Marketplaces give you access to a huge audience
There are now swathes of online market places to choose from when it comes to selling your product or service through a third party site such as eBay and Amazon.
This has given rise to a number of more niche online market places for retailers to use. With this in mind it is important that you take the time to research each one before making a choice to sell on one or more.
If you are unsure about whether these platforms are for you or not – here is our list of pros and cons:
Benefits
1. Wider audience
Many of these marketplaces have established unique users who visit regularly. Etsy, the craft and vintage marketplace sees some two million uniques a month.
“Some of these sites come with millions of users already – if you are going to sell online, you may as well go to some of the biggest markets on earth,” says Julia Priddle, head of key account management at ecommerce expert ChannelAdvisor.
2. Test new markets
If you are planning to start selling in different countries, these global marketplaces can help you test where your products sell best. That way you can start targeting them through your own retail site eventually and expand that way.
“It’s a low risk way of expanding across regions -your products might sell well in France and not in Germany, well in Australia but not in the US etc.,”says Priddle.
3. Access to a new community
If you use one of the smaller marketplaces, like UK-based craft orientated Folksy for example, you are entering a community of other retailers. This way you can network, ask for advice and potentially find new opportunities.
4. Utilize mobile optimisation
You might not have got around to optimising your site for mobile and tablet yet but marketplace giants like Amazon have spent millions making sure their site is optimised across the board. They spend the money so you don’t necessarily have to.
5. Exposure to press and bloggers
The more niche marketplaces are often scoured by the press and bloggers to find new and interesting products and services. By listing there you have greater visibility and a good chance of some free PR.
Challenges
1. Higher competition
When using these sites your product might be listed next to similar products from a whole range of other retailers. You are in the same place as potentially huge retailers who might beat you on shipping costs or handling times.
“When your products are next to those of big retailers it might not feel like such a level playing field when they can afford to have cheap handling costs,” says Priddle.
“But by the same token, you might beat them on a more personal customer service so it could go either way.”
2. Too many orders to handle
You are effectively boosting your audience by listing on these marketplaces which could mean that you get more orders than you can possibly handle. Not being able to fulfil these could do serious damage to your reputation on the platform.
3. People might not remember your brand
If someone buys one of your products, their lasting memory of the purchase might be that they bought it on Amazon or Etsy rather than from you and your brand.
4. Filling out product descriptions
Many of these sites require very detailed descriptions of the products from weight to measurements to the exact origin of the components. This can be extremely time consuming for smaller retailers.
5. You must be on top of the nuances of the marketplaces
The way people give and receive feedback can differ between sites as well as the level of communication between buyers and sellers. For example on eBay you might be expected to answer a series of complicated questions before the sale is made.
“You must make sure you have a good understanding of the various sites. They can be time consuming so knowing how much of your day will be taken up managing the marketplaces is essential,” says Priddle.
“Don’t take these marketplaces for granted. If you aren’t paying attention to the details it is easy to fall down – and harder to get back up again.”
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