Leading Online Marketplaces and Shopping Destinations – A Closer Look
Yahoo Shopping is similar to Froogle in that it allows shoppers to compare prices for specific products offered by multiple merchants from one place. Following are some important notes about Yahoo Shopping:
The orders are placed on the merchant's site - customers are redirected to the
corresponding site by Yahoo Shopping.
Yahoo Shopping offers multiple ways to browse and filter results. Shoppers can filter by
price range, sort by price, and arrange results in a grid or list view.
Unlike Google, this is not a free service. Online merchants who are not using Yahoo
Merchant Solutions need to sign up for Yahoo Product Submit, a pay-per-click program based
on a cost-per-click price that varies by Yahoo! Shopping category. The Merchant only pays
if a consumer actually clicks on the product listing. There is a free alternative whereby
merchants can submit their site to Yahoo Shopping to be crawled, but there's no guarantee
the sites will considered or included in Yahoo! Shopping.
Yahoo Merchant Solutions customers get discounted pricing for listing their products, These
customers also enjoy the added convenience of direct product uploads from their stores
without having to create manual feeds.
Yahoo Shopping has tie-ups with several industry-leading retailers such as Nordstrom, Wal-Mart, and 1-800-Flowers.
Yahoo Shopping offers value-added features such as shareable wishlist, Yahoo Wallet
(that allows consumers to stored credit card information securely for subsequent use),
and the capacity to remember the customer logins for the stores that list their products
on Yahoo Stores.
eBay is a hugely popular online platform for the sale of goods and services by a worldwide community of individuals and small businesses. eBay supports auction-style and fixed-price trading. The company offers 25 country-specific localized sites.
eBay also maintains other specialty sites such as:
eBay Express – This is a US-centric, fixed-price marketplace that hosts products
from multiple merchants and boasts a quick checkout feature that allows customers to
purchase offerings from up to five different merchants (convenience factor). Merchants
selling on eBay express must have existing eBay listings and fulfill a specific set
of criteria such as 98% positive feedback, maintenance of a public profile, etc. before
they can put up their listings on eBay Express.
eBay Motors – This is an automotive-specific bidding
marketplace. The site offers several partner-based value-added services such as buyer
protection, financing (through E-Loan), escrow services, vehicle inspections and
history reports.
eBay Stores – This is a store-centric bidding-based
marketplace.
eBay Business – This is eBay's B2B marketplace that brings
together industrial buyers and sellers. The site offers Merchant eCommerce Solutions
that allows businesses to setup stores on eBay or setup completely independent stores
using ProStores
Half.com – This is a fixed-price marketplace that focuses
mostly on items that have a SKU (such as a UPC, ISBN, ASIN etc.), rather than on rare
or collectible-type items. The site allows used items to be listed. Buyers do not need
to pay to list their items, but in the event of a successful sale Half.com will take
a percent of the sale as commission. Buyers need to have a credit card on file, as
Half.com does not accept PayPal currently.
Rent.com – This site allows listing and searching of apartments for rent.
StubHub – This is a marketplace for buying and selling
sports tickets.
eBay maintains category-based, browsing and searching interfaces that allow the
purchaser to hone in on specific products.
eBay offers multiple selling options such as Online Auction, Fixed Price,
Best Offer, Store Inventory (only available with eBay stores), and Classified Ads.
eBay lets purchasers use multiple payment options such as PayPal
(also owned by eBay), CC, Personal checks, cashier’s checks and money orders. For
higher-priced items, escrow and wire-based payment are also supported.
eBay maintains a ‘Feedback Forum’ section that allows buyers and sellers to rate
each other. Also maintains Discussion boards on a variety of topics and a ‘Groups
Center’ that connects eBay members who share common interests.
Has a ‘My Favorites’ section that allows registered users to store their favorite
searches, sellers and categories.
Offers a Developers Program (Free membership) that provides API-based tools and
services which meet the needs of buyers and sellers. Developers can use these resources
to build/offer tools for:
Selling and buying – Manage listing, bidding, checkout and shipping tasks
Searching – Customized interfaces for searching the eBay marketplace
Affiliate – Tools to drive buyers to eBay
Customer service functionality – Feedback, customer communications
Merchandising - Content and listing design
Wireless – Mobile applications for searching and re-bidding on eBay
Interactive television – Delivering the eBay experience to the set-top box
Offers the following resources to benefit eBay users:
Learning Center – A set of free online courses that deal with best practices and provide tips on getting the most out of eBay
eBay University – Offers classroom courses and instructional CDs & DVDs that deal with maximizing the engagement with eBay
Security & Resolution Center – A forum for reporting fraudulent activities and security-related concerns to eBay.
Answer Center – A set of member-to-member question and answer boards that provide a forum for eBay members to ask questions, give or get answers, and share information about eBay
Offers a Gift Certificate feature that is redeemable for any purchase on eBay where PayPal is accepted.
Amazon.com offer several ways to sell merchant items to Amazon’s 59 million
customers worldwide, each with its own advantages.
Amazon.com Marketplace – On Amazon Marketplace, merchants can sell new, used,
refurbished, and collectible items—merchants list their item right alongside the
same item carried by Amazon.com. Amazon.com collects no fees unless the item sells.
Sellers on Amazon.com Seller Central pay no fee to list products. Amazon sellers pay
a transaction fee to Amazon when an item sells.
Amazon Pro Merchant Subscription – Anyone who is a frequent seller at Amazon.com
has much to gain with a Pro Merchant Subscription which costs $39.95 per month. The
Pro Merchant Subscription helps merchants list more easily and at less expense. It
also allows merchants to use the Inventory Reports to view orders, sold listings,
and current open listings.
Amazon Auctions and zShops – Amazon Auctions and zShops are open markets for
goods--merchants can list (almost) anything for sale or auction. Amazon.com
collects fees when an item sells (and, for Auctions, both when you list and sell).
Amazon.com Fees – Amazon.com collects fees only when your item sells. At that
time, Amazon.com collects your sales price and shipping costs from the buyer, deducts
a commission of 6 to 15 percent of the sales price, a per-transaction fee of $0.99,
and a variable closing fee ranging from as low as $0.70 per item to several dollars
per item based on product weight. The $0.99 per-transaction fee is waived for
Pro Merchant Subscribers.
Commission rates are as follows
Computers = 6 %
Camera & Photo, Cell Phones & Service, and Electronics items = 8 %
Items in the Everything Else Store = 10 %
Musical Instruments = 12 %
All other product lines = 15 %
Payment Processing - For items sold through Amazon Marketplace, Seller Central, zShops
and Auctions, payments are processed by Amazon.com Payments, which accepts major credit
cards from buyers. Sellers have an Amazon.com merchant account where payment proceeds
are deposited, less any transaction fees, shipping holdbacks, or other Amazon charges.
Sellers can transfer deposits from their Amazon merchant account to a bank account
periodically through the Amazon.com website. Amazon Payments automatically transfers
merchant’s earnings to their checking account every 14 days. No separate Amazon
Payments fees are assessed on Amazon Marketplace sales. For individual sellers, if
their item doesn't sell within 60 days, the listing is closed and they pay nothing.
Amazon.com
This is Google’s Checkout Flow Service, which is being offered completely FREE
until 2008 (no transaction fees are charged till 2008). Features and benefits
include:
Google Checkout has an application programming interface (API) allows integration of
e-commerce solutions with Google Checkout. There are two API Levels – Level 1
(simple, using HTML API) and Level 2 (advanced, using XML API which allows merchants
to integrate Google Checkout with internal order processing systems).
Google Checkout has a web interface to manage orders and payouts (similar to
virtual terminal).
Merchant is required to provide a bank account at the time of signup to which
Google will send order payments once authorized by the merchant.
Merchant is required to provide a bank account at the time of signup to which Google
will send order payments once authorized by the merchant.
Google Checkout also offers the following benefits for those using other Google
services:
Keyword-targeted Adwords listings of Google Checkout-capable merchants will be
provided with a free Google Checkout ‘badge’ as a distinguishing mark.
Google Checkout is integrated by default with Google Base, also.known.as Froogle,
which allows store owners without a website to sell their products.
Listings on Google Base feed in to Google.com, Google Product Search (Froogle), and
Google Maps, thus increasing visibility.
Part of the ShopZilla network, BizRate connects millions of customers to online
merchants. It includes a handy comparison feature that allows users to select
multiple products and lists out the essential features of each product side-by-side
with the others in a tabular format, enabling an easy comparison of the selected
products. Additional benefits include the following:
BizRate has a consumer feedback network that collects millions of consumer reviews
of stores and products each year. Customers can also rate the stores from which they
purchase, and this feedback is available for viewing in an easy-to-grasp manner.
BizRate directs the shopper to the website of the merchant, where the actual order
is placed.
Merchants signing up for BizRate’s Business Services (under the brand name of
ShopZilla) obtain the following benefits:
Free website listing in ShopZilla’s directory of online stores
Free participation in ShopZilla’s Customer Certified Ratings & Review Program
Free access to ShopZilla’s Merchant Services Website
Eligibility to participate in ShopZilla’s Cost-per-Click Merchant Listings Program
Among the other Business Services, ShopZilla provides content and publishing sites
(partner sites) with E-Commerce services including:
Co-Branded & Private Label Shopping Solutions
Affiliate Partnerships for High-Quality Sources of Shopping Traffic
Banner and e-mail advertising services are also listed among ShopZilla’s Business Services to merchants.
Banner and e-mail advertising services are also listed among ShopZilla’s Business Services to merchants.
Shop.com functions as an intermediary between the merchant and end customer. Customers
use just one login on this site, but they are able to order products from multiple
merchants. (They call this service OneCart™.) Customer information including credit
card information is securely stored by Shop.com. Orders are forwarded by Shop.com
to each merchant who ship their portion of the order. When there are multiple
merchants, this is clearly indicated to customers before the order is placed.
Benefits of Shop.com include:
Offers multiple options to locate products, such as searching by:
Particular Merchandise Categories
Particular Merchants
Sale and Clearance Items
Has a "My Account" section that maintains a complete order history (status,
communication from merchants, etc.).
Shipping and payment options are specific to each merchant, and any order-related
disputes need to be taken up directly with the merchant(s) whose contact information
is provided. Customers can report problems with merchant(s) to Shop.com who follow
up with the concerned merchant(s).
Allows customers to provide feedback on their overall shopping experience
via a “Help Us Improve” questionnaire.
An express checkout option is provided. There is also the capacity to save
individual products of interest for later purchase and to save store links
(product pages, category pages etc) in a "Favorites" section for later
exploration.
Has a “Gifts & Registry” section that provides the following services:
Gift Recommendation Service
eGifts™: An innovative “virtual gifting” service that allows a gift sender to add
several products into a virtual gift box which is sent to the gift recipient in an
e-mail. The recipient “opens” this box and selects a preferred gift (pricing info
is hidden at this point). This is useful if the sender has a general idea of the
recipient’s preferences but is unable to narrow down to a specific item, and splits
the gift selection burden with the recipient itself
Gift Cards and eCards
Gift Certificate Center: Allows gift senders to find gift certificates for most of the member merchants of Shop.com.
Wish Lists: Allows gift recipients to tell senders what they really want or need.
Date Reminder Service
Offers a desktop synchronization utility called “SHOPCOMpanion” which is based
on Yahoo’s “Widgets” framework. Once installed, this utility brings an updated, at-
a-glance view of SHOP.COM’s web site to the desktop, allowing the shopper to
conveniently intersperse his/her shopping tasks with other applications.
Offers a “Value Spotlight” service where one deeply discounted product is offered each
day at 12:00 midnight (PDT). Value Spotlight pricing is only available for 24 hours or
until the item is sold out. This is, in essence, a subset of the Sale and Clearance
service, except that it aims to find one truly exceptional value and spotlight it.
Has a “CareCodes™” program that allows customers to select an organization (school/
charity/…) at the time of checkout, to which a pre-determined portion of the order
amount will be diverted.
Offers a promotional flash game called “Cart Me Away” in which the customer needs to
add products to the cart to exactly match a pre-decided total amount. Successful
attempts make the customer eligible for prize draws.
Cafepress.com is an innovative online marketplace that deals exclusively in customizable
merchandise.
The site services both sellers and buyers:
Sellers can setup a free shop with zero upfront costs and no inventory while CafePress
manages every aspect of online business including customer service
Buyers can visit any of the thousands of stores and personalize and purchase
merchandise from them
Cafepress.com offers three formal services
CafePress.com® Marketplace - An online marketplace containing over 35 million
unique products created by store owners around the world.
Create & SellSM – This service allows merchants to open an online store to
transform their artwork and ideas into products with no up-front costs
and no inventory.
Create & Buy SM – This service allows people to personalize their
own purchases.
The site allows people to commercialize their design talent by creating graphics
that can be added to merchandise, composing music, designing calendars, etc. The
manufacture and shipping of the products is completely taken care of by CafePress.
CafePress is a growing network of 2.5 million plus independent merchants and other
syndicated and corporate stores. Has over 50 major client accounts (big name brands)
The basic store is free, but merchants can pay a fee an upgrade to a premium account
that supports unlimited products and additional maintenance and customization features.
CafePress decided upon a base price for each product. The markup applied to this
product by the seller becomes his/her commission. A check is sent to the merchant
for the owed amount (minimum should be $25).
Each customer is also a store owner (whether they choose to add and sell
products or not).
Customers can pay for products using Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, or
CafeCash (virtual money redeemable at CafePress which is earned by selling products).
Checks, money orders or PayPal are not accepted.
Shipping charges vary based on the type of merchandise. CafePress.com offers a 30-day
money-back guarantee on all products; however shipping charges are not refundable.
CafePress maintains an Affiliate Program in partnership with Commission Junction.
CafePress maintains a Community which features:
Community Forums
Chats & Workshops
Events calendar that lists upcoming ‘Meet and Greet’ sessions that allows members
to meet local shopkeepers, ask questions, and get personalized advice on their shop
Newsletters
A Blog
A ‘Learning Center’, which is an online ‘how-to’ resource designed to help merchants and customers extract the most out of CafePress
