Selling via marketplaces - avoid the obvious mistakes

Marketplaces are still a huge opportunity for DIY and building products suppliers especially as they discovered the potential relatively late in the game versus other product sectors. Just because many players are still relatively inexperienced with this route to market, however, some are in the tricky position of uncovering the possible pitfalls as they go along.

While ‘learning from your mistakes’ is an old adage, investing in some advice from seasoned experts will likely prove cost-effective versus the expense of getting things wrong as you explore the potential.

At Daley Hub, we have considerable experience in this field and with Nils Kernchen, the former platform developer for the original DIY and garden marketplace, ManoMano being part of the Daly Hub team, we are a perfect source of advice and partnership. Nils is also a freelance associate of specialist marketplace agency, ChannelMojo.

Here, Nils outlines some of the key considerations that will help suppliers enjoy the opportunity without the pain of false starts and disappointments.

“Ten years ago, brands were asking one question: ‘Should we sell online?’ Today the questions are very different – ‘Which marketplaces should we sell on and how do we go about it?’ And honestly… answering that question is becoming more difficult every year.

“When I started working with marketplaces almost a decade ago, the landscape was relatively simple. Amazon and eBay dominated. Specialist marketplaces were still small. Most retailers were still focused on stores and traditional ecommerce. Then companies like ManoMano changed the game. Today marketplaces dominate ecommerce across Europe. In many categories, 60–70% of online sales now happen on marketplaces rather than on brand websites.

“And that creates a major challenge for brands entering international markets. Because marketplace expansion is no longer simply about translation and shipping products abroad. It’s about choosing the right battlefield. Many companies approach marketplace expansion with the wrong mindset. They think: ‘Let’s launch everywhere’ and then upload thousands of SKUs across multiple countries and marketplaces simultaneously.

“Six months later sales are disappointing, advertising costs explode, operations become chaotic, product content is inconsistent, customer reviews suffer, and margins disappear. Marketplace success is not about being everywhere. It is about being relevant somewhere first.

How to succeed

“The brands that succeed internationally follow a much more disciplined approach. They choose one country first, choose one marketplace first, launch a limited catalogue, test operational readiness, localise properly, invest in advertising immediately.

Localisation is not just translation.

“Amazon may be powerful and almost everywhere, but don’t underestimate the ‘local hero’ effect. Stronger than many brands realise, this is probably one of the most underestimated marketplace challenges.

“Translated content is not localised content. A direct translation rarely performs well in marketplace search algorithms. SEO keywords differ. Consumer expectations differ. Buying behaviour differs. Even product imagery expectations differ between countries. “I still see marketplace listings with:

• mixed languages

• incorrect dimensions

• poor lifestyle imagery

• outdated technical information

• inconsistent bullet points

“And now AI is making this even more important. Because increasingly, products are not only being discovered by humans. They are being interpreted by machines! AI systems rely heavily on clean and structured product information. If your product data is unclear, incomplete, or poorly localized, AI recommendation engines struggle to understand your products correctly. That means your products become less visible.

“Suppliers that invest early in structured content, real localization, accurate specifications, strong imagery, and enriched product data will have a major advantage in the next generation of ecommerce.

So, where to start.

“Germany and France are often the best starting points for UK brands because they represent two of the largest ecommerce markets in Europe. But both behave differently. Germany values reliability, technical accuracy, fast delivery, and structured product data. France responds more strongly to inspiration, storytelling, and lifestyle positioning.

“And that’s still not taking account of some of the other big players. The Netherlands has bol. Poland has Allegro. DIY in Europe increasingly belongs to specialist marketplaces like ManoMano, B&Q Marketplace, Hornbach, Bauhaus, and OBI.

Marketplace expansion is also operationally complex.

“Many suppliers underestimate the operational layer behind marketplace growth. Marketplace selling quickly becomes a combination of logistics, advertising, compliance, localization, pricing strategy, customer service, technical integration. And again, every country introduces additional complexity. Germany and France, for example, require careful attention to:

• VAT registration

• OSS reporting

• EPR packaging compliance

• WEEE regulations

• battery registrations

• consumer law

“But this hierarchy varies with every different marketplace, which is why if a supplier is to have any success in a range of different ones, marketplace integrators and automation tools have become essential. Without automation, managing multiple marketplaces becomes almost impossible at scale.

Marketplace Success is a Margin Game

“One final point brands must understand - marketplace growth is not only a sales game. It is a margin game. Commission fees, advertising costs, fulfilment, returns, and logistics can easily represent 30–40% of product price. Many brands focus only on turnover. The successful brands focus on profitability. That difference becomes critical when expanding internationally.

“The companies that will succeed with international marketplaces are not necessarily the biggest brands. They are the fastest to adapt. The opportunity for UK brands entering European marketplaces is enormous, but success belongs to the brands that prepare properly before scaling.”

At Daley Hub, we are fans of the marketplace phenomenon, but real success is not as easy as it may at first seem. To make a go of what is certainly a great opportunity, suppliers need to budget for quality research, knowledgeable recommendations, and ongoing commitment – well above and beyond winning initial listings.

Daley Hub can help. Get in touch today.