Ask HN: Can Shopify support a marketplace idea or do I need custom solution?
4 comments
As a follow-up, this idea came out because I have somewhat recently taken a huge interest in art, not helped by my binge watching of Bloomberg's Brilliant Ideas documentary series on various artists. I have collected some prints/reproductions over the years, but didn't see a marketplace to buy authentic, original works from artists. I check Craigslist occasionally with varying degrees of success. Thus, the idea was born.
Depending on the cost. I would want it verified it was authentic through some kind of escrow process.
Stripe supports paying out sellers:
https://stripe.com/connect
https://stripe.com/connect
I want to create an art marketplace that sells original works. Signed or unsigned, the work would be original and potentially from a set (limited number), authenticated by myself with the support of the original artist. No prints or mass reproductions.
In Model 1, the artist would hold the item, but have an agreement with me to place the product on the marketplace. At time of sale, I would be responsible for (somehow) transferring profit to the artist, and the artist would be responsible for packaging and shipping the product. Pros: I'm not touching inventory. Cons: I lose control of photos, which provide the consistent "look and feel" of product listings. I would also rely on artist to ship timely.
Model 2 - have agreement with the artist and list the product. The seller would ship the product to me. When sold, I would provide payment to the seller, and ship the product. Pros: I would have full control of the product photos, and timeliness of shipping. Cons: I'm responsible for storage of all inventory. I'm responsible for taking all photos (lots of work). I'm responsible for product damages before consistent photos of the product, but would need to store the product until it sells. If it doesn't sell, I have to ship it back.
On the topic of doing things that don't scale, a small marketplace that will at first suffer from the classic "chicken and egg" problem will be manageable for me, but I'm not sure about the logistics of the two models. I would prefer to never touch inventory.
Will Shopify support what I'm trying to do? I know marketplaces are tough, but people have been able to achieve it in the past. I want to execute on the idea but do it smartly and obtain feedback from everyone here.