NewEgg Opens Marketplace Site To Third-Party B2B Sellers

eBay isn’t alone in bringing buyers and sellers together in a single online location. A California-based company recently opened its online B2B marketplace to third-party sellers to enhance the availability of products and services to its business customers.

In doing so, the company, Newegg Business, also is helping to bring about more electronic payments and drive out costly paper invoicing. Its piece of the action for third-party sellers, however, ranges from 10 percent to 15 percent of each sale. But that includes card-processing services.

But as Newegg views it, the open launch of the NeweggBusiness Marketplace will help to better accommodate the purchasing needs of government sectors, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations. Newegg Marketplace allows third-party merchants, both large and small, to sell products to Newegg’s 25 million customers.

Newegg Business, a wholly owned subsidiary of Newegg North America Inc., founded NeweggBusiness.com in 2010. The site provides Newegg’s IT products, services and solutions to businesses, government agencies and educational entities. It also serves manufacturers systems integrators and value-added resellers seeking IT products, technical support, and warehousing and logistics services. With the marketplace launch, which followed a successful pilot, the company has opened availability to third parties looking to sell their own products and services to businesses.

“We’re very excited to officially announce the launch of NeweggBusiness Marketplace,” Soren Mills, chief marketing officer for Newegg North America, said in a statement. “With NeweggBusiness Marketplace, we’re providing an attractive online destination for businesses to buy and sell a multitude of products. It’s also a great way for businesses to magnify their brand awareness.”

Expanded offerings

The company created the NeweggBusiness Marketplace to accommodate a vast array of B2B commerce. The marketplace provides business products across 25 categories, from industrial-grade construction tools and equipment to office supplies and consumer electronics. The site’s targeted audience includes large e-retailers, manufacturers and brick-and-mortar businesses.

“The launch of NeweggBusiness Marketplace expands our assortment of complementary business products for our customers,” Merle McIntosh, Newegg head of B2B in North America, said in a statement. “With one of the lowest commission rates of any major online marketplace, NeweggBusiness Marketplace is an attractive proposition for sellers seeking access to over 150,000 registered business customers at NeweggBusiness.”

Newegg Business charges sellers fees ranging from 10 percent to 15 percent of each sale, varied by product category. However, it charges no payment card processing or other fees. For example, the 10 percent rate would apply to consumer electronics, computer hardware and auto parts, while sellers would pay 15 percent of the sale for software and 14 percent for accessories, bags and luggage. The fee for office furniture, machines and supplies is 13 percent.

The company also guarantees against damaged or undelivered goods up to $1,000, as long as the buyer meets certain requirements.

Enhanced data intelligence

Last month, Newegg separately announced a partnership with Mercent to increase retail product and offer visibility for Newegg Marketplace sellers. The company’s Mercent Retail platform supports product ad placements and business-intelligence tools, brings new merchants to the Newegg platform, and delivers product and offer data from retail eCommerce and enterprise resource planning systems to the Newegg Marketplace. Mercent also collects and forwards Newegg Marketplace orders to warehouse fulfillment management systems.

“We are pleased to support Newegg Marketplace sellers through our Mercent Retail [software-as-a-service] platform,” Eric Best, Mercent chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “The company and team are focused on providing leading solutions that ensure large retail brands reach and profitably convert shoppers wherever they are researching and buying online, and expansion to the Newegg Marketplace enables us to reach a new network of merchants.”

“Newegg’s partnership with Mercent adds substantial value to Newegg Marketplace,” Mills said in a statement. “We’re always looking for ways to enhance the tools at the disposal of our Marketplace businesses and Mercent streamlines the backend data management and metrics important to our third-party sellers.”