Online marketplaces are sales channels that sell products from different sellers. Many marketplaces also sell their own products there. Online marketplaces are very popular at the moment. The market share of e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Etsy, United Wardrobe, Vinted and Bol.com is still growing. Have you ever thought about selling your products through a marketplace? It has many benefits. But there’s also a downside to selling your products through a marketplace. We’ll explain in this blog. Let’s get started.
The advantages of selling through an online marketplace.
Increases your brand recognition.
Online marketplaces have a huge online presence and reach. Many users have marketplaces and come into contact with your products, which increases your brand awareness.
Targeted searchers.
On marketplaces, users are often looking for a specific product range that they want to compare across multiple brands. This makes it easier for customers to find a certain product, and therefore your product.
Fantastic customer experience.
Thanks to their many years of experience and expertise, marketplaces can organise all business processes properly and meet today’s consumers’ every need. In most cases, marketing is perfectly attuned to this. They can offer an excellent customer experience, which other webshops often can’t compete with. You will reap the rewards.
Increase your sales.
Due to the large number of users, you reach shoppers who would otherwise never come into contact with your brand. Since they discover your products within a trusted marketplace, there is a good chance that they will find their way to your webshop in the future.
Trusting the marketplace means trusting your webshop.
Large marketplaces are well known and have built up a good reputation over recent years. Consumers trust marketplaces. If you sell your products on a marketplace, users will come to trust you more easily. You don’t need to convince them that you’re trustworthy. This will save you time and money on marketing and customer service, for example.
You benefit from marketplaces’ marketing.
As we’ve mentioned, marketplaces have gained a lot of knowledge about the market and consumers due to their experience in e-commerce. They can respond effectively to the needs of any type of customer. If you sell your products on marketplaces, you will also reap the benefits.
Offer multiple delivery options automatically.
Often, marketplaces offer a wide range of delivery options at the checkout. These delivery options are automatically available for your products.
Stepping stone to international sales.
If selling your products internationally is still unknown territory but you’re curious about whether it’s for you, selling products on an online marketplace is a great option to start. It means you don’t have to reinvent the wheel and you can see if there is international demand for your products.
The disadvantages of selling through an online marketplace.
Unfortunately, selling your products on an online marketplace also its disadvantages. We’ll discuss them below. This will help you decide whether selling your products on an online marketplace is for you.
The competition is fierce.
If you sell your product an online marketplace, you are not the only one. Your products can get lost in the crowd. Due to the wide range of products for sale, you are always among your direct competitors.
You have to hand over a profit margin.
Selling your products is ‘free’ on some online marketplaces; only you have to hand over a profit margin per product sold. Some marketplaces even charge subscription fees. This means that you will get a lot less than you had hoped for beforehand.
Enhancing your brand is difficult.
Customers who buy your products should be seen as customers of the marketplace. The marketplace is where they buy the product and is at the core of their experience. There is no guarantee that your buyers will actually remember who they purchased their products from. Often, you can’t even promote your own brand and the online marketplace ensures that their own brand is given the most attention and is preserved. This brings us to the last disadvantage…
There is little opportunity to build a relationship with your client.
Customers do not have contact with you via the online marketplace, but with the online marketplace itself. This makes it difficult for you to build up and maintain a relationship with your customer.
More information
Any questions that you’d like to speak to somebody about in person? You can email us at info@myparcel.nl or call us on 023 30 30 315. We’re here to help.