Shopster's Help and Support

FAQ's - Merchant Retailers-Selling Products from the Network

As a Merchant Retailer, I'm looking for products to sell from the Network.

You can sell any of the products from suppliers in your Shopster network and they will be shipped directly to your customer! You don’t need to pay for the products up front, only after you make the sale. Simply list and sell the product at a price where you will make a profit. After you have made the sale, order the item at the Network price through the Shopster system. Your customer will receive the order directly from your supplier merchant.

1. What products are available for me to sell?
   • Shopster currently has over a hundred trusted businesses that have listed their products on the Network, and new suppliers joining daily. That means you have access to over 1,000,000 products to sell to your customers. You can browse the businesses and their product offerings in the “Directory” section of the Network. When you find a business whose products you want to sell, simply click “Add Merchant to My Network” beside their name.
   • Once they are a member of your network, you have access to sell the products they have made available. When you make a sale, simply pay for the product at the Network price and they will drop ship the product directly to your customer.
   • It’s free to add merchant’s to your network.
     
     
2. How do I find merchants to add?
   • It’s easy! Search the merchant directory by keywords of the products you want to sell. A list of supplying merchants will result and you can explore the profiles and products of these merchants before making your decision of adding them to your network.
     
     
3. Where do I find the merchant directory?
   • The Merchant Directory is located on the Directory page of the Network tab. You will see a list of all merchants (in alphabetical order) but search by product keywords to find the merchants supplying the things you want to sell.
   • View your networked merchants on the My Network page – these are the supplying merchants that you’ve made connections with.
     
     
4. What happens when others add me to their network?
   • After a merchant views your products and your profile, they will request your approval to connect and be part of each others network. You will receive a request message in your Message Center any time another merchant is requesting a connection.
   • From there you can view their profile and products and decide to approve or decline the request. Remember: You have full authority who is in your network and who can sell your products.
   • Once you accept a network request, you have immediate access to each others' products (including pricing info) and you can load their products in to your store … instantly increasing your available inventory!
     
     
5. How can I sell products that are on the Shopster Network?
   • You can sell products from your network either through your Shopster storefront or through other sales channels like eBay, Amazon, another storefront or marketplace.
     • eBay or another pre-existing storefront or selling solution (upgrade your account to PowerMerchant Starter or Pro to access this feature):
       • When you sell a product on another solution or marketplace, you can simply order the product at the Network price from your Shopster supplier merchant and they will ship the product directly to your customer for you. There is no fee associated with making this order, you just need to have your account at the PowerMerchant Starter or Pro level.
     • Sell them on your Shopster storefront – available on free account
       • Get your Shopster business in full gear by using the Shopster online store creator, available for free. You can easily list products from the Shopster Network and your own products on your store to make them available for your customers to purchase. When you make a Network product sale through your Shopster store, the order is automatically ready for you to complete with the supplier merchant.
       • List your own products on your storefront in addition to Network products.
       • The customers coming to your Website remain your customer. Re-market to them and make additional sales in the future.
   • To build out your storefront simply go to the Store tab. Upgrade your account to list more products and access more templates and features.
     
     
6. How do I complete a Network product sale?
   • When you have made a sale to your customer, you will receive payment directly from your customer for the order. You then purchase the product at the Network price from the supplier merchant through the system. The supplier merchant will ship directly to your customer. You will be able to track the progress of an order in the system as the order is confirmed and sent by the supplier merchant.
     
     
7. What if there are no suppliers of the products I would like to sell within Shopster?
   • Simply find suppliers of these products outside of Shopster and invite them to join the Shopster Network. It’s free for them to list 25 products on the Network and will enable them to easily manage their sales relationship with you.
     
     
8. What are my fees?
   • Fees for purchasing drop ship orders from the network
     • Shopster has no fees associated with purchasing products directly from the network for PowerMerchant Starter and Pro customers.
     • If you are on the free account you will need to upgrade to a PowerMerchant package in order to purchase products that are not ordered through your Shopster store.
     • You can upgrade to a PowerMerchant account here.
       
       
   • Fees for selling products on my Shopster storefront or through the network to other Shopster Merchants:
     • When you sell a product on your Shopster storefront, or when a supplier sells to a merchant in the network, there is a transaction fee. The fees are as follows:
     • On the free account: 5% of sale price
     • PowerMerchant Starter: 2.3% of sale price
     • PowerMerchant Pro: 1% of sale price.
       
       
9. Can I see an example of how I can make money and what my fees are when I sell products from the network?
   • For a sale on eBay, Amazon, or another place other than a Shopster store:
     1. You establish a network relationship with a Shopster supplier.
     2. You list and sell their product to your customer on your chosen platform.
     3. You use the “Buy it Now” button within Shopster, you enter in your customers shipping information and you purchase the product at the discount network price from the Shopster supplier.
     4. The Shopster supplier ships the order directly to your customer with a packing slip that is co-branded with your business name.
   • Both you and the Shopster supplier have profited from a sale that would not otherwise have been made.
   • Your fees Associated with sale and purchase:
     • No fees to you.
   • For a sale of a Shopster supplier’s product on your Shopster storefront:
     1. You establish a network relationship with a Shopster supplier.
     2. You list and sell their product to your customer on your Shopster storefront, this is easily done when you click on the product, just add it to your storefront and now your selling it!
     3. You receive payment from your customer through your payment gateway.
     4. You see the order waiting to be completed in your Shopster account. Once you have confirmed payment and approve the sale, you order the product from your merchant supplier.
     5. Your merchant supplier ships the item to your customer.
   • Both you and your Shopster supplier have profited from a sale that would not otherwise have been made
   • Your fees Associated with sale and purchase:
     • The transaction fee to you is applied when a customer places an order through your Shopster store. This fee can be 1%, 2.3% or 5% depending on your account level. Upgrade your account for lower sales fees and other great features.
     • There are no fees to you when you order the item purchased from your network supplier.
       

Read FAQ's - How to sell your own products through Shopster