Supplier FAQs
- I have products to sell. How does Shopster benefit me?
- How does my business profit?
- How do the Shopster sales fees work?
- How does shipping work and who pays for it?
- How much should I charge for my products?
- How do I receive my funds on orders?
- How do I market my products to more sellers?
- What type of products can I add to the Shopster Merchant Network?
- What can I do if I don’t want a retailer selling my products?
- How many Merchant Connections can I have?
- How many products can I add to the Merchant Network?
- Can I list products that I don’t physically carry?
- Can I start my own store and have others sell my products too?
- What will my online store look like?
- What website address (URL) will my store be found under?
- How do we accept payments on our store?
- Can I have more than one store?
- How do I list other supplier merchant’s products for sale?
- I don’t need a store, can I still use Shopster?
- What’s the difference between a network order and a consumer order?
- Why do I ship products to the end consumer and not the seller of my products?
- What do I need to do to handle returns and Refunds?
- What happens to the inventory when the item is sold?
- How do I receive orders?
How it Works:
I have products to sell. How does Shopster benefit me?(Top)
Your new sales force: When you list your products on the Shopster Network, they become available to other merchants you approve within the network to sell for you. Your work can be showcased and sold on many different retail stores around the internet. When another merchant on the Network makes a sale of your product, they collect payment from the consumer and then pay you for the order through the system. You’ll receive the order like any other order, and you simply ship the product directly to the consumer. That way you’re making sales to customers you would not have otherwise made, and you have a virtual sales force growing your business for you.
Your new online store: When you sign up, you receive your own hosted online store complete with shopping cart functionality. Your online storefront is totally customizable to your own look and feel and can be hosted on your own Website address.
Your new supply chain: Your store enables you to sell your own product inventory and products from other merchants in the Network whose inventory you decide to list. You gain access to this incredible product source without ever having to stock or ship the inventory. Instead, your supplier merchants will handle their own inventory and ship directly to your customers for you.
You may only need one of the items above, and that’s great, Shopster is set up to meet any one or all of your e-commerce needs.
Profit and Costs:
How does my business profit? (Top)
You always receive the money up front for any purchase. Your business profits like any other, by the difference between the price you sell the product for and your costs of the product.
How do the Shopster sales fees work? (Top)
When you make a sale, there is a 5% transaction fee on the selling price for customers on a free account. If you are on the PowerMerchant Pro package ($69.95 a month), these fees drop all the way to 1%. You will be invoiced monthly for the fees on sales you have made in the previous month.
How does shipping work and who pays for it? (Top)
Consumers pay for the shipping of their own items based on the rules set by the supplying merchant.
When merchants list products on the Shopster system, they determine their shipping method and costs. When a consumer buys a product from a Shopster store, the shopping cart calculates shipping costs based on the shipping rules of the merchant. If it is a network order, the merchant who sells the product will be required to pass along the shipping costs received from the consumer to the supplying merchant.
How much should I charge for my products?(Top)
You decide what you want to charge for your products. That being said, we recommend that you consider your merchants when setting these prices. In order for Merchants to want to sell your products, they need to be able to make a reasonable profit margin while still staying competitive within their online sales channels.
How do I receive my funds on orders?(Top)
When one of your approved merchants sells your product(s) to a consumer, they receive the money from the consumer through their own PayPal or merchant account. The merchant who made the sale, then pays you at your discounted Network price plus the shipping costs through your checkout in the Shopster system. You can use PayPal (signing up for a PayPal account is free and easy) or one of Shopster’s approved payment gateways to receive the funds. Upon receipt of the money, you confirm the order and ship the product(s) to the consumer.
Shopster enables the process but does not touch the money, the transaction is between your merchant and you.
Network Sales:
How do I market my products to more sellers? (Top)
Create connections with merchants in the Network. It’s important to be proactive and find sellers that might be a good fit for your products.
Invite business associates, retailers, Website owners and organizations you want to sell your products to join Shopster and join your network. It’s free for them to get going, so it’s easy to grow your network.
It is also important that you complete your Merchant profile and make it as thorough as possible. Your profile is a great opportunity to sell yourself and let others know why they should sell your products. Get creative so you stand out!
What type of products can I add to the Shopster Merchant Network?(Top)
You can sell virtually anything you want on the Shopster Merchant Network. Whether new, used, or refurbished, we welcome it all. Because Shopster is dedicated to maintaining the highest level of integrity, reliability, and transparency for all of our users, we require that all products listed have accurate descriptions and images. We reserve the right to immediately remove any that fail to meet these requirements.
Shopster is a family oriented site, and does not allow any adult material or illegal products listed either in the Network or on any Merchant stores.
What can I do if I don’t want a retailer selling my products? (Top)
You have full control over who gets to sell your products. As a supplier, you will always be given the choice to accept or reject a seller of your products at any time.
How many Merchant Connections can I have?(Top)
There’s no limit! You can have as many or as few as you like. You decide what’s best for your business. As Shopster gets many new retailers every month, it’s important for you to frequently check your message center for connection requests. You don’t want miss out on any fabulous new business development opportunities!
How many products can I add to the Merchant Network?(Top)
Shopster users on the free package can add up to 25 products to the Merchant Network, while Shopster PowerMerchant Pro customers can add up to 2,500 products. Add-on packages that allow you to increase your product limits are also available through the application, so you can easily add more products to your account whenever you want.
Can I list products that I don’t physically carry?(Top)
No. All products added to the Network must be in your physical possession and ready to ship. Adding 3rd party dropship and supplier product lists is strictly prohibited within Shopster and will result in your account being permanently removed.
Online Store Details:
Can I start my own store and have others sell my products too?(Top)
Yes! We encourage suppliers to set up their own Shopster store and sell their products as well as supplying products to the network.
What will my online store look like?(Top)
Shopster’s storefront tool is very robust and you can use one of Shopster’s templates or completely customize your own template. Shopster provides a growing library of templates for you to get started with.
What website address (URL) will my store be found under?(Top)
Shopster will host your store, and it’s simple to point your storefront to the web address of your choice. However, Shopster will provide you with a free URL if required.
How do we accept payments on our store?(Top)
You can use the payment gateway of your choice, or you can use PayPal to accept payments. Shopster currently supports BeanStream, Authorize.net and PayPal. We offer integration services which will tie in any gateway that is not listed into the Shopster system.
Can I have more than one store?(Top)
Yes. A great feature is that all of your stores and merchants are tied into the same database. So if one of your supplier merchants is in more than one of your stores, their inventory will update seamlessly across all storefronts when sales are made.
How do I list other supplier merchant’s products for sale?(Top)
Merchants within the Shopster Network list their business details and products for sale on their profile. They set their retail price, the discount price you can buy the item for, and they create their product descriptions.
You can apply to join the network of merchants whose products you’d like to sell.
Once approve, you’ll simply select the products you want to sell and add them to your store using the Shopster admin system. You have full control over how the products are displayed and marketed. You can easily add and remove other merchants and their products whenever you like.
I don’t need a store, can I still use Shopster?(Top)
Yes. The Shopster storefront is added value to your membership, and you are not required to use the service.
Order Details:
What’s the difference between a network order and a consumer order?(Top)
A consumer order is a sale you made directly to an end consumer. A Network order is an order placed from one of your merchants in your network.
Why do I ship products to the end consumer and not the seller of my products? (Top)
The reason we require suppliers to ship products to the end consumer is to reduce the overall costs for everyone involved in the transaction. Shipping an order to the retailer and having the retailer then ship the product to the consumer introduces an extra step and extra costs. Additional costs ultimately equate to less sales, which means less profits for everyone. And obviously no one wants that.
What do I need to do to handle returns and Refunds?(Top)
You determine your refund policies for your merchants and your business. You will be held accountable for any policies you set with your merchants.
It is your responsibility to work with your merchant supplier and buyer to resolve differences. Communication is usually the key—simply explaining a delay or reassuring a buyer will resolve most issues. On rare occasions when the problems persist, it is up to you, the merchant supplier and the buyer to reach a mutually agreeable solution.
What happens to the inventory when the item is sold?(Top)
Merchant suppliers set the inventory they have available to sell when adding products to the system. If the item is one of a kind, then the inventory will be set to 1. When the item is sold the inventory updates in the system and the inventory will go down by 1. When inventory goes to zero in the system, it will no longer be available for consumers to add to their cart across all stores it is being carried in. That way, you won’t oversell items. You can easily update your inventory in the case that you sell items off line.
How do I receive orders?(Top)
When you receive an order you receive an email and a notification within the order management screen. You login and confirm the order. The money for the order will have arrived through your payment gateway or PayPal account. You ship the product to the consumer. You update the status of the order to shipped and provide a tracking number if one is available. As you make updates to the order status, the consumer can track where the order is at.