5 Online Marketplaces You Should Know (And Monitor)
Discover how Stillio's automated screenshot tool can help you automate capturing product pages on marketplaces to be used for in-depth analysis.
There are so many online marketplaces worldwide, but the first website we think of when buying something is Amazon. However, this platform is not available globally, and some audiences prefer other online marketplaces.
In addition, when you choose a marketplace, you need to consider what benefits will be available for your consumers, like free shipping or installments. It would help if you also kept an eye out for competitors targeting the same regions as yours, even though they might not always be on the same platform.
If you are looking for some Amazon alternatives, here is a list.
AliExpress
For selling online in China, AliExpress is your best bet. Owned by Alibaba, the leading Chinese technology company, AliExpress is one of the most famous online marketplaces in the world. Sometimes, it is also compared to Amazon.
AliExpress often sells products at prices cheaper than Amazon’s since most of the vendors are Chinese and the manufacturers are also China-based.
Unfortunately, many products here are not legit. Not many western countries choose to sell products here, so many of the things shown online won’t be real. However, you do get a money-back guarantee site-wide if the product you have received is not as described or if the item is not delivered within the Buyer Protection period.
The product range is pretty vast, and you’ll be able to find almost everything except books, some digital media, and groceries.
Cheques, PayPal, or cash are not accepted. Only credit cards are used to make payments.
For shipping, there is both a free and a paid option. Most vendors offer free shipping, but the delivery time is longer, and there is no service to track the order. AliExpress offers international shipping.
CDiscount
CDiscount is the second-largest marketplace in France after Amazon and third in Europe. It’s similar to Amazon since it works through catalogs, meaning you can provide your offer for an already listed product.
This platform is attractive to sellers because the application process is relatively easy, and there is no charge per listing. Furthermore, the charging is done every month so that the sellers can have unlimited products.
Since the number of sellers here is lower, CDiscount is far less competitive than Amazon.
Other than fresh goods, you get products belonging to over 40 categories. The strongest category here is tech, aimed at young enthusiasts.
Customer payments are both secure and guaranteed through FIA-net and 3D secure.
Sellers can hand over their logistics to CDiscount’s fulfillment service. That means they will take care of product storage, packaging, and shipping. They also provide further customer service for products sold through this service. That is particularly important for international sellers that don’t have much expertise in this region.
Products weighing under 30 kgs can be shipped worldwide through their shipping service ColisExpat.
Mercado Libre
If you were to travel to Latin America, chances are everyone’s first choice when deciding to buy something is to check Mercado Libre.
Entire businesses run on MercadoLibre, and individuals sell used products like furniture or books. A great alternative marketplace to Amazon, this website forms the primary source of income for over 900,000 families in this area. In addition, it allows transactions for more than 500,000 small businesses and has helped 84% of these businesses to generate sales outside their native city.
It includes products from any category, starting right from clothing and technology to construction materials. Like Amazon, anything can be sold here. In addition, Mercado Libre also has a market where you can shop for groceries online.
Payments are processed through Mercado Libre's payment gateway, Mercado Pago. Buyers can choose to pay using Mercado Pago or credit and debit cards. In some cases, they can also arrange with the specific vendors, which usually means cash payments when receiving the products.
Mercado Libre is not only known for its marketplace but its entire ecosystem. That includes their e-wallet Mercado Pago, which works just like Apple Pay, meaning you can add your credit or debit cards to pay in physical or online stores. You can also add money to the app itself to make payments. Most businesses in Argentina, Mercado Libre’s home country, use Mercado Pago as a payment option.
Mercado Envios is their shipping service, used chiefly for purchases made via Mercado Libre. Mercado Creditos gives loans to both individuals as well as small businesses. You can also run ads through their platform, Mercado Ads. Lastly, Mercado Shops, their e-commerce platform, lets you run an online shop, similar to Shopify.
Mercado Libre is solidly installed in many Latin American countries, including Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Columbia, so it’s a must-know if you’re targeting this region.
Bol
Bol.com is the Netherlands’ most famous online marketplace. It is also a good starting point for the Netherlands and Belgium.
Their catalog contains both new and used categories ranging from pet products to camping tools.
Buyers can choose from a wide range of payment options like credit cards, cheques, or even wire transfers up to 14 days after receiving the product. In addition, they can choose to ship (within the day or week) or opt for pick-up at a Bol point.
Like CDiscount, Bol also offers a fulfillment service to take care of seller logistics. Similar to Mercado Libre, it provides ads in banner ads and sponsored products.
If you wish to start selling in Bol, you will need a Dutch or Belgian VAT number and a registration with either the Dutch Chamber of Commerce or the Belgian Business Register for a minimum of 10 weeks.
As for shipping, they ship inside Europe, except for Dutch books shipped internationally.
Allegro
Allegro is the most popular online marketplace in Poland. It is praised for its flexibility and closeness with sellers. Buyers can personally contact them to set up a pick-up point and payment methods.
The catalog has a wide variety of products like cars, beauty products, fresh food, and groceries.
Allegro also has its fulfillment service, known as One Fulfillment by Allegro. It was launched last September. They’ve invested in a one-day shipping partner to make this service grow.
For additional products, Allegro offers Allegro Biznes, their B2B division that lets companies buy through Allegro, and Allegro Pay, their payment platform where users can set their budget and pay up to 30 days of receiving the products and even pay in installments.
One interesting thing is that this platform has launched environmentally-friendly parcel lockers for users to pick up their purchases.
Honorable mentions
Tracking marketplaces with Stillio
These alternative marketplaces might have sparked a desire to start doing business in a new region or become tracking tools for competing products in your regions. Whatever your goal may be, you should track prices set by other sellers to see whom you’re competing against. You can also record the available products to get ideas for new ones. Tracking marketplaces manually can be a tedious task but using Stillio, you can now automate the entire process!
Stillio is the right tool for you - it lets you automate screenshots for product categories in all these marketplaces to have a handy record for analysis later. You can even check catalogs for more than 130 countries!
These screen captures can be saved directly in your Dropbox or Google drive for future reference. You can check Stillio whenever you want, and all your info will be right there. You can update daily, weekly, monthly, or even 5 minutes for the best plan. Pricing starts at $29 for daily screenshots of 5 websites.
Conclusion
It’s now time to move over from Amazon. However, these alternative marketplaces can be a great way to start your business in new regions due to lesser competition and attractive advantages for both the sellers and buyers.