Opening a shop on a marketplace: the first seven days
Application approval, first listings, first parcel: a realistic timeline for a shop launch.
A shop that starts badly takes three months to recover, because the ranking algorithm leans on history. Here is what a well-run week produces.
Days 1 and 2: the application
Gather the registration extract, the director's ID, the bank details and the VAT statement. A complete file clears verification in 48 hours; an incomplete one adds a week, sometimes two.
Days 3 and 4: the first ten listings
Do not publish the whole catalogue. Ten complete listings beat a hundred rushed ones:
- at least four photos per product, one on a neutral background;
- a description answering the three questions you get most often by phone;
- specifications with numbers, not adjectives;
- a title containing product type, material and size.
Day 5: logistics
Test shipping on yourself. Order your own product, time the picking, weigh the parcel. The preparation time you announce commits your service rating.
Days 6 and 7: the first offer
A time-limited welcome code triggers the first orders, and therefore the first reviews. Without reviews a listing stays invisible whatever its price.
The priority of week one is not revenue: it is getting five verified reviews.
This advice comes from the marketplace
Browse products from the shops our guides talk about.
