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British online marketplace OnBuy will return next year with a 3.5 per cent sales fee for retailers that sign up.
The company got off to a rocky start, with Centerprise originally investing in the firm but later pulling out, leaving MD Cas Paton and his team to start afresh.
OnBuy will eventually charge seven per cent for each sale made on the site, but will offer an introductory selling rate of 3.5 per cent for two years (including the cost of the transaction fees themselves). OnBuy says this makes it the ‘best priced marketplace on the market’.
The marketplace will launch on July 2015 and sellers can sign up and register interest at www.onbuy.co.uk.
OnBuy insists it is not a retailer and will not compete with sellers like Amazon does – it will remain a third-party online marketplace like Play.com.
"The low fees obviously mean that OnBuy is very competitive: this will help lower the cost of each item for sale, which will in-turn aid OnBuy in securing more buyers as all sellers will be able to list their products for a cheaper price," said MD Cas Paton.
In an email sent to interested sellers this week, Paton added: "I’ve decided to give sellers the lowest possible affordable cost initially, which also helps to secure the best prices possible for OnBuy. I have agreed to launch OnBuy at 3.5 per cent for the first two years. That’s unheard of in our industry."
Sellers subscriptions cost £50 per month for a normal seller account and £100 per month for a managed sellers account, featuring a dedicated account management team and marketing assistance.
"OnBuy will be advertising on TV, radio and magazines to ensure maximum exposure. Every penny we generate will be invested for several years," added Paton.
"Getting listed on OnBuy at the beginning of our journey will mean more exposure for your listings, with less competition. This has to be worth its weight in gold to all sellers in this competitive online space.
"The prospect of OnBuy may actually be worth your investment for a few months; the result of OnBuy’s success will be a more affordable, approachable and honest marketplace, which has the added benefit of being British.
"Also, remember that OnBuy is not a retailer (unlike others), so our intention is to launch a viable marketplace that will never compete with you, never use our sales data to gain a competitive edge, but instead fairly operate as an honest platform while trying to maximise your margins as much as possible, while also increasing your exposure as much as we can.
"We at OnBuy want you on board."
