When done well, multi-vendor online shops (aka marketplaces) can be gold mines. While eBay and Etsy are the big players, you will also find niche sites like ThemeForest. Multi-vendor websites allow companies or individuals to create profiles and list their products for sale.
Customers can choose from John Q web designer or Company XYZ when they visit your multi-vendor website. All orders are processed through the same shopping basket. Multi-vendor payment processing systems split the payments between the vendors so everyone can go home happy. The customer can find more products by having a wider range of sellers and buyers. You, as the site owner, can also make a lot of money through fees.
Unfortunately, not all of the popular ecommerce platforms like Squarespace and Shopify can provide multi-vendor interfaces. We have compiled the best multi-vendor online shops to help you create an amazing community and possibly make big bucks. Let’s take a look.
Pricing: $1450 (lifetime)
CS.Cart, a popular and powerful ecommerce program, allows you to host your website on your own server. This improves security and gives you full control over your content as well as maintenance. CS.Cart’s standard packages don’t allow you to create a multi-vendor website, but the company offers a separate package.
This is great news because you don’t need to integrate separate plugins – everything is bundled into one platform. Although it is more expensive than the Magento add-ons, the cost of the platform tends to be less when you consider the Magento licensing fees. The CS.Cart Multi-Vendor platform offers a single, sleek storefront that allows vendors to create profiles and sell products.
Customers can add products from multiple vendors to their shopping carts. You can also have unlimited vendor accounts. The vendor admin area offers powerful tools for product display, payment recording, shipping methods and payout recording.
WordPress paired with the Marketify Theme
Pricing: WordPress comes at no cost, while Marketify costs $63
The WordPress platform is a faster way to implement multi-vendor systems. It is paired with the Marketplace Theme. This is easier for beginners as you can just set up WordPress and then implement the theme. Then, you can start building your site. This is a great way to go, as the theme is very affordable and the creator provides plenty of support.
This theme is compatible with Easy digital downloads (see my review), which can be used to sell downloadable products. Your users can log in with their social media accounts to speed up the process. Customers can rate and review the theme, and customers have access to beautiful audio and video previews that will help them make their decisions. Overall, this multi-vendor option is great for any business. Although it does require some technical knowledge, it’s easy to learn how to upload a WordPress theme.
Overall, I think this multi-vendor option is great for any business. Although it does require some technical knowledge, it is not difficult to learn how to upload themes onto WordPress sites.
Shopify + Multivendor Marketplace
Pricing: The Multivendor marketplace app costs $10 per month, on top of the Shopify subscription. (See our Shopify review here). You can start with a free 15-day trial
Shopify users have unlimited sellers when they download the Multivendor Marketplace App. This allows you to turn your Shopify store into a multivendor marketplace. You never know? Maybe you will one day rival Amazon and eBay?
You also have the option to upload unlimited products for your customers.
You can also sync your products to stores that you already have on any of the following platforms.
- Shopify Store
- WordPress
- Prestasop Store
- Magento Store
This is amazing! !
Pricing: $349, not including your Magento licensing
Magento, an open-source platform similar to WordPress, is a great way to create an online store, especially one with multiple vendors. An extension is required to allow multiple vendors to access your website. Marketplace Multi-Vendor Module is that extension. It allows you to convert an existing Magento site into a multi-vendor marketplace.
The extension allows you to create separate seller profiles that vendors can login to and manage their content. Sellers can edit their profiles to change logos, images and media. The extension allows you to give different commissions each vendor. Although this offering is not cheap upfront, it’s very affordable for the many features it offers. It is also much easier to set up than other options such as IXXO.
Although this offering is more expensive upfront, it’s still very affordable for the many features it offers. It is also much easier to set up than other options such as IXXO.
Arcadier offers a wide range of business options, including the ability to rent space and goods and book services.
These features are not the only ones that they offer. They also have private marketplaces and social logins. I love the ability edit JS code, which allows for additional customization and the possibility to add payment service providers.
You can also get a free mium plan that scales with how many transactions you make on the store.
Pricing: $39 per Month to $239 Per Month
Share tribe is a unique system that helps people create multi-vendor marketplace websites. You can be sure that they won’t try to do a lot with standard ecommerce websites.
You can have as many as 300 members with the initial starter package, or you can have 100,000 members if you choose to upgrade to the top package. It’s great that you don’t have to follow the traditional sales strategy. Share tribe is a platform that allows you to rent, service, and more. It takes only a few minutes to set up and can accept any type of credit card or online payment system such as PayPal.
You can create and manage your own listings. This includes features such as photos, pricing and product information. White label design is great for attracting vendors. They can upload their logos and vendors can keep in touch with customers through the messaging and order management system.
Check out our Share tribe review.
Pricing: $1495
Xcart provides tools for small and large businesses who require an ecommerce platform. We’re going to focus on Multi-vendor which allows vendors to sell multiple products from one shop front. Customers can place multiple products in one shopping cart. Vendors can also view orders and change shipping methods. They can also assign products to different categories.
Website admins can create shipping protocols, modify products in the marketplace, and register new vendors. The admin interface gives you complete control over all aspects of your shop. This is a powerful platform that I can see any business using with great success.
Drupal using the Ubercart Marketplace Module
Pricing: Free
Drupal is an open-source content management software similar to WordPress. You can create a blog or website, and publish your own content to sell products online. Drupal is not able to create a multi-vendor website by itself. However, the Ubercart Marketplace module makes this possible.
Ubercart and Drupal are not a product that is easy to use for those with no design experience. The Ubercart module offers strong tools and profile management features for admins and vendors. Sellers can track orders, fulfill them and view their sales reports. It also works with PayPal Mass Payments to distribute payments to vendors
OpenCart with Multivendor / Drop Shipper
Pricing: $159.90 for the extension
Opencart is an open-source shopping cart that works well for online shops. But, can it be used to create a marketplace? However, it needs the Multivendor/Dropshipper extension.
This secure dashboard allows you to manage all your vendors and products from any seller on the marketplace. A nice feature is the quick monthly payment. Vendors also receive email notifications whenever a buyer pays. Opencart is another open-source solution. It requires some technical knowledge but works well for any size business.
Prices: Starting at $295 to $1495
The Multi-Vendor Tool can be very expensive depending on the features you choose. However, it is important to note that this system works on open source platforms such as Joomla and WordPress. Although the system appears to be quite powerful, I would not say it is an out-of–the-box solution. The multi-vendor site must be hosted on your own servers. This is a good idea for security and ownership, but it does require some technical knowledge.
You can either run the system standalone or integrate it with WordPress. Customers can purchase products from multiple vendors at once. The vendors also have tons of cool features, such as the ability to choose shipping methods, pick from product templates, and create tax rules based upon product class and location.
Pricing: The module costs $144
We have previously discussed PrestaShop. However, as an ecommerce solution it isn’t as powerful as Squarespace or Shopify. The company has made some major changes. You can now manage your site online and use some handy design tools.
You will need to integrate PrestaShop with the Agile Multi Seller module to create a marketplace website. This allows multiple sellers to list their products while the admin manages everything. Although it has most of the features you’d expect from a module like Sharetribe and Magento, it is a bit less robust than other options such as Magento or Sharetribe. The three payment collection modes are outstanding. Sellers can collect payment, have admin collect payment, or split the payments between admins.
Have questions?
Drop a comment below if you have any questions regarding the top multi-vendor websites. The next big thing in internet commerce is websites that can find a niche and allow artists and businesses to reach customers. If you have experience with multi-vendor shops, please share your experiences.
