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Essential Steps to Build an Online Marketplace Like eBay

Key Points Covered:

Successful steps :

  • Define your Marketplace 

  • Design your Business Model

  • Choose a Commission Model

  • Asses Market Size 

  • Develop a Great User Experience 

  • Build Marketplace Functionality

So, you are planning to build a marketplace website development company, right? Have you ever wondered how much money and time do you have to spend to build a performance centric marketplace development? If yes, you are at the right place. 

As eBay has set a milestone in the niche of online purchases and acts as a big online selling platform, other entrepreneurs are definitely aspiring to build a website like eBay, Amazon, Etsy etc. 

The successful eCommerce marketplace like eBay has shown a tendency towards profitable growth. According to Statista, eBay’s annual net revenue reached 10.8 billion U.S dollars in 2019. It is quite obvious that many such businesses aim to build such a marketplace from eBay's success strategy on how to build a leading marketplace website that sells. 

Here are some successful Steps on How to Build an Online Marketplace Website – 

Define your Marketplace 

Before starting off with how to build an online marketplace, you have to define what your marketplace will be about? What product or service will be offered? Who will be the target audience? What needs will it address? Once you have a clear vision of all these elements, you will get to know how to build a marketplace successfully. 

Design your Business Model

Business model can be categorized as eCommerce and retail sites, consumer to consumer and wholesale marketplace. Let’s discuss it all. 

eCommerce and retail websites (B2B and B2C)

Before getting into the B2B ecommerce marketplace development, store owners must think upon what they will provide to the market based on their resources and customer demand. It is wise to look at some of the successful examples of B2B eCommerce platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba, Shopee etc. Reviewing and understanding ecommerce websites will help you understand how to build a marketplace. 

Consumer to Consumer (C2C)

Entrepreneurs who want to sell products can use this marketplace business concept. You just need to list the products you want to sell and implement the search box to let people locate what they are looking for. eBay is a direct example of a C2C marketplace. If you are on a limited budget, C2C marketplace development is a best low-cost option to get started.  

Wholesale Marketplace (B2B)

A wholesale is a marketplace where companies sell raw materials inventories, or products to other businesses or consumers. You will need to list all the products which are popular in order to sell and mention a minimum order quantity from your clients. 

Choose a Commission Model

Being in a marketplace business, earning through commission is the primary source of income. The owner receives a commission on each vendor’s sale. Plus, there are also additional ways to monetize a marketplace which are as follows: 

  • Subscription – A paid subscription for sellers with multiple conditions, for example, monthly income, maximum number of products, categories and so on. A membership provides merchants with certain amount of commission, such as free advertising on an eCommerce marketplace 

  • Listing fee – This is for those merchants who sell only a part of their inventory, and are active for a certain time in the whole year. 

  • Freemium – This revenue is generated from the additional services and value-added features for sellers, for example, shipping labels and advertising, special offers to consumers etc.  

Asses Market Size 

When it comes to building an online marketplace like eBay, you need to determine the size of the potential market. If you are from a specific niche, like electronics products, you most likely have a complete understanding of that niche as well as distribution networks. 

You can connect with industry-specific groups who have access to data relevant to your niche. You can alternatively explore online platforms like Statisa

Choose Right Technology Platform

There are several factors to consider when choosing the technology platform while developing a marketplace. The most important factors are:

  • Functionality – the platform should have all the required functionality and features that is required

  • Ease of use – User can easily find and access the features they need

  • Support – Marketplace should have a robust network support in case of assistance

  • Some of the common eCommerce platforms to be considered are BigCommerce, WordPress, Magento, or Wix that can help you build a fully functional online store.  

These platforms offer a range of functionality and features, and are easy to use and understand as well. If you are looking for a consulting partner to help you build a marketplace with WordPress, Magento or BigCommerce, let’s connect with Solvios Technology. The team Solvios has over 10+ expertise in designing and developing eCommerce platforms. 

Develop a Great User Experience 

With an objective to build a marketplace development company, there are few things to keep in mind to deliver a great user experience. 

  • First thing first, you need to make sure that platform is easy to navigate. A simple and clean user interface that allows users to understand your web platform to navigate. 

  • Second, you need to pick good products in your marketplace. In case of service, there must be valuable services with quick assistance. Make sure to maintain a good balance that will keep users coming back to your platform. 

  • Third, it's crucial to have a transparent pricing structure. Consumers should know how much they are going to pay for a product before they make a purchase. There should not be any hidden charges. 

Build Marketplace Functionality

It is essential to define functionality of a marketplace when you develop an online marketplace platform. There are few key considerations you must take into account when it comes to deciding the functionality.

  • Payment

Payment is one of the important features in a marketplace, so it should be on priority to allow users to make payment with ease. Also, if you suppose you are selling physical goods, then you will need to consider how shipping will be managed. Will consumers be able to pay for shipping directly, or will they be able to use a third-party service PayPal.

In the case of digital goods or services, you will have to decide how users will receive their purchases. Will they be able to download from your website, or will you provide another method?

  • Messaging

Another key functionally for any marketplace is Messaging. This builds a bridge of communication between buyers and sellers, without having to go through the marketplace. This can be a great functionality to have to build a trust, and can help to resolve problems that may arise during a transaction.   

In order to implement Messaging, you can allow buyers and sellers to message each other directly, or can implement a third-party service.  

  • Reviews

Incorporating the review section is another important factor into the marketplace. This is also a great way to build trust, and help buyers purchase the best products and sellers. 

Final Words

These are the general steps to consider when building an online marketplace. Marketplace development is a responsible task that may take several months, and long term support as well. 

Therefore, finding and working with experienced web developers can be a good option to ensure the success of a project. 

Solvios Technology is a software development consulting firm that helps entrepreneurs build custom marketplace development. Being an experienced market ace development company, we make sure to follow the latest industry trends to build custom platforms for buying and selling online products. Our solutions bring massive traffic from search engines and high conversion rates. 

Talk to the team to discuss your eCommerce web development project. Visit ust at: solvios.technolgoy | Contact us at: +1 (678) 697-6845

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