever shipping flow you use, there are more questions to ask yourself:

  • how will you handle tracking numbers?
  • do you need third party tools like shipping APIs?
  • how will you set and enforce shipping SLAs across the marketplace?

Shipping cost and speed affects marketplace conversions, so getting this part right is crucial.

 

Order management

Getting customers to buy from your platform is the first step. Actually making sure your sellers deliver is the next step.

The sooner the seller knows they've received a new order, the sooner they can dispatch it and keep the customer happy and willing to purchase again. So, your platform will need to notify sellers of new orders and make it easy for them to view, manage and process the orders.

And if you allow customers to buy from multiple sellers at once, you want to make it clear to everyone how different products within the same order are dispatched.

To keep the customer informed about the status of the order at all times, you can offer your sellers a way to share the tracking number with the customer.

Finally, delays and issues will inevitably arise – have a plan in place to handle them.

At the very least, you want to provide a communication channel between the customer and the seller so they can find a solution.

As you grow, you may want to create your own protection programs for buyers and sellers, like eBay's Money Back Guarantee or Airbnb's Host Protection Insurance.

If you don't do this, you risk getting entangled in disputes, refund requests and lawsuits yourself.

 

Marketing and content management

Your platform will get some traction thanks to the network effects, but you still need to actively promote it – especially in the early stages.

Where do you start?

The obvious first question is how will you get new sellers and customers to join you and stay with you when you're just starting out. We'll look at this later in this guide.

Then, once you get going, you'll need to figure out how to keep your marketplace growing in the long run. You'll do it through search engine optimization, organic and paid marketing campaigns and other business development initiatives.

Why SEO? Because over 50% of trackable traffic on average still comes from organic search.

To minimize the amount of work you yourself have to invest in optimizing your marketplace for search engines, make sure the software you use is built with SEO in mind. This means search engine friendly, optimized and shareable seller stores, product listings and other marketplace pages.

Most regular sellers won't be bothered optimizing every listing for search engines so you have to make it a no-brainer for them – or end up with poorly optimized platform.

Now, there's more user-generated content on a typical marketplace platform than just products. You'll have product reviews, user questions and answers, featured seller stores, blogs and more – and that's great for you, the platform owner!

Make it easy for your users to create great content on your platform, encourage it and feature it prominently.

However, you will also need systems in place to prevent low-quality UGC:

Content moderation plays a key role in everything – from user acquisition and conversion to retention. Studies we've carried out have shown that as many as 75% of users will not return to a site where they encountered a scam and 80% of users wouldn't convert if a listing had a poor description.

Low quality content also plays a negative role when you're trying to rank. Google doesn't like duplicate content and will penalize sites with too many identical pieces. It's a good idea remove duplicate listings, stock images and other content pieces users may upload that already exist on your site – both for SEO purposes and to improve the search experience for your users.

In general, you need to vet all UGC to ensure it is relevant, high quality and appropriate. The content users post to your marketplace make up your inventory and act as a store front. Much like you don't want rotten apples on display in a fruit stand, you don't want low quality content featured on your site.

Patrik Frisk, CEO at Besedo

Organic marketing is great in the long run, but don't forget about paid acquisition. The more content gets created every day, the more value you'll get out of paid marketing campaigns. Make sure you have a paid promotion strategy for your marketplace in place to attract new users and create brand awareness.

 

Seller and customer relationship management

Now, attracting new users is not enough – you need to keep them happy, loyal and using your marketplace on a regular basis.

You will be communicating with your users and helping them answer questions and solve problems daily, so have a plan for that in place.

Some of the challenges you'll be tackling:

  • onboarding new sellers and answering their questions
  • providing technical support and enforcing the rules
  • answering order-related questions
  • mediating disputes between the seller and the buyer

To reduce your own involvement, allow customers to ask sellers questions about products and communicate with them before and after the order. The more communication options you offer, the more likely the issues will be resolved without requiring your attention.

Some of our clients want a way to filter customer-seller conversations to make sure they don't try to bring the transaction offsite. Instead of worrying about it, I suggest focusing on providing the best possible experience to both parties on your platform so that going around isn't worth it.

Mass communication is important, too. You'll want to be able to notify your sellers about policy changes and new features available to them or tell your customers you're running a marketplace-wide discount campaign this month.

And don't forget post-transaction communication. Allow and encourage it to ensure repeat purchases, collect reviews and build trust between your platform, your buyers and your sellers.

This will help you turn your marketplace from a purely transactional platform into a sustainable business customers enjoy dealing with.

 

4. Outline the essential marketplace features

multimerch marketplace platform features overview

Let me tell you this one thing first:

The easiest way to waste time, budget and effort when building an online marketplace is to create features your users don't need.

I've seen a lot of marketplace projects that have spent way too long in the development stage to either never launch or to find out the users need a completely different set of features a week after launch.

I've also seen marketplace platforms launch in a matter of weeks with only the basic functionality in place – and evolve as they grow. This has usually worked much better in the long run.

My advice to marketplace entrepreneurs is to start with the essentials and launch an MVP early, then improve the platform as the business grows and the requirements get more clear.

And I'm not the only one saying this – here's one of our implementation partners:

"The best approach is to start with a limited feature set, i.e., only the main features your platform need. After you have enough features to make the platform work, launch it. If it gains traction with users, you'll start to earn some benefits that will give you more time and freedom to develop additional features and make your platform even more unique."

Vladimir Kuzmenko, VP Sales at NIX Solutions

Now, what are the essential marketplace features exactly?

While some of this will depend on your industry, I like to group the functionality into three big categories – features for sellers, buyers and the platform itself:

 

Essential seller features

Your sellers want to sell their items and get paid. This means listing, selling and dispatching products efficiently.

To make it easy for your sellers to get started on your platform, focus on streamlining the onboarding process. The simpler the onboarding, the more likely new sellers will be to join you.

A great onboarding process includes clear seller terms and helpful landing pages, straightforward seller signup and an easy way to import and manage their product catalog.

What kinds of products will your marketplace carry? Optimize product management features for this particular product type – don't make your sellers do more work than absolutely needed to get the product published.

Next, your marketplace should make it dead simple for your sellers to receive and process orders. Notifications are a must to make sure orders don't go unnoticed.

To make selling and marketing easier, offer your sellers at least the basic sales and marketing tools – such as discount code management and product promotions.

Finally, make sure your sellers can freely communicate with you and the buyers. Public product questions and a private messaging system will be a good start.

 

Essential buyer features

What's your goal when shopping on Amazon? To find, purchase and receive the products you're looking for quickly and easily.

So, make it really easy for your buyers to search for products and browse categories. What makes it easy? A search bar that works (quite a low bar), faceted product filters and information-rich product pages are all a good start.

Simple checkout is the next step. The easier placing an order is on your platform, the more likely the buyer is to go through. A modern checkout process is a must – ideally one that makes it possible to purchase from multiple sellers with a single payment.

You want to offer payment methods that make sense for your users. Stripe is great and all, but it's useless if the shoppers in your region prefer to use cash on delivery. You should've answered this question during your market research as it will usually depend on your region and industry. In most cases, you will need a split payment gateway and/or a manual processor like cash on delivery.

Now, order management is as important to the buyer as it is to the seller. Make it simple for your buyers to view and track their orders, as well as get notified when the status changes.

Communication is crucial, too. Allow your customers to ask sellers pre-sales questions, get in touch with them if they have order-related questions and leave feedback. This will ensure your platform provides a great buyer experience and helps retention.

 

Essential marketplace platform features

The aim of your platform is to connect buyers with sellers – and generate revenue to keep your business going. So, you will need the right tools to support your marketplace operations and your business model.

In addition to everything I've outlined above, you will need a way to monitor, manage and moderate everything that happens on your platform.

Helping sellers set up and maintain their stores, approving and updating individual products, looking up and managing orders – all this will be part of your daily routine as a marketplace operator.

You also will want to customize the look and feel of the marketplace without digging into code. This will make it easier for you to make seasonal changes, introduce new products and categories, run marketplace-wide promotions and feature your best sellers and products.

Payment processing, of course – I mentioned this above. Depending on your business model, you may need to process not only buyer to seller payments, but also collect seller fees, do manual payouts to your vendors and handle other types of payments.

The same goes for shipping and logistics. Your platform needs to offer sellers a way to manage shipping methods and make it clear to buyers where they ship to and what are the costs.

This doesn't necessarily mean you need a direct integration with third party shipping services and APIs – automation can come later. But at the very least your sellers need a way to specify their own delivery costs manually.

 

Advanced marketplace features

These are just the essentials to get your marketplace up and running.

There's much more you can offer your users down the road:

  • reporting tools
  • advanced selling and marketing features
  • integrations with third party ecommerce services
  • your own mobile apps and more

All of this is definitely possible (but not essential). I covered these and other marketplace features in a separate blog post: What features exactly does your marketplace platform need?

 

5. Choose a marketplace payment solution

marketplace payments overview

It's not a sustainable business if your marketplace platform can't process payments safely, securely and reliably.

The global digital commerce volume has exceeded $3 trillion in 2017 and is expected to more than double by 2022, according to McKinsey.

Your marketplace is part of the global payment ecosystem, but there are a few unique challenges marketplace businesses deal with compared to regular ecommerce businesses when it comes to payment processing.

You already know the different payment types you'll be processing as a marketplace platform owner:

  • payments from customers (customers purchasing products)
  • payments from sellers (signup, listing, subscription fees, promotions)
  • payments to sellers (payouts)
  • other payments (third party advertisers)

Customer payment processing is arguably the biggest challenge for marketplace owners as it involves three different parties – the buyer, the seller and the platform.

There are three ways your marketplace can process order payments from your customers to your sellers:

 

Direct payments

With direct buyer to seller payments, your platform is not involved in the transaction at all.

Direct payments require the least amount of involvement by your platform, but have a few major drawbacks.

Since your platform doesn't own the transaction, you have limited options of collecting transaction fees and handling returns and refunds.

Additionally, direct payments will prevent your customers from purchasing products from multiple different sellers at once and will require them to go through the checkout process for every individual vendor.

They are also less safe for all parties involved and make it easier for untrustworthy buyers and sellers to exploit your platform for their own gain.

 

Aggregated payments

With aggregated payments, your platform aggregates buyers' funds to later redistribute them between sellers via payouts.

Aggregated payments make single checkout possible and allow you to own the transaction, but place an extra burden of tracking your sellers' finances and making regular payouts on your platform.

And with the payment industry becoming increasingly more regulated, payment aggregation as a marketplace payment flow will only be getting more complex.

 

Split or parallel payments

All this gives rise to parallel (or marketplace) payment processing, where customer's payment is instantly split at checkout and distributed between all sellers and your platform by the payment processor.

This eliminates all of the issues of direct and aggregated payments, while also shifting the liability and the compliance burden from your business to the payment processing company.

The biggest remaining problems of parallel payment processing are implementation complexity and the lack of marketplace processor availability.

It's getting better, though. A decade ago, PayPal Adaptive has been one of the only few marketplace payment solutions with support for split payments. Today, there are dozens of payment processors that support marketplace payments around the world, the most popular ones being Stripe Connect, PayPal for Marketplaces, Adyen Marketpay and Mangopay.

 

How do you choose a marketplace payment solution?

Selecting the right payment solution for your marketplace is crucial.

A few different factors to consider are the features you need, the availability of the payment provider in your region and, of course, the costs.

Here are a few helpful tips from Paybase, another popular marketplace payment solution:

When choosing your payments provider, it's important to think about exactly what your business needs and what your priorities are. Each provider varies in what it can offer. Some offer a plug-in solution that is very easy to integrate but will struggle to handle anything that requires a certain degree of flexibility. Others can offer greater scope, but may involve you as a business having to build out your product/service further.

What's most important is to not underestimate the level of flexibility you will need. Think about what you'll need in the future and whether each given payments provider will enable you to do that.

Additionally, it is important to consider the level of financial crime prevention that the provider offers, as the last thing your business needs is high levels of financial crime on your platform due to an inadequate alerting system.

Danielle Herndon, Head of Compliance at Paybase

So, make sure to ask yourself these questions before getting to work building your marketplace:

  • What types of payments will I be dealing with as a marketplace platform owner?
  • What payment solutions are available in my region that meet my requirements?
  • What will payment processing cost me and how do I factor this into my business model?

The last question is as important as the first two.

While you don't want to end up with no payment processing at all, you also don't want to rely on a business model that charges your sellers a 5% selling fee only to realize it costs you as much in payment processing fees.

 

6. Select the right marketplace software

multimerch multi vendor marketplace platform

At this point, you have a valid business model and an operations plan and know which payment gateway you'll use and what features your marketplace platform needs.

Now is the time to select the software that will power your marketplace platform – no sooner than that!

I like to group marketplace platform software into 3 different groups – cloud or hosted platforms, standalone solutions and multi vendor CMS extensions.

Note that I don't mention building a marketplace platform from scratch here. It's definitely possible, but not really viable for small to medium sized businesses in most cases due to the complexity involved.

 

Cloud or hosted marketplace solutions

multimerch marketplace guide saas marketplace platforms cloud

If you're a new marketplace entrepreneur, going with a popular marketplace SaaS is usually the first thing to consider.

Cloud marketplace solutions are the easiest to get started with and require little to no technical knowledge.

In most cases, they also offer free trials so you can spend a while playing with the platform to make sure the solution fits your requirements.

Here are the few popular marketplace SaaS solutions you can look into:

  • Sharetribe
  • Marketplacer
  • Near Me
  • Arcadier

The main drawback of cloud marketplace platforms is the limited customization possibility you'll get. If it doesn't suit you out of the box you won't be able to modify it since you don't have any code access.

If you're looking for something more customizable, standalone marketplace software is a better alternative.

 

Self hosted standalone marketplace software

multimerch marketplace guide standalone marketplace solutions

These are software solutions designed specifically for marketplace commerce, not just regular ecommerce.

Standalone marketplace software gives you much more customization and modification possibilities since you have complete access to the source code and own it outright.

In most cases, you will also host the platform yourself and will be able to control the whole marketplace experience from start to finish.

Some of the popular standalone marketplace solutions are:

The drawback? You will need at least some technical skill to build a marketplace platform using self hosted software. No matter how user-friendly, software is software – and has to be hosted, maintained and updated on a regular basis.

We always recommend having a developer on your team or working with an agency when working with self hosted software to make your life easier.

 

Multi vendor CMS extensions

multimerch marketplace guide ecommerce multi vendor extensions

Finally, you can take a regular CMS like WordPress, Magento or OpenCart and slap a multi vendor extension on top of it.

Sounds like a plan?

You might expect this to give you all of the benefits of free and open source CMS while also powering your marketplace. In reality, it rarely works out like this.

Content management systems are designed for regular websites or standard ecommerce. Two-sided marketplaces are inherently different and converting a regular CMS into a marketplace platform is a complex, time-consuming and error-prone process.

If you do decide to give it a try, here are some of the possible software combinations you can use:

  • WordPress + WooCommerce + Dokan, WC Marketplace, WCFM, WC Vendors or YITH
  • OpenCart + MultiMerch, PurpleTree or Waabay
  • PrestaShop + KnowBand or Advanced Marketplace
  • Magento + NextBits, CreativeMinds, Webkul or Apptha

In this case, you absolutely want to have a developer on your team who has experience working both with the underlying system and with two-sided marketplaces. I guarantee you will have much more technical work to do than with either SaaS or Standalone marketplace software.

We've been offering the MultiMerch multi vendor extension for OpenCart for years and overcoming the limitations of the CMS itself and the compatibility issues with third party themes and plugins has been a constant struggle. You will deal the same problems with any CMS.

 

How do you choose the right software?

The possibilities are endless, right?

When selecting your new marketplace software, I suggest first figuring out what kind you want to go with – cloud, standalone or CMS.

Here are my rules of thumb for picking one of the 3 solution groups:

  • Start with a cloud/SaaS marketplace platform if you want to launch your marketplace as soon as possible and don't have the technical knowledge.
  • Go with standalone marketplace software if you want the biggest bang for your buck and want to own your platform outright.
  • Try multi vendor CMS extensions if you're already using the underlying system (e.g. running a Magento store) or are willing to invest heavily in custom development and have a team capable of doing it.

Now, here are the factors to consider when picking the software solution:

Start with the type of the marketplace you're building. Are you selling products, services or bookings? Software designed for products won't be a great fit for a service marketplace and vice versa.

Know the features your platform needs. Make sure the solution fits your business requirements – not just in terms of the basics, but also payment processing, logistics and other crucial features. And if it doesn't offer the feature you need, can your team modify it to support this?

Take a good look at user experience and reliability. This is often overlooked by new marketplace owners, but it's as important as everything else. Make sure the solution not only provides the features you need, but also offers a great user experience. If your marketplace feels clunky to use, the rest doesn't matter – your users will jump ship as soon as there's a better alternative.

Get to know the team behind the solution. Who are the people in charge and what can you expect in terms of technical support and code quality? Growing a marketplace business will take you a lot of time and effort – so you want to make sure you get all the support and software updates you need over the years. Can you treat the company as your partner, not just a software provider?

Finally, there's your budget. In my experience, budget shouldn't be a top priority when selecting marketplace software. You will spend thousands of hours building your marketplace over the years – saving a few hundred bucks on software that powers your entire business isn't worth it.

For a more detailed overview of marketplace software solutions available out there, check out my other blog post: Online Marketplace Software: The Complete List (Updated in 2018)

 

7. Assemble a great team

multimerch marketplace guide assemble great marketplace team

You'd think software is all it takes to start a marketplace business.

Nope. You will (generally) need a great team to help you pull it off.

These are just some of the crucial skills you'll need to run an online marketplace business:

 

Development and design skills

No matter what software you use, you will need at least some technical skill to set up, configure, customize and maintain your marketplace platform.

Here's how much technical skill you will need with different kinds of marketplace software:

  • cloud platforms will require almost no development experience
  • self hosted marketplace platforms will quite at least some technical skill
  • multi vendor CMS extensions will require A WHOLE LOT of custom development

Do you have to be a developer to build a marketplace? No, but having a developer at hand will make your life immensely easier.

When it comes to design, things aren't as difficult.

A modern, responsive platform is a must in 2019, but fortunately most marketplace solutions will offer you ready-made templates you can use instead of designing everything from scratch.

Still, at the very least you will need some design skills and tools to customize your platform and create appealing marketing materials.

In the long run, investing in a UX designer will allow your marketplace to stand out in terms of user experience and aid your acquisition, retention and conversion.

 

Marketing and sales skills

Neither customers nor sellers will join your new marketplace by themselves.

You will need to actively promote your new marketplace platform to get the business off the ground.

That's where sales and marketing comes in.

First, you will need to find the first sellers and customers and convince them to join you to get your marketplace going. Then, you will need to generate brand awareness to gain traction and grow your new platform.

At the very least, this means mastering the basics of user acquisition and growth, including:

  • organic and paid acquisition
  • social media and community management
  • email marketing
  • partnerships and promotions

As a side note, copywriting is another great marketing skill to have. You will need to be persuasive on your website and in your advertising to convince people to join you. Additionally, you may also need copywriting skills to help your sellers create product descriptions that sell.

In reality, this means learning whatever you need to do to keep your business alive and growing.

 

Operations skills

By now, you've seen what it takes to run a marketplace on a day-to-day basis – we covered this in the operations section earlier.

Stuff like:

  • managing sellers and keeping them happy
  • monitoring users, products and orders
  • resolving customer support questions and technical issues
  • managing payments, doing the paperwork, managing your team....

As a marketplace founder, you will be dealing with the operations yourself from the start.

While you can delegate most of design and development and some marketing to others, you are the one responsible for actually running your marketplace. So, the operations are up to you.

That's a lot of skills you need to run a marketplace! How do you manage it?

There are a few ways:

Doing it yourself

Unless you have an existing team, DIY will be the most obvious approach – especially when you're just starting out.

This approach works best with fully hosted and managed marketplace solutions. If you run your marketplace in the cloud, you have most of your technical and design requirements covered – and can focus on marketing and operations.

If you go DIY, make sure you have the time and the grit to handle everything it takes to run a marketplace. It's a lot of work, so use whatever help you can get – from tools and services to mentorship and consulting.

 

Hiring individual freelancers

Hiring a freelancer is a great way to complement your own skill set without a huge investment and a long-term commitment.

The great thing about freelancers is there are all kinds of them. You'll find people for long term collaboration and one-time gigs, experts and interns, teams and individuals.

When you need a specific thing done quickly without having to learn the skill yourself, hiring a freelancer is the way to go.

And they're scalable. Business going well? Hire more freelancers. Caught in a downturn? Scale back.

The drawback with freelancers is you need to very clearly understand and define your requirements – or risk wasting a lot of time and money. The bigger the project you want to delegate, the more detailed specification you need.

Look for freelancers on large freelance websites like Upwork and Fiverr, smaller niche platforms like CloudPeeps or groups and communities on Slack, Facebook and LinkedIn.

 

Working with an agency

If you have a little more budget, consider working with software development and marketing agencies to offload a whole chunk of work at once.

Going with an agency will let you focus on your marketplace operations without having to spend that extra time managing individual freelancers.

Hiring a software agency will cover all of your technical requirements and a marketing agency can handle most of your marketing initiatives.

The drawbacks of working with an agency are higher upfront and ongoing costs and a bigger commitment. Switching agencies is more difficult than swapping freelancers if you realize you're not a good fit for each other or have to scale your budget back.

Finding a trusted agency is a challenge. To make life easier for our clients, we have a list of vetted MultiMerch implementation partners who can take up any custom marketplace project and get it done – on time and under budget.

 

Hiring full time employees

Hiring is hard. You probably won't start hiring full time staff right away, but will get to it eventually as your business grows.

The good thing about employees: they are part of your team and will provide consistency, which is especially important for customer-facing roles and operations. Not only you can expect them to devote 40+ hours a week to the business, they'll also become ingrained in your company culture and future success.

The drawbacks are the cost, the effort required to manage your staff and the trade-off in flexibility. Full time staff is hard to scale and the recruitment process can be real tricky and very time consuming, especially for technical roles.

If you have a limited budget, it's a good idea to hire a few generalist employees such as a versatile marketer or a business developer, then add expert freelancers or agencies to the mix for specific tasks and projects.

 

What to look for when hiring people?

You're running a marketplace business – so, look for experience with two-sided platforms and marketplace commerce when hiring.

This applies to freelancers, employees and agencies alike. The more experience they have working with businesses and platforms similar to yours, the more useful they'll be to your project.

Generic hires might sound more affordable, but will usually perform worse than people who specialize in marketplaces.

And make sure people you work with really believe in your idea and aren't there just for the money.

 

8. Build your marketplace platform

multimerch marketplace guide build marketplace platform

Now you have everything ready to start building your marketplace platform. What does it actually take to get from purchasing software to launching your marketplace?

In my experience, getting a marketplace platform ready can take anywhere from a day (for hosted SaaS platforms) to a few months and longer for custom builds.

Here are some things you can do to make the process easier:

Create a specification

The more complex the project, the more difficult the implementation. Marketplace platforms are as complex as ecommerce gets.

To avoid disaster (e.g. going broke too soon due to cost and time overruns), prepare at least a rough functional specification that outlines your project goals, requirements and the implementation timeline.

The more technical work your project needs, the more detailed you want your specification to be. If you plan to work with freelance developers or agencies, having a detailed specification in place may save you months of wasted effort in the long run.

Keep yourself and everyone involved accountable by splitting the project into milestones and tracking progress regularly.

Don't forget to define your MVP and your launch prerequisites in the specification. This includes the features you absolutely need for launch and an approximate deployment and launch dates.

The more specific your timeline, the better. "We need the initial MVP ready and deployed on staging by June 1, do a soft launch with early users by July 1 and launch for everyone on September 1" is more helpful than "We would like to go live with our marketplace in the next 6 to 12 months."

Make sure everyone involved in your project clearly understands the requirements and the timeline – and adheres to it.

 

Master project management

You will need at least basic project management skills to get your marketplace from idea to launch successfully.

This doesn't mean you have to be a project manager, but understanding the basic principles will help you stay on top of things.

If you work with an agency, you will usually have a project manager available to you to keep you informed. If you work with freelancers, you will be your own project manager.

Always consult your technical specification and your timeline when making changes to the project and discuss changes with all parties involved.

Understand that changing one milestone affects the whole timeline down the road.

Do have a backup plan for when things don't go as you expect – because they will. The more people are involved in your project, the more likely it is that something will go wrong, from freelancers going unresponsive to complex features taking longer to implement than planned.

 

Follow the best development practices

Adhering to good development and operations practices will save your team time and ensure the project gets delivered.

You don't have to assemble the top development team, but do pay attention to the basics – use tests, version control and issue tracking extensively throughout the development process.

Use different server instances for development, staging, and production and don't roll out new software updates directly on top of your live marketplace without testing. It's easier not to break things than it is to fix them later.

Keep fresh, automatic backups at all times – and a way to restore them. If something goes wrong (it will), you want to get the operations back up as quickly as possible.

A good principle to follow when building your platform is KISS. Keep it simple stupid when designing, implementing and deploying your marketplace software.

 

Know when to launch

Finally, understand that marketplaces take a while to get right. Rome wasn't built in a day, neither was Amazon. However, you will need real users and real feedback to keep iterating and improving your new marketplace.

Two common mistakes I see among new marketplace owners are launching too soon and not launching soon enough, the latter arguably being the worse one.

So, make sure you start testing with the real users early and use the feedback to iron out all of the early glitches by the time your marketplace is ready for the official grand opening.

 

9. Launch your marketplace

multimerch marketplace guide launch marketplace

It's not enough to build your marketplace platform – launching it successfully is as crucial.

A good idea is to launch the new marketplace in two phases – soft and hard launch.

 

Start planning your launch early

The sooner you begin planning your launch, the more time you'll have to talk to people, gather feedback and improve your product and messaging.

Prepare a launch plan by defining your launch timeline, your marketing messaging and the primary channels you'll use. Different industries, regions and marketplace types will require different launch strategies – try and pick the most suitable one.

So, start building anticipation for your marketplace among your target customers and sellers while it's still in development.

If you've done your market research (and by this point, you definitely have), you already know who your users are. Now, go and talk to them – directly, on social media and via ads.

Start gathering a mailing list way before the initial launch – this will let you gauge interest and provide you with a user base of early adopters to reach out to first.

By the time you have your MVP ready for testing, you should have a set of users who know about you and are willing to take part in your project.

 

Roll out a limited beta version first

No matter how detailed your specification and well-designed your solution, you will run into all kinds of issues at first – from software glitches to usability problems to missing or lacking features.

That's why it's a great idea to do a limited release before your grand opening to test things out and make sure everything works just as expected.

Don't wait too long to introduce your solution to your early beta users – do a soft launch when you have your MVP ready, possibly even sooner.

Use your mailing list and talk to users directly to line up a few of the most devoted sellers, then help them get their stores set up on your platform and see how well it works for them.

When your beta marketplace doesn't have look like a ghost town with tumbleweeds, invite a few early customers and see how they like it.

 

Gather feedback, iterate and improve

Now, gather as much feedback as you can – in any way you can.

Talk to your early customers and sellers and write down everything they have to say about their experience.

If possible, arrange meetings in person or record and transcribe interviews with your users.

Most importantly, listen, don't talk. This will give you a whole lot of improvement ideas you can use to make your platform even better.

Then, iterate and improve – spend as much time as you need to improve your MVP based on your soft launch feedback.

And one more thing – don't just use your early adopters as test subjects, but try to establish real relationships and build trust with them. This trust will help you promote and grow your marketplace in the early stages of your business.

 

Launch your improved platform

By now, people are aware of your new marketplace platform – it's time to make it officially public.

Run a final set of tests beforehand to make sure everything is working just as expected. Have your team ready for launch – things tend to break down when you least expect them to.

Whatever your marketplace type, try and make an event out of your launch. Go out to where your target users are and bring your launch to them through a webinar, a Q&A session or an AmA post.

Finally, keep the momentum going – your launch isn't the end, it's just the beginning.

 

10. Grow your marketplace business

multimerch marketplace guide grow marketplace business

Hopefully you've launched your new marketplace successfully and new people are starting to use it. Now, it's time to focus on user growth and retention.

Growing a marketplace is somewhat different from regular ecommerce businesses, but they do have many things in common.

Online marketplaces are two-sided, which means you need to focus on growing both your seller and your customer base.

Growing your supply side will be your primary goal in the early days of your new marketplace business, so it's critical to build your pipeline of new sellers and ensure they stick around.

 

Getting your first sellers

Ever visited an online store that has exactly 50 empty categories, 4 dusty products and a single blog post from months ago?

That's not what you want your marketplace to look like when new customers and sellers start coming in.

So, finding new sellers will be your first priority in the early stages of your marketplace business, both while you're preparing for launch and immediately after launch.

You have two main ways of getting new sellers on board – talking to them and inviting them personally and raising awareness via paid advertisement.

Since you've done your market research and picked a niche, you know who your sellers are and where they are – it's time to reach out to them!

Get in touch with every single seller who might be interested in your marketplace because you will get rejected:

"I had a really hard time convincing vendors to join Adderah. They told me my platform will never take off. They told me I'll just waste their time because my platform is new and nobody would use it. I've been told that people in Qatif don't like to shop online anyways. So I got rejected A LOT."

– Rayan Almuslem, Founder at Adderah Marketplace

Don't spam, but try establishing a relationship and offering value instead.

For example, offer them feedback about their products and a free onboarding service to get them started on your platform. You can also offer your first sellers a way to sell their products for free so they can test your platform and get excited about it. Don't focus on fees – you'll start applying them later.

Paid advertising through Facebook, Instagram or Google Ads is another great option to get first sellers on board. It works even if you haven't launched your platform yet – you can run ads against a landing page that explains your project and invites sellers to join.

Make sure to keep your ads hyper-targeted to your niche when doing paid ads – if you're building a local marketplace, run ads to sellers within your city.

Finally, combine regular ads with remarketing and personal outreach to make your system of getting new sellers more efficient.

 

Generating brand awareness and growing the customer base

Now when you have sellers and a decent product catalog, it's time to start attracting customers. This part is similar to growing a regular ecommerce business, but you have a few extra opportunities as a marketplace owner.

Just like with the sellers, social media and paid ads will be your primary channels of attracting new customer traffic.

Set up shop on Instagram or Facebook. While organic social media reach is going down, it's still an important channel for ecommerce brands to use.

Now, set aside a small budget for paid advertising and test a few different channels to see which work best. Instagram is a great channel for highly visual ads. If you're running a handmade marketplace with unique products – show them off!

Additionally, keep search engine optimization in mind – SEO will be your growth driver in the long run. You're a wise marketplace owner and have picked a SEO-friendly platform software, right? If so, your categories, product pages and seller stores should start ranking shortly after launch and bringing new traffic in.

Don't forget your mailing list – use it when introducing new sellers, products and features. Invite new customers and sellers to sign up for your newsletter and keep the list healthy and growing.

Make sure you have a way to measure your efforts – use a free tool like Google Analytics or something more fancy like Ahrefs to judge the performance of your marketing initiatives.

 

Focusing on retention by keeping your users happy

After you've successfully launched your marketplace and have new user acquisition processes in place, it's time to focus on retention.

Why spend effort and budget to acquire new users only to have them never return to your platform the next day?

So, you will need to make sure your sellers and customers are happy with the platform and willing to keep using it.

Keep gathering feedback and improving your marketplace. Identify the most active users and schedule personal interviews with them in exchange for a discount code or other offers. Fix issues as soon as they arise.

To make your marketplace easier to use, create a knowledge base for your buyers and sellers that answers the most commonly asked questions. You can also create a guide or a set of tutorials for your sellers that will help them be more successful selling on your platform.

Feature and promote your best sellers by creating case studies and success stories together with them. This will keep them happy and bring new customers in while also helping your SEO efforts.

When you have time, learn more about advanced analytics and conversion rate optimization to make your improvement efforts driven by real data.

Don't forget to keep your marketplace software up to date to make sure your marketplace is secure and efficient at all times.

 

Experimenting with strategic partnerships and competitive advantages

You'll need more than just a regular growth and marketing strategy to beat your existing competition, especially if you're a newcomer to the market.

Think strategically and try offering new, unexpected benefits to your users that your competition doesn't even think about. Do it by constantly experimenting and improving your value proposition through new tools, services, content and strategic partnerships.

If you've just started a new marketplace for handmade items, consider partnering with a local photography business to offer professional photography services to your sellers to make their creations stand out.

Talk to local and regional magazines and trade shows specific to your industry to get the word about your marketplace out.

Partner with adjacent businesses to create additional value for your sellers and your customers and make it an easy decision for them to join and stay with you.

No matter what you do – never stop learning, experimenting and getting better.

The post The Beginner’s Guide to Starting an Online Marketplace Business appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

26 Marketplace Payment Solutions for Two-Sided Platforms

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multimerch marketplace payment processors header

If your marketplace platform can't process payments safely, securely and reliably, you don't have a sustainable ecommerce business, period.

And when it comes to payment processing, marketplaces have it more difficult than your regular online shops: payments to and from vendors, split and chained payments, subscriptions, selling fee collection are just a few challenges that are unique to marketplaces.

This means the payment processor you select can easily make or break your marketplace business.

In this roundup, we look at 26 different payment solutions for two-sided marketplace platforms.

Let's get started.

This article is part of our series on starting an online marketplace business.

For every payment solution listed here, we've gathered the most important details you need to know as a marketplace owner to make an informed decision:

  • Year founded – is it a new company or a more established business?
  • Location and availability – which countries do they serve?
  • Fees – how much do they charge? (Note that rates may differ by region)
  • Features – what are the highlights and the reasons you should consider the solution?

The features we look for in marketplace gateways include, in addition to basic split payment processing:

  • Subscription/recurring payments
  • Custom payment flows (parallel, chained, manual payouts)
  • Support for multiple currencies
  • Availability of documentation
  • Responsiveness and technical support
  • Integrations with third-party platforms
  • Fraud protection tools

We'll look at the following payment processors in this article (click to go directly to a specific chapter):

Here they are:

 

Stripe Connect

marketplace payments multimerch stripe connect

Link: https://stripe.com/en-US/connect/

Year founded: 2010

Based in: United States

Availability: 32 countries

Fees: $2 per active account per month + 0.25% of account volume (for express/custom accounts). Connected accounts in countries outside your specific region an additional 0.25% cross-border charge on monthly account volume, for a total account volume charge of 0.5%. Additionally, $0.25 per payout, 1.5% for Accounts debits.

Features:

  • Subscription payments
  • Multiple payment flows
  • Support for 135+ currencies
  • Great documentation and swift technical support
  • The most popular marketplace payment solution out there

You definitely know Stripe, even if you haven't been looking into payment solutions. They're one of the most popular options for receiving and paying out money. Stripe powers businesses like Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and thousands of others, big and small.

Stripe Connect offers standard, express, and custom payment options for marketplaces, so you'll find the right fit for your business model. At the time of writing, Stripe is offering to waive account fees on your first 5,000 active connected accounts.

The main drawback is that Stripe is currently mostly available in the Western world – if you're not in the supported region, you're out of luck.

 

MANGOPAY

marketplace payments multimerch mangopay

Link: https://www.mangopay.com/marketplaces/

Year founded: 2013

Based in: Luxembourg

Availability: 125 countries

Fees: Pay-in 1.8% + 0.18€ (per transaction excl. VAT), free payouts within the SERPA zone.

Features:

  • Custom payment flows
  • Support for 15 currencies
  • Anti-fraud and money laundering prevention tools
  • Open source SDKs (PHP, Java, Ruby, Python and .Net) and decent docs

If you're running a marketplace business in Europe, you'll definitely want to check Mangopay. They offer end-to-end payment processing to crowdfunding, fintech and marketplace businesses in Europe and internationally.

Mangopay offers marketplace owners compliance with the European Union and card industry regulations as well as KYC, anti-fraud and money laundering prevention tools to make running a marketplace easier.

 

Adyen Marketpay

marketplace payments multimerch adyen marketpay

Link: https://www.adyen.com/our-solution/online-payments/marketplaces/

Year founded: 2006

Based in: Netherlands

Availability: 53 countries

Fees: 0.10€ processing fee, along with additional fee depending on payment gateway (see website)

Features:

  • Custom payment flows
  • Support for over 250 payment methods and 187 currencies
  • Anti-fraud and money laundering prevention tools
  • Manual or scheduled payments

Adyen Marketpay is another payment processor based in Europe that offers payment solutions to marketplaces in 53 different countries.
Just like Mangopay, Adyen offers automated vendor onboarding and KYC, AML and other vendor screening and fraud prevention tools.

Some of the bigger platforms that use Adyen for payment processing are Spotify, Etsy, eBay and others.

 

PayPal for Marketplaces

marketplace payments multimerch paypal marketplaces partners

Link: https://www.paypal.com/US/webapps/mpp/partner-marketplaces/

Year founded: 1998 (Marketplaces 2017)

Based in: United States

Availability: Limited

Fees: Not publicly available

Features:

  • Multiple payment flows
  • Support for up to 25 currencies

Paypal is one of the most well-known and established payment companies in the world, with more than 153 million accounts worldwide. Their marketplace solutions are designed to help businesses manage their fees, disbursements, and more.

PayPal's original marketplace solution, PayPal Adaptive, has been discontinued and replaced with PayPal for Marketplaces. Unfortunately, the latter still appears to be only available to select partners, so you'll need to contact your PayPal account manager to see if you can sign up.

By the time of this writing, PayPal for Marketplaces has been renamed twice – to PayPal for Partners and PayPal Commerce Platform – and still lacks documentation and a way for a regular marketplace owner to sign up.

So the current state of PayPal's marketplace solution is unclear.

 

PagSeguro

marketplace payments multimerch pagseguro

Link: https://pagseguro.uol.com.br/

Year founded: 2006 (Split 2016)

Based in: Brazil

Availability: Brazil

Fees: Processing fees vary by business, see website

Features:

  • Split payment processing
  • Recurring payment schedules
  • Request payment via email

PagSeguro is part of Universo Online, the largest online platform of internet products and services in Brazil. In addition to payment processing, UOL offers ecommerce solutions, hosting and security services.

To marketplace businesses PagSeguro offers convenient payment processing with support for split payments, over 25 payment gateways and its own POS system.

 

MercadoPago

marketplace payments multimerch mercado pago

Link: https://www.mercadopago.com.ar/

Year founded: 1999 (as part of Mercado Libre)

Based in: Argentina

Availability: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay

Fees: Commission charged depending on when money is required after payment: 2.99% to 5.99%.

Features:

  • Split payments between two accounts
  • Accept credit cards, debit cards, and interest-free bank installment payments
  • Decent documentation

As an offshoot of Mercado Libre (Latin America's most popular e-commerce site), MercadoPago was set up as a secure payment system to allow customers more payment options. It allows two-sided marketplace businesses to make collections on behalf of vendors and charge commissions on the transaction.

MercadoPago is used to manage payment collection by companies of all sizes, including Groupon, Nestle, and Hertz. The company has been growing at an impressive rate, processing 138.7 million transaction in 2016 (up 73% from 2015).

 

BlueSnap

marketplace payments multimerch bluesnap

Link: https://home.bluesnap.com/payments-for-marketplaces/

Year founded: 2001

Based in: United States

Availability: 180+ countries

Fees (quite a few!):

  • Monthly fees after the first 12 months if processing <$2500/mo
  • Marketplace vendor management fee based on the gross payout amount
  • BlueSnap transaction processing fees based on the amount of each capture (see pricing, around $2-4% + $0.30)
  • Payout fee based on your chosen payout method: ACH, wire, etc.
  • Other fees as defined in your contract

Features:

  • Subscription payments
  • Support for cards, wallets and ACH/ECP payments
  • Fraud prevention stack (Kount, Chargebacks911, Verifi and Ethoca)
  • Hosted checkout/payment pages

BlueSnap is an ecommerce payment services provider that offers payment solutions to ecommerce merchants and two-sided marketplaces and SaaS platforms.

The company was founded in 2001 as Plimus and has been renamed to BlueSnap later in 2013. It serves a wide variety of ecommerce, marketplace and SaaS cloud businesses, including Autodesk, MyHeritage, CloudShare and others.

 

Iyzico

marketplace payments multimerch iyzico

Link: https://www.iyzico.com/en/business/marketplace-payment-methods/

Year founded: 2013

Based in: Turkey

Availability: Turkey (recently expanded to 12 Eastern European countries)

Fees: 3.69% + 0,25 TL per successful payment

Features:

  • Split/parallel payments
  • Support for 7 currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, IRR, RUB, NOK, CHF
  • Anti-fraud system

Iyzico allows you to set up a marketplace to sell your products all over the world with high-level security. The company has recently expanded from Turkey into 12 Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Greece and Hungary.

At the time of this writing, it is reported that Iyzico is being acquired by PayU (see below).

 

PayU

marketplace payments multimerch payu

Link: https://www.payu.pl/en/payment-methods-business/marketplace/

Year founded: 2002-2006 (Naspers, PayU)

Based in: Netherlands

Availability: 17 countries

Fees: ~2.3% per transaction, see website

Features:

  • Split payments
  • Installment and delayed payments
  • Payment links and mobile payments

PayU is a global fintech company that offers payment solutions to online merchants, including marketplaces. Among PayU's features are split payments for two-sided marketplaces, delayed and installment payments for higher value carts as well as custom payment pages and mobile payments.

The company is owned by the Naspers Group and has acquired a number of competing payment companies in the last few years, Iyzico being the latest acquisition.

 

Lemon Way

marketplace payments multimerch lemonway

Link: https://www.lemonway.com/

Year founded: 2007

Based in: France

Availability: 30 countries in Europe

Fees: At request

Features:

  • Automating and tailored payment flows
  • Support for 10+ payment gateways and 20+ currencies
  • Custom payment pages
  • Anti-fraud and AML/KYC tools
  • PHP, Node.JS, Ruby and Python libraries

Lemon Way is a France-based payment solution for ecommerce businesses and marketplaces. The fees and additional details about the services provided by Lemon Way are available at request only.

According to the website, the company currently supports over 1,400 businesses across Europe including October, the French Football Federation, Rendity and others. It has been included by CB Insights in its 250 FinTech List of the Fastest-Growing FinTech Startups.

 

Paybase

marketplace payments multimerch paybase

Link: https://paybase.io/

Year founded: 2017

Based in: United Kingdom

Availability: United Kingdom (plans for EU support in late 2019)

Fees: At request, competitive fee structure

Features:

  • Flexible payments routing
  • Escrow functionality
  • Banking lite
  • Tailored loyalty & rewards schemes

Paybase is a payment solution for online marketplaces, gig and sharing economy platforms and fintech companies. Its combines payments with compliance and risk management, allowing businesses to reach market quickly and seamlessly. Through structured flexibility, Paybase accommodates a wide array of use cases, enabling new and established businesses to build better, more competitive products.

The company was founded in 2016 in the United Kingdom and is used by clients like Vimba, Grafter and Loc8um. Paybase plans to expand into other countries in the European Union in the near future.

 

Nochex Lynx

marketplace payments multimerch nochex lynx

Link: https://www.nochex.com/other-business-solutions-with-nochex/nochex-lynx-payments-platform-for-platforms/

Year founded: 2000

Based in: United Kingdom

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: At request, around ~1-5%

Features:

  • Managed payment services
  • Tailored solutions available

Nochex is a 2-in-1 payment gateway and a merchant account solution. The Nochex Lynx solution is designed specifically for online marketplace businesses and multi vendor platforms.

The company was founded in the early 2000 to help small businesses based in the United Kingdom process payments online and has since then expanded its solution offering to larger companies.

 

 

WePay

marketplace payments multimerch wepay

Link: https://go.wepay.com/

Year founded: 2008 (Acquired by JPMorgan Chase 2017)

Based in: United States

Availability: United States

Fees:

  • 2.9% + $0.30 for transaction processing
  • $15.00 per chargeback
  • $15.00 per ACH return
  • $25.00 research fee if an account is deemed abandoned

Features:

  • Support for multiple payment methods: Credit, Debit, ACH, and Chase Pay.
  • Daily, weekly, or monthly payouts
  • Instant vendor onboarding
  • Point of sale solution to capture more revenue
  • 100% coverage of your platform's exposure to fraud losses and chargebacks

WePay is a payment service provider based in the United States that offers integrated payment solutions to platform businesses, including crowdfunding platforms, marketplaces and small business software companies.

The company was founded in 2008 and has been acquired by JPMorgan Chase in 2017. It powers thousands of businesses across the United States, including companies like GoFundMe, Infusionsoft and Eventzilla.

 

Dwolla

marketplace payments multimerch dwolla

Link: https://www.dwolla.com/

Year founded: 2008

Based in: United States

Availability: United States

Fees: Not publicly available

Features:

  • Supports ACH and wire transfers
  • Multiple payment flows
  • Automated mass payouts and returns
  • Accelerated transfers

Dwolla is an enterprise payment solution that offers ACH and wire transfer automation and payment facilitation to businesses in the United States. It is used by ecommerce, mobile and other businesses like GOAT, Rally Rd, Kidfund and others.

 

SafeCharge

marketplace payments multimerch safecharge

Link: https://www.safecharge.com/marketplace-manager/

Year founded: 2007

Based in: United Kingdom

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: 1.2% + €0.15 per transaction for EU issued cards, 2.5% + €0.15 for non-EU cards

Features:

  • Split payments
  • Support for currency conversion
  • Custom payouts

SafeCharge International is a payments technology company that provides omnichannel payment services and fraud prevention solutions to ecommerce businesses globally.

The company counts 340+ employees, is trading on the London Stock Exchange and has offices in 10 countries.

 

Razorpay

Link: https://razorpay.com/

Year founded: 2014

Based in: India

Availability: India

Fees: 2% - 3% per transaction depending on method, +0.25% for Routing add-on, +0.9% for subscription payments.

Features:

  • Support for 100+ payment modes
  • Split payments via routing addon
  • Subscription payments with custom billing cycles
  • Different payment modes, including fixed, quantity-based and usage based models

Razorpay is the only payments solution in India which allows marketplace businesses to automatically accept, process and distribute payments.

In 2017, Razorpay has expanded its product suite with payment routing, subscriptions and invoicing to support payment collection, reconciliation, and disbursal.

 

Tipalti

marketplace payments multimerch tipalti

Link: https://tipalti.com/customers/how-online-marketplaces-make-payments-with-tipalti/

Year founded: 2010

Based in: United States

Availability: United States

Fees: Tipalti charges a monthly operational fee to set up and maintain an account, as well as per-transaction charges (depending on payment method/foreign exchange charges)

Features:

  • Pay in the local currency of over 190 countries
  • Over 26,000 payment rules and conditions

Tipalti is a payment and accounting solution that focuses on offering businesses mass payout and disbursement solutions with full tax and regulatory compliance. The platform also provides an invoice and purchase order processing workflow, as well as a supplier portal for self-service.

Tipalti is used by businesses like WP Engine, GoDaddy, Touch of Modern and others, and boasts a 98% customer satisfaction rate.

 

Assembly Payments

marketplace payments multimerch assembly payments

Link: https://assemblypayments.com/

Year founded: 2013

Based in: Australia

Availability: Worldwide

Fees: fixed fees not available, contact sales for a quote

Features:

  • Support for multiple inbound/outbound payment methods (Credit card, ACH, direct debit, domestic bank transfer (EFT), international wire transfer, digital wallet, PayPal)
  • Accept payments from over 150 countries and settle funds in multiple currencies
  • Batch, timed and instant payouts

Assembly Payments offers payment solutions for two-sided platforms and marketplaces with support for tailored payment workflows and escrow. The solution provides marketplaces with multiple ways to accept and disburse payments and offers compliance and anti-fraud tools.

The company has 125 employees worldwide, is headquartered in Melbourne and has offices across Sydney, Manilla and St Louis.

 

Payment Rails

marketplace payments multimerch payment rails

Link: https://www.paymentrails.com/

Year founded: 2015

Based in: Canada

Availability: United States, Canada, Europe, Australia

Fees: Free 3 month trial, then $49 - $199/mo. Transaction fees vary from $0 for Paypal to $10 for swift transfers.

Features:

  • Supports payouts to 220+ countries in 135+ currencies
  • Custom payment approval flows
  • Automated handling of returned payments
  • KYC & anti-fraud tools

Payment Rails is a Canada-based payments company that focuses on simplifying global payouts for online marketplaces, crowdsourcing and sharing economy platforms.

 

Nummuspay

marketplace payments multimerch nummuspay

Link: https://nummuspay.com/

Year founded: 2018

Based in: Greece

Availability: Not publicly available

Fees: Free plan available, with 2.5% of revenue, or paid plans ranging from $99 to $249/mo charging 0.5% of revenue only after a set amount is reached. Enterprise options available.

Features:

  • Support for multiple currencies and gateways
  • Subscriptions via self-service

Nummuspay is a subscription management and credit card processing platform for online businesses. It helps companies manage recurring revenue streams and offers multiple payment gateways and online invoicing.

To marketplaces, Nummuspay offers fee collection at checkout, streamlined partner onboarding and simplified tax compliance.

 

Computop

marketplace payments multimerch computop

Link: https://www.computop.com/us/solutions/computop-paygate/payment-for-marketplaces/

Year founded: 1997

Based in: Germany

Availability: International

Fees: Not publicly available

Features:

  • Support for over 50 payment methods
  • Mail, phone & POS order processing
  • KYC and anti-fraud tools

Computop is a payment service provider that helps companies streamline their multi-channel payment processes. To get the most from your marketplace, the relevant domestic payment options for every country are targeted for optimized revenue in overseas and domestic business.

 

Cashfree

marketplace payments multimerch cashfree

Link: https://www.cashfree.com/nodal-account-marketplace-settlements

Year founded: 2015

Based in: India

Availability: India

Fees: Typically ranges from 1.95% to 3.5% + ₹ 7, with an additional 0.5% on subscriptions. Contact sales for detailed pricing for Marketplace Settlement

Features:

  • Split payments with payout adjustments
  • Support for offline or cash on delivery orders.
  • Custom payment flows

Cashfree allows businesses in India to automate inbound and outbound bank transfers, accept card payments, and build payment flows around receiving and disbursing money.

The company currently serves over 12,000 businesses including the likes of Xiaomi and Tencent, and has raised a $5.5M Series A round from Korea's Smilegate in 2019.

 

Payrix / Splash Payments

marketplace payments multimerch payrix

Link: https://www.payrix.com/

Based in: United States

Availability: Not publicly available

Fees: Not publicly available

Features:

  • Recurring payments
  • Payframe hosted payment form

Payrix (formerly known as Splash Payments) provides payment processing to marketplace merchants. Unfortunately, you'll be hard-pressed to find any additional information without signing up, as there's only limited documentation available.

 

Payture

marketplace payments multimerch payture

Link: https://payture.com/services

Year founded: 2010

Based in: Russia

Availability: Russia

Fees: 2.1% to 3% (depending on revenue)

Features:

  • Support for multiple currencies
  • Recurring payments and pre-authorization
  • Full and partial refunds
  • KYC & anti-fraud

Payture is a payment solution that offers internet acquiring and P2P payment services to ecommerce businesses in Russia.

 

RBK Money

marketplace payments multimerch rbk money

Link: https://rbk.money/payment-solutions/

Year founded: 2002

Based in: Russia

Availability: Russia, CIS region

Fees: Available on request, ~3%

Features:

  • Mass payouts & recurring payments
  • Escrow payments
  • Stored cards
  • Anti-fraud tools

RBK.money is a leading electronic payment company in Russia and the CIS region. It offers businesses safe online payments via credit and debit cards, e-wallets and an extensive cash payments network.

For marketplace businesses, RBK.money offers split payments at checkout and payment routing between multiple receivers.

Founded in 2007 as RUpay, the company was acquired by RBK Group in 2008. It currently serves over 40,000 online stores in 60+ countries.

 

PayAnyway/Moneta.ru

marketplace payments multimerch payanyway

Link: https://marketplace.payanyway.ru/

Year founded: 2005 (PayAnyway 2010)

Based in: Russia

Availability: Russia

Fees:

  • Card payments 2.7%
  • Online banking 2.9%
  • Mobile phone outlets 2.9%
  • Digital wallets 2.5%+
  • SMS payments 4%+

Features:

  • Support for multiple payment gateways
  • Customer invoicing via email and SMS
  • Delayed payments and holding funds
  • Automatic recurring payments

PayAnyway is an ecommerce payment processing solution by Moneta.ru aimed at online stores and marketplaces. They provide a convenient way of processing payments online to ecommerce companies based in Russia using the most common local payment methods.

Moneta.ru was founded in 2005 in Russia and started offering marketplace payment processing in 2010 as part of as separate service called PayAnyway.

 

How do you choose the best payment solution?

That's a lot of payment processors! A little overwhelming, perhaps.

Selecting the right payment solution for your marketplace is crucial, but how do you choose the right one when there are so many different choices available?

Here are a few tips:

First, decide what features you absolutely need and which ones are optional. Do you really need recurring and subscription payments? Can you live without custom payment routing?

Then, find out what processors are available in your region that offer the functionality you're looking for. In most cases, this will narrow your choices down to a few processors.

Finally, make sure you can integrate the solution of choice into your marketplace platform software. The better documentation and integration options, the easier your job will be.

Here are a few helpful tips from Paybase (featured earlier in this roundup):

Danielle Herndon
Danielle HerndonHead of Compliance at Paybase

"When choosing your payments provider, it's important to think about exactly what your business needs and what your priorities are. Each provider varies in what it can offer. Some offer a plug-in solution that is very easy to integrate but will struggle to handle anything that requires a certain degree of flexibility. Others can offer greater scope, but may involve you as a business having to build out your product/service further.

What's most important is to not underestimate the level of flexibility you will need. Think about what you'll need in the future and whether each given payments provider will enable you to do that.

Additionally, it is important to consider the level of financial crime prevention that the provider offers, as the last thing your business needs is high levels of financial crime on your platform due to an inadequate alerting system."

So, ask yourself the following questions before getting to work building your marketplace:

  • What types of payments will I be dealing with as a marketplace platform owner?
  • What payment solutions are available in my region that meet my requirements?
  • What will payment processing cost me and how do I factor this into my business model?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help you find the perfect payment processor for your marketplace.

I want to make starting a marketplace simple and help marketplace owners turn their platforms into successful businesses. If you've found this roundup useful, please help spread the word and share it.

 

The post 26 Marketplace Payment Solutions for Two-Sided Platforms appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

The Basics of Marketplace Content Moderation

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marketplace content moderation banner

As with everything, creating an efficient content moderation strategy starts with defining what the goals and framework for the operations are.

Content moderation needs may vary wildly from marketplace to marketplace depending on audience, maturity, geolocation and a lot of other factors.

To make sure you design a content moderation strategy that fits your marketplace, here are 3 core things you should consider.

This is a guest post by Emil Andersson from Besedo.

What to moderate?

This might sound straightforward, but it’s incredibly important to understand what type of user-generated content your online marketplace hosts. For example, the content on eBay and TaskRabbit is very different.

When you know your user-generated content, you need to consider what you want to moderate. Are you moderating user profiles, listings, or both?

Then evaluate which categories you should, and can, moderate.

Ideally, you should moderate all user-generated content on your marketplace, everything from profiles and listings, to 1-to-1 chats, in all categories. Unfortunately, that’s not always possible, as financial resources or technical capabilities can hold some marketplaces back.

If that’s your case, you might need to start by only moderating a selection of high-risk categories. A clever way can be to explore which of your categories hold the largest share of refused ads on your marketplace.

Some of the common risk categories we see here at Besedo are:

  • electronics (3%)
  • fashion and accessories (3%)
  • other (typically around 5%)

Alternatively, you can evaluate the content risk levels:

content risk level 900

Here, you'll usually want to focus on moderating the high-risk content first.

How to moderate?

Before the mobile revolution, users were generally okay waiting a couple of hours before their listings went live. In the post-mobile world, however, the average human attention span has fallen to 8-seconds, making it the general rule of thumb to have near instant time-to-site.

But there are some cases where this may not be true, or where instant time-to-site isn't financially or technically viable. Have a look at your users' needs and investigate what the best time-to-site commitment is for you to acquire, retain, and convert sellers.

What time-to-site you commit to will play a large role in the structure of your moderation set up. There are many methods to moderate content, but let’s look at the benefits of two of the most traditional approaches: pre- and post- moderation.

Post-moderation

With post-moderation, content will go live instantly. Although this might be good seller UX, as their listings are live within a moment, it also means that any type of content will go live on your site – including unwanted content such as scam, hate speech, nudity, etc.

Post-moderation can be a good option for platforms that only work with manual moderation and hosts time-sensitive content where data needs to reach the site instantly. A tip is to ensure a good flagging system in your community, not only to increase UX but also to help your manual moderation team.

Pre-moderation

Pre-moderation is a great option for online marketplaces who are serious about protecting their users from bad content and wants to ensure top user experiences each time. In general, it’s best practice to pre-moderate content on your site to make sure it adheres to your policies before it goes live.

The challenge with pre-moderation, however, can be to ensure short time-to-site. In order to accomplish this, you need to achieve a high level of automation.

 

Automated content moderation

Yes, in 2019, automated content moderation has reached such levels that it’s something all online marketplaces need to consider. There are two ways you can automate your moderation, either through automated filters or Machine Learning AI. But when should you use what?

When to use automated filters?

There are many use cases where automated filters are incredibly efficient. Filters can be created to catch harassment, personal details, profanities, etc. A rule of thumb is to use filters when you look to catch content that can’t be misinterpreted or are obvious scams.

Two examples where automated filters are effective is 1) to spot specific bad words, such as Nazi, or 2) separate content into different manual moderation queues, i.e. high-priced items.

When to use AI moderation?

The rest! AI moderation is the best option for online marketplaces who wants to make sure their users are safe and has a great experience on their site. A tailored AI solution meets your specific moderation needs - it is built on your data to make sure highly accurate automated decisions are taken in line with your moderation policies. Use AI moderation to catch everything from scams to poor image quality.

Automation level vs quality

The more automation you want, the less accuracy you will have. You need to consider what automation quality you want, think accuracy, precision, and recall. Find a good balance between automation level and your willingness to accept bad content. A good first step is to understand the basic concepts of AI moderation.

 

Take these 3 factors with you, consider them carefully when setting up your content moderation, but also make sure to weigh in other relevant parameters that can affect your unique situation.

A solid content moderation setup will help you ensure high content quality, increase user trust, and improve the overall user experience – what we refer to as the three pillars of marketplace success.

The post The Basics of Marketplace Content Moderation appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

Handmade Marketplaces for Artisans to Sell Crafts, Art, Gifts Online

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handmade-marketplaces-banner900x300

If you're an artisan or a craftsperson and aren't selling your crafts online, you might be doing it wrong.

Selling art, crafts and handmade items online is the primary source of income for hundreds of thousands of independent small businesses.

It's also becoming easier – there are plenty of marketplace platforms for artisans and crafters to promote and sell their products.

In this post, I've gathered over 60+ handmade marketplaces, artisan communities, directories and showcases for everything hand-crafted.

Here it is:

Since this list got big pretty quickly, I split it into 5 sections (click the links below to view a specific section):

To make it easier to work with, I've also prepared Google Sheets version of this list that I will share later in this post.

handmade marketplaces google sheets xls

Get this data as a Google Sheet xls

I will email you the spreadsheet link right away.

Now, let's start.

Here are the platforms to sell and promote your handmade products on:

 

The big marketplaces you can sell handmade items on

Amazon Handmade

handmade marketplaces multimerch amazon handmade artisans

You can sell virtually anything on Amazon, including your handcrafted goods. Amazon Handmade is an Amazon community aimed specifically at artisans selling crafts online.

Website: https://services.amazon.com/handmade/handmade.html

Availability: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Mexico

Fees: Signing up for Amazon Handmade until December 31, 2019 gives you a free Professional selling plan (worth $39.99/month). You're also paying a referral fee of around ~15% on each product sold.

 

Etsy

handmade marketplaces multimerch etsy crafts

Basically the OG marketplace for handmade crafts, gifts, vintage and unique items. If you're not (also) selling on Etsy, you're doing it wrong.

Website: https://www.etsy.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: First, Etsy charges you a listing fee of $0.20 USD for each item you list for sale. Additionally, you're charged a transaction fee of 5% of the total price the product is sold for. If you use Etsy Payments to process customer payments, Etsy will also charge you a payment processing fee of around ~3% + $0.25 (varies by country). You can also sign up for the Etsy Plus subscription at $10/mo for an additional set of business tools. Finally, you might be eligible for advertising fees, pattern fees and shipping fees.

 

Bonanza

handmade marketplaces multimerch bonanza crafts

Bonanza is a global marketplace platform aimed primarily at fashion, collectibles and home decor, but also accepts all kinds of crafts and art items. The Crafts category on Bonanza currently has over 600,000 listings.

Website: https://www.bonanza.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Bonanza charges a selling fee of 3.5% of FOV (final offer value) plus a flat 1.5% of the amount over $500. The minimum selling fee is $0.50. You can also opt into Bonanza's extra advertising packages in exchange for a higher selling fee.

 

eBay

handmade marketplaces multimerch ebay crafts

That's right – you can sell your handmade crafts, art and artisan supplies on eBay (in fact, eBay has a separate category called Crafts).

Website: https://www.ebay.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: eBay charges you two main types of fees – an insertion fee (first 50 listings are free, the fee rate is based on the category, around $0.35 for most categories) and a final value fee or selling fee (10% for most categories). Managed payments sellers also get charged a payment processing fee for each transaction.

 

eBid

handmade marketplaces multimerch ebid

eBid is an online auction website that also operates as a marketplace. Basically like eBay, but not quite eBay. You can sell crafts and handmade items on eBid.

Website: https://www.ebid.net/

Availability: 23 countries (United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Singapore, South Africa, Brazil, Malaysia)

Fees: eBid offers two different selling plans – Seller and Seller+. The Seller plan is free to join and includes a 3% final value fee, joining the Seller+ plan waives the final value fee and costs around $7 per month.

 

Facebook Marketplace

handmade marketplaces multimerch facebook

Facebook Marketplace has been a great selling platform for individual entrepreneurs and small businesses for a while now. The best thing about it – no selling fees whatsoever. Why not sell your handmade items and crafts on Facebook?

Website: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/

Availability: Globally

Fees: None.

 

Ruby Lane

handmade marketplaces multimerch rubylane

Ruby Lane is the world's largest curated marketplace for vintage fashion and collectibles, antiques, fine art and jewelry. Not really the platform for selling "handmade crafts" in the modern sense of the term, but you might want to check out Ruby Lane if you're dealing with traditional vintage stuff.

Website: https://www.rubylane.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: First, Ruby Lane charges sellers a $100 one-time setup fee, which allows you to list your first 10 items. After the first month of selling on Ruby Lane, you will be required to pay a monthly maintenance cost of $69 per month for up to 80 items, then $0.30 cents per item up to 150 items, $0.20 per item for up to 1000 items, then $0.01 per item. Additionally, Ruby Lane charges a one-time listing fee of $0.19 per item.

 

Absolute Arts

handmade marketplaces multimerch absolute arts

Absolute Arts is a marketplace for emerging, contemporary artists who offer original artwork for sale. This includes paintings, fine art sculptures and mixed media art.

Website: https://www.absolutearts.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Absolute Arts offers a few different subscription plans that start at $55/year, as well as charges a sales commission of 20% to 35% depending on your sales numbers.

 

Artfire

handmade marketplaces multimerch artfire

ArtFire is a marketplace for artisans that allows you to sell handmade goods – from jewelry and crafts to supplies, vintage clothing and digital arts.

Website: https://www.artfire.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: ArtFire requires sellers to join one of the 3 different subscription plans – starting at $4.95/mo for Standard accounts up to $40/mo for Featured accounts. Standard sellers are charged a $0.23 per item listing fee and a 12.75% final valuation fee (selling fee) while Popular and Featured plans only include a 4.5% final valuation fee.

 

Artful Home

handmade marketplaces multimerch artful home

Artful Home is a curated marketplace for art and craft – from sculpture, art glass and decor to furniture, apparel and jewelry. Again, not a "handmade crafts marketplace", but a great platform for high end artists and designers creating unique pieces of art.

Website: https://www.artfulhome.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: Artful Home is a juried platform, so all new applications go through a 6-8 week vetting process. You will be required to pay a jury fee of $35 every time you apply. If your application is accepted, Artful Home will charge you a one-time membership fee of $300 (possible to pay $25/mo installments). Additionally, the platform takes a 50% commission on every sale you make through the marketplace.

 

ArtPal

handmade marketplaces multimerch artpal

ArtPal is an art marketplace that allows artists to sell their artwork online. The products available on the platform include paintings, sculptures, photography, as well as jewelry, crafts and fine art, and more.

Website: https://www.artpal.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: None. ArtPal has no membership fees and charges no commissions – the platform generates revenues through their print-on-demand services.

 

Art In The Heart

handmade marketplaces multimerch art in the heart

Art in the Heart is an online marketplace for handcrafted gifts and art based in the United Kingdom. The platform only accepts artists and makers based in the UK.

Website: https://www.artintheheart.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: Art in the Heart charges all sellers a 25% selling fee.

 

Cratejoy

handmade marketplaces multimerch cratejoy

Cratejoy is a marketplace platform for subscription boxes that also carries categories such as artisan and handmade items, arts and crafts as well as luxury products. Unlike traditional handmade marketplaces where artisans sell individual items, Cratejoy is built with the idea of monthly subscription boxes in mind.

Website: https://www.cratejoy.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: It costs $39 per month to sell on Cratejoy – you can build your own website as well as list your boxes for sale on the Cratejoy Marketplace. All marketplace sales are subject to an 11.25% + $0.10 transaction fee while a lower fee of 1.25% + $0.10 is imposed on website sales.

 

eCrater

handmade marketplaces multimerch ecrater

eCrater is an online marketplace for all kinds of things – similar to eBay, but not as prominent. As of 2019, eCrater has over 200,000 items in the Crafts category, as well as hundreds of thousands of listings in categories such as Art, Collectibles, Glass & Pottery and others.

Website: https://www.ecrater.com/

Availability: Globally, but must ship to the US

Fees: eCrater charges sellers a 2.9% selling fee.

 

Folksy

handmade marketplaces multimerch folksy

Folksy is "the home of British craft" – a marketplace for handmade gifts and original artwork created by artisans in the United Kingdom.

Website: https://folksy.com/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: Folksy offers sellers two account types – Basic and Plus. The Basic account imposes a listing fee of £0.15/item after the first 3 items while the Plus account costs £5 a month and offers free listings. Folksy also charges sellers a 6% selling commission. In addition to that, Folksy will charge you a payment processing fee: 1.4%/2.9% + £0.20 via Stripe, 3.4% + £0.20 via PayPal.

 

Handmade Artists' Shop

handmade marketplaces multimerch handmade artists shop

The Handmade Artists' Shop is an online marketplace for buying and selling handmade goods. This includes all kinds of handmade art, crafts and clothing as well as crafting supplies, pattern tutorials and much more – over 25 categories in total.

Website: https://handmadeartists.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: The Handmade Artists' Shop offers sellers a single subscription plan – $5.00/mo or $50.00/year. There are no selling or listing fees.

 

Handmade in Britain

handmade marketplaces multimerch handmade in britain

Just like the name implies, Handmade in Britain is a company that supports and promotes design and craft talent through fairs, events and pop-ups – as well as by allowing artists to sell through their online marketplace.

Website: https://www.handmadeinbritain.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: Handmade in Britain charges sellers a 25% to 30% selling fee depending on the sales numbers.

 

iCraftGifts

handmade marketplaces multimerch icraftgifts

iCraftGifts is an online marketplace for handmade gifts, arts & crafts, handmade jewelry and home decor.

Website: https://icraftgifts.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: iCraftGifts charges sellers a one-time $25.00 registration fee and offers three subscription tiers at $5, $10 and $12 per month. There are no selling or insertion fees.

 

Luulla

handmade marketplaces multimerch luulla

Luulla is a marketplace platform for handmade items that mostly specializes in clothing and dresses, but also offers handmade jewelry and accessories.

Website: https://www.luulla.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Luulla offers sellers three subscription tiers at $15, $29 and $49/mo, as well as charges an 8% transaction fee.

 

Made By Hand Online

handmade marketplaces multimerch made by hand online

Made by Hand Online is a curated online marketplace and a directory of British makers of handmade contemporary craft & gifts. The main categories featured on Made by Hand Online are jewellery, fashion and home & garden items.

Website: https://madebyhandonline.com/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: Made by Hand Online charges a 22% commission on all sales, as well as a yearly membership fee (£170 for the first year, then £120/year).

 

Made It + Craftumi

handmade marketplaces multimerch madeit

Made It is an Australian marketplace for local handmade gifts, housewares art and fashion. The platform features Australia's most creative art, design & crafting talent. Made It has a sister site called Craftumi, which is aimed at sellers offering supplies for creating art and craft.

Websites: https://madeit.com.au/ & https://www.craftumi.com.au/

Availability: Australia

Fees: Made It offers four different quarterly subscription plans from $4/mo to $50/mo ($12 to $150 a quarter) and charges no selling commissions or listing fees.

 

Not on the high street

handmade marketplaces multimerch not on the high street

Not on the high street is a curated marketplace of unique gifts and crafts from over 5000 artisans and small businesses in the United Kingdom.

Website: https://www.notonthehighstreet.com/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: NOTHS charges a one-time signup fee of £199, there are no selling, listing or transaction fees.

 

RebelsMarket

handmade marketplaces multimerch rebels market

RebelsMarket is an online marketplace of alternative clothing, shoes, handmade jewelry, original art and home decor from sellers all around the world.

Website: https://www.rebelsmarket.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: RebelsMarket charges sellers a 15% selling fee on all sales.

 

Storenvy

handmade marketplaces multimerch storenvy

Storenvy is an online marketplace and a store builder for indie brands and small businesses.

Website: https://www.storenvy.com/

Fees: Storenvy charges a 15% selling fee on all marketplace and "marketplace-assisted" sales.

 

Trouva

handmade marketplaces multimerch trouva

Trouva is the curated marketplace for bricks and mortar independent shops and boutiques selling unique homeware and lifestyle products. You need to own a physical shop with fixed opening hours to join Trouva.

Website: https://www.trouva.com/

Availability: Globally

 

Wolf & Badger

handmade marketplaces multimerch wolf and badger

Wolf & Badger is a retailer and a curated marketplace for independent, ethical and unique fashion, homeware and beauty brands in the United Kingdom

Website: https://www.wolfandbadger.com/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: Wolf & Badger charges a 25% selling fee on all marketplace sales.

 

Zibbet + ACMoore

handmade marketplaces multimerch zibbet

Zibbet Marketplace is a platform for independent creatives to sell unique handmade products, fine art, vintage and craft. Zibbet also offers a solution to connect sellers to multiple marketplace platforms and has partnered with A.C. Moore in creating a new, better marketplace platform.

Website: https://marketplace.zibbet.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: Zibbet charges users a flat fee of $5 per month per channel to list items on multiple platforms, including the Zibbet Marketplace. There are no listing or selling fees on Zibbet Marketplace.

The less popular alternative platforms

Aftcra

handmade marketplaces multimerch aftcra

Aftcra is an online marketplace platform of American handmade products such as jewelry, decorative arts and handicrafts. The main goal of Aftcra marketplace is to support local artists and artisans in the United States.

Website: https://www.aftcra.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: Aftcra charges a 7% transaction fee for all sales on the platform. There are no listing or membership fees.

 

Articents

handmade marketplaces multimerch articents

Articents is a marketplace for independent craftsmen and collectors to market and sell unique handmade and vintage items online. It aims to reduce the cost of selling online for artisans and is free to join and sell.

Website: http://www.articents.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Free, $5.00/mo for extra features such as store personalization

 

Cargoh

handmade marketplaces multimerch cargoh

Cargoh is a curated marketplace platform for independent artists, designers and musicians. It aims to build a community for independent handmade store owners around the world.

Website: https://www.cargoh.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Cargoh charges a 10% sales fee on all sales.

 

Craft is Art

handmade marketplaces multimerch craft is art

Craft is Art is a marketplace for handmade crafts, fine art, supplies and vintage.

Website: https://www.craftisart.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: Craft is Art offers sellers two subscription ties – Free and Premium. The Free plan comes with a 5.5% sales commission and 100 free listings ($0.15 listing fee for additional items, $0.75 for premium listings), the Premium plan has no sales or listing fees and costs $7.99/mo or $79.99/year.

 

GLC Craft Mall

handmade marketplaces multimerch glc craft mall

GLC Craft Mall is a marketplace of independently owned stores operated by artists and crafters.

Website: https://www.glccraftmall.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: GLC Craft Mall offers three subscription tiers from $4.50/mo to $12/mo and charges a 5% selling fee for all plans.

 

HandmadeCatalog

handmade marketplaces multimerch handmade catalog

HandmadeCatalog is a marketplace for unusual and uncommon gifts, decor and gourmet foods hand-crafted by professional makers in the United States.

Website: http://www.handmadecatalog.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: HandmadeCatalog has three subscription plans from $4.95/mo to $12.95/mo and charges no listing or transaction fees.

 

Hyena Cart + Indie Cart

handmade marketplaces multimerch hyena cart indie cartHyena Cart and Indie Cart are marketplace platforms for environmentally friendly, handcrafted goods both operated by a single company. According to the Hyena Cart blog, both projects are to be merged together in the near future.

Websites: https://hyenacart.com/ & https://indiecart.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Hyena Cart charges as subscription fee of $7.50 per month and no listing or selling fees.

 

Meylah Marketplace

handmade marketplaces multimerch meylah marketplace

Meylah Marketplace is an ecommerce platform for independent and small businesses run by a software company Meylah.

Website: https://marketplace.meylah.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Meylah charges a subscription fee of $20/month and a 2.75% transaction fee on all sales.

 

Shop Handmade

handmade marketplaces multimerch shop handmade

Shop Handmade is an online marketplace for fun and creative handmade items, vintage products and crafting supplies.

Website: http://www.shophandmade.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Shop Handmade charges no mandatory fees, but allows sellers to specify an optional sold item fee.

 

On-demand printing marketplaces for merch

CafePress

handmade marketplaces multimerch cafepress

CafePress is an online marketplace platform and an on demand printing platform for custom t-shirts, stickers, posters and other merchandise. It allows third party designers and sellers create their own stores and offer designs and items for sale through the marketplace.

Website: https://www.cafepress.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: CafePress charges a 10% selling fee for items and an 8% selling fee for designs sold through the marketplace (paid by the buyer).

 

RedBubble

handmade marketplaces multimerch redbubble

Red Bubble is a marketplace and an on demand merchandise platform for independent creatives selling shirts, stickers, phone cases and other similar products.

Website: https://www.redbubble.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Red Bubble doesn't charge selling or listing fees, but defines base prices for product categories and allows artists to set their own margin on top of the base price.

 

Society6

handmade marketplaces multimerch society6

Society 6 is a merchandise marketplace for art prints, iPhone cases, t-shirts and other products by artists and designers around the world.

Website: https://society6.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Society 6 charges a 10% selling fee on all products except art prints, framed art prints and stretched canvas product, where the margins are determined by the sellers.

 

Spoonflower

handmade marketplaces multimerch spoonflower

Spoonflower is an on demand digital printing marketplace for custom fabric, wallpaper, gift wrap and surface designs created by independent designers, sewists, crafters and makers.

Website: https://www.spoonflower.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Spoonflower pays sellers a 10% royalty of the retail price of the sale.

 

Threadless

handmade marketplaces multimerch threadless

Threadless is an online marketplace platform for print-on-demand products like t-shirts, art prints, iphone cases and other on demand items, as well as apparel, accessories and home decor.

Website: https://www.threadless.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Threadless allows sellers to specify their own markup on top of the base price, which is defined on a category basis.

 

Zazzle

handmade marketplaces multimerch zazzle

Zazzle is a print-on-demand marketplace for t-shirts, mugs and other items that allows designers to create products with independent manufacturers and use imagery by partner companies like Disney and Hallmark.

Website: https://www.zazzle.com/

Availability: Globally

Fees: Zazzle allows designers to sell their own royalty rates between 5% and 99%.

 

Artisan directories, showcases, communities, galleries

Aerende

handmade marketplaces multimerch aerende

Aerende is a social enterprise that offers sustainable craft homewares, handmade products and interior items created by people facing social challenges in the United Kingdom.

Website: https://www.aerende.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

 

Arts Thread

handmade marketplaces multimerch arts thread

Arts Thread is a digital community platform for emerging artists that allows designers to showcase their portfolios and take part in competitions and events.

Website: https://www.artsthread.com/

Availability: Globally

 

Association of Illustrators

handmade marketplaces multimerch association of illustrators

The Association of Illustrators is a trade association and a community that provides contract and business support to illustrators, champions illustrators' rights and runs competitions and events.

Website: https://theaoi.com/

Availability: United Kingdom

 

Contemporary Glass Society

handmade marketplaces multimerch contemporary glass society

The Contemporary Glass Society is an association of artists, collectors, students, organisations galleries, manufacturers and enthusiasts of glass art.

Website: https://www.cgs.org.uk/

Availability: Globally

 

Crafts Council Directory

handmade marketplaces multimerch crafts council

The Crafts Council is the national development agency for contemporary craft in the United Kingdom. The Crafts Council Directory lists the best contemporary craft makers in the United Kingdom.

Website: https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/directory/

Availability: United Kingdom

 

Crafty Fox Market + Shopping with Soul

handmade marketplaces multimerch crafty fox market

Crafty Fox Market is a community of United Kingdom's best independent designers and makers. Shopping with Soul is a curated directory of designers, makers and independent businesses.

Websites: https://www.craftyfoxmarket.co.uk/ & https://www.shoppingwithsoul.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

 

Bluprint (formerly Craftsy)

handmade marketplaces multimerch bluprint

Bluprint is a learning community for artisans that offers courses created by world-class experts.

Website: https://www.mybluprint.com/

Availability: Globally

 

Designers / Makers

handmade marketplaces multimerch designers makers

Designers / Makers is an agency and a directory for contemporary design and craft that provides business support, events and opportunities for independent designers and creators.

Website: https://www.designersmakers.com/

Availability: United Kingdom

 

Design Nation

handmade marketplaces multimerch design nation

Design Nation is a portfolio and a directory of some of the most acclaimed and innovative designers and craftspeople from across the United Kingdom.

Website: https://www.designnation.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

 

Eclectic Artisans

handmade marketplaces multimerch eclectic artisans

Eclectic Artisans is a curated online gallery showcasing handcrafted contemporary jewelry created by artisans worldwide.

Website: https://eclecticartisans.com/

Availability: Globally

 

Ello

handmade marketplaces multimerch ello

Ello is a social networking service and a community showcasing art, photography, fashion and web culture.

Website: https://ello.co/

Availability: Globally

 

I Made It! Market

handmade marketplaces multimerch i made it market

I Made It! Market is community of Pittsburgh's makers that provides handmade artist highlights, pop-up shops and events.

Website: https://www.imadeitmarket.com/

Availability: Pittsburgh, United States

 

Online Ceramics

handmade marketplaces multimerch online ceramics

Online Ceramics is a gallery and a community featuring the top artists in contemporary British studio pottery.

Website: https://www.onlineceramics.com/

Availability: United Kingdom

 

Rockett St George

handmade marketplaces multimerch rockett st george

Rockett St George is an online interiors company selling domestic homewares with quirky style. Independent homeware designers can apply for a trade account with Rockett St George.

Website: https://www.rockettstgeorge.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

 

Shop Handmade UK

handmade marketplaces multimerch shop handmade uk

Shop Handmade UK is a directory of United Kingdom's independent designer-makers creating quality homemade goods.

Website: http://www.shophandmade.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

 

The Future Kept

handmade marketplaces multimerch the future kept

The Future Kept is a curated collection of consciously crafted, responsibly and ethically sourced homeware products from United Kingdom's local makers and artisans.

Website: https://thefuturekept.com/

Availability: United Kingdom

 

Yoyo and Flo

handmade marketplaces multimerch yoyo and flo toys

Yoyo and Flo is a curated showcase for the most innovative and unusual design-led toy brands and nursery decor from the United Kingdom and Europe.

Website: https://www.yoyoandflo.com/

Availability: Globally

 

The ones that got closed down or acquired

This is the list of handmade marketplaces that didn't make it to 2019 for various reasons. Some of them have officially closed down, a few were acquired by larger platforms, the rest just went silent at some point.

I'm including these names here mostly for historical purposes:

  • All Things Original
  • Artisna dead/closed
  • Artyah
  • DaWanda (acquired by Etsy)
  • Coriandr
  • Country Finest
  • Craftly/Goodsmiths
  • EthicalStores
  • Free Craft Fair
  • Hatch.co
  • JustCustom/JustHandmade
  • madeitmyself
  • My E Hive
  • Not Mass Produced
  • PoppyTalkHandmade
  • Shopwindoz
  • Silkfair
  • ShopWindoz
  • SwankyMaison
  • Tictail (acquired by Shopify)
  • UglyBeGone
  • Withal
  • Yokaboo

Who knows, perhaps one day we'll see some of them pop back up again – but for now you'll need to stick to the other platforms for all your handmade marketplace needs.

 

Did I miss anything?

So there you have it – the big list of handmade marketplaces and artisan platforms.

I'm pretty sure I missed at least a few, especially the regional ones. Would love to add them to the list.

What do you think?

Let me know in the comments below!

The post Handmade Marketplaces for Artisans to Sell Crafts, Art, Gifts Online appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.


MultiMerch Included in "Ones to Watch 2019" by European Business Awards

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multimerch european business awards ones to watch

Last week, MultiMerch has been named by European Business Awards as one of the Ones To Watch 2019 businesses.

"Recognizing Success, Innovation and Ethics". Sounds about right!

Since this is the first time MultiMerch gets a shout out by European Business Awards, I thought I'd put together this blog post of gratitude.

The original idea for a better marketplace solution was born years ago, back when I was still an OpenCart developer.

There were no decent marketplace platforms available to small businesses, so I created the first version of what later became MultiMerch – with the individual entrepreneur in mind.

Over the years since then, we've grown from a small software product to the all-in-one marketplace solution MultiMerch is today – and have worked with hundreds of marketplace owners and a dozen team members to keep making MultiMerch better.

None of this would have been possible without you, so here's to many more successful years together.

P.S. If you're looking to start your own marketplace business – drop me a line and we'll figure it out!

The post MultiMerch Included in "Ones to Watch 2019" by European Business Awards appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

Руководство по маркетплейсам – как запустить мультивендорную торговую площадку с продавцами

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Как основатель MultiMerch, я повидал немало торговых площадок, которые начинали с многообещающей идеи, но вскоре закрывались, не сумев обеспечить необходимые обороты.

Причины неизменны: отсутствие спроса, неустойчивая бизнес-модель, неудачные программные решения, недостаток маркетинговых инструментов и другие, не столь очевидные факторы.

В данном руководстве вы найдете все, что нужно знать о запуске маркетплейса: как провести маркетинговое исследование, выбрать бизнес-модель, продумать основные операции, выбрать программное обеспечение, построить, запустить и развивать вашу площадку.

Но для начала...

...разберемся с основными понятиями.

Что такое онлайн-маркетплейс?

Мультивендорные маркетплейсы (они же двусторонние площадки, peer-to-peer или просто онлайн-маркетплейсы) это торговые площадки для электронной коммерции, на которых:

  • товары выставляются на продажу сторонними продавцами (вендорами)
  • покупатели могут приобрести товары у нескольких продавцов одновременно
  • торговая площадка обрабатывает платежи и получает прибыль за счет комиссионных сборов

Наличие продавцов - главное отличие маркетплейса от обычного интернет-магазина, где покупатель приобретает товар напрямую у владельца площадки.

Информации много, поэтому я поделил эту статью на 11 разделов:

Начнем с того, почему создание своего маркетплейс-бизнеса - это хорошая идея:

 

Зачем запускать онлайн-маркетплейс в 2019?

гайд по маркетплейсу от multimerch, зачем запускать торговую онлайн-площадку

А почему бы и нет?

В 2017 году покупатели потратили 1,47 ТРИЛЛИОН ДОЛЛАРОВ на покупки в маркетплейсах. Это почти половина от всех мировых онлайн-продаж.

Неплохой показатель.

Наверняка вы и сами пользуетесь одно из многочисленных маркетплейс-платформ – например, чтобы забронировать билеты, приобрести новую вещь взамен старой или продать что-нибудь из своего гардероба.

Дело в том, что маркетплейсы сейчас везде – от традиционных онлайн-гипермаркетов (Amazon, AliExpress) до сервисов по аренде жилья (Airbnb, Eventbrite), от маркетплейсов с услугами (Upwork, Taskrabbit) до площадок с программным обеспечением, играми, музыкой и тому подобным.

Почему маркетплейсы такие популярные?

Основная причина в том, что эффект сетевой структуры, который лежит в основе модели маркетплейса, собирает вместе обе стороны сделки (потому маркетплейсы и называются двусторонними).

Эффект сетевой структуры это то, что позволяет вам развивать масштабируемый бизнес с независимыми источниками прибыли и при этом избегать расходов на управление и поддержку собственной торговой инфраструктуры.

Это существенно отличает маркетплейсы от традиционных интернет-магазинов.

Когда вы развиваете традиционный для электронной торговли бизнес и хотите, чтобы он работал стабильно, вам необходимо держаться в так называемой “зоне обитаемости”. То есть там, где потоки свободных средств, операционные расходы и материальные ресурсы синхронизированы. В противном случае ваш бизнес перерастет рынок.

Став собственником маркетплейса, вы столкнетесь с определенным набором проблем, но слишком стремительный рост довольно редко становится одной из них.

К примеру, если у вас интернет-магазин по продаже гитар, вы можете ускорить темпы роста, переключившись на модель маркетплейса и пустив на свою торговую площадку продавцов гитарных аксессуаров. Готово! Вы только что расширили свой бизнес, – не нанимая дополнительный персонал, не закупая новых товаров, не неся никаких дополнительных расходов.

Другое преимущество маркетплейс-модели по сравнению с традиционной электронной коммерцией – чувство общности среди участников платформы, которое возникают благодаря скрытым эффектам сетевой структуры.

Довольно часто вокруг маркетплейса организовывается комьюнити и создает свою экосистему – достаточно вспомнить сотни неофициальных форумов продавцов Amazon, водителей Uber-такси и покупателей Aliexpress.

Подводим итоги. Маркетплейс это отличный способ заработать на эффектах сетевых процессов и стать собственником процветающей экосистемы в сфере электронной коммерции. Это прекрасная возможность быстро увеличить охват вашего бизнеса без дополнительный вложений, расходов на рабочую силу и материальные ресурсы.

 

1. Исследование вашего целевого рынка

multimerch руководство по маркетплейсу, исследование рынка

Создаете ли вы маркетплейс с нуля или переходите от уже имеющегося интернет-магазина к маркетплейсу, вам не обойтись без анализа рынка.

Согласно исследованию CBInsights, "отсутствие спроса" это основная причина, по которой стартапы терпят неудачу (42% от всех изученных кейсов).

Приступать к созданию маркетплейс-бизнеса без четкого понимания рынка и потребностей покупателей – великолепный способ получить от жизни болезненный урок, но уж никак не путь к успешному бизнесу.

Вот где в игру вступает исследование рынка.

Чтобы создать жизнеспособный маркетплейс-бизнес, вам требуется четкое понимание рынка, его потребителей, их потребностей и решений, в которых они нуждаются.

 

Оценка рынка

Прежде чем ввязываться в игру, вам нужно понять, во что вы ввязываетесь.

Что из себя представляет данная индустрия?

Оцените размеры рынка и объемы его основных потоков. Так вы поймете, соответствует ли ваша бизнес-модель реальному положению дел. Вам может казаться, что выйти на мелкий рынок проще, однако же если вы планируете зарабатывать на комиссии с продаж, а объем их недостаточен, вам потребуется другая бизнес-модель.

Существуют ли на вашем целевом рынке четко оформившиеся ниши? Чем лучше вы будете понимать структуру рынка и его сегменты, тем больше у вас шансов выбрать самую привлекательную нишу.

Сегодняшние крупнейшие маркетплейсы выросли из маленьких нишевых площадок:

  • Amazon первоначально был маленьким книжным интернет-магазином
  • Etsy вырос из форума ремесленников
  • Eventbrite изначально был сосредоточен на техническом сообществе

Какую бы индустрию вы ни выбрали, с вами будут конкурировать – прямо или опосредованно. Выясните, кто ваши конкуренты и как долго они на рынке.

Изучая конкурентов, вы поймете, какие стратегии и бизнес-модели распространены на целевом рынке. Вы выясните слабые и сильные стороны ваших соперников, что позднее можно будет использовать в своих интересах.

Обратите внимание на динамику рынка – рынок на взлете или в падении, расширяется или схлопывается?

Если вы обнаружите изменения в поведении потребителей, в правилах рынка или зафиксируете тренд на скорый технологический прорыв, то сможете это использовать как преимущество.

 

Определите своего покупателя

Вы строите маркетплейс не для себя, вы делаете это для ваших пользователей. Не зная своих пользователей, вы не сможете эффективно решать их проблемы.

Кейт Кендалл
Кейт КендаллОснователь в CloudPeeps

"Определите целевую аудиторию, создайте портреты типичных пользователей, исследуйте возможности рынка. Затем проанализируйте конкурентов и составьте список потенциальных пользователей (как на спрос, так и на предложение). Проведите опрос/интервью этих потенциальных пользователей и попробуйте отыскать возможности, которые упустили ваши конкуренты."

Начинайте с простых вопросов:

  • кто ваши целевые пользователи? каковы их основные цели? с какими трудностями они сталкиваются?
  • где они покупают? почему они покупают? у кого они покупают?
  • чем они мотивированы? кто/что на них влияет?

На этом этапе полезно составить несколько простых портретов представителей вашей целевой аудитории. Так вы начнете ее лучше понимать.

Поскольку вы создаете двусторонний маркетплейс, у вас есть минимум две группы пользователей:

Покупатели и продавцы, которые обладают своим собственным отличным набором целей, мотиваций и проблем.

Убедитесь в том, что понимаете обе стороны.

 

Определите потребности и способы их удовлетворения

Теперь, когда вы понимаете рынок и его участников, пришло время исследовать их потребности и способы, которыми можно решить их проблемы.

Задача данного этапа – определить “болевые точки” целевых пользователей и выяснить, как они с ними справляются.

Делает ли ваша целевая аудитория покупки онлайн? Если да, то где она это делает, как и почему? Довольны ли ваши целевые пользователи своим онлайн-шопингом? Как его можно улучшить?

Что насчет продавцов? К этому моменту вы уже должны иметь представление о том, кто на вашем маркетплейсе будет продавать. Вперед, идите к ним и пообщайтесь! Спросите их, как они продают свои товары сегодня, какие платформы они используют, чем они довольны и чем нет. Как вы можете улучшить этот опыт?

Задавая эти вопросы, вы лучше поймете потребности своих пользователей, а вместе с ними сильные и слабые стороны своих конкурентов. Это даст вам возможность разработать максимально эффективное решение.

Результатом проведенного маркетингового исследования должно стать четкое понимание вашего целевого рынка и аудитории, которой вы хотите предоставлять свои услуги.

Все вышесказанное позволит выбрать подходящую для вашей маркетплейс-платформы нишу, разработать продукт под проблемы пользователей и составить адаптивную бизнес-модель. А затем – подготовить маркетинговую стратегию, которая поднимет вашу новую платформу над всеми конкурентами.

 

2. Выбор подходящей бизнес-модели

маркетплейс бизнес-модель комиссия с подписки.jpg

Как мы с вами уже выяснили, большинство стартапов терпят крах в попытках создать то, что никому не нужно.

Знаете ли вы вторую по популярности причину провалов?

Нехватка денежных средств.

Именно так – мало просто создать нужный людям продукт. Требуется еще и найти способ сделать его прибыльным и сохранить его таковым в долгосрочной перспективе.

Вот несколько забавных фактов. Amazon получил свое первую квартальную прибыль в 2001 году, спустя более чем 6 лет после основания компании. Etsy потребовалось 5 лет, чтобы начать генерировать прибыль в 2010-ом. eBay, с другой стороны, был прибыльным с самого начала благодаря монетизации через листинг и комиссию с продаж.

Я хочу донести следующую мысль: независимо от индустрии и условий игры, хорошо бы разработать жизнеспособную бизнес-модель ДО ТОГО, как запускать ваш онлайн-маркетплейс, а не когда проект уже идет полным ходом.

Конкретный способ, которым ваш маркетплейс будет генерировать прибыль, зависит от множества факторов. Однако вот вам несколько бизнес-моделей к размышлению.

 

Комиссия с регистрации

Комиссия с регистрации – это фиксированный единоразовый платеж, который вы взимаете с продавца за регистрацию (внезапно) на вашем маркетплейсе.

Плюс в том, что вы начинаете зарабатывать еще до того, как площадка станет процветать, – конечно, лишь в том случае, если в состоянии продать продавцам ваше видение проекта.

К тому же, этот способ монетизации довольно просто реализовать. Вы можете использовать любой платежный шлюз или даже запрашивать платеж вручную (к примеру, через PayPal, банковский перевод или лично).

Главный минус – комиссия с регистрации не масштабируется. После того, как продавец попал на вашу платформу, вам нужен будет другой способ монетизации.

Джон
ДжонОснователь Credo

“Чтобы вырастить маркетплейс, вам нужно быть посредником в транзакции. С ростом аудитории, материальных средств и объема продаж будет расти и ваш бизнес. Если вы не делаете этого, у вас не будет устойчивого развития маркетплейса, и вы не сможете развить свою платформу”

Вам также понадобятся весомые доказательства того, что ваша платформа заслуживает получить оплату наперед.

По причине немасштабируемости комиссии с регистрации вы редко встретите данный тип монетизации у крупных игроков маркетплейсов. Вместе с тем, вы можете использовать комиссию с регистрации как пропускной барьер, чтобы отсеять несерьезно настроенных продавцов.

К примеру, регистрация продавца на Google Play стоит 25$, но очевидно, что для Google это не является главным инструментом монетизации.

Подписка

Подписка – один из самых выгодных способов монетизации. Что говорить, вы и сами это знаете. Глобальная экономика обмена (экономика совместного потребления) опирается на многочисленные бизнесы, генерирующие прибыль именно через плату по подписке.

Gartner прогнозирует, что к 2020 году все новые участники рынка программного обеспечения и 80% уже действующих продавцов будут функционировать по бизнес-модели, основанной на плате с подписки.

Брать с ваших продавцов определенную сумму на регулярной основе – отличный способ генерировать прибыль и поддерживать развитие вашего маркетплейса.

Вот правило подписки №1 – следите за тем, чтобы продавцы получали от вашей платформы больше, чем им обходится ее подписка.

Они будут готовы платить 19,99$ в месяц за подписку, если с помощью вашей платформы смогут генерировать 199,99$ в месяц чистой прибыли.

Подписку сложнее реализовать с технической точки зрения. Вам понадобится платежный шлюз по типу Stripe, который поддерживает платежи по подписке (если вы работаете в ключе minimum viable product, то можно высылать инвойсы и вручную, но масштабировать такой подход в дальнейшем будет ой как непросто).

Сложности реализации подписки окупаются результатом, который она дает. Совместите этот подход с несколькими уровнями доступа к возможностям вашего сервиса (больше инструментов за премиум-подписку или меньшая комиссия с каждой продажи) и получите стабильный источник регулярного дохода.

К примеру, Amazon предлагает два плана – Индивидуальный план с дополнительной платой в 0,99$ с каждой проданной единицы и Профессиональный план за 39,99$/месяц для крупных продавцов.

 

Комиссия за листинг или размещение

бизнес-модель маркетплейса etsy комиссия с листинга

Вы можете взимать с продавцов плату за листинг (включение товаров в списки продаваемых продуктов на вашей платформе).

Комиссия за листинг может быть фиксированной или зависеть от цены товара, его категории и прочих параметров.

Здесь как и с подпиской: продавцы будут готовы платить небольшую комиссию за листинг товаров в том случае, если это приносит им прибыль.

И, как с комиссией за регистрацию, плату за листинг относительно легко собирать, при том что масштабировать ее в разы легче.

Чтобы устранить возможные противоречия, вы можете снимать плату после продажи товара, а не в момент его публикации.

К примеру, Etsy берет 0,20$ за размещение, но снимает комиссию за листинг по количеству проданных единиц уже после продажи.

 

Комиссия с продажи

Комиссия с продажи применяется повсюду, – и неспроста. Это великолепная стратегия монетизации.

В ней вы берете плату с продавца каждый раз, как только он получает и обрабатывает новый заказ через вашу платформу. Чем больше заказов получает ваш маркетплейс, тем больше ваша прибыль, сгенерированная через комиссию с продажи.

Звучит здорово, не так ли?

Проблема в том, что комиссию с продаж реализовать сложнее, чем остальные виды платежей.

В частности, вам нужен платежный шлюз, который способен разделить платеж покупателя между несколькими продавцами. Это позволит автоматически взимать комиссию с продавцов в момент продажи. Можно начислять комиссию и вручную, но это сложнее. В том числе, с точки зрения законодательства.

К тому же, вам необходим устойчивый поток новых заказов, чтобы получать достаточно прибыли с небольшой комиссии с продаж. На начальных этапах маркетплейса это может стать проблемой.

Но с другой стороны, комиссия с продажи отлично масштабируется.

Если ваша платформа получает достаточно трафика и автоматически собирает плату с продаж, бизнес у вас пойдет отлично.

Примеры комиссии с продаж можно найти в самых популярных маркетплейсах:

  • Amazon берет плату с каждой проданной единицы, размер комиссии зависит от категории товара
  • Etsy снимает 5%, "комиссия с транзакции"
  • Envato берет от 12,5% до 55% с продажи
  • Airbnb взимает с хозяина квартиры "комиссию за сервис" от 3% и более

Больше бизнес-моделей и примеров монетизации

бизнес-модели маркетплейсов спонсорские товары

Все это просто примеры наиболее распространенных бизнес-моделей – вы можете использовать больше инструментов, в том числе:

  • собирать комиссию за обработку платежа
  • рекламировать отдельные магазины и спонсорские продукты
  • настроить собственную внутреннюю систему рекламных баннеров

Об этих и других стратегиях монетизации я рассказал в своем блоге: 10 бизнес-моделей по монетизации маркетплейса

 

3. Составление плана торговых операций

multimerch гайд по маркетплейсу торговые операции

Создание сайта онлайн-маркетплейса – это одно. Успешное управление таким бизнесом – нечто совершенно другое.

В сфере электронной торговли даже обычные бизнесы иногда сталкиваются с трудностями из-за большого количество задач, которые необходимо регулярно решать.

Операционные задачи маркетплейса могут быть более сложными, что обусловлено двусторонней природой таких платформ.

Как владельцу маркетплейса, вам придется ежедневно сталкиваться со следующим:

 

Управление продавцами

Продавцы – ключевой элемент вашего маркетплейса, а это значит, что вам придется часто иметь с ними дело.

Сюда входит привлечение новых продавцов, оказание помощи в адаптации к вашей платформе, удержание старых продавцов и забота о том, чтобы они оставались довольны вашим маркетплейсом.

Прежде всего, вам нужно убедить продавцов присоединиться к вашей платформе. Надеюсь, по результатам исследования рынка вы сможете составить для них уникальное и ценное предложение.

Затем, вам нужно создать набор посадочных страниц, которые объясняли бы то, как работает ваш маркетплейс, и почему продавцу выгодно стать его частью.

Вот как Amazon объясняет процесс на посадочной странице для продавцов:

multimerch маркетплейс руководство amazon посадочная

После этого вам понадобится наладить удобный процесс регистрации. Решите, кого вы допускаете к регистрации, и какая информация вам от них нужны. Помня об этом, создайте страницу для новых пользователей.

Готовы ли вы регистрировать кого угодно или согласны пускать только проверенных продавцов? Заранее подумайте о том, как просматривать и проверять продавцов, если хотите отсеять нахлебников.

Если вы берете комиссию с регистрации или по подписке, то вам нужно встроить оплату в процесс регистрации. А можно собирать комиссию вручную, общаясь с продавцами напрямую.

На этом же этапе вам необходимо решить, сколько контроля вы готовы предоставить продавцам над их магазинами, как магазины должны выглядеть и как покупатели будут их находить.

Теперь, когда продавец зарегистрировался, вы должны максимально облегчить ему процесс каталогизации товаров на вашей платформе.

 

Управление товарами

Владельцы маркетплейсов редко имеют дело непосредственно с товарами и прочими материальными средствами. Однако вам все равно нужно держать процесс под контролем, чтобы эффективно управлять товарами, которые реализуют ваши продавцы.

Существует два способа организовать товарный каталог:

  • на таких маркетплейсах, как Etsy или eBay каждый товар принадлежит конкретному продавцу
  • на других платформах ( к примеру, Amazon) один и тот же товар может быть проданным множеством отдельных продавцов

Принцип организации каталога определит выбор программного обеспечения, которое станет основой страниц вашего маркетплейса и будет влиять на то, как продавцы публикуют свои товары и управляют ими.

Теперь, вы хотите сделать вашу платформу максимально простой для новичков. Этого можно добиться двумя путями: предоставить им место на сайте, где они смогут загрузить все свои товары одной партией, или предложить им сервис, где вы сделаете это за них.

Если большинство ваших продавцов это активные вендоры с уже имеющимся онлайн-бизнесом, вы можете просто предложить им импортировать их каталоги с других платформ, где они продают свои товары (с Amazon, Shopify и других).

Чтобы вашим продавцам было проще каталогизировать свои товары, оптимизируйте процедуру листинга, убрав все ненужные детали. Если вы планируете иметь несколько категорий товаров, помните о том, что разные товары требуют разных полей для заполнения.

По мере роста вам может потребоваться усовершенствовать эту систему, чтобы поддерживать высокий уровень сервиса и защитить платформу от мошенников.

 

Обработка платежей

Обработка платежей в маркетплейсе всегда сложнее обычного онлайн-магазина.

Первое: вам нужен специальный платежный шлюз для маркетплейсов, чтобы дать возможность покупателям приобретать товары у разных продавцов одновременно, а потом делить платеж в процессе обработки.

Сегодня все больше платежных систем предлагают решения для маркетплейсов, но установка их на вашу платформу может быть непростой.

Второе, вам придется обрабатывать несколько видов платежей.

Вот примеры платежей на типичной маркетплейс-платформе:

  • платежи по заказам от покупателя к продавцу
  • платежи за подписку и комиссия от продавцов на вашу платформу
  • выплаты продавцам от вашей платформы

Каждый вид платежей требует своего подхода к реализации на платформе.

Убедитесь в том, что знаете, какой платежный шлюз использовать и как именно он работает.

Если вы не сможете найти подходящий платежный инструмент и заставить его работать, то у вас возникнут проблемы.

Наконец, как владелец маркетплейс-платформы, вы можете быть ответственны за выплату налогов, отправку инвойсов и отчетную документацию. Это зависит от страны и выбранной отрасли.

Мы рассмотрим более детально обработку платежей в следующей главе.

 

Логистика и алгоритмы доставки

Вы не занимаетесь вещественной стороной вопроса, но ею занимаются ваши продавцы, а ваша платформа обеспечивает им поддержку.

Первый вопрос, который нужно задать: хотите ли вы, чтобы продавцы сами занимались доставкой, или вы будете делать это самостоятельно? (как Amazon FBA)

Если вы выполняете доставку самостоятельно, логистика будет сложнее, ведь тогда вам нужно сначала получить товар от продавцов, хранить его у себя и затем отправить покупателям. В этом случае оценивать стоимость доставки и ее время, а также отслеживать путь товара к покупателю будет труднее.

Если за доставку будут отвечать продавцы, им понадобится удобная система настройки доставки и возможность отображать ее покупателям. Вы можете использовать фиксированную стоимость доставки или менять ее в зависимости от цены и веса. Кроме того, вы можете выбрать конкретную цену доставки отдельно под каждый товар. Главное – убедитесь, что предоставили вашим продавцам достаточно простых способов менять опции доставки в зависимости от страны и перевозчика.

Какую бы модель доставки вы ни выбрали, стоит подумать и над другими вопросами:

  • как вы будете обрабатывать номера товарно-транспортных деклараций?
  • нужен ли вам для этого дополнительный инструмент (например, API доставки)?
  • как вы собираетесь установить и поддерживать SLA доставки (соглашение об уровне предоставляемых услуг) на вашем маркетплейсе?

Расходы на доставку и ее стоимость влияют на конверсию маркетплейса, поэтому критически важно реализовать эту часть проекта грамотно.

 

Управление заказами

Подвести пользователя к совершению покупки на вашей платформе – лишь первый шаг. Убедиться в том, что ваш продавец корректно отправит товар – шаг следующий.

Чем раньше продавец узнает о заказе, тем быстрее он его отгрузит, и тем скорее покупатель его получит. А чем скорее он его получит, тем раньше ему захочется купить у вас снова. Ваша платформа должна быстро уведомлять продавцов о новых заказах и давать возможность оперативно их просматривать и обрабатывать.

И еще кое что. Если на вашем маркетплейсе будет возможность покупать у разных продавцов одновременно, то покупателям должно быть понятно, как доставляется заказ с товарами от разных вендоров.

Чтобы покупатель мог отслеживать доставку своего заказа, у продавца должна быть возможность делиться с ним номером транспортной накладной.

И, наконец, вам не избежать задержек и сбоев в работе доставки, поэтому заранее продумайте алгоритм решения подобных ситуаций.

Как минимум, вам нужно предоставить им канал общения, в котором продавец с покупателем смогут оперативно обсудить сложившуюся ситуацию и прийти к компромиссу.

Когда проект немного подрастет, вы можете создать собственную программу защиты для покупателей и продавцов. Например, такую как Гарантированный возврат средств от eBay или Гарантия для хозяев и страхование личной ответственности от Airbnb
.

Не сделав этого, вы рискуете погрязнуть в спорах, компенсациях и судебных исках.

 

Маркетинг и управление контентом

Определенный трафик ваша платформа получит благодаря сетевому эффекту, но вам все равно нужно активно ее рекламировать, особенно на ранних стадиях.

Когда начинать?

Очевидно, что ваш первый вопрос – как привлечь новых продавцов и покупателей и удержать их в проекте, когда вы только начинаете. В нашем руководстве мы подробно разберем эту задачу, но чуть позже.

Затем, когда платформа уже заработает, вам нужно будет обеспечивать ее развитие в долгосрочной перспективе. Это достигается через SEO-оптимизацию, органические и платные маркетинговые кампании и другие бизнес-инструменты.

Почему SEO? Потому что более 50% отслеживаемого трафика по-прежнему приходит из органического поиска.

Чтобы вам было проще оптимизировать платформу под поисковый движок, убедитесь, что выбранное программное обеспечение построено в соответствии с логикой SEO-продвижения. Это значит, что магазины вашего маркетплейса, списки товаров и все остальные страницы должны быть понятны поисковикам, иметь логичную разметку, кнопку Поделиться и тому подобное.

Большинство продавцов не станут заниматься SEO-оптимизацией своих товарных списков, так что эту работу вам нужно сделать за них, иначе маркетплейс не найдет общий язык с поисковиками.

Далее, на типичном маркетплейсе бóльшая часть контента это не сами товары, а материал, который генерируют пользователи. Отзывы о продуктах, вопросы/ответы, рекомендации магазинов, блоги – все это замечательный ресурс для вас, собственника платформы!

Сделайте так, чтобы пользователям было легко создавать контент, побуждайте их к этому и отмечайте активных участников комьюнити.

Обратная сторона – вам нужна будет система, которая отсеивала бы некачественный пользовательский контент:

Патрик
ПатрикCEO at Besedo

"Модерация контента играет ключевую роль во всем – от привлечения пользователей и конверсии до удержания их на сайте. Проведенные нами исследования показали, что 75% пользователей не вернутся на сайт, на котором столкнулись с мошенничеством. И 80% ничего не купят, если в списке товаров нет адекватного описания.

Некачественный материал также мешает продвижению в поисковой выдаче. Google не любит неоригинальный контент и штрафует сайты, у которых слишком много идентичных элементов. Поэтому стоит удалять дубликаты списков, стоковые изображения и прочий пользовательский материал, который повторяет существующее на сайте. Это полезно и для SEO и для самих пользователей платформы.

В целом, вам нужно проверять весь пользовательский контент и следить за тем, чтобы он был качественным и соответствовал правилам вашего сайта. Все, что публикуют пользователи на вашей платформе – это инструмент продаж, витрина вашего магазина. Вы ведь не хотите видеть гнилые яблоки на полках овощного рядом со спелыми? Так и неприглядный контент не должен быть у всех на виду и портить впечатление о сайте"

Органический трафик хорош в долгосрочной перспективе, но не забывайте и о платных источниках. И чем больше контента создается на вашем сайте ежедневно, тем больше пользы вы получите от платных маркетинговых кампаний. В любом случае, вам нужна продуманная рекламная стратегия, которая через платные каналы будет привлекать новых пользователей и повышать известность вашей платформы среди аудитории.

 

Управления отношениями “продавец-покупатель”

Привлечь новых пользователей недостаточно – вы должны сделать все, чтобы они остались довольны сервисом и стали постоянными покупателями вашего маркетплейса.

Для этого вам нужно будет ежедневно общаться с ними, отвечая на вопросы и решая возникшие проблемы. Продумайте, как это будет реализовано.

Вот часть задач, которые придется решать:

  • помощь новым продавцам в адаптации на платформе
  • техподдержка и контроль за выполнением правил
  • ответы на вопросы по заказам
  • разрешение споров между продавцами и покупателями

Чтобы минимизировать ваше участие, предоставьте пользователям возможность задавать вопросы напрямую продавцам, и до и после заказа. Чем больше каналов общения у них будет, тем больше шансов, что проблема решится без вас.

Некоторые из наших клиентов предпочитают ограничивать этот процесс так, чтобы все коммуникации между вендором и клиентом происходили исключительно через сайт. Я же рекомендую сосредоточиться на создании положительного опыта для каждой из сторон. Тогда никто и сам не захочет искать обходные пути.

Вам потребуется и канал для массовой коммуникации. Например, чтобы информировать продавцов об изменениях в правилах платформы, появлении новых опций или чтобы сообщать покупателям о скидках.

Не забывайте и об общении после продажи. Стимулируйте и поощряйте его, чтобы повысить доверие к платформе и ее участникам, получить отзыв и, как следствие – повторную покупку.

Это поможет вам превратить проект из чисто транзакционной платформы (купил и забыл) в стабильный бизнес, который пользователи полюбят.

 

4. Определение основного функционала маркетплейса

multimerch маркетплейс платформа обзор особенностей

Но сперва скажу вот что:

Лучший способ бесполезно потратить время, деньги и усилия – создать онлайн-маркетплейс с функциями, которые не нужны вашим пользователям.

Я видел десятки проектов, которые требовали уйму времени на стадии разработки, а спустя неделю после запуска оказывалось, что пользователям нужен совершенно иной функционал. Иногда же такие долгострои и вовсе не доживали до выхода на рынок.

И я также видел маркетплейс-платформы, которые запускались за пару недель с базовыми возможностями и доращивали их по мере развития. Как правило, в долгосрочной перспективе такой подход работает гораздо лучше.

Мой совет маркетплейс-стартаперам: начинайте с самого главного и запускайте MVP как можно раньше, а затем улучшайте платформу по мере роста бизнеса. Так вам будут более понятны потребности рынка.

И я не единственный, кто так думает – вот, что говорит один из наших партнеров по реализации:

Владимир Кузьменко
Владимир КузьменкоВП отдела продаж в NIX Solutions

"Самый эффективный подход – начинать с минимальным набором функций, без которых ваша платформа просто не сможет существовать. Запускайте ее сразу же, как только она готова к работе. Если вы получите поток реальных пользователей, то скоро придет и прибыль. В такой ситуации у вас будет больше времени и свободы для разработки дополнительных функций, которые сделают ваш маркетплейс еще лучше."

Итак, каковы же самые главные функции маркетплейса?

Частично они обусловлены индустрией, в которой вы работаете, но мне нравится определять их тремя общими группами: функции для продавцов, для покупателей и для самой платформы :

 

Ключевые функции для продавцов

Ваши вендоры хотят продавать товар и получать за него деньги. Это значит, что им нужен эффективный листинг товаров, отлаженный процесс продажи и корректная доставка.

Чтобы продавцам было легко начинать бизнес на вашей платформе, настройте для них понятный процесс адаптации. Чем он будет проще, тем выше вероятность того, что они останутся с вами.

Идеальный процесс адаптации строится на понятной терминологии, полезных посадочных страницах, простом процессе регистрации, удобном импорте товаров и управлении ими.

Какой вид товаров будет представлен на вашем маркетплейсе? Оптимизируйте функционал управления товарами под этот конкретный тип – не заставляйте ваших продавцов делать больше работы, чем это минимально необходимо для публикации товара.

Следующее: процесс получения и обработки заказов для них должен быть предельно простым. Уведомления должны работать так, чтобы полностью исключалась вероятность их не заметить.

Чтобы упростить продажу и маркетинг, предоставьте вендорам хотя бы минимальный набор инструментов – управление кодами для скидки и реклама товара.

И главное – убедитесь, что продавцы могут свободно связываться с вами и с покупателями. Публичные вопросы по товарам и система личных сообщений – этого достаточно для хорошего старта.

 

Ключевые функции для покупателей

Какая у вас цель, когда вы делаете покупки на Amazon? Быстро и без проблем найти, купить и получить желаемый товар.

Следовательно, поиск товаров и переход по категориям должны быть для покупателя интуитивно понятны с первой секунды на сайте. Как этого добиться? Рабочий поиск по сайту, корректный набор фильтров и страницы товаров с подробным описанием станут для вас отличным началом.

Следующий шаг – простое оформление заказа. Чем оно легче, тем выше вероятность того, что покупатель завершит заказ. Здесь вы просто обязаны использовать последние разработки – идеально сделать оформление заказа так, чтобы одним платежом можно было оплатить покупку у нескольких продавцов.

Платежные инструменты должны быть адаптированы к условиям, в которых живет покупатель. Stripe – великолепное решение, но от него мало толку, если покупатели в данной стране предпочитают наложенный платеж. Этот вопрос вы проясните во время исследования рынка, поскольку ответ часто зависит от региона и конкретной индустрии. В большинстве случаев вам потребуется платежный шлюз для сплит-платежей и/или ручная обработка (такая, как наложенный платеж).

Помните, что управление заказом важно как для продавца, так и для покупателя. Сделайте и для последнего удобный способ просматривать свои заказы, отслеживать их доставку и получать уведомления об изменениях в статусе.

Коммуникация здесь также играет ключевую роль. У пользователей должна быть возможность задавать продавцам вопросы еще до покупки, общаться по заказу и оставлять отзывы. Так ваша платформа обеспечит качественный шопинг и будет способствовать удержанию покупателей.

 

Ключевые функции для платформы

Ваша цель – помочь встретиться продавцу и покупателю и сгенерировать прибыль, благодаря чему ваш бизнес будет развиваться. Следовательно, вам нужен правильный инструмент для поддержки маркетплейса и вашей бизнес-модели.

В дополнение к вышесказанному, вам нужна возможность отслеживать, управлять и модерировать все, что происходит на вашей платформе.

Как оператору маркетплейса, вам ежедневно нужно будет помогать продавцам в настройке их магазинов, утверждении и обновлении товаров, просмотрах и управлении заказами.

Ко всему прочему, вам нужен способ менять вид и стиль вашего маркетплейса, не занимаясь работой с кодом. Так вы сможете без проблем вносить сезонные изменения, внедрять новые товары и категории, запускать рекламные кампании сразу по всей платформе, отмечать лучших продавцов и самые популярные товары.

Обработка платежей. В зависимости от вашей бизнес-модели, вам может потребоваться способ обрабатывать не только платежи от покупателя к продавцу, но также и взимать комиссию с вендоров, делать выплаты продавцам в ручном режиме и обрабатывать другие виды платежей.

Джимми Родригез
Джимми РодригезСооснователь в 3dcart

"Ваша платформа должна располагать несколькими вариантами платежных методов. Важно не быть ограниченным какой-то одной платежкой, поскольку вы никогда не знаете, что понадобится по мере роста. Поэтому, выбирая платформу, убедитесь в наличии у нее есть несколько опций на выбор."

То же касается доставки и логистики. Ваша платформа должна давать продавцу возможность управлять методами доставки, а покупателю должно быть абсолютно ясно, какие из них доступны в его стране и сколько они стоят.

Это не значит, что вам непременно нужна прямая интеграция со сторонними сервисами доставки и API – автоматизация придет позже. Как минимум, у продавцов должна быть возможность вручную назначать их собственную стоимость доставки.

 

Дополнительные опции маркетплейса

Все вышеперечисленное – это минимум, необходимый для запуска маркетплейса.

В будущем вы можете предложить своим пользователям гораздо больше:

  • инструменты для формирования отчетов
  • дополнительные продающие функции и маркетинговые инструменты
  • интегрирование сторонних сервисов электронной коммерции
  • ваши собственные мобильные приложения и многое другое

Все это возможно (но не обязательно). Об этих и других направлениях развития маркетплейса я рассказываю в отдельном блоге: Какие функции нужны вашей маркетплейс-платформе?

 

5. Выбор платежного метода

обзор платежки для маркетплейса

Невозможно создать надежный маркетплейс-бизнес, если у вас нет безопасной и стабильно работающей платежной системы.

Обороты мировой электронной коммерции в 2017-ом году превысили 3 триллиона долларов и, согласно прогнозам, будут удвоены к 2022-ому, согласно McKinsey.

Ваш маркетплейс – часть мировой платежной экосистемы, однако в сравнении с обычным онлайн-магазином у маркетплейсов есть свои уникальные сложности в обработке платежей.

Вы уже знаете о типах платежей, которые вам нужно будет обрабатывать как собственнику маркетплейс-платформы:

  • платежи от покупателей (за покупку товаров)
  • платежи от продавцов (за регистрацию, листинг, подписку, рекламу)
  • платежи продавцам (выплаты)
  • другие платежи (сторонние рекламодатели)

Обработка платежей от покупателей – пожалуй, самая трудная задача из перечисленного, поскольку задействует три стороны: покупателя, продавца, платформу.

Есть три способа обработки платежей по заказам (от покупателя продавцам):

 

Прямые платежи

Здесь ваша платформа вообще никак не участвует в транзакции, платеж идет напрямую от покупателя к продавцу.

В прямых платежах требуется минимальное участие платформы, и это влечет за собой несколько серьезных недостатков.

Поскольку ваша платформа не является владельцем транзакции, у вас оказывается очень мало инструментов для сбора комиссии и осуществления возвратов платежей.

Еще один минус: прямой платеж исключает возможность одной транзакцией рассчитаться с несколькими продавцами. Значит, покупателю нужно будет несколько раз подряд проходить одни и те же этапы оплаты, отдельно по каждому продавцу приобретаемого товара.

К тому же, платформа становится менее безопасной для всех ее участников – недобросовестным продавцам и покупателям будет легче использовать ее в своих целях.

 

Совокупные платежи

В модели совокупных платежей ваша платформа собирает деньги покупателей и позже распределяет их между продавцами.

Покупатели смогут рассчитываться одним платежом за покупку товаров у нескольких вендоров, а вы будете контролировать транзакцию. Какой недостаток? Вам придется вести учет по каждому продавцу и реализовать на вашей платформе механизм регулярных выплат.

А с растущей зарегулированностью платежной индустрии, совокупный платеж как инструмент маркетплейса будет также усложняться.

 

Сплит-платеж (параллельный платеж)

Все это приводит к росту популярности параллельных платежей (также известных как “маркетплейс-платежи”). В этой модели платежная система разделяет средства покупателя на этапе оплаты и распределяют их между продавцами.

Так вы устраняете все недостатки прямых или совокупных платежей, и в то же время переносите ответственность за сбои со своей компании на платежную систему.

Главная проблема сплит-платежей – сложность встраивания такой системы в платформу и небольшой выбор программных решений, которые способны их реализовывать.

Но ситуация меняется к лучшему. Всего 10 лет назад PayPal Adaptive был единственным из немногих маркетплейс-платежек, который поддерживал параллельные платежи. Сегодня есть десятки платежных систем, которые поддерживают маркетплейс-платежи по всему миру. Самые популярные из них – Stripe Connect, PayPal Marketplaces, Adyen Marketpay и Mangopay.

 

Как выбрать платежный метод для вашего маркетплейса?

Выбор платежного метода – очень важное решение.

Стоит учесть такие факторы, как желаемые функции, доступность сервиса в вашем регионе, и, разумеется, стоимость.

Вот несколько полезных советов от Paybase, еще одного популярного инструмента для маркетплейсов:

Даниелла
ДаниеллаГлава комплаенс-отдела в Paybase

"В выборе провайдера платежного сервиса важно помнить о том, что конкретно нужно вашему бизнесу, и что для вас важнее всего. Каждый провайдер предлагает что-то свое. Некоторые предоставляют плагин-решения, которые легко встраиваются в платформу, но лишены гибкости. Другие предлагают больше возможностей, но могут потребовать от вас глубокого участия вплоть до адаптации вашей платформы под их сервис.

Вредно недооценивать уровень гибкости, который может потребоваться вам в будущем. Подумайте о том, какие опции нужны будут платформе на следующих этапах и узнайте, есть ли они у провайдеров.

Подумайте и об уровне защищенности платежного сервиса. Важно, чтобы провайдер имел эффективную систему предотвращения мошенничества, потому как уязвимая платежка с ненадежной системой сигнализации – последнее, что вы хотите видеть у себя на платформе."

А посему не забудьте задать себе следующие вопросы до того, как начинать работу над маркетплейсом:

  • С какими типами платежей я столкнусь как собственник маркетплейс-платформы?
  • Какие платежные инструменты доступны в моем регионе для решение этих задач?
  • Сколько будет стоить обработка платежей, и как я учту это в моей бизнес-модели?

Последний вопрос так же важен, как и первые два.

Не годится, если ваша платформа вообще никак не будет обрабатывать платежи, но еще обиднее уже после запуска проекта обнаружить, что ваши 5% комиссии с продавцов полностью уходят на оплату услуг платежного сервиса.

 

6. Подбор правильного программного обеспечения

multimerch мультивендорная маркетплейс-платформа

К этому моменту у вас уже есть рабочая бизнес-модель и операционный план, вы выбрали платежный метод и знаете, какой опционал нужен вашей платформе.

Теперь (но не раньше!) пришло время найти софт, который вдохнет жизнь в вашу маркетплейс-платформу.

Мне нравится делить все программные решения на marketplace platform software три разных группы: облачные (с включенным хостингом), стандартные решения и мультивендорные CMS-расширения.

Здесь я не упоминаю вариант разработать маркетплейс-сайт с нуля. Это возможно, но совершенно не оправдано для маленьких или средних проектов в силу сложности реализации.

 

Облачные маркетплейс-решения с включенным хостингом

multimerch руководство по маркетплейсу saas облачная платформа

Если вы начинающий маркетплейс-предприниматель, то первое, о чем стоит подумать – SaaS (“Software as a Service”).

Облачные маркетплейс-решения – самый простой старт, для которого вам не нужны никакие технические знания.

В большинстве случае вам предложат бесплатный пробный период, за который вы сможете протестировать все возможности платформы и убедиться, что она подходит.

Вот несколько популярных SaaS-решений для маркетплейсов:

  • Sharetribe
  • Marketplacer
  • Near Me
  • Arcadier

Основной минус облачных маркетплейсов – их ограниченная кастомизация. Если они не подходят вам в том виде, в котором предлагаются, вы не сможете никак их изменить, потому как не имеете доступа к коду.

Если вам требуется что-то более гибкое с пользовательскими настройками, тогда стандартное маркетплейс-решение будет лучшей альтернативой.

 

Стандартные маркетплейс-решения с самостоятельным хостингом

multimerch гайд по маркетплейсу стандартные маркетплейс-решения

Существует ПО, разработанное специально для маркетплейс-коммерции.

Стандартные маркетплейс-решения предоставят вам гораздо больше персональных настроек и возможностей, поскольку дают вам доступ к исходному коду и всю свободу действий с ним.

В большинстве случаев вам также придется самостоятельно реализовывать хостинг платформы, что дает полный контроль за маркетплейсом от начала и до конца.

Вот некоторые из популярных маркетплейс-решений:

В чем минус? Чтобы создать платформу на самостоятельном хостинге, вам потребуются хотя бы базовые технические навыки. Неважно, насколько выбранное ПО будет юзер-френдли, ПО есть ПО, и ему нужно обеспечивать хостинг, регулярную поддержку и обновления.

Всем, кто работает с самостоятельным хостингом, мы всегда рекомендуем иметь в команде разработчика или привлекать на помощь агентство, – это упростит вам жизнь.

 

Мультивендорные CMS-расширения

multimerch гайд по маркетплейсу электронная коммерция мультивендорные расширения

В конце концов, вы можете взять обычную CMS (WordPress, Magento или OpenCart) и накатать на него мультивендорное расширение.

Sounds like a plan?

Вы можете подумать, что этот вариант даст вам все преимущества CMS с открытым кодом и станет основой вашего маркетплейса. В действительности так происходит редко.

Системы управления контентом (CMS) разработаны для обычных сайтов или стандартной электронной коммерции. Двусторонние маркетплейсы отличаются разительно, и превращение обычной CMS в маркетплейс-платформу – процесс сложный, долгий и полон ошибок.

Если вы решите попробовать, вот несколько возможных комбинаций:

  • WordPress + WooCommerce + Dokan, WC Marketplace, WCFM, WC Vendors или YITH
  • OpenCart + MultiMerch, PurpleTree или Waabay
  • PrestaShop + KnowBand или Advanced Marketplace
  • Magento + NextBits, CreativeMinds, Webkul или Apptha

В этом случае вам точно понадобится программист в команду, который имел опыт работы и с основной системой и с двусторонними маркетплейсами. Даю слово, что здесь у вас будет гораздо больше технической работы, чем в работе с SaaS или стандартным ПО для маркетплейса.

Мы предлагаем мультивендорное MultiMerch-решение для OpenCart долгие годы, и каждый раз нам приходится преодолевать как ограничения самой CMS, так и проблемы совместимости со сторонними темами и плагинами. У вас будут эти же проблемы с любой CMS.

 

Как выбрать правильное ПО для маркетплейса?

Возможности бесконечны, так ведь?

Чтобы сделать выбор, для начала я советую определиться с типом программного решения: облачное, стандартное или CMS.

Из своего опыта я выделил следующие правила, которые помогут выбрать:

  • Работайте с облачной/SaaS-платформой, если вы хотите запустить проект как можно раньше и не обладаете техническими навыками.
  • Используйте стандартное маркетплейс-решение, если хотите получить максимальный результат и владеть платформой.
  • Попробуйте мультивендорные CMS-расширения, если вы уже использовали систему, которая будет базой (например, уже запускали магазин Magento) или готовы к масштабным инвестициям в кастомизацию и располагаете командой разработчиков.

Теперь поговорим о факторах, которые стоит учитывать при выборе программного решения:

Начните с типа маркетплейса. Что вы продаете? Товары, услуги или бронирование? Софт, написанный под товары, не будет хорошо работать на маркетплейсе услуг, и наоборот.

Помните о функциях, которые нужны платформе. Убедитесь, что выбранное ПО соответствует требованиям вашего бизнеса, – не только в своей основе, но и в обработке платежей, логистике и других функциях, ключевых для вашей бизнес-модели. А если нет, то сможет ли ваша команда доработать недостающий функционал?

Внимательно изучите пользовательскую сторону софта и надежность его работы. Молодые маркетплейс-предприниматели часто упускают этот аспект из виду, а ведь он не менее важен, чем все остальное. Убедитесь, что выбранный софт не только соответствует вашим требованиям, но и подарит великолепный опыт вашим пользователям. Если на маркетплейсе неудобно покупать, все остальное просто не имеет значения, – пользователи перейдут на другую платформу сразу, как только появится альтернатива.

Познакомьтесь с командой, которая стоит за разработкой данного ПО. Кто и за что ответственен? На какую техническую поддержку вы можете рассчитывать? Чем подтверждено качество кода? Развитие маркетплейс-бизнеса потребует от вас много сил и времени, поэтому вам нужна уверенность в надежной поддержке и регулярных обновлениях на протяжение следующих лет. Можете ли вы относиться к этой компании как к партнеру, а не просто поставщику ПО?

И последнее – ваш бюджет. Мой личный опыт говорит о том, что бюджет не должен быть решающим фактором в выборе софта для маркетплейса. Впереди у вас тысячи часов работы по развитию вашей платформы – несколько сотен долларов экономии не должны определять фундамент вашего бизнеса.

Если вам интересно более детально узнать о том, какие программные решения сегодня есть на рынке, вот вот отдельная статья: Софт для онлайн-маркетплейсов: Полный список

 

7. Формирование выдающейся команды

multimerch руководство по маркетплейсу формирование выдающейся маркетплейс-команды

Думаете, программное обеспечение – это все, что нужно для старта маркетплейс-платформы?

Неа. Вам понадобится (почти наверняка) выдающаяся команду, которая выведет проект на орбиту.

Вот лишь несколько неотъемлемых навыков, необходимых для запуска маркетплейс-бизнеса в онлайн:

 

Навыки в программировании и дизайне

Какое бы ПО вы ни использовали, вам понадобятся хотя бы минимальные технические навыки, чтобы установить, настроить, кастомизировать и поддерживать вашу маркетплейс-платформу.

Разное ПО потребует различных навыков, вот несколько примеров:

  • облачные платформы с прилагаемым хостингом почти не требуют никакого опыта в программировании
  • платформы с самостоятельным хостингом требуют как минимум начальный уровень технических знаний
  • мультивендорные CMS-расширения требуют СЕРЬЕЗНОГО ОПЫТА в разработке

Нужно ли быть разработчиком, чтобы создать маркетплейс-платформу? Нет, но наличие рядом опытного программиста значительно облегчит вам жизнь.

С дизайном все немного проще.

Ваша платформа должна бы современной и иметь адаптивный дизайн, – в 2019 году это не желательно, а обязательно. К счастью, большинство маркетплейс-решений имеют готовые к использованию шаблоны, и вам не нужно разрабатывать дизайн с нуля.

Тем не менее, вам понадобятся хотя бы минимальные навыки в дизайне и простейшие инструменты, чтобы подстроить платформу под себя и создать привлекательные маркетинговые материалы.

В долгосрочной перспективе вложения в UX-дизайнера позволят вашей платформе выделиться среди остальных. Опытный специалист сделает ее максимально удобной с точки зрения пользователя, что поможет привлечь/удержать клиентов и повысить конверсию.

 

Опыт в маркетинге и навыки продаж

Ни покупатели ни продавцы не присоединятся к вашей новой платформе сами по себе.

Чтобы сдвинуть бизнес с мертвой точки, вам нужно активно его рекламировать.

Здесь в игру вступает маркетинг и опыт в продажах.

Шаг 1: найти самых первых продавцов с покупателями и привлечь их на маркетплейс. Проект оживет. Затем, вам нужно работать над повышением узнаваемости бренда. Это привлечет новых пользователей и обеспечит разрастание платформы.

Следовательно, вы должны уметь привлекать новых пользователей и знать, как развивать веб-ресурс. Требуется хотя бы минимальное понимание того, как работают:

  • органические и платные каналы привлечения
  • социальные сети и управление сообществами
  • email-маркетинг
  • партнерство и продвижение

Отмечу, что копирайтинг – еще один великолепный навык, который непременно здесь пригодится. Вам нужно быть убедительными на сайте и в рекламных материалах, чтобы люди захотели к вам присоединиться. Кроме того, копирайтинг поможет вам создавать продающие описания к товарам, – в том случае, если продавцам потребуется от вас помощь.

В действительности это означает учиться всему, что нужно для поддержания и роста вашего маркетплейс-бизнеса.

 

Операционные навыки

Вы уже знаете список ежедневных дел, необходимых для поддержания работы маркетплейса, – мы обсудили это в предыдущих разделах.

К ним относится:

  • взаимодействие с продавцами, работа на их успех
  • мониторинг процессов, связанных с пользователями, товарами и заказами
  • ответы на ЧаВо пользователей и помощь в техническими проблемами
  • управление платежами, бумажная работа, руководство командой...

Как основателю платформы, в самом начале вам придется все делать самостоятельно.

Хотя вы можете делегировать задачи по дизайну и разработке платформы, именно вы будете нести ответственность за то, как функционирует ваш маркетплейс. Так что операционная часть за вами.

Чтобы вести маркетплейс, вам нужно многое уметь! Как со всем этим управляться?

Есть несколько подходов:

Сделай Сам

Если у вас нет команды, подход Сделай Сам – самый очевидный путь, особенно в начале.

Этот подход больше всего годится для облачных маркетплейс-платформ с предоставляемым хостингом. Если вы пользуетесь облачной площадкой, бóльшая часть технических и дизайнерским задач уже решена, и вы можете сосредоточиться на маркетинге и операционной части.

Если вы решили делать все самостоятельно, от вас потребуется время и определенная твердость духа. Это много работы, так что не отказывайтесь от помощи, будь то какой-то вспомогательный инструмент/сервис или наставничество и консультирование.

 

Привлечение отдельных фрилансеров

Нанять фрилансера – отличный способ дополнить недостающие навыки, избежав при этом больших вложений и долгосрочных обязательств.

В фрилансерах замечательно то, что они невероятно многообразны. Вы сможете найти специалистов как на долгосрочные, так и на краткосрочные задачи, экспертов и новичков, команды и единоличных исполнителей.

Когда вам нужно сделать что-то быстро, и нет времени учиться, нанять фрилансера – отличный план.

И вы можете легко менять их число. Бизнес процветает? Нанимайте больше фрилансеров. Началась черная полоса? Пока-пока, фрилансеры.

Ищите фрилансеров на:

  • больших фрилансерских биржах, таких как Upwork и Fiverr
  • маленьких нишевых платформах типа CloudPeeps
  • в группах и сообществах на Slack, в Facebook и LinkedIn.

Недостаток фрилансеров в том, что вы должны очень четко понимать задачу и формулировать требования. В противном случае вы потеряете много времени и денег. Чем бóльшую задачу вы хотите делегировать, тем детальнее должны быть ваши инструкции.

 

Работа с агентствами

Если вы не стеснены в средствах и хотели бы передать целый массив работ, тогда под задачи проекта можно нанять маркетинговое агентство и компанию по разработке ПО.

Так вы освободите себя от управления отдельными фрилансерами и сможете целиком сосредоточиться на операционной части вашего маркетплейса.

Компания по разработке софта покроет все технические задачи, а маркетинговое агентство справится с большинством рекламных инициатив.

Недостаток работы с агентствами – высокие авансовые платежи, большая стоимость регулярного сотрудничества, более серьезные обязательства. Поменять агентство сложнее, чем сменить фрилансера, а ведь такая необходимость может возникнуть (низкое качество услуг, падение доходов маркетплейса и пр).

Найти агентство, заслуживающее доверие – это серьезный вызов. Чтобы облегчить вам жизнь, мы составили список проверенных партнеров MultiMerch, которые смогут разработать маркетплейс любой сложности, уложиться в срок и бюджет.

 

Найм сотрудников в штат

Нанимать на работу сложно. Скорее всего, вы не станете нанимать людей на полный рабочий день с самого начала, но придете к этой модели в будущем, когда ваш бизнес вырастет.

Хорошее в такой модели то, что нанятые на постоянную работу сотрудники становятся вашей командой и обеспечивают стабильность. Она особенно важна для должностей, напрямую работающих с клиентами и операционной стороной маркетплейса. Вы не только сможете рассчитывать на них 40+ часов в неделю, но и сделаете их частью вашей компании и будущего успеха.

Минусы: стоимость, усилия по управлению командой, потеря гибкости. Штатных сотрудников сложно сокращать и не так просто нанимать, а рекрутинг – штука непростая и требует много времени (особенно, когда речь идет о технических профессиях).

Если бюджет ограничен, стоит нанять нескольких специалистов широкого профиля: разносторонне опытного маркетолога или профессионала в развитии бизнеса, и периодически добирать фрилансеров (или пользоваться услугами агентства) для конкретных задач и проектов.

 

Как подбирать персонал?

Вы запускаете маркетплейс-бизнес, так что ищите людей, опытных в двусторонних платформах и электронной торговле.

Это касается и фрилансеров, и штатных сотрудников с агентствами. Чем больше они работали с проектами и платформами, похожими на ваши, тем больше пользы они принесут вам.

Найм непрофильных специалистов обходится дешевле, но и результаты у них будут хуже, чем у опытных в маркетплейсе экспертов.

Убедитесь, что нанятые люди верят в вашу идею и работают не просто за деньги.

 

8. Создание вашей маркетплейс-платформы

multimerch гайд по маркетплейсу создаем маркетплейс-платформу

Теперь у вас все готово для создания маркетплейс-сайта. Какие конкретно шаги нужно сделать с момента покупки софта до непосредственного запуска площадки?

По моему опыту запуск платформы может занять от дня (SaaS-платформы с готовым хостингом) до нескольких месяцев и больше, если требуется глубокая кастомизация.

Вот несколько вещей, которые помогут сделать этот процесс проще:

 

Создайте спецификацию

Чем сложнее проект, тем сложнее и его реализация. Маркетплейс-платформы так же сложны, как и сама электронная коммерция.

Чтобы избежать катастрофы (которая возможна, если вы истратите преждевременно весь бюджет или не уложитесь в сроки), подготовьте хотя бы примерную функциональную спецификацию которая описывает цели вашего проекта, требования и временные рамки.

Чем больше технической работы требует ваш проект, тем детальнее должна быть спецификация. Если вы планируете работать с фриланс-разработчиками или агентствами, детальная спецификация сбережет вам месяцы бессмысленных усилий.

Контролируйте свои действия и прогресс всех остальных: разделите проект на этапы, привязанные к конкретным датам, и регулярно сверяйтесь с результатами.

Не забудьте определить ваш MVP и необходимые для запуска условия в спецификации. Сюда входит список обязательных функций, без которых запуск не возможен, а также примерная дата развертывания и запуска проекта.

Чем конкретнее ваш план во времени, тем лучше. "Первичный MVP должен быть готов и развернут к 1-ому июня. Мягкий запуск с первыми пользователями – до 1-ого июля. Общий запуск – 1-е сентября" – это будет вам куда полезнее, чем "Мы хотим вывести наш маркетплейс в онлайн в следующие 6-12 месяцев".

Удостоверьтесь в том, что все участники проекта ясно понимают требования и установленный календарный план. Придерживайтесь выбранного плана.

 

Освойте проджект-менеджмент

Чтобы превратить ваш проект из идеи в работающий маркетплейс, вам понадобятся хотя бы базовые навыки проджект-менеджера.

Это не значит, что вы должны быть проджект-менеджером, но вам нужно понимать хотя бы основные принципы. Это позволит вам эффективно управлять процессом.

Если вы будете работать с агентством, то, скорее всего, на ваш проект выделят проджект-менеджера, который и будет информировать о ходе дел. Если вы наймете фрилансеров, то проджект-менеджером придется стать вам самим.

Перед внесением любым изменений в проект сверяйтесь с технической спецификацией и календарным планом, обсуждайте это со всеми участниками процесса.

Помните: перенос одного дедлайна вносит изменения во все следующие.

Имейте запасной план на случай, если произойдет что-то непредвиденное – оно произойдет. Чем больше людей вовлечены в проект, тем больше вероятность того, что что-то пойдет не так. Возможных причин масса, – от безответственного фрилансера до замысловатого функционала, который оказался сложнее в реализации, чем ожидалось.

 

Применяйте лучшие подходы, известные в разработке

Придерживаясь лучших практических стратегий в программировании и операционной части, вы убережете свою команду от бессмысленной потери времени и гарантированно доведете проект до запуска.

Вам не обязательно собирать высококлассную команду, но все же стоит уделить внимание базовым вещам: активно используйте тесты, контроль версий и систему отслеживания ошибок на протяжении всего проекта.

Используйте разные серверы для разработки, стейджинга и продакшна. Без предварительного тестирования не выкатывайте обновления платформы прямиком на лайв-версию маркетплейса. Легче не ломать, чем потом чинить.

Настройте регулярный автоматический бэкап и продумайте путь восстановления. Если что-то пойдет не так (оно пойдет), вам нужно будет как можно быстрее откатить сайт к предыдущей версии.

У ВМС США есть замечательный принцип, которому полезно следовать и в создании платформы. Он звучит как KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Именно так, все должно быть максимально просто. Следуйте этому принципу в дизайне, имплементации и развертывании ПО маркетплейса.

 

Правильно выбирайте время запуска

Создание маркетплейса требует времени. Рим был построен не за один день, как, впрочем, и Amazon. Тем не менее, вам нужны реальные пользователи и реальный фидбек, чтобы создавать следующие итерации и улучшать вашу площадку.

Две распространенные ошибки, которые я встречаю у новоиспеченных владельцев маркетплейсов: слишком ранний запуск и запуск недостаточно ранний. Второе, пожалуй, хуже.

Поэтому, как можно раньше начинайте тестирования с реальными пользователями и используйте их фидбек, чтобы поправить все недочеты. Так вы будете готовы к официальному выходу платформы в свет.

 

9. Запуск торговой площадки

multimerch маркетплейс-гайд запуск маркетплейса

Создать сайт маркетплейса недостаточно, – нужно еще и успешно его запустить.

Как запускать маркетплейс?

Разумная идея – запускать платформу в две фазы: мягкая (софт-запуск) и жесткая (хард-запуск).

 

Начинайте планировать запуск заранее

Чем раньше вы начнете планировать запуск, тем больше у вас будет времени на обсуждение с людьми, сбор фидбека, улучшение вашего продукта и обмен сообщениями.

Подготовьте план запуска: составьте график по времени, определите главные маркетинговые сообщения и основные каналы, которые вы будете использовать. Разные отрасли/регионы/рынки требуют разных стратегий запуска – пробуйте и выбирайте самую подходящую.

Проводите рекламную кампанию так, чтобы ваша аудитория (и продавцы, и покупатели) с нетерпением ждали релиза платформы, когда та находится еще на этапе разработки.

Если вы провели исследования рынка (а к этому моменту вы должны были его уже провести), то хорошо знаете своим пользователей. Идите к ним и поговорите – напрямую, через социальные сети и рекламу.

Начните собирать email-адреса задолго до первичного запуска. Так вы оцените уровень интереса к проекту и обеспечите себе пользовательскую базу на начальном этапе.

К моменту, когда будет готов MVP, у вас должна сформироваться группа заинтересованных в проекте пользователей, которые будут готовы присоединиться к платформе.

 

Сначала выпустите лимитированную бета-версию

Какой бы подробной ни была ваша спецификация, каким бы хорошим ни был дизайн, вам не избежать ошибок – от багов и проблем с юзабилити до недоработанных или вовсе отсутствующих опций.

Именно поэтому важно сделать предварительный релиз и посмотреть, что именно нуждается в доработке.

Не откладывайте знакомство бета-пользователей с вашей платформой. Проведите софт-запуск сразу, как только будет готов MVP, или даже раньше.

Воспользуйтесь вашим списком email-адресов и подключите к процессу самых заинтересованных продавцов. Помогите им настроить свои магазины и посмотрите, все ли хорошо у них работает.

Как только платформа перестанет походить на город-призрак, пригласите первых покупателей и выясните, нравится ли она им.

 

Соберите фидбек, составьте план следующей итерации, проведите улучшения

На данном этапе важно собрать как можно больше обратной связи, – любыми методами.

Пообщайтесь с первыми покупателями и продавцами и запишите все, что они скажут об опыте использования платформы.

Если это возможно, договоритесь о личной встрече с пользователями или проведите разговор в онлайне. Запишите интервью и составьте его текстовую версию.

И главное – слушайте, а не говорите. Так вы получите целую кучу идей, которые сделают ваш маркетплейс еще лучше.

Затем, повторите сделанные шаги и проведите следующий этап улучшений. Основываясь на полученном фидбеке, улучшайте и обновляйте ваш MVP столько, сколько потребуется.

Важно, чтобы вы отнеслись к самым первым участникам платформы не просто как к тестировщикам, а как к основе вашего комьюнити. Постарайтесь установить с ними настоящие доверительные отношения. Это поможет вам продвигать и развивать маркетплейс с самых ранних этапов бизнеса.

 

Запустите усовершенствованную версию вашей платформы

К этому моменту люди уже знают о вашем маркетплейс-сайте. Пора сделать его официально публичным.

Заранее проведите финальную серию тестов и убедитесь, что все работает корректно. Ваша команда должна быть готова к запуску – очень часто проблемы происходят тогда, когда их меньше всего ждешь.

Какой бы маркетплейс вы ни представляли, постарайтесь превратить его запуск в целое событие. Идите к вашей целевой аудитории и принесите им чудесную новость через вебинар, Q&A сессию или AMA пост.

И, наконец, позвольте этому событию пройти, – запуск это не конец, а лишь самое начало.

 

10. Расширение вашего маркетплейс-бизнеса

multimerch руководство по маркетплейсу расширение маркетплейс-бизнеса

Надеюсь, запуск маркетплейса прошел успешно, и площадка привлекла сотни и тысячи пользователей. Настало время сосредоточиться на увеличении числа пользователей и удержании уже имеющихся.

Развитие маркетплейса отличается от развитияобычного бизнеса в сфере электронной торговли, но у них действительно много общего.

Онлайн-маркетплейс двусторонний, а это значит, что вам нужно сосредоточиться на расширении как базы продавцов, так и базы покупателей.

На ранних этапах наращивание предложения будет вашей основной задачей, так что крайне важно настроить поток новых продавцов и удерживать их.

 

Как получить первых продавцов

Натыкались когда-нибудь на онлайн-магазины, где 50 пустых категорий, 4 устарелых продукта и одна статья в блоге пятимесячной давности?

Не надо так. Это не то, что нужно, когда на площадку начнут заходить новые покупатели и продавцы.

Именно поэтому поиск новых продавцов будет вашим приоритетным заданием на ранних этапах маркетплейс-бизнеса – на этапе подготовки к запуску и сразу после него.

Существует два способа привлечь на платформу новых продавцов: общаться с ними и приглашать лично, и рекламировать платформу через платные каналы.

Вы ведь провели исследование рынка и выбрали нишу, верно? Следовательно, вы знаете, кто ваши продавцы и где они проводят время. Пришло время обратиться к ним!

Сделайте предложение абсолютно каждому вендору, который может быть заинтересован в вашей платформе, потому что вы будете получать отказы:

Райан
РайанОснователь в маркетплейс Adderah

"Мне было по-настоящему тяжело убедить продавцов присоединиться к Adderah. Они говорили мне, что такой маркетплейс никогда не взлетит. Они говорили, что я напрасно трачу их время, потому что платформа новая, и никто ею не будет пользоваться. Мне говорили, что люди в Катифе не делают покупки онлайн. Вообщем, я получал МНОГО отказов"

Не спамьте, а старайтесь установить настоящие отношения. Предлагайте им то, что для них ценно.

К примеру, предлагайте им оставить отзывы об их товарах и бесплатную помощь в адаптации на платформе, чтобы им было проще начать. Вы также можете отказаться от комиссии с их первых продаж, чтобы им стало интересно протестировать платформу. Не думайте о своей прибыли, вы начнете собирать комиссию чуть позже.

Платные рекламные каналы Facebook, Instagram или Google Ads – еще один эффективный способ получить первых продавцов. Он отлично работает даже на этапе, когда платформа еще не заработала. Вы просто включаете рекламу и направляете пользователя на посадочную страницу, где объясняете суть проекта и приглашаете его присоединится к нему.

Настраивая рекламу, не забудьте сделать ее гипертаргетированной на вашу нишу, – если открываете маркетплейс локально, то ограничьте показ объявлений вашим городом.

Наконец, совместите обычную рекламу с ремаркетингом и личным контактом. Это сделает вашу систему поиска новых продавцов более эффективной.

 

Повышение узнаваемости бренда и наращивание пользовательской базы

Теперь, когда у вас есть продавцы и внушительный список товаров, пришло время привлекать покупателей. Эта часть похожа на развитие обычной электронной коммерции, однако здесь у руководителя маркетплейса есть несколько дополнительных опций.

Как и в ситуации с продавцами, вашими основными каналами привлечения новых пользователей будут социальные медиа и платная реклама.

Настройте магазин в Instagram или Facebook. Хотя органический охват социальных медиа идет на спад, они все еще являются важным каналом для многих бизнесов в электронной коммерции.

Выделите небольшой бюджет под рекламу и протестируйте несколько каналов, чтобы определить более эффективный. Instagram – великолепный канал для визуальной рекламы. Если ваш маркетплейс предлагает уникальные товары, покажите их!

И не забывайте о SEO – это ваш источник роста в долгосрочной перспективе. Вы ведь мудрый и дальновидный владелец маркетплейса, а потому выбрали платформу, которая оптимизирована под SEO-логику, верно? Если так, то все ваши категории, товары и магазины вскоре после запуска начнут индексироваться, что приведет на платформу новый трафик.

Не забывайте и о списке email-адресов – используйте его, когда вводите новых продавцов, товары и новые возможности. Предложите продавцам и покупателям подписаться на вашу рассылку. Это сделает ваш список здоровым и растущим.

Вам потребуется и способ оценить ваши усилия – используйте бесплатные инструменты вроде Google Analytics или что-то более модное, такое как Ahrefs. С их помощью оценивайте эффективность тех или иных инициатив.

 

Сосредоточьтесь на удержании пользователей через их удовлетворенность платформой

После успешного запуска маркетплейса у вас появится рабочий канал привлечения новых пользователей. Пора сосредоточиться на удержании.

К чему тратить силы и деньги на привлечение новых пользователей, если после первого посещения они никогда не вернутся на сайт?

Следовательно, вам нужно сделать так, чтобы и покупатели и продавцы были довольны платформой, и им хотелось бы возвращаться на нее снова и снова.

Продолжайте собирать обратную связь и улучшать ваш маркетплейс. Выявляйте самых активных пользователей, договаривайтесь с ними о личном интервью в обмен на скидку или другие предложения. Устраняйте проблемы сразу же, как только они обнаруживаются.

Чтобы вашей платформой было легко пользоваться, создавайте вашу собственную базу знаний, которая содержала бы ответы на ЧаВо продавцов и покупателей. Вы также можете создать гайд или набор обучающих статей/видео для продавцов, которые показывали бы им как лучше продавать на вашей платформе.

Отмечайте и рекламируйте ваших лучших продавцов, создавая вместе с ними “case study” и “истории успеха. К примеру, контент-команда сайта Etsy проделала великолепную работу, рекламируя истории их пользователей в блоге:

multimerch руководство по маркетплейсу etsy лучшие магазины

Такой подход порадует ваших продавцов и привлечет к ним новых пользователей, а вы получите эффективный вклад в SEO-продвижение.

Когда у вас появится немного свободного времени, узнайте больше о продвинутых инструментах аналитики и оптимизации конверсии. Эти знания структурируют ваши усилия и привяжут их к конкретным данным.

Не забывайте обновлять софт маркетплейса и следить за его эффективностью. К тому же, у платформы всегда должна быть последняя версия защиты.

 

Эксперименты со стратегическим партнерством и конкурентными преимуществами

Чтобы победить ваших конкурентов, вам нужно нечто большее, чем обычный рост и стандартная маркетинговая стратегия. Особенно, когда вы новичок на рынке.

Старайтесь мыслить стратегически и предлагать вашим пользователям новые и неожиданные преимущества, о которых не додумались ваши конкуренты. Этого можно добиться, если постоянно экспериментировать и планомерно повышать ценность вашей платформы – через введение новых инструментов, сервисов, нового контента и стратегических партнеров.

Если вы запустили новый маркетплейс для изделий ручной работы, попробуйте договориться с местными фотографами и предложить вашим вендорам профессиональные фотосессии для их товаров, тем самым обеспечив им конкурентное преимущество на рынке.

Свяжитесь с местными/региональными журналами и торговыми выставками, связанными с вашей индустрией. Расскажите им о вашей площадке.

Заключайте партнерские соглашения со всеми, кто как-то связан со сферой интересов бизнеса, – этим вы создадите дополнительную ценность как для ваших покупателей, так и для продавцов. И пусть у них не останется другого решения, кроме как присоединиться к вашему проекту и остаться в нем надолго.

Чем бы вы ни занимались, никогда не прекращайте учиться, экспериментировать и самосовершенствоваться.

 

Итак, ваш ход

Надеюсь, после прочтения этого гайда идея основать собственный маркетплейс-бизнес уже не кажется вам столь пугающей.

А теперь мне хотелось бы услышать от вас немного обратной связи:

В случае, если у вас есть успешный маркетплейс уже сегодня, как вы к этому пришли?

Если вы еще только в самом начале пути, на каком вы этапе, и как ваши дела?

Ну, а если вы предлагаете какие-либо услуги маркетплейс-предпринимателям, я также буду рад услышать ваше предложение!

В любом случае, поделитесь своими соображениями в комментариях ниже.

The post Руководство по маркетплейсам – как запустить мультивендорную торговую площадку с продавцами appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

96 Fashion Marketplaces & Second Hand Luxury Consignment Platforms

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The modern drive for sustainability has made pre-loved, second hand fashion "fashionable" again.

Why invest a whole lot of money in a brand new Gucci, Chanel or Louis Vuitton when you can find second hand designer clothes that are authenticated and in excellent condition on a resale platform at half the price?

If you're an eco-conscious consumer, it's a great opportunity not just to save money, but also to make a tiny difference for the environment.

In this article, I'll look at almost 100 fashion marketplace and consignment platforms for buying, selling and trading authenticated, used fashion and luxury clothing and accessories.

To make the roundup easier to digest, I've arranged it into 4 main sections:

  • the popular fashion marketplaces
  • the alternative luxury resale platforms
  • streetwear and sneaker marketplaces
  • even more alternatives for fashion search and resale

For historical purposes and for the curious ones, I also included a short list of fashion marketplace platforms that don't exist anymore.

Now, let's start with the top tier fashion and luxury platforms:

The popular fashion marketplaces

These are platforms you'll hear about the most when looking to buy or sell second hand clothing and accessories.

 

ASOS Marketplace

fashion marketplaces multimerch asos

ASOS Marketplace is a fashion marketplace platform by ASOS for third party small business boutiques to sell their own label and vintage collections.

To apply for an ASOS Marketplace account, you need to be an independent brand or a boutique offering at least 15 different styles of clothing, bags, accessories, shoes or jewellery.

As part of their commitment to raise the industry standard and protect the environment, ASOS Marketplace makes sellers subject to their Fashion not Fakes Policy and the Animal Welfare Policy.

Website: https://marketplace.asos.com/

Fees: ASOS Marketplace charges vendors a flat £20 per month fee, as well as an additional 20% sales commission deducted depending on customer's payment method.

Depop

fashion marketplaces multimerch depop

Depop is a marketplace app for small businesses and individuals to buy, sell and discover unique fashion, vintage and luxury items. It's also a community of creatives, such as stylists, designers, collectors and vintage sellers.

Website: https://www.depop.com/

Fees: There is a flat 10% selling fee for Depop vendors, as well as an additional transaction fee for PayPal payments (the amount depends on the country).

Grailed

fashion marketplaces multimerch grailed

Grailed is a curated, community driven peer-to-peer marketplace website for new and lightly worn mens fashion, streetwear and luxury items. It also has its own editorial platform called Dry Clean Only that offers exclusive content on designers and the fashion industry.

Website: https://www.grailed.com/

Fees: Grailed charges vendors a 6% selling commission plus PayPal transaction fees around ~3% to 5%.

Jane

fashion marketplaces multimerch jane

Jane is a boutique marketplace platform for buyers and sellers interested in women's fashion, home decor, beauty & wellness and more.

Website: https://jane.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: Jane sellers are subject to a 25% selling fee for every item sold.

Mosh Posh

fashion marketplaces multimerch mosh posh

Mosh Posh is a fashion consignment platform offering gently used handbags, second hand designer shoes, clothing and accessories for customers and sellers in the United States.

The goal of Mosh Posh is to provide a boutique-like shopping experience at consignment store prices.

Website: https://mymoshposh.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: It costs sellers 30 to 50% to sell items through Mosh Posh.

Poshmark

fashion marketplaces multimerch poshmark

Poshmark is a social commerce fashion platform for users in the United States to buy and sell luxury, new and used fashion clothing, shoes and accessories.

You can use the Poshmark app to discover new styles, connect with people whose style you love and shop their closets.

Website: https://poshmark.com/

Fees: For sales under $15, Poshmark charges vendors a flat $2.95 commission, sales of $15 and more are subject to a 20% selling fee.

Rebelle

fashion marketplaces multimerch rebelle

Rebelle is a fashion marketplace for second hand designer luxury and clothing items. The platform accepts and offers designer bags, accessories, shoes, clothes and jewelry.

Website: https://www.rebelle.com/en

Fees: Rebelle charges sellers a 17% to 33% selling fee per price tier, as well as a 15 EUR service fee for the concierge service, which includes item photos and descriptions created by the Rebelle team.

The RealReal

fashion marketplaces multimerch the realreal

The RealReal is a consignment platform for authenticated luxury items such as clothing, jewelry and accessories from heritage brands like Chanel, Hermès and Louis Vuitton.

Through its business, The RealReal aims to contribute to a more sustainable fashion industry where luxury items stay in circulation.

Website: https://www.therealreal.com/

Fees: The RealReal applies different sales commission rates based on vendor's level, net sales and the category and price of individual items. Final fee amounts range from around 15% to as much as 60%.

Tradesy

fashion marketplaces multimerch tradesy

Tradesy is a resale marketplace platform primarily focused on preowned bags, accessories and shoes by designers like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Coach and others.

The Tradesy app offers additional features such as background removal and is designed to make selling from your phone as easy as possible.

Website: https://www.tradesy.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: Vendors selling items on Tradesy are subject to a 19.8% selling fee.

Vestiaire Collective

fashion marketplaces multimerch vestiaire collective

Vestiaire Collective is an online fashion resale platform aimed at individuals and businesses offering premium and luxury fashion items.

You can sell on Vestiaire Collective yourself or have the company sell your items for you as part of their consignment service.

Website: https://us.vestiairecollective.com/

Fees: Vestiaire Collective has a relatively complex fee structure and charges vendors a selling fee based on vendor's location and the cost of the item. Selling fee rates generally range between $13 and 25%. The platform will also charge the buyer an "authentication fee" of around 2% of the item's price.

As a side note, their website states that "For every item sold at less than 25$, the seller's earnings are null (0$)".

Vinted

fashion marketplaces multimerch vinted

Vinted is an online marketplace platform and community that allows users to buy, sell and swap pre-owned clothing, accessories and beauty items.

While the platform isn't focused specifically on designer clothing, you can find sellers on Vinted offering items by the big luxury fashion brands such as Gucci, Versace and Burberry.

Website: https://www.vinted.co.uk/

Fees: Vinted charges buyers a "buyer protection fee" of 3-8% of your item's price plus a fixed fee of 0.3-0.8£. There are no selling fees on Vinted.

Zulily

fashion marketplaces multimerch zulily

Zulily is a marketplace platform that offers fashion and clothing deals and is aimed at women shopping for themselves and their families.

The platform features both large household names and small fashion boutiques offering mens and women's apparel and accessories, kids clothing and health & beauty items.

Website: https://www.zulily.com/

Fees: Not publicly available

The alternative luxury resale platforms

What do you do if none of the top tier fashion platforms work for you (or if you're looking for more exposure)?

Here are a few dozen more alternative marketplaces, communities and consignment platforms you can tap into to buy or sell used fashion.

Bagista

fashion marketplaces multimerch bagista

Bagista is a platform offering a selection of brand new and pre-loved bags and accessories by the popular fashion clothing brands like Chanel, Gucci and Prada.

The aim of Bagista is to provide a community for fashion-conscious individuals to swap, buy and sell designer bags and other luxury brand items.

Website: https://bagista.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: Not publicly available

Bag Borrow or Steal

fashion marketplaces multimerch bag borrow steal

Bag Borrow or Steal is a fashion website dedicated to buying, borrowing & selling authentic designer bags and luxury accessories.

To individuals, BBOS offers two ways of selling gently-used designer accessories - they will buy the items from you outright or consign them instead.

Website: https://www.bagborroworsteal.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: BBOS charges a 30% selling commission and offers to reduce it by 10% if the vendor chooses to be paid via BBOS Store Credit.

Bag of Roses

fashion marketplaces multimerch bag of roses

Bag of Roses is an Australian platform for fashion lovers buying and selling used handbags, shoes and accessories.

Website: https://bagofroses.com.au/

Availability: Australia

Fees: Bag of Roses vendors are subject to a 15% or 25% selling commission depending on whether the selling and shipping process is handled by the vendor or the platform.

Blue Spinach

fashion marketplaces multimerch blue spinach

Blue Spinach is another Australian consignment platform and a reseller of international luxury brand goods like second hand handbags, women's and men's fashion items and accessories.

Website: https://bluespinach.com.au/

Availability: Australia

Fees: Blue Spinach applies a 30% to 50% commission based on the brand and the price of the item.

Bohbo

fashion marketplaces multimerch bohbo

ΒΟΗΒΟ is an Athens-based second hand designer item store that specializes in high-end used contemporary accessories and fashion clothing.

Website: https://bohbo.eu/en/

Availability: Greece, Athens

Fees: Not publicly available

Carnet de Mode

fashion marketplaces multimerch carnet de mode

Carnet de Mode is a curated marketplace for emerging designers offering fashion and luxury items like dresses, jewelry, bags and shoes.

The aim of Carnet de Mode is to connect young fashion designers and independent retailers with an international audience of fashionistas.

Website: https://en.carnetdemode.com/

Fees: There is a 35% selling commission on Carnet de Mode.

Collector Square

fashion marketplaces multimerch collector square

Collector Square is a European resale platform for second hand luxury bags, watches and jewellery that will consign or purchase used items from individual vendors.

In addition to the online platform, Collector Square has a showroom and a pop-up store in Paris.

Website: https://www.collectorsquare.com/en/

Fees: Collector Square applies a 35% commission on sales on vendors' behalf or offers to purchase the item from the vendor outright.

Couture USA

fashion marketplaces multimerch couture usa

Couture USA is a platform designed to offer individuals a fast and fair process of reselling luxury designed items.
The company is available in the United States and specializes in pre-owned designer bags, upscale shoes and accessories.

Website: https://coutureusa.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: Couture USA vendors are subject to a 25% to 60% sales commission based on the price of the item and the way it's sold.

Designer Exchange

fashion marketplaces multimerch designer exchange

Designer Exchange is a fashion marketplace that specializes in the resale of genuine pre-owned handbags, watches, sunglasses and jewellery.

The company also has a number of physical stores across the United Kingdom in addition to their online platform.

Website: https://uk.designerexchange.com/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: Not publicly available, determined individually

Designer Wardrobe

fashion marketplaces multimerch designer wardrobe

Designer Wardrobe is a New Zealand based company offering individual to clear out their closets and earn cash by reselling the items.

The company offers vendors to list the items themselves and provides a valet consignment service.

Website: https://designerwardrobe.co.nz/

Availability: New Zealand

Fees: DW charges sellers a flat selling fee of $3.95 for sales under $40 and a 9.8% commission for sales above $40.

Deuxieme

fashion marketplaces multimerch deuxieme

Deuxieme Dress Agency is a United Kingdom based company that provides the destination for buying and selling preloved fashion, vintage clothes, shoes and designer handbags.

The company buys and resells designer items by the popular brands from Chanel, Hermel and Louis Vuitton to Saint Laurent, Crew, Temperley and others, and has a physical boutique in London.

Website: https://www.deuxieme.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: There is a 50% commission rate for sales on Deuxieme, unless agreed upon otherwise.

Crossroads Trading

fashion marketplaces multimerch crossroads trading

Crossroads Trading is a fashion consignment and resale platform allowing eco-conscious users to sell pre-owned name-brand and designer clothing for cash or trade.

Website: https://crossroadstrading.com/

Fees: Crossroads Trading charges sellers a 50% commission in exchange for trade credit or a 70% fee if paid in cash.

Designer Vintage

fashion marketplaces multimerch designer vintage

Designer Vintage is a Dutch luxury marketplace to buy and sell authentic designer and vintage clothes, shoes, bags and accessories.

Website: https://www.designer-vintage.com/

Fees: Designer Vintage charges vendors a listing fee of around 15 EUR to 45 EUR per item depending on the price of the item and the number of listings purchased. Additionally, there is a subscription fee of 17.50 EUR per 2 months or 60 EUR per 12 months to maintain a store on DV.

Edit Second Hand

fashion marketplaces multimerch edit second hand

EditSecondHand is a company providing reseller services for designer womenswear and handbags in the United Kingdom. The company also has a physical location in West Sussex.

Website: https://editsecondhand.com/

Fees: Not publicly available, determined individually

Emmy Clothing Company

fashion marketplaces multimerch emmy store

Emmy is a Nordic online platform for pre-loved premium designer items and brand apparel for women, men and children.

Website: https://emmystore.com/

Availability:Finland, Estonia

Fees: Around 20%, details not publicly available

l'Étoile de Saint Honoré

fashion marketplaces multimerch letoile de saint honore

l'Étoile de Saint Honoré is a vintage designer clothing shop in the Netherlands that buys and consigns vintage bags and items from the popular designer brands.

Website: https://etoile-luxuryvintage.com

Availability: Netherlands

Fees: Not publicly available

Everything But The House

fashion marketplaces multimerch everything uncommon

Everything But The House is a two-sided platform that connects people willing to purchase or sell uncommon things, such as fashion, vintage, decor and other items.

Website: https://www.ebth.com/

Fees: EBTH charges sellers a 15-50% sales commission depending on the price of the item.

Fashionphile

fashion marketplaces multimerch fashionphile

Fashionphile is a company that specializes in buying and selling pre-owned handbags and accessories.

Website: https://www.fashionphile.com/

Fees: There's a 15% to 35% fee when consigning items with Fashionphile.

Garderobe.ae

fashion marketplaces multimerch garderobe.ae

Garderobe.ae is a fashion marketplace platform in the Middle East that focuses on designer fashion items.

Website: https://garderobe.ae/

Availability: Middle East

Fees: The platform charges vendors a 15 to 50% fee on items sold.

Grace and Ted

fashion marketplaces multimerch grace and ted

Grace and Ted is a curated platform of pre-owned designer clothing, shoes and accessories for men and women.

Website: https://graceandted.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: Grace and Ted collects a 50% selling fee on sales through the platform.

Heroine

fashion marketplaces multimerch heroine

Heroine is a curated, community-driven fashion marketplace platform for womenswear enthusiasts by Grailed.

Website: https://www.heroine.com/

Fees: There's a 6% selling fee plus a payment processing fee of around 3% to 4.5% for sales on Heroine.

Hardly Ever Worn It

fashion marketplaces multimerch hewi

Hardly Ever Worn It is a resale platform for barely worn pre-owned designer items.

Website: https://www.hardlyeverwornit.com/

Fees: HEWI charges regular vendors a 18% selling fee and the VIP vendors a 35% commission.

High Fashion Society

fashion marketplaces multimerch high fashion society

High Fashion Society is a company offering authentic pre-owned luxury items from the popular premium brands.

Website: https://highfashionsociety.com/

Fees: High Fashion Society charges Standard sellers a 50% commission rate and VIP sellers a 35% rate. There is an annual £99 subscription fee for VIP memberships. The platform also charges sellers a 2.4% transaction fee.

Hunt Street

fashion marketplaces multimerch hunt street

Hunt Street is an authentic luxury marketplace in Indonesia.

Website: https://www.huntstreet.com/

Availability: Indonesia

Fees: HuntStreet charges sellers a 10-40% selling fee depending on the category and the price of the item.

Hunters and Collectors

fashion marketplaces multimerch hunters collectors

Hunters and Collectors is one of the first designer item consignment shops in New Zealand.

Website: https://huntersandcollectors.net.nz/

Availability: New Zealand

Fees: Items are sold on Hunters and Collectors on a 50/50 basis, unless agreed upon otherwise.

Jenny Kenny

fashion marketplaces multimerch jenny kenny

Jenny Kenny is a reseller of preloved designer wear in the United Kingdom that's looking to buy and sell barely worn fashion items.

Website: https://jennykennydressagency.com/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: Items sold on Jenny Kenny on sellers' behalf are subject to a 50% commission fee.

Jollychic

fashion marketplaces multimerch jollychic

Jollychic is a marketplace platform focusing on Middle Eastern users and featuring women's apparel, fashion clothing, shoes and accessories.

Website: https://www.jollychic.com/

Availability: Primarily Middle East

Fees: Not publicly available

Labellov

fashion marketplaces multimerch labellov

Labellov is a Dutch reseller of authentic luxury items.

Website: https://www.labellov.com/

Availability: Netherlands

Fees: Labellov collects a commission of 30 to 50% depending on the price of the item.

LePrix

fashion marketplaces multimerch leprix

LePrix is a consignment platform offering a selection of authentic, pre-owned designer fashion items like handbags, shoes and jewelry from international users.

Website: https://leprix.com/

Availability: Australina, Canada, France, Japan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

Fees: Not publicly available

Luxe In

fashion marketplaces multimerch luxein

Luxe In is a luxury retailer in the Philippines that specializes in the resale of authentic pre-loved or second hand luxury items.

Website: https://luxein.com/

Availability: Philippines

Fees: Not publicly available

Luxe.It.Fwd

fashion marketplaces multimerch luxe it fwd

Luxe It Fwd is one of Australia's online platforms for pre-owned luxury handbags.

Website: https://luxeitfwd.com.au/

Availability: Australia

Luxury Garage Sale

fashion marketplaces multimerch luxury garage sale

Luxury Garage Sale is a United States-based company that buys and sells new, pre-owned and vintage pieces for women, including luxury designer handbags, clothing, shoes and jewelry.

Website: https://luxurygaragesale.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: Luxury Garage Sale charges a 20 to 60% commission depending on the item's price and seller's loyalty status.

Luxury Shops

fashion marketplaces multimerch luxury shops

Luxury Shops is a Swiss reseller of unwanted luxury items with a physical location in Zurich.

Website: https://www.luxury-shops.com/

Availability: Switzerland

Fees: There is a 50% selling fee for items sold through Luxury Shops.

Material World / Box

fashion marketplaces multimerch material world

Material World is a subscription marketplace platform offering pre-owned designer items as subscription boxes.

Website: https://www.materialworld.co/

Fees: Not publicly available, trade in offers are individual and based on the item's brand, category, style and condition.

Modsie

fashion marketplaces multimerch modsie

Modsie is an Australian online marketplace for buying and selling pre-loved fashion luxury and designer bags, shoes and clothing.

Website: https://www.modsie.com.au/

Availability: Australia

Fees: Modsie charges sellers 20% for regular platform sales and 30% for consignment sales.

Moss Consignment

fashion marketplaces multimerch moss consignment

Moss Consignment is a United States-based company offering luxury item consignment services.

Website: https://www.mossconsignment.com/

Availability: United States (Austin/San Antonio)

Fees: MOSS subjects sellers to a 55% consignment fee.

My Ex Wardrobe

fashion marketplaces multimerch my ex wardrobe

My Ex Wardrobe is a dress agency in the United Kingdom that offers an online platform for new & preloved clothes, bags and shoes from high street and designer brands.

Website: https://www.myexwardrobe.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: Items sold through My Ex Wardrobe are subject to a 60/40 price split.

MyPrivateDressing / MyPrivateBoutique

fashion marketplaces multimerch my private dressing

MyPrivateDressing is a Swiss company that offers a social platform for used and pre-owned luxury item resale.

Website: https://www.myprivateboutique.ch/en/dressing/

Availability: Switzerland

Fees: MyPrivateDressing charges sellers a 20% sales commission.

Own The Couture

fashion marketplaces multimerch own the couture

Own The Couture is a Canadian fashion item consignment company offering used luxury resale services.

Website: https://ownthecouture.com/

Availability: Canada

Fees: Own The Couture sales are subject to a 25% to 50% selling fee.

Pandora Dress Agency

fashion marketplaces multimerch pandora dress agency

Pandora is a London-based dress agency buying, consigning and selling designer label merchandise.

Website: https://www.pandoradressagency.com/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: Not publicly available

Pre-Porter

fashion marketplaces multimerch pre porter

Pre-Porter is a Lebanese online platform for buying and selling preloved luxury items.

Website: https://pre-porter.com/

Availability: Lebanon

Fees: Not publicly available

Queen Station

fashion marketplaces multimerch queen station

Queen Station is a Helsinki-based company offering luxury bag and accessory resale and consignment services.

Website: https://queenstation.net/

Availability: Finland, Helsinki

Fees: The fees are agreed upon individually.

Rebag

fashion marketplaces multimerch rebag

Rebag is a company that specializes in buying and reselling used pre-owned designer handbags.

Website: https://rebag.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: Determined individually based on brand, condition, size, material and other factors.

Reebonz

fashion marketplaces multimerch reebonz

Reebonz is an Australian fashion platform for buying and selling pre-owned designer items.

Website: https://www.reebonz.com/

Availability: Australia

Fees: Not publicly available

Refashioner

fashion marketplaces multimerch refashioner

Refashioner is a unique consignment platform offering expensive designer pieces and vintage items from private collections of fascinating people and celebrities.

Website: https://refashioner.com/

Fees: Not publicly available, determined individually.

RELOVV

fashion marketplaces multimerch relovv

Relovv is a curated marketplace app that allows users to shop, sell and curate each others' fashion closets.

Website: https://relovv.com/

Fees: Relovv is free for sellers and takes no commission.

Restyle Closet

fashion marketplaces multimerch restyle closet

Restyle Closet is an Australian fashion marketplace for buying and selling fashion items.

Website: https://restylecloset.com.au/

Availability: Australia

Fees: Restyle Closet charges sellers a 15% commission on regular sales and a 25% fee on valet (concierge) sales.

Retykle

fashion marketplaces multimerch retykle

Retykle is an Asian luxury resale ecommerce platform for designer children’s clothing and accessories.

Website: https://retykle.com/

Availability: Asia

Fees: Retykle sellers are subject to a 50% fee if paid by cash or a 45% fee if redeemed as Retykle credit.

Rewind Vintage

fashion marketplaces multimerch rewind

Rewind Vintage is a United Kingdom based company that specialises in unique luxury vintage fashion from top labels.

Website: https://rewindvintage.co.uk/

Fees: Rewind Vintage charges a ~50% commission for items up to £3000 and a lower commission rate for items or large consignments above that.

Seam

fashion marketplaces multimerch seam

Seam is a designer marketplace app integrating with direct to consumer online shops that offer designer labels and brand-name clothing.

Website: https://shopseam.com/

Fees: Not publicly available

Seconds Boutique

fashion marketplaces multimerch seconds boutique

Seconds Boutique is a luxury fashion reseller in the Middle East.

Website: https://secondsboutique.ae/

Availability: Middle East

Fees: Item prices and fee amounts are determined individually.

Secrets Fashion Agency

fashion marketplaces multimerch secrets fashion agency

Secrets Fashion Agency specializes in reselling unwanted pre-loved designer clothes, bags, shoes and accessories.

Website: https://www.secretsfashionagency.com/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: The platform offers a 60/40 split for clothing and a 50/50 split for handbags, the selling price is agreed upon individually.

Shop Relove

fashion marketplaces multimerch shoprelove

Shop Relove specializes in buying vintage items from independent labels, such as coveted designer clothes, shoes and jewelry.

Website: https://shoprelove.com/

Availability: San Francisco, United States

Fees: There is a fee of 65% of item's price in cash or 50% in store credit for outright purchases or a 50% consignment fee.

Shop The Upside

fashion marketplaces multimerch shop the upside

The Upside consigns gently-loved, luxury goods and offers them to thousands of clients in Canada.

Website: https://shoptheupside.com/

Availability: Canada

Fees: There is a 40% selling fee on items sold through The Upside.

Siopaella

fashion marketplaces multimerch siopaella

Siopaella (Ella's Shop) is an Irish premier pre-owned luxury reseller with a physical location in Dublin.

Website: https://www.siopaella.com/

Fees: Prices and fees determined individually.

Style Tribute

fashion marketplaces multimerch style tribute

Style Tribute is a Singapore-based community of fashion passionates that connects conscious buyers and sellers of used fashion items.

Website: https://styletribute.com/

Availability: Singapore

Fees: Style Tribute charges a 20% to 30% selling fee depending on the way the item is sold (regular vs concierge).

The Chic Selection

fashion marketplaces multimerch the chic selection

The Chic Selection is a curated platform for second hand designer items in the United Kingdom.

Website: https://www.thechicselection.com/

Fees: Not publicly available

The Closet

fashion marketplaces multimerch the closet

The Closet is one of the largest pre-owned and brand new designer handbag consignment shops in the Middle East.

Website: https://www.theclosetonlineshop.com/

Availability: Middle East

Fees: Sales commissions from 20%

The Dresser

fashion marketplaces multimerch the dresser

The Dresser is a designer second hand boutique and a consignment agency in the United Kingdom.

Website: http://www.dresseronline.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: The Dresser sells the items on behalf of the seller on a 50/50 split basis.

The Fifth Collection

fashion marketplaces multimerch the fifth collection

The Fifth Collection is a preloved vintage and luxury fashion consignment agency in Singapore.

Website: https://www.thefifthcollection.com/

Availability: Singapore

Fees: Not publicly available, determined individually

The Luxury Closet

fashion marketplaces multimerch the luxury closet

The Luxury Closet is a Middle Eastern fashion marketplace platform connecting buyers and sellers of new and pre-owned luxury items like clothing, shoes, bags and watches.

Website: https://theluxurycloset.com/

Availability: Middle East

Fees: The Luxury Closet charges sellers a flat item processing fee of $25 as well as a 15 to 35% selling fee depending on the type and price of the item.

The Vintage Bar

fashion marketplaces multimerch the vintage bar

The Vintage Bar is Denmark's consignment company that makes selling preloved luxury items easy and safe.

Website: https://thevintagebar.com/home/

Availability: Denmark

Fees: Items consigned through The Vintage Bar are subject to a consignment fee of 25% and above (determined individually).

Timpanys

 

Timpanys is a second hand luxury consignment and resale agency in the United Kingdom.

Website: https://timpanys.com/

Fees: Timpanys charges sellers a basic commission rate of 50%, unless agreed upon otherwise for items of exceptional value.

Uzando

fashion marketplaces multimerch uzando

Uzando is a second hand clothing and accessory shopping and resale company in Kenya.

Website: https://www.uzando.com/

Availability: Kenya

Fees: Not publicly available

Vide Dressing

fashion marketplaces multimerch vide dressing

Vide Dressing is a United Kingdom based marketplace website for buying and selling luxury goods.

Website: https://www.videdressing.co.uk/

Fees: Videdressing charges sellers a 15% commission on sales over 150 EUR with a ceiling of 300 EUR.

What Goes Around Comes Around

fashion marketplaces multimerch wgaca

What Goes Around Comes Around (WGACA) is a luxury accessory consignor and a used fashion marketplace platform.

Website: https://www.whatgoesaroundnyc.com/

Availability: New York, United States

Fees: The items are purchased by WGACA outright at the prices determined individually.

Yoogi's Closet

fashion marketplaces multimerch yoogis closet

Yoogi's Closet is a United States-based pre-owned luxury item consignment company.

Website: https://www.yoogiscloset.com/

Availability: United States

Fees: Yoogi's Closet charges sellers a 30% commission on consignment of items like handbags, accessories and jewelry that are expected to sell for at least $450.

Zalora

fashion marketplaces multimerch zalora

Zalora is an Asian online fashion retailer and a marketplace platform for new and used fashion items.

Website: https://www.zalora.sg/

Availability: Asia

Fees: Zalora charges selling fees that are based on the region and other factors, generally around 15% to 30%.

 

Apps and marketplaces for streetwear and sneakers

While you won't be able to sell your Louis Vuitton handbag on one of these marketplace platforms, they are the perfect destination for new and used streetwear fashion and sneaker enthusiasts.

Bump

fashion marketplaces multimerch bump

Bump is a community marketplace platform for new and pre-owned authentic streetwear and sneakers.

Website: https://sobump.com/

Fees: Bump charges sellers a 6% selling fee plus payment processing fees.

GOAT

fashion marketplaces multimerch goat

Goat is a curated sneaker marketplace where a select set of sellers offer authentic sneakers for sale.

Website: https://www.goat.com/

Fees: GOAT sellers are subject to a flat seller fee of $5 to $50 plus a selling fee of 9.5% to 20% depending on seller's rating score.

Kixify

fashion marketplaces multimerch kixify

Kixify is a two-sided marketplace platform for sneakerheads to connect, discover, buy and sell authentic sneakers online.

Website: https://www.kixify.com/

Fees: There is a flat 8% selling fee for Kixify sales.

StockX

fashion marketplaces multimerch stockx

StockX is a streetwear marketplace platform connecting buyers and sellers of sneakers, streetwear, watches and handbags.

Website: https://stockx.com/

Fees StockX sellers are subject to an 8% to 9.5% selling fee based on seller's level plus a payment processing fee.

 

Even more alternatives for fashion search and resale

For even more possibilities, you can try looking into some of the more generic marketplace platforms, such as fashion search websites, local buying and selling apps and regular online marketplaces.

Carousell

fashion marketplaces multimerch carousell

Carousell is a marketplace platform that makes it easy to sell unused and under-used items online, whether clothing or anything else, that primarily operates in Asia.

Website: https://sg.carousell.com/

Availability: Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan

Fees: Carousell selling and listing fees vary by region, see website.

Catchys

fashion marketplaces multimerch catchys

Catchys is a meta search engine and discovery platform for fashion items and luxury boutiques.

Website: https://www.catchys.com/

Letgo

fashion marketplaces multimerch letgo

Letgo is a United States based marketplace that focuses on making it simple to sell used stuff online.

Website: https://us.letgo.com/en

Availability: United States

Lyst

fashion marketplaces multimerch lyst

Lyst is a curated fashion search that allows third party boutiques and brands to connect their stores to the platform and make them more discoverable.

Website: https://www.lyst.com/

Mercari

fashion marketplaces multimerch mercari

Mercari is a marketplace platform for buying and selling anything - from fashion and jewelry to toys, sporting goods and electronics.

Website: https://www.mercari.com/

Fees: Mercari charges sellers a 10% selling fee.

Netflea

fashion marketplaces multimerch netflea

Netflea is a European second-hand clothing marketplace platform with more than 100,000 items on sale.
Website: https://www.netflea.com/

Fees: Netflea adds service and selling fees on top of the price defined by the seller, as well as charges users inactive account fees, sale extension fees and payout fees.

Preloved

fashion marketplaces multimerch preloved

Preloved is a classified advertising platform based in the United Kingdom that offers buyers and sellers over 500 different product categories, including clothing and fashion.

Website: https://www.preloved.co.uk/

Availability: United Kingdom

Fees: Preloved has no listing and selling fees, but offers a way to upgrade seller accounts and get additional features for £5 to £15 per year.

Shopping Scanner

fashion marketplaces multimerch shopping scanner

Shopping Scanner is a fashion search, discovery and aggregating platform.

Website: https://www.shoppingscanner.co.uk/

Shpock

fashion marketplaces multimerch shpock

Shpock is a classifieds and flea market app for buying and selling used things online.

Website: https://www.shpock.com/en-gb

Fees: The platform collects a selling fee of around £0.50 to £10.00 plus PayPal processing fee for sales through the platform. Additionally, Shpock charges buyers a Buyer Protection fee of 5% of the purchase price + £0.70. There are no listing or selling fees, but it's possible to upgrade the seller account for extra features for £0.69 to £13.99.

VarageSale

fashion marketplaces multimerch varage

VarageSale is a family-friendly app to buy and sell new and used items to and from verified users locally.

Website: https://www.varagesale.com/

Fees: VarageSale is free to use and charges no fees.

Wanelo

fashion marketplaces multimerch wanelo

Wanelo (Want, Need, Love) is a two-sided marketplace app connecting buyers to stores offering deals on millions of fashion, beauty and home products.

Website: https://wanelo.co/

Fees: Wanelo charges sellers a 16% commission plus a payment processing fee of 2.9% on all orders.

Wish

fashion marketplaces multimerch wish

Wish is a marketplace app that connects customers with merchants all across the world.

Website: https://www.wish.com/

Fees: Wish generally charges sellers a 15% selling fee on all orders.

 

Defunct fashion platforms

This is the historical list of fashion marketplace platforms and apps that existed at some point, but have closed down, were sold off or have pivoted into something different.

They're dead, Jim:

  • Heat Buy and Sell Fashion
  • OfferUp
  • 5 Miles
  • Keep
  • Shedd
  • ThreadFlip
  • Twice
  • Copious
  • Hello La Mode
  • 23-15

 

That's it for fashion resale and consignment marketplaces!

If you're curious how do you start your own luxury marketplace, check out my Guide to Building an Online Marketplace Business.

Did I forget anything? Let me know in the comments.

The post 96 Fashion Marketplaces & Second Hand Luxury Consignment Platforms appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

Choosing a Platform Payment Provider

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multimerch payment rails choosing platform payment provider

At Payment Rails, I have daily conversations with marketplace founders, executives, and employees at all stages of building their marketplace to learn about the challenges that are top of mind for them.

Since we deal with designing and implementing scalable marketplace payment solutions, I've decided to team up with MultiMerch share what I've learned in hopes that other marketplace founders and executives can learn from my unique position of being able to talk to and explore the challenges of so many others in the industry.

This is a guest post by Myles Foster from Payment Rails.

The success of the early marketplaces like Ebay has paved the way for new companies to adopt the marketplace business model. As we've seen with newer companies like Airbnb and Uber, it has proven to have an incredible scalability potential.

Now, there's a lot of challenges when it comes to building a marketplace – operational, finance, legal and others. The challenge of selecting and implementing a payment solution is another big one.

In this article, we've put together some important considerations to help you make an informed decision when it comes to marketplace payments.

 

One vs multiple processors

Most marketplace platforms will use at least two different payment types – accepting payments from buyers and making transfers to sellers.

As the founder, you'll need to decide whether you want to use a single payment processor to handle everything, or use a few different ones.

There are several factors to keep in mind with this:

Where are your buyers located?

If most of your buyers are in only one or two countries, there may be more cost effective local solutions available to you. You will pay a premium for platforms that offer global credit card processing, even if you don't need it or use it.

However, keep in mind that many local domestic pay-in processors will not offer payout functionality – so you will need a separate solution for payouts.

Where are your sellers located?

If you plan to accept international sellers on your platform, you will need a global payment solution. Processors that offer global payout coverage will allow for scalability in the future, but can be more expensive when you're just starting out.

Some processors may also offer different payment products for different regions – for example, Stripe Connect's Separate Charge/Transfer payment flow is only available if both the buyer and the seller are located within the US or the EU.

What's the time difference between buyer's payment and the seller receiving the funds?

If you're running a marketplace platform that takes deposits bookings or rentals for a future date – like Airbnb or Camplify – there may be technological or regulatory limitations (e.g. Europe's PSD2 directive) when it comes to collecting payments and making payouts to your vendors. For example, the vendor might not get paid until after the rental, but your platform will take a deposit up to 90 days in advance. Many integrated payment solutions will instantly split the payment at checkout without a way for you to withhold the payout until the buyer receives and confirms their order.

What features and coverage do you require for pay-ins and payouts?

Different payment processors will offer different sets of features for pay-ins and payouts, so you'll need to make sure the features you're looking for are available for both payment types. For example, some payment solutions may require your sellers to go through a lengthy Know Your Customer process and collect their government-issued ID and other information. In this case, you may be looking for a processor that simplifies KYC for both buyers and sellers.

 

Difficulty of starting vs scalability

Marketplace founders often think everything has to be automated and ready to scale from the very beginning. This isn't always true. For example, you can handle seller payouts manually for quite a while before you HAVE to automate them.

The fastest-growing startups follow something similar to what the founder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman wrote in his book Blitzscaling:

I believe that there is a Maslovian hierarchy of fires that applies to most rapidly growing start-ups, where the top of the list is the most important fire to fight first:

  • Distribution
  • Product
  • Revenue model
  • Operations ← SCALABILITY
  • Competition
  • What's next?

The most important steps in building a fast growing marketplace are:

  • getting it into the hands of customers and users (distribution)
  • making a great product and continuing to improve it (product)
  • figuring out how you can be profitable (revenue model)
  • THEN figuring out the operational challenges like scaling payments, etc.

Some payment solutions will require you to use their APIs from the start and to automate everything, which might be somewhat difficult to do, especially when you're not sure how all parts of your project come together. On the other hand, standalone payout processors like Payment Rails will offer you convenient dashboards, white-label banking detail collection and mass payment uploads for you to process payouts to your sellers manually.

This way, you can let that "scalability fire" burn for a while until handling payouts manually gets too time-consuming, with the peace of mind that you can quickly automate when needed.

 

White-label vs off-platform experience

Another thing to consider is how important it is for you to keep your users on your platform at all times and whether you need to handle all payments directly within your platform.

Pay-ins will look pretty much the same no matter what processor you choose - in most cases, they'll be handled onsite. You'll see the biggest differences in terms of user experience with payouts, which is due to the regulated nature of sending money electronically, especially with cross-border transfers.

Some payment processors like Stripe Connect will offer different account types for different seller experience. For example, Stripe's Standard and Express accounts will require the user to leave your marketplace to upload their KYC documents.

Other processors designed specifically for payouts (e.g. Hyperwallet) will offer an on-platform experience, but may still require the user to go through an additional KYC verification process.

Yet another option is to use a processor that stores your vendors' funds in a "wallet" instead of transferring them directly to a bank account – but this means it will take more time for your vendors to actually get paid, and they'll still need to go through KYC before they can withdraw their funds.

All of these extra steps mean more friction – and as the platform owner, you want to reduce friction as much as possible to keep your users' experience streamlined. The most flexible payouts-only platforms will keep your users on the marketplace and only ask for the basic details like address and banking information via embedded forms.

 

Pricing and fee structure

For buyer payments, the pricing structure will be more or less the same for most payment processors: a percentage processing fee on top of a smaller flat fee for every transaction. In some cases, processors may also offer separate "micropayment" pricing models for platforms processing smaller payments (e.g. less than $20 per transaction).

In many cases, payment processors will apply different rates for international payments and payments in other currencies. If you're expecting a lot of purchases from foreign credit cards, you should shop around for a processor that supports these types of transactions for an affordable rate.

Some pay-in-only and all single-vendor solutions will have monthly fees to maintain their accounts as well. Pay attention to this because a higher price doesn't always mean better. Higher price usually means more features, but it depends if you will actually need those features or not.

Now, payout-specific processors will usually offer two different pricing models:

  • A high monthly fee for a certain amount of transactions per month plus extra per additional transaction
  • A lower monthly fee with a per-transaction cost – flat, percentage-based or both

In addition to per-transaction pricing, you also might be looking at extra costs for payouts to foreign countries.

Here's an example of a few simple calculations to hep you compare payment processors:

payment processor comparison

 

Extra features and integrations

In addition to different ways to price their services, dedicated payout provides will often offer more accounts-payable-focused feature sets.

Typical additional features you might be looking for specifically for payouts include:

  • US IRS Tax Compliance features for US businesses (W9/W8 collection, year-end tax filing etc.)
  • Payment approval workflows and automated returned payment handling
  • Multi-currency accounts for collecting and storing multiple currencies
  • Build in batch frameworks to batch payouts automatically

Last but not least, you'll need a way to integrate your payment solution into the rest of your business processes.

Even if you're managing and reconciling your payments and payouts manually, you'll still need a way to tie them into the other tools you're using to manage your business – such as the accounting system, the CRM and the email system, for example.

Here, you'll be looking for the availability of a REST API at the very least, which is essential for future integrations. The documentation for these APIs should be readily available, and someone technical on your team should be able to easily test that the APIs are functioning as expected.

Ideally, your payment processor of choice should also offer native integrations – for example, with popular accounting systems like Xero or Quickbooks, CRMs like Salesforce or business automation tools like Zapier.

 

And there you have it – a brief overview of factors to consider when choosing a payment provider. Although there's no one-size-fits all solution, this should serve as a framework to help you make an informed decision.

Keep in mind that you don't have to settle for a single processor either. The payment solution you choose at one stage of your marketplace might not be the one you stick with in the long run, but the one that solves your current needs and provides you the flexibility to grow for the foreseeable future.

The post Choosing a Platform Payment Provider appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

Start a non-profit Covid-19 relief marketplace with Sharetribe

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Got a marketplace idea in mind to help those affected by the Coronavirus pandemic?

If so, check out Sharetribe's open-ended free trial offer for non-profit Covid-19 marketplace initiatives.

We've been recommending Sharetribe as a hosted MultiMerch alternative for a while now for those of you looking to get started in the marketplace space with a lower initial investment.

Now, you can start a Covid-19 relief marketplace using an open-ended free trial of Sharetribe Go.

The offer comes with support for unlimited users for any non-profit initiative to help during the Coronavirus pandemic and includes all essential features payment options and hosting.

So far, a few dozen Sharetribe-powered platforms have been created across the globe to help fight Covid-19 (see the full list on Sharetribe's website):

If you're not sure if your idea qualifies, reach out to team Sharetribe at support+covid@sharetribe.com and they'll get back to you.

P.S. If you're looking to build a more complex non-profit platform using MultiMerch, drop us a line as well and we'll figure something out.

The post Start a non-profit Covid-19 relief marketplace with Sharetribe appeared first on MultiMerch Marketplace.

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