Top 6 online selling sites and marketplaces in Australia

Whether you are looking to make a side hustle or seriously thinking about jumping into e-commerce, online selling sites and marketplaces are your go-to. And there is no shortage of them, there are plenty of online selling sites and marketplaces where you can set up your online business.  

What are online selling sites and marketplaces?

Online selling sites and marketplaces are e-commerce sites that connect sellers to buyers. Where business transactions happen online and electronically. Some of the well-known online selling sites and marketplaces are; Amazon, eBay, and Craigslist. Each of the mentioned sites is an online marketplace where buyers can buy products directly from sellers. 

Choosing the right online marketplace

There’s more than just “register your online shop/business on an e-commerce site and you’re done” when starting an online business. There is a lot to consider if you want to open an online selling site from the ground up. Especially if you have no idea what factors you should consider. 

Here’s a list of things you need to consider:

Product categories

The first and crucial thing you need to decide is the type (or types) of product you want to sell. Do some research and understand the product categories you want to sell, this way you will be able to pinpoint the suitable online marketplaces that can help you sell the products well.

For example, there is an online marketplace that sells tech and electronic products but their top-selling product category is laptops or mobile phones.

Target Audience

The next step is to determine and identify your buyers. Similar to the point above, each online marketplace has its own set of buyers’ demographics and their buying tendencies. 

For example, young women form the bulk of the buyer demographic of an online marketplace that sells lifestyle products such as skincare, healthy and organic foods, nutrition and supplements. However, their best-selling products are skin care products; so if you are planning to sell healthy and organic foods to young women, then this online marketplace is not suitable for you and your products.

Fees

You will need to consider the fees too. Because online selling sites and marketplaces usually have a few fee structures you have to manage and pay, such as fee per sale, the fee per listing, and monthly fee. So before you sign up with an online marketplace (or marketplaces), scrutinise their fee policy first and ensure they are transparent, so you can avoid paying unnecessary or hidden fee charges.

Top 6 online selling sites and marketplaces in Australia

Below we have listed 6 online selling sites and marketplaces in Australia for every aspiring e-commerce merchant to check out.

Kogan

Kogan is an Australian go-to online marketplace that provides a wide range of product lines. You can find from fashion products to outdoor tools at Kogan. Kogan claims that its platform will make sure the right customers see your most in-demand products. It is because their platform is tailored to recommend and present products to the customers that most likely will buy them. This will boost the visibility of your products, allowing more customers to be able to see and check out your products.

In addition to that, as of 2021, Kogan also has about 3 million customers, so you don’t want to ignore the potential.

Suitable for: Sellers mainly sell electronic products for home and personal use such as televisions, vacuums, mobile phones and laptops. 

Mydeal

If you want to focus on selling lifestyle and household products online, then MyDeal is the online marketplace for you to do so. This Melbourne-based retailer not only curates 1,000 sellers but also has an average of 3.5 million customers visiting within a month.

Suitable for: Sellers selling home furniture, household items, and lifestyle products.

Bunnings Marketplace

Bunnings Marketplace is one of Australia’s leading and undisputed online marketplaces for home improvement. They sell all the necessary tools and a range of home improvement products for people that love DIY home improvement. Bunnings only sells and features products from their Trusted Seller. However, becoming a Trusted Seller will require much effort. But it is worth the effort because you will become an online seller associated with a powerhouse such as Bunnings. 

Suitable for: Sellers focusing on selling DIY tools for home improvement products and furniture.

The Iconic

The Iconic is a Sydney-based fashion retailer founded in 2017 and has since claimed the number 1 spot in Fashion and Apparel category in Australia. In addition to that, The Iconic has over 17 million visitors monthly. 

The Iconic is an online marketplace that sells products in fashion, sports and lifestyle categories. 

However, there is no self-service account setup for sellers. Instead, you will have to reach out to The Iconic and enquire about a partnership. If you do manage to get in, then your brand will have the opportunity to be known as one of Australia’s top labels like the Witchery, Country Road, and P.E Nation.

Suitable for: Online fashion and apparel sellers. Not only is the online shopping site has a high volume of online shoppers monthly, but it is also home to top brands such as Nike, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger. This will provide online sellers with the opportunity to connect with them.

OZSALE

OZSALE offers a wide range of products, from fashion to lifestyle and household categories. This online shopping site has 1 million online shoppers monthly; the large pool of online shoppers is something sellers, both old and new, will want to leverage for their business.

As the name suggests, OZSALE specialises in off-price inventory sales, which is good for brands to gain exposure and reach more customers, especially price-conscious customers. 

To get your products listed on the OZSALE marketplace, you need to fill in the contact form and discuss your business partnership with them.

Suitable for: Online sellers that want to introduce their products and brand outside of their typical segment.

Catch

The Catch is one of the biggest online marketplaces in Australia, offering a wide range of products, from fashion to grocery. The Catch also has a high visitor count, boasting 3 million active customers monthly. 

The Catch is a great online marketplace for new online sellers because they are committed to helping new online sellers optimise their product listing, assist you in brand promotion, etc. 

Though they are very supportive of new sellers, getting on board with them can be tricky because they labelled themselves as a “curated marketplace”. After all, their team carefully vets each potential seller. 

However, if you make it, you’ll join the club of quality sellers on one of Australia’s biggest online marketplaces. To join Catch, you need to contact them for a partnership program. You can get in touch with them on their official website.

Suitable for: New online sellers that are just starting out their online business. Also suitable for veteran online sellers that sell a wide range of products. 

Tips for selling into the online marketplaces

Besides researching product types and deciding on which online marketplace to sell your products, you also need to familiarise yourself with the country’s selling best practices. And in this case, the country is Australia. 

It will smoothen your online transactions with the locals and boost your initial sales when you provide them with a shopping experience that meets their expectations.

Localise content

When writing up a product name and description, you will want to localise it. Because in Australia, they use a different English variant, which is Australian English. For example, if you’re selling a piece of underwear, you should not label it as thongs. Instead, you will want to label it as undies or a g-string. Because in Australia, thongs refer to a pair of rubber slippers. 

Speedy Delivery

Since Australia is vast in size and limited in population, delivery can be a big hurdle. So you can speed up the delivery by outsourcing to an Australian shipping aggregator such as the Australian Post.

Arrange and manage logistics

Whether it is shipping outside of Australia or in Australia, you will need to manage the logistics. To make it easy, you can use shipping management software. The shipping management software helps you automate the shipping process; to help keep track of all the orders from start to finish and access it all from one centralised location. 

Payment Gateway

When you are running an online marketplace or selling site, you must be able to offer your customers a fast, secure and easy-to-use payment gateway.

So, to ensure a seamless and smooth online shopping experience, you should enable various payment options, from credit and debit cards to mobile wallets and digital transactions in numerous currencies. 

How to grow your own online marketplace?

If you are serious about running an online marketplace business, you will eventually want to grow it. These tips will serve as a guide to help grow your online marketplace business in Australia. 

Use social media

Social media is your best friend; by using social media, you can make announcements such as discount promos for the holiday season to attract your customers or potential customers to visit and make a purchase at your online store. You can use it to engage your customers by posting polls, product reviews, new product teasers, etc.

Paid advertising

If you have the funds to spare, you can opt for paid advertising to get a head start on your business since it gives fast results. By using paid advertising, your online marketplace will be able to reach more audiences faster. In addition, you can run it on different and multiple platforms. 

Choose the right platform

As mentioned earlier in this article, choosing the right online marketplace platform will influence your business. For example, if you expect products such as skincare to be able to sell well on an online marketplace with the main focus of selling clothes, then you will be disappointed. Even if the online marketplace does sell skincare products, you will want to see how well it sells there since its main focus is selling clothes. 

Inventory Management

To procure stocks for your inventory, you may need to purchase them from suppliers from outside of Australia.

Legal essentials

The last step is to know all the rules and regulations when selling online. So that when there’s an issue, you can solve it calmly and without many obstacles. It is also to prevent your online business from encountering troubles. 

Permits & licence

Before you can start selling online, make sure you have legal and authorised business licences for online businesses. If you are a vendor, you will need permits from the product owner(s) before you can list and sell them on your online store. 

Shipping Restrictions

If you are selling perishable goods online, such as alcohol and cigarettes, you will need to have extra documents for them. There are shipping restrictions that you will need to adhere to. 

So there will be extra paperwork you need to do before you can ship them to your customers.

Intellectual property

You need to be aware of this if you are peddling products from a well-known and registered brand(s). Because when promoting and listing their products on an online marketplace, you will use descriptions, logos, and images belonging to the brand(s). So before you use them, make sure you ask for permission to use them on your online marketplace.

In intellectual property, there are three elements used to protect a brand’s products:

• Copyrights
• Trademark
• Patent

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**Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only. All details are accurate at the time of publishing. Instarem has no affiliation or relationship with products or vendors mentioned.