What a marketplace is and how it works

A marketplace is an online trading platform where hundreds of suppliers meet on one side and thousands of buyers on the other. In terms of traffic, marketplaces are confidently ahead of online shops, which means that they have the largest base of loyal customers. Marketplaces can sell and compete with each other both a large well-known brand and a newly created, unknown trade mark.
As Selpway Trading ltd managers noted, marketplaces pursue two large-scale goals: increasing the number of buyers and expanding the offered assortment. Suppliers of goods are registered on the marketplace and conduct their activities independently. The marketplace does not care which brands and in what quantity will be presented, so each supplier can trade several brands at the same time. The main thing is that the seller must have all the necessary documents for the goods and for conducting business activities.
Features
Let's break down exactly what marketplaces do. They can be thought of as digital marketplaces or fairs, where the main task is to offer a variety of products to attract customers and establish interaction between buyers and sellers. Marketplaces place sellers' goods in their warehouses, deliver orders to buyers, attract new customers to the site and work to retain existing users. They provide sellers with a number of services, such as promotional tools and analytics. The marketplace charges entrepreneurs a certain commission for their work.

In particular, the earnings of a marketplace are made up of:
  • commission on sales;
  • commission for publishing product cards;
  • promotion services;
  • warehousing, delivery, logistics services;
  • discounts (you cannot refuse to participate in promotions).

One of the key features of working on marketplaces is that all the rules and terms of trade are determined by the marketplace itself, noted specialists of Selpway Trading company. Sellers are not able to change the terms of payment, delivery or returns and must strictly follow the established rules.

What does a seller do? He defines the assortment of his shop, manages pricing, works with content for the presentation of goods or services on marketplaces, as well as advertising and promotion of his brand.
Classification of marketplaces
There are many types of marketplaces, each with its own characteristics. They differ in their criteria and specialisation. They can be sites for selling goods, services, collecting information (for example, job adverts), etc.

According to the type of participants, three types of marketplaces are distinguished:
  • B2C (business-to-customer). In this model, manufacturers and sellers offer goods or services directly to end consumers.
  • B2B (business-to-business). In this model, businesses sell goods or services to other businesses. Buyers can be either end consumers or intermediaries.
  • C2C (customer-to-customer). Goods or services are sold between individual users. Instead of buying from companies or brands, users interact directly with each other.

In future publications on Selpway's website, we will talk about the nuances of working on marketplaces.
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