You all have heard of eBay, right? It’s an amazing place where people can buy and sell anything online. Have you ever thought about making your own online marketplace app like eBay? Well, then you are at the right place because that’s what we are going to talk about!
In this blog, we’ll break down the whole process of creating your very own online marketplace app into a step-by-step guide. We will cover everything from features, tech stack, and benefits to the cost of development. Let’s get started on the exciting journey to develop an online marketplace app like eBay!
Market Stats
We have listed here a few market stats for online marketplaces like eBay:
- An online study highlights that 56% of online retailers prefer to sell their products on online marketplaces.
- A report by Global Banking and Finance suggests that online marketplaces are set to exceed US $7 trillion in sales by 2024.
- eBay has generated a revenue of US $2.5 billion by the end of Q2 of 2023.
- As of April 2023, eBay has approximately 655 million app visits.
Seeing this emerging growth in statistics, it is the right time to invest in the online marketplace. Let’s study more about online marketplaces and how to develop an online marketplace app like eBay.
How Online Marketplace Works?
An online marketplace works by providing a platform for different sellers where they list their products and services which can be then accessed by the customers. These online marketplaces do not host the products but act as a mediator between the seller and buyer. This allows for a wide range of products to be available on the platform, and for buyers to have access to a variety of options to choose from. Customers can browse through the different products listed on the platform, compare prices, and make purchases directly from the seller. However, these marketplace charges a commission from each transaction to cover the cost of providing the platform and services.
These online marketplaces are beneficial for everyone involved:
- The Admin can generate profit by listing a number of sellers and users, without having to manage the stock inventory and other tedious processes.
- The Seller can easily attract a number of customers by listing themselves on popular online marketplaces.
- Among all, the most essential benefit is for the User, who can easily compare products in a single online marketplace.
Anyone who has a good business plan, a clear vision of the marketplace, and knows how it exactly works can launch a marketplace. However, launching and running a successful marketplace requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and expertise. It is important to conduct thorough research, choose the right platform, and develop a strong marketing strategy to attract sellers and buyers to the marketplace. Additionally, it is crucial to provide a seamless user experience and excellent customer service to ensure the success and growth of the marketplace.
Step-by-Step Guide to Develop an Online MarketPlace App Like eBay
Before going on with the development process of an online marketplace app like eBay, you should think about the development team. There are two options to hire the best development team for your app.
For the first, you can hire an in-house development team that will need experienced project managers, front-end developers, back-end developers, UI/UX designers, and QA engineers. You also need to set up technical infrastructure and other useful resources, if you hire an in-house development team for building your online marketplace app like eBay.
In the second option, we suggest you hire an experienced app development company with prior expertise in online marketplace development. Make sure you check the experience, tech skills, portfolio, client review, and other details whatever is required to hire the best online marketplace app development company.
It is better to hire an experienced app development company. By hiring an experienced online marketplace app development company, you don’t need to set up any technical infrastructure and it will save you cost and effort.
Here is the step-by-step guide that a reliable and experienced app development company will follow to develop your online marketplace app like eBay.
- Collecting Clients’ Requirements
The online marketplace app development company will collect clients’ specific requirements and conduct a competitor analysis and design a unique strategy and exclusive features and functionalities to enhance the online marketplace’s efficiency and attract more buyers and customers. You should also define your target audience to drive a clear strategy.
This step also involves choosing the optimal tech stack and technologies for the online marketplace.
- Designing the UI/UX of the App
Now, the online marketplace app development company will start designing the interface of the app. They must design an easy-to-use interface so that users can easily navigate through the app without tediously searching for features.
Designing the UI/UX of an online marketplace like eBay demands a delicate balance between functionality and features. An intuitive layout with clear navigation is essential for users to easily browse, search, and list products. Employing responsive design ensures a seamless experience across devices. One should also incorporate user-friendly filters and a robust search engine that helps users to find products easily.
Prioritizing security and trust through transparent seller ratings and reviews enhances the user experience. Lastly, a streamlined checkout process and personalized recommendations can boost engagement and conversion rates, making the marketplace a compelling platform for buyers and sellers alike.
- Develop the MVP
After designing the UI/UX of the app, the development team will create an MVP with all the basic and essential features of the app.
After developing the MVP, the company will launch it among a group of people in your company, and if everything goes well, they will start developing the final version of the app. This final version will contain all the advanced features of the app along with the basic ones.
- Test & Deploy
Testing and deploying an online marketplace app like eBay is a critical phase of its development. Rigorous testing must check the functionality, performance, and security. Ensuring smooth transactions, secure payments, and a responsive user interface is vital. Compatibility testing across multiple devices and browsers guarantees a seamless user experience.
Once thoroughly tested, deploying the app on reliable servers with robust data security measures is essential. Continuous monitoring and rapid bug fixes post-deployment are crucial to ensure good performance. A well-executed testing and deployment process ensures a reliable and user-friendly online marketplace for buyers and sellers.
- Support & Maintenance
A proactive approach to addressing issues and optimizing the user experience is key to maintaining a thriving online marketplace platform. Most online mobile app development companies offer support and maintenance services to ensure regular updates and bug fixes are necessary, which enhances performance and security. Continuous monitoring of the app’s stability, scalability, and data protection is crucial. Adapting to evolving market trends and user feedback helps the app stay competitive.
Features You Must Integrate in an Online Marketplace App
To develop an online marketplace app like eBay, you must design a comprehensive set of features and functionalities to cater to the diverse needs of admin, sellers, and users.
We have listed here some of the essential features of the online marketplace app for all three categories, which are as follows:
For Admin
- User Management
Admin can access users’ information, check their details, and verify the users’ accounts. In case of a fake account, fraud detection, and/or any illegal activity, the admin can also ban or suspend a user’s account.
- Seller Management
Under the seller management section, the admin can check the onboarding process of a seller to verify their details. They can also monitor seller performance and their product listing.
- Product Management
Product management is one of the crucial aspects of the online marketplace app. Admin has to manage the product categorization and catalogs of the product. They have the authority to remove any product that violates policies.
- Transaction Monitoring
This feature allows the admin to check the details of every transaction. They also handle disputes regarding payment and refunds.
- Feedback & Review Management
With this feature, the admin can check the feedback of the seller and reviews given by the customers.
- Support & Customer Service
Admin is responsible for providing effective support and customer service to the users as well as sellers. They should answer the queries raised by them.
For Seller
- Seller Dashboard
Using a dashboard, sellers can manage their product listing, order tracking, and order fulfillment details on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. They can also compare their sales statistics.
- Product Listing Management
This feature allows sellers to list their products simply. Sellers should have an easily accessible option to upload product descriptions, pricing, images, and more.
- Order Management
Order management is one of the essential features that should be provided to the sellers. It helps to notify them of incoming orders and track their details. It also enables them to generate invoices and manage shipping options according to different geographical locations.
- Payment and Transaction Monitoring
Handling payment for an online marketplace app like eBay is a tough task. These features help sellers to handle payments and refunds. Sellers can also monitor their transaction history via this feature.
- Performance Metrics
With the help of performance metrics, sellers can access the data related to sales and customer feedback on their products. It helps sellers to optimize their product listing according to the reviews of the user.
- Promotions and Marketing
For sellers, it is not enough to only sell their products on an online marketplace but it is also essential to promote their product and run various marketing campaigns to improve the visibility of their products. This feature helps them to advertise their product and enhance their listing.
For Users
- User Registration and Profile
User Registration is one of the core features of an online marketplace app. Keep the registration process simple and easy-to-understand for the user. Simply at the first step ask them to fill in their basic details such as name, phone number, and email address, and send an OTP to verify these details. In the next step, you can ask them to fill in more details.
- Product Search and Browsing
It is essential to design an intuitive product searching feature as this provides users an advanced search filters and sorting options. Some popular online marketplace apps use AI for smart product search in the form of voice search and provide suggestions according to users’ requirements.
- Purchase and Checkout
After finding their required products, people move to checkout options for the billing process. Make sure your app has an effective checkout and smooth payment options. You should integrate various payment methods so that users never move back because of payment issues.
- Messaging and Communication
You can also embed a feature in your app, where users can directly communicate with the sellers and enquire about any product. This feature will enhance the user experience and increase your revenue.
- Reviews and Feedback
It is another essential feature to get feedback/ratings on each product sold. This feature is beneficial for sellers as it can help them to upscale their stock and it will help other users to analyze a product.
- Wishlist and Favorites
Under this feature, user can list their favorite products that they would like to buy in the future. Some marketplace apps also allow users to mark their favorite sellers to stay updated on the products they list.
- Account Settings
With the help of the account setting feature, a user can easily manage account preferences and notifications. It will also allow users to oversee password recovery and security settings in any situation of threat.
- Support and Help Center
The support and help center feature of an online marketplace app helps users resolve any issues they may encounter while using the app. It provides them with a platform to seek assistance and get their queries resolved quickly, improving their overall experience with the app.
Monetization Model for an Online Marketplace App Like eBay
You should design a monetization strategy for an intuitive online marketplace app like eBay. It is essential to design a monetization strategy for your online marketplace as it creates new sources of revenue and more. Let’s discuss some monetization models that you can embed in your app:
- Commission-Based Model
In a commission-based monetization model, sellers need to pay the platform admin for each product they have sold using their platform. It is one of the monetization models that is used by various eCommerce platforms, such as Amazon, Airbnb, Fiverr, etc.
- Subscription-Based Model
Subscription-based models are those where sellers have to pay a subscription or membership fee to use that platform. This can charged on a monthly or yearly basis. In such a model, sellers don’t have to pay for each product.
- Listing Fee Model
In the listing fee model, users have to pay for every product they list on the online marketplace. The charges are based on a fixed amount or percentage for each product they list on that platform. One of the most popular platforms to use this strategy is Etsy.
- Freemium Model
Offering a freemium model to your users means you provide them with all the basic and advanced features of the app for free. It is free to use for sellers as well as for users. Some apps only provide basic features in their freemium model and charge to access advanced features.
Why Develop an Online Marketplace App Like eBay?
In addition to entering the quickly expanding industry, developing an online marketplace app like eBay offers various benefits. There are various benefits of developing an online marketplace app like eBay. Some of these benefits include:
- Customization
The foremost benefit of developing an online marketplace app is getting a tailored solution. It helps you to integrate the features, functionalities, payment gateways, technologies, and other things of your choice. You can customize the solution according to your requirements and business needs.
- Scalability
Scalability is another benefit of developing an online marketplace app like eBay. Once your app is launched and started getting used by several sellers and users. You need to scale your app to register more sellers and buyers. You can easily scale such an app according to your requirements.
- Cost-Efficiency
Buying a previously developed app can be expensive and need to invest more money when you want to embed more features into it. While developing your app can be less expensive as you can incorporate all the features and functionalities at the time of development.
- Enhanced Security
If you are developing an online marketplace app like eBay, you can enable it with various emerging technologies to make it secure. You can also encrypt your data, run all the security tests, create safety policies, limit data exposure, and more.
Alternatives to the eBay App
There are various alternatives to online marketplace apps like eBay. Some of the most popular alternatives of eBay are as follows:
RubyLane is one of the most popular online market apps like eBay, which was founded in the year 1990. The Founder, President & CEO of Rubylane is Tom Johnson. It is an online marketplace for antique collectibles, art, furniture and lighting, jewelry, and portraits.
eCarter is another reliable name in the list of online marketplace apps. This app was developed in the year 2004 by Dimitar Slavov. This online marketplace app is open for all sorts of products, such as antiques, electronics, books and magazines, clothes, collectibles, and much more.
Mercari is a pioneer online marketplace app founded in the year 2013 in Japan. This app was established by Shintaro Yamada, Tommy Tomishima, and Ryo Ishizuka. This app is a huge online marketplace for all kinds of products ranging from backpacks, apparel, jewelry, toys, electronics, and cars to home.
Nextdoor, a proven online marketplace app in America was started in the year 2011 by Nirav Tolia, Prakash Janakiraman, Sarah Leary, and David Wiesen. Using the Nextdoor app, people can sell their products online such as furniture, electronics, clothing, accessories, appliances, home decor, and more, in their nearby community
Gumtree is a prominent online marketplace app set up by O3 Industries and Novum Capital in the year 2000. The British-based company is headquartered in London. This online marketplace app deals in furniture, electronics, clothing, accessories, used cars, and more.
How Much Does It Cost to Develop an Online Market Place App Like eBay?
It is difficult to calculate the exact cost of developing an online marketplace app like eBay, as it depends on several factors. These factors are as follows:
- Wireframe
- UI/UX Design
- Development Platform
- Team Size
- App Platform
- App Maintenance
- Tech Stack
- Location of Development Partner
- Features of the App
Analyzing these factors, the cost of developing an online marketplace app like eBay can range from US $30,000 to US $200,000 and even more depending on the above-mentioned factors.
Summing Up!
To sum up, developing an online marketplace app like eBay is a really challenging but rewarding journey. Start by understanding your target market and eBay’s successful business model. With dedication and innovation, your marketplace app can become the next big thing in the world of online shopping.
You should connect with the top online marketplace app development company, such as Quytech, to develop your marketplace app like eBay. Quytech is one of the best online marketplace app development companies.
With a team of skilled app developers, we have 13 years of experience in delivering innovative and intuitive apps. We can integrate your online marketplace app with emerging technologies to make it more user-friendly and provide an immersive experience.