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What’s the Best Platform for Buyers and Vendors?

Jul 6, 2020

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When I was first selling some stuff online I did some research into what platforms were the best. So, I put together this helpful article to explain what I found.

So, what’s the best platform for buyers and vendors? The best platform for buyers and vendors is Alibaba, Tradewheel, DHgate, and many others. They are the best because of their large user base, professional service, and their reputation. With a large user base massive quantities of products get sold.

There are interesting features of each, and some platforms might be better for you based on your specific niche. So, below I will explain the best platforms and how to choose them.

I will also give you information of a new and upcoming marketplace that has zero fees.

What online marketplace is the best for buyers and sellers?

Below, I will list the top 4 based on our research. Companies with the biggest revenue are ranked in order.

Alibaba. Alibaba has so many users it’s ridiculous. This means the amount of people that look at your listings is huge. This makes Alibaba such a good place. The other advantage of Alibaba is that their items are so cheap that you use them as a wholesaler.

They are an online marketplace that was founded in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. According to Wikipedia, they have many companies all together these are AliExpress, Evergrande Taobao, F.C, UCweb, Antfinancial and many others.

They were found by Jack Ma, and Peng Lei, and have grown to become the largest e-commerce website in the world.

DHGate. Their catch phrase is buy globally sell globally. They are another beast of a platform for buyers and vendors. Housing so many listings, and so many users, you can definitely find your treasured items.

Similar to Alibaba they are a wholesale supplier where you can make significant mark up by importing or selling them.

They have 5 million users, and ships to more than 227 countries. Their products don’t meet minimum manufacturing standards of US and UK countries.

There are certain certifications that guarantee quality, however, it is a sellers market, and buyers should beware.

Amazon. Amazon is one the largest e-commerce stores, and is a household name. They sell everything that you could ever want, and have a huge user base.

They have the fastest delivery times, and customer support. This is why they have risen to the top. Amazon is one of the best platforms for buyers and vendors.

GlobalSources. GlobalSources is different from the other platforms above, in that it only sells in certain categories. These are

Auto Parts and accessories
Bags and luggage.
Consumer electronics
Electronic components
Fashion accessories and footwear
Gifts
Hardware
Home Products
LEDs and optoelectronics
Machinery and parts
Smart living electronics

As you can see they have many products in the products related to the home and electronics.

They are an international wholesale supplier and have a solid user base. They have over 1 million users.

What makes a good platform for both buyers and sellers?

There are a range of factors that make a platform good for both buyers and sellers, these are:

Big user base

The bigger the better. With a big user base your listings get seen by more people. This means that there are more vendors. When they are more vendors you have more selection, and can choose the exact right product for you.

If you sell on these platforms you can expect that you will get seen by more people than if you are listed on a platform that doesn’t have as many users.

The more users means that the site has more visitors. When they have more visitors they invest in their business more and they provide better service.

The platform should also be easy to use

The best platforms are the easiest to use. They have been refined over many site visits to give a simple and efficient interface that encourages you to enjoy it.

The best platforms have an effortless feel and are blazing fast. You can notice a big difference when using some of the bigger online marketplaces that their websites are far superior to others you go to on the internet.

This is because of huge revenue they generate leading to nearly unlimited money being available for research and development.

Low Fees

Low fees lead to businesses growing faster. This is because when they don’t pay as many fees, they can reinvest more into their business, which gives them more money.

When they pay more fees, they have less money to reinvest back into the business, and the business grows slower. This is why low fees is a key consideration when choosing the best platform for your needs.

Some websites charge a monthly fee, whereas, others take a small percentage of the sale. When a person buys the product that incur any extra fee.

They passed on them indirectly. Therefore, a good platform balances the needs of both the buyer and seller by their fee structure.

Fast Delivery times

The best platforms for both buyers and vendors have fast delivery times. This gives customers more satisfaction when buying and selling.

It creates a win win for both users. The buyers get their products faster and also they ship them to their customers faster. When delivery times are slow customers don’t have a good experience. If the delivery time is over 7 days it can cause the customer to want to shop elsewhere.

It is such a key deliverable for Amazon that they purchased their own airline to increase the delivery speed, as they found the current providers were too slow.

Review Structure

A good platform will have a way for customers to leave reviews and testimonials. This is on almost all websites. But, it bears repeating because it is so important. You should always check a supplier by ordering a small quantity first.

That way you can get a sample. Once you have a sample you can check the quality and the delivery times. It can be easy to run into suppliers that don’t deliver.

How does a multi vendor website work?

A multi vendor marketplace is a platform for buyers and sellers. Buyers go there to look at items that vendors are selling. Multi vendor means there are many vendors. It is another name for an online marketplace.

The online marketplace charges a small % of the total cost of an item that sells. The amount is deducted from the person who listed the item.

They usually use a payment gateway such as Paypal, but there are many others which are highly secure. The seller has an account on the multi vendor marketplace and the fees are removed when the sale is made.

When the item is sold it is then shipped out to them by the seller.

New Upcoming Marketplace

The website you are on now is an online marketplace, where we offer free listings. Transactions are safe, secure and strictly between buyers and sellers via Paypal. If you are interested in selling or buying products online, you should definitely create an account and see what we have to offer.

To do this go to the register an account page which can be accessed by clicking here.

Conclusion

The best platform for buyers and vendors depends on what product you are wanting to buy. The top platforms are Alibaba, DHGate, Amazon, and Globalsources. These companies are used by both retailers and wholesalers. A common way they are used is for people to buy from them and then resell them at a profit.

There are a range of things which make an online marketplace so good. They have a large user base, their websites are easy to use, they have fast delivery times, and low fees.

Start selling via Sheepbuy the new marketplace without any selling or hidden fees.