As the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Even if you’re just dipping your toes into the world of marketplace selling and haven’t made up your mind about whether it can bring you a steady source of income or not, you still need to be ready with all the logistics and preparation for it.
Marketplaces are great not only because they are an excellent way to expose your brand to a wider audience at once but also because they allow more people access to affordable goods while providing sellers with an opportunity to monetize their products effectively.
But before you get started on that journey, you first need to understand how they work and what’s required of you as a seller so that you can start preparing now instead of later.
Online marketplaces are one of the fastest-growing business ventures in existence today, and for good reason. Any savvy businessperson will see the opportunity here.
These platforms provide a neutral ground for people to buy and sell goods with ease — which is why more and more entrepreneurs are striking while the iron is hot and creating their own marketplaces as fast as they can think of ideas.
If you’re reading this article, it’s likely because you’re interested in selling your products on an online marketplace — or maybe you’re already operating one! Either way, you’ve come to the right place.
The Basics: What Is an Online Marketplace?
A marketplace is simply a place where buyers and sellers come together to transact goods and services. More recently, the term has become synonymous with online marketplaces, where e-commerce is the norm.
The most popular online marketplaces include Amazon, Etsy, and eBay, with niche marketplaces such as Teespring and Shopify being another growing trend.
You can sell basically anything on an online marketplace — from handbags to t-shirts, books, digital goods, and even food items. There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to selecting the products you want to sell.
First, you want to ensure you’re selling something people want. And, second, you want to make sure you’re selecting a product that has the potential for longevity.
Why Sell On Marketplaces?
With so many options out there, why would you sell on any of these particular platforms? Well, for starters, marketplaces provide a low barrier to entry when it comes to getting your business up and running.
You don’t need to build a website from scratch and you don’t need to hire a developer to build you an e-commerce store. And, depending on the type of marketplace you decide to sell on, the fees you’ll have to pay will vary.
These fees are generally in the form of a commission, which is the percentage of the sale that is taken off the top. That said, the main reason you should sell on marketplaces is because a lot of people are already using them. More people are shopping online than ever before, and that number is only growing.
How To Start An Online Marketplace Business?
First things first, you need to ask yourself: what type of marketplace are you interested in building? Do you want to be a seller or a buyer? Understanding the difference between the two can help you decide which path is right for you.
- As a seller, your main job is to list your product on the marketplace, wait until it sells, and then ship it out to the customer. This is the most popular option, and it’s also the one that’s easiest to scale.
- As a buyer, your job is to find great products and then resell them at a higher cost, keeping the profit for yourself. While this is a great way to earn extra cash, it can be more difficult to scale as quickly as being a seller would be.
Find The Right Co-Founders
If you’re striking out on your own and starting an online marketplace from scratch, you might want to think about bringing in some extra help. Bringing on a co-founder could help take some of the pressure off of you and allow you to reach your goals far more quickly.
All you need is someone who shares your passion and has a keen interest in your specific niche. Ideally, this person should also have a skill set you don’t have.
Be creative in your search, and remember: even if you don’t find the right person right away, it’s never too early to start looking. While it’s true you don’t want to get too caught up in the hiring process too soon, it’s always a good idea to have a stack of resumes ready to go.
Build Your Product
There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to actually building your product. This will be the main source of income for your business, so you need to make sure that it’s top-quality.
First and foremost, make sure that you’re abiding by all relevant laws and regulations. If you’re selling a product, make sure that it’s safe for the consumer. If you’re selling a service, make sure it’s something people want to buy. In addition to these things, make sure your product is easy to use.
If you’re selling a physical product, make sure it’s something people can use quickly and easily. If you’re selling a service, make sure it’s something people can enjoy quickly and easily.
Choose The Right Infrastructure
The right infrastructure is crucial to your online marketplace’s success. Without the right technology in place, you can’t expect to be able to scale your business quickly. To make sure you’ve got the right infrastructure in place, you’ll want to make sure you have the following things under control:
- Inventory management: You need a way to keep track of your inventory and make sure it gets to customers quickly.
- Shipping management: You need a shipping management system in place that will allow you to calculate shipping costs, track your shipments, and keep customers updated on their orders.
- Customer service: You need a way to respond to customer inquiries quickly and effectively.
- Payment management: You need a system in place that will allow your customers to pay for their products quickly and easily.
Marketing Strategies for Selling on Marketplaces
- Research: Start off by researching your competition. Find out what works for them, and then apply it to your business. Research your potential customers, too. Find out what they’re looking for and what their pain points are.
- Optimize your listings: Once you’ve got your product listed, make sure you optimize it for search. Keywords and title optimization can help your product show up higher in search results.
- Build organic traffic: Traffic on marketplaces is organic. You can’t pay for advertising, so you need to build your traffic up organically through content marketing and outreach.
How to Find the Right Product to Sell
The first step towards selling the right product is to figure out what your customer is actually looking for. Once you’ve done that, you need to make sure that you’re selling the right product, period. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Is your product unique?
Does it set itself apart from the pack? If not, you need to try and come up with a new product.
- Is your product scalable?
You want to make sure that you can sell as many of these products as possible — otherwise, you’re not going to have much success.
- Will your product sell?
Does your product sell quickly or does it have long-lasting appeal? If not, you need to come up with a new product.
- Is your product something people want?
If it’s something that nobody is interested in buying, you need to come up with something different.
Why Are Marketplaces So Popular?
The main reason marketplaces are so popular is that people are lazy. People don’t want to go out and shop for things. They prefer to do it from the comfort of their own homes, which is why e-commerce platforms are so popular.
There’s also a major convenience factor involved here. For instance, if you need a new pair of shoes, you no longer have to go out and physically shop for them.
You can just hop on your phone and order them from the comfort of your couch. Marketplaces provide a one-stop-shop for all of your needs. They make it easy to find what you’re looking for and to get it delivered right to your front door.
How to Find the Right Supplier for Your Product
Before you dive headfirst into creating a marketplace, you need to make sure you’ve found the right supplier for your product. There are a few ways to go about this. First, if you plan on reselling a product that’s already popular online, you don’t need to find a new supplier. This is actually a really smart move.
See: How Do I Create New Amazon Account
The risk of finding a supplier for a new product is always much higher than when you resell an existing product. This is because you’re likely to deal with shady people who aren’t reputable. Any reputable wholesaler will be able to tell you exactly where the product came from, who manufactured it, and where they sourced it.
Why Sell on Marketplace?
There are a number of great reasons to sell on an online marketplace. Let’s take a look at a few of them. Simple – Selling on an online marketplace is much simpler than trying to set up an ecommerce store from scratch. This is because you’re piggybacking on another business’s traffic and brand recognition.
Anything you sell will be in the same platform as well-established companies like eBay and Alibaba, which will give you a lot of credibility to sell your product. Low start-up costs – If you want to start your own online store, you’ll need a lot of money — from inventory to a web host.
This can be especially tricky if you’re selling products that aren’t digital. Any online marketplace will allow you to sell your products without having to worry about all the logistics and expenses that come with owning a storefront.
What You Need to Become a Successful Seller
If you want to become a successful seller on any marketplace, there’s a few things you need to do. Let’s go over them.
- Good product photos – Not every marketplaces requires good product photos, but any marketplace where you want to become a successful seller will. Any marketplace seller can tell you that nothing will hurt your product sales like bad product photos. This is especially true if you’re trying to sell products that are already being sold by other sellers on the page.
- Great title and description – Your title and description will be what draws customers to your product in the first place. This means you’ll need to think about your audience and what words might compel them to click “buy”. Your title and description can really make or break your sales. Make sure you put a lot of thought into these, and always reference your product photos.
How to Create the Best Marketplace Experience
Once someone lands on your product page, they’ll likely be on the fence about purchasing. This is where your customer service comes into play. If you want to be a successful seller, you need to make sure your customers are satisfied with their purchase. You can do this by following these simple rules.
- Always be responsive – One of the best ways to show customers you care about their experience is by always being responsive to their questions and comments. This shows people that you care about making sure they’re satisfied.
- Always be transparent – Another great way to show that you care about your customers is to be transparent about the entire process. Always make sure to let customers know when their product is being shipped out and how long it’ll take to get to them.
Becoming a Pro Seller
If you’re still reading, you’ve probably decided that selling on an online marketplace is right for you.
Fantastic!
Now, let’s take a look at what steps you need to take to become a pro seller.
- Create a business plan – The first thing you need to do if you want to sell on a marketplace is create a business plan. This will help you figure out which marketplace you want to sell on, what your end goal is, and what you want your business to be.
- Find a marketplace – Once you’ve created a business plan, you’ll need to do some research and find a marketplace that will work for your product.
- Join the marketplace – Next, you’ll need to sign up for the marketplace. Make sure you read the terms of service.
- Sell your product – Now it’s time to start selling your product. Make sure you follow the rules of the marketplace and offer the best customer service you can.
The Pros of Becoming a Pro Seller
There are plenty of pros to becoming a pro seller. Let’s go over some of them.
- More sales – This one is obvious. As soon as you start selling on a marketplace and become a pro seller, you’ll likely make more sales than you were making as a casual seller.
- Higher profit margins – Another great benefit of being a pro seller is that you’ll likely see higher profit margins. This is because marketplaces take a percentage of each sale. By being a pro seller, you’ll be cutting out this extra fee.
- You have full control over pricing and branding – One of the pros of selling on a marketplace is that you’ll have full control over pricing and branding. This is especially true if you’re selling a digital product. With a physical product, you’ll likely be able to control where it’s sold. With digital products, also, you will be able to do this.
- You will be able to build a personal brand – Another pros of selling on marketplaces is that you will be able to build a personal brand. It’s important to always try to build a personal brand when you’re starting a business and this will be possible to do when you’re selling on a marketplace.
What is the best way to sell on Marketplace?
The best way to sell on marketplace is to always give 110%. Make sure that everything you do is for the betterment of your business, your customers, and your brand. If you do this, you’ll have no trouble becoming a pro seller and making a name for yourself. Keep in mind that being a pro seller isn’t an easy feat.
You’ll need to hustle to get where you want to be. You’ll also need to be ready to make sacrifices in your personal life and take the occasional loss on a sale. If you want to be a pro seller, you need to be committed to the cause and ready to work.
Interestingly, there are lots of ways to sell on marketplace — but the best way is to sell ethically. If you have a product that people want, there’s no reason why you should have to sell it unethically.
Becoming a pro seller is one way to do this, but there are other ways, as well. Some good ways to sell ethically on marketplace include: Display your product in a clear and accurate
How do I sell something on Facebook Marketplace?
Now that you know how to sell on marketplace, you might be wondering how to sell something on Facebook Marketplace. Unfortunately, Facebook Marketplace is a bit different than other marketplaces.
Any digital product can be sold on Facebook Marketplace. Physical products are allowed and won’t be removed.
You can sell anything, but you need to be careful about what you’re posting. Facebook has very strict rules about what can and can’t be sold on their platform, so you need to make sure you’re following their rules.