12 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
12 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Setting up "Marketplace" website

by 512 Designs
10 replies
  • ECOMMERCE
    • |
I'm thinking about setting up a "Marketplace" website similar to Etsy (but not in the craft niche).


But it's sort of a catch 22 problem. How do you get people to list things if you have little traffic. But how do you get traffic if there's no listings.


So let's say you wanted to set up one of these types of sites. What would your steps be to take an idea from your head....to building a successful marketplace website?


Basically, how do you solve the catch 22 problem mentioned above?
#marketplace #setting #website
  • Profile picture of the author fpforum
    I once started a website/domain marketplace (kinda like Flippa) and what I did was post some advertisements on forum seeking people to list. I'd maybe offer them free credits or a free upgrade if they'd be patient with me. These kinds of websites can be tough because you really need immediate traffic, or you'd need to almost pay people to start listing things early on.

    When you have a big network (like freelance) you can start new marketplaces (like freemarket) and get thousands of members and listings extremely quickly!
    Signature
    Free SEO Software - Start Improving Your Rankings Today!
    Windows VPS Servers - Cheap Windows VPS Servers With Instant Setup!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9894338].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author ChapLeo
      1) Advertisements on forums are a get way to do it, ESPECIALLY Bitcoin forums. As you're aware, there's a loyal Bitcoin fan-base and you can exploit that loyalty.

      2) You will also have to 'buy' some of the products your sellers sell. The founders of fiverr used this trick successfully in the early days. They brought Gigs sold by their own sellers, under different usernames. This gave the impression to the sellers that fiverr has business and they stuck with fiverr. Buyers coming to fiverr saw the large number of reviews the sellers have got and were comfortable buying their products.

      3) Depending on your niche, you may be able to target countries like India and Pakistan. These countries can't receive money through Paypal (India, I believe ran into some problems), so you have an upper hand over websites that offer only paypal as a method of withdrawal. Get these people interested and they would just love to offer gigs/products on your website. OK, maybe they're not from the US, but at least you would get a solid seller base.
      Solid seller base = More buyers = More Sellers.

      Volia!
      Hope that helps.
      Good Luck.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9894786].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author 512 Designs
        Originally Posted by ChapLeo View Post

        1) Advertisements on forums are a get way to do it, ESPECIALLY Bitcoin forums. As you're aware, there's a loyal Bitcoin fan-base and you can exploit that loyalty.


        I've heard of Bitcoin, but never really looked into it. I'll have to now.

        2) You will also have to 'buy' some of the products your sellers sell. The founders of fiverr used this trick successfully in the early days. They brought Gigs sold by their own sellers, under different usernames. This gave the impression to the sellers that fiverr has business and they stuck with fiverr. Buyers coming to fiverr saw the large number of reviews the sellers have got and were comfortable buying their products.

        Great story. I didn't know that's how they got started.

        3) Depending on your niche, you may be able to target countries like India and Pakistan. These countries can't receive money through Paypal (India, I believe ran into some problems), so you have an upper hand over websites that offer only paypal as a method of withdrawal. Get these people interested and they would just love to offer gigs/products on your website. OK, maybe they're not from the US, but at least you would get a solid seller base.
        Solid seller base = More buyers = More Sellers.

        I understand this strategy but for now I'm a little uncomfortable with going down that route. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
        Signature
        Let Me Show You How You Can Turn Your
        Existing PLR CONTENT Into CASH MONEY
        In Dozens Of Different Ways!
        CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9895725].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author OnlineStoreHelp
          If you have a well defined niche it is very possible to do. The one company I know that does it runs a hybrid model. They allow for independent sellers to sell on their platform but they also sell, run and fulfill for one of the companies on their site. In addition, they also allow for their vendors to have their own "website" which is essentially done with Magento and their multi-vendor functionality.

          How do they do it? There is always the initial build which means you reach out to people, don't charge them any listing fee or monthly and just take a percentage. That way, little risk to them. As you build your channel, you can reach out to others and "Invite" them to your platform.

          How? Call, email and meet in person. That is what Rakuten, Amazon and others do. They find the niche they want to work in for that month and call or email them to invite them to the platform. Go to expos that feature those vendors since the smaller creators like those platforms.

          There are a lot of things you need to figure out. In particular, checkout and shipping. The issue that smaller companies have is sellers not fulfilling orders and you getting the charge back. If you can set it up so they check out through their own PayPal account, even better but you need to track that really close. It is one thing the big boys do well.

          Also realize, that in portals like this, it is highly likely people will buy from multiple vendors so your system needs to make sure it calculates shipping properly. Ideally (unless you are talking perishable), you can have them consign the inventory you and do the shipping for them. It saves you hassle though there is the added cost of warehouse space.

          It can be a fantastic idea, especially when you take upwards of 20% of gross but it is not just a build it and they will come idea.
          Signature
          Learn how to set up a powerful, functional yet easy to use e-commerce website at cartprep.com.

          Not sure what ecommerce solution to use? Watch my video walk through of popular shopping carts.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9896060].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author 512 Designs
      Originally Posted by fpforum View Post

      I once started a website/domain marketplace (kinda like Flippa) and what I did was post some advertisements on forum seeking people to list. I'd maybe offer them free credits or a free upgrade if they'd be patient with me. These kinds of websites can be tough because you really need immediate traffic, or you'd need to almost pay people to start listing things early on.

      When you have a big network (like freelance) you can start new marketplaces (like freemarket) and get thousands of members and listings extremely quickly!


      Thanks for the story and advice. Is your site still running?
      Signature
      Let Me Show You How You Can Turn Your
      Existing PLR CONTENT Into CASH MONEY
      In Dozens Of Different Ways!
      CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9895721].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author RunCPA
    I like the idea of working with bitcoin. Bitcoin community loyalty is really a thing.
    If you'd change your mind about bitcoin - come to RunCPA, we can help you with traffic and sales on your site.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9920141].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mrmax
    How I would promote it is to make an account on ebay and etsy with your niche or domain name in your username and sell the product you want to make a site for so you can build a name for yourself and develop "Social proof". Establish yourself as the expert on your niche. You'll also end up with a list of past customers you sold to. Then start mentioning your site in your ebay/etsy ads (if you can).
    This is how NastyGal got started, she developed a multi million dollar business very very quickly selling vintage clothing and she started on ebay.

    Once you've gotten your feet wet with that I'd buy a bunch of products in the niche yourself and post them, as if you are a seller.
    Make a few accounts with different names and post products, just to populate the site.
    Then go to forums in the niche youre in and buy advertising.
    Make an account on eBay and Etsy with your site name and wherever you can watermark your photos or mention your website in your ads do it.

    FYI I tried to do this for 3 years and it was a nightmare, because too many things are out of your control. Sellers and buyers. You can't control what other people do, how fast they ship, if they lie in their ad, the quality of the product.
    Business wise you'll constantly get asked "How are you different from eBay".
    So make sure your niche is solid and you are solving a problem, otherwise you may be in store for a very expensive headache.

    My mistake was I didnt have a niche, I was general. I sold Toys, books, womens socks, it was across the board.
    Realizing I needed to niche, I was going to change it for a marketplace for Comic Books. So I bought a lot of comics on ebay to resell on my marketplace. The second order on ebay I did the guy lied. He had top names comics like BatMan, X-Men etc, and he sent me a bunch of no name comic books, telling me I needed to read the fine print.

    I filed a complaint with ebay and they gave me my money back. But they are a billion dollar company and if a seller did that on my site I'd develop a bad reputation fast.
    Thats what I mean by you cant control what your buyers and sellers do. What if the seller lied or the buyer got it and said they didnt.
    What about returns? etc etc. It was a big headache for peanuts money so I closed my site and was happy I did.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9921133].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Lipipaliwal
    Banned
    Well, to establish a marketplace, you need to first consider a reputed multi vendor ecommerce platform, because this kind of platform provides a list of services which is really helpful for setup an ecommerce marketplace business at economical rate. They provide you end to end solution regarding logistics, payment gateways and so on.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9922100].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author mrmax
      For the software I recommend you do NOT go with CS-Cart multi vendor. CS-Cart was a total nightmare and one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. 0.02
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9922364].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author CreativeWest
    For a marketplace almost all are custom build, you need to separate the user portal from the frontend for security and various other issues. As long as you have the separation you have various options, without you will go nowhere fast. Normally it takes years to build up a network of sellers to critical mass, there are shortcuts but it has to be done in a very special way, it's how companies like Snapchat go to $19bn in a few years, not something a small business can do without the experience and you will need some capital.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9923581].message }}

Trending Topics