Vendor Program Overview

 

If you are an Alaska manufacturer or artisan, we are interested in working with you.  We’d like to help bring your work to a wider audience and build your sales through our marketplace.  Consider working with us to realize the following benefits:

  • Increase Sales.  Utilize our marketplace as a new channel for your business or artwork.  
  • Gain Product Exposure.  Gain access to new customers who may find your offerings by visiting the marketplace while looking for other Alaska made items.
  • Free Marketing. From SEO to Google Adwords to advertising campaigns to PR to email marketing, we will continually promote you and your products.
  • Alaska Made Exclusivity.  We focus specifically on Alaskan goods and arts while targeting a specific demographic looking for high quality, authentic Alaskan items.
  • Easy E-Commerce. Getting started is easy, fast, and FREE. Once set up, the best-in-class tools we provide make managing your store a breeze.
  • Free Registration and No Reoccurring Fees.  The Alaska Marketplace operates on a commission basis.  The are no costs incurred until product is sold and vendors receive payment for their work.

You have invested a lot of time and energy in developing a product line that you’re proud of.  Like our vendors, we too are proud of our Alaskan heritage and working to celebrate all of the uniqueness that the Greatland has to offer through the Alaska Marketplace.

Register today to join us in bringing Alaska’s products and arts to a wider audience!

Become a Vendor with the Alaska Marketplace.

The Alaska Marketplace is a multi-vendor e-commerce site which functions similarly to Etsy, Amazon, and Ali-Express.  We operate a platform that connects visitors (both online and offline) to product manufacturers and artisans while focusing exclusively on Alaska produced items. 

The Alaska Marketplace operates on a commission basis. Product vendors are charged a flat percentage of sales as product is sold.  Our service is the management of the platform which supports the sale of items produced, listed, and ultimately shipped by marketplace vendors.

Complete vendor Registration

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Alaska Marketplace?

The Alaska Marketplace is multivendor storefront featuring authentic Alaska Native artwork and Made in Alaska products from across the Greatland.  We feature the best of what Alaska has to offer in celebration of what makes the Greatland’s artists and entrepreneurs truly unique.

How does the Alaska Marketplace work with vendors?

The Alaska Marketplace works with its vendors virtually the same way that any supplier would would work with a brick-and-mortar store. The difference is that our online platform serves as the storefront. Similar to Etsy and Amazon, the Alaska Marketplace is a platform that depicts and describes merchandise while making a variety of Alaska goods and arts from multiple different vendors available to customers through one direct transaction.  This serves our customers by providing them access to wider array of high quality Alaska products in one storefront, while benefiting our vendors though abilities to gain additional product exposure from shared marketing focused on consumers looking for Alaska products. 

Customers visit the marketplace to browse and purchase merchandise available for sale directly though our vendors. Customers can shop the marketplace to purchase items available through one or multiple different vendors in one transaction.

The Alaska Marketplace collects a commission on product sales on the website as part of its service to vendors who are ultimately selling listed items.

Are vendors charged to list products on the Alaska Marketplace?

No.  There is no registration fee or reoccurring fees either.  Vendors may list as many or as few products as they care to.  The Alaska Marketplace charges a flat percentage of the sales price as commission when listed items are purchased by website visitors.

Are there any requirements for products listed on the Alaska Marketplace?

Yes.  All products listed on the Alaska Marketplace must meet the following requirements:

  1. Products must either be made in or have a strong connection with Alaska
  2. Products must be of acceptable high quality
  3. Products must be legally allowed to be sold in the US and conform to all applicable federal, state, and local regulations
  4. Vendors must demonstrate standards of providing an acceptable level of customer service
  5. Vendors must have a reputation of integrity and agree to support the marketplace through honest and ethical business activity

The Alaska Marketplace reserves the right to remove products or vendors, with or without notice, if requirements are not met.

Can I sell custom or made-to-order products?

Yes.  These would be considered great additions to marketplace, particularly for artisan products.  Custom or made-to-order products can be set up just like any other product on your vendor dashboard.

If you have custom or made-to-order products, please contact us so that we can support by providing the proper interface for your products to customers visiting the site.  There may be some customization required.

How are photos and product descriptions for items available on the marketplace obtained?

The vendor provides written descriptions of their products as well as photos as products are added in their vendor dashboard. Occasionally, depending on the product and the circumstances, the Alaska Marketplace may offer assistance with product descriptions and/or images.

As products are added to their storefront, vendors also provide dimensions and weight of their products.  Actual weights of product are used to calculate some shipping charges that may be established by vendors.

What is the commission charge for products sold on the Alaska Marketplace?

The Alaska Marketplace charges a flat 12% commission on products sold on the website to cover credit card processing charges, balance transfers to vendors, and our administrative costs.  Commissions are deducted from vendor payments as sales are completed on the website.

How is pricing set for items offered on the Alaska Marketplace?

Pricing for items sold on the marketplace (including shipping rates) is set by vendors.  Vendors have full control over the prices they choose to set for available items which can be updated at anytime.  The Alaska Marketplace charges a flat commission on the sales price set by vendors as items are sold.

If you are a product manufacturer, we do ask that you set your product pricing on the Alaska Marketplace no higher than the standard retail price that would be used with other sales channels.

How are commission payments made to vendors?

The Alaska Marketplace makes vendor payments for goods sold 30 days after orders are shipped by vendors.  This time delay ensures that funds are available should product refunds be necessary.  Vendor’s select their payment preference which can be made manually via check or automatically to your bank account via Stripe.

How do transactions and shipping work?

As an online sales platform, orders and payments for items listed on the site are initially received by the Alaska Marketplace. During the checkout process, customers can pay for items via credit card and select their preferred shipping option from those established by the vendor.

Vendors are simultaneously notified as their products are purchased through automated communications. Once these notices are received, the vendor then fulfills and ships the order to the customer.  The marketplace then issues payment to vendor for product and shipping charges sold less commission.  There is no commission collected on shipping charges which are set by the vendor.

What shipping options can I use as a vendor?

As part of the the set-up process of your vendor storefront, vendors are able to establish any shipping method (and associated charges) that works best for them.  We recommend offering flat rate USPS shipping options, however, vendors have the freedom to utilize any preferred shipping service available to them and establish the specific rates they will charge.  If desired, vendors can also offer free shipping with their listed products.

What tools do you provide to help vendors list products and manage their accounts?

A lot! For starters, we use a platform designed specifically for SEO performance. Simply listing your products with us will help improve your online marketing efforts for your company, your brand, and your individual products.

We also have quite a few features built into the framework of the marketplace to help support your sales efforts including:

  • Product Add-Ons. If you have products with add-ons that result in additional charges, contact us and we can help integrate this feature with your offerings. An example product with an add-on can be found here.
  • Product Size Charts. Do you have clothing products where size information would be helpful to customers?  We can integrate a custom size chart for your products as shown here.
  • Product Minimum and Maximum Quantities. Do you need to set minimum or maximum quantities for your products?  No problem, we can help.
  • Refund Manager. An automatic feature on the Alaska Marketplace, customers can request and vendors can manage product refunds directly through accounts.
  • Waiting List. An automatic feature on the Alaska Marketplace, customers can join a waiting list for out of stock products and receive automatic notification when they become available again.  See an example here.
  • Wish List. An automatic feature on the Alaska Marketplace, customers can save and share products that they may not be ready tp purchase, but want to save for a later date.

We are also available to support vendors with technical issues as they come up on a case by case basis.

Can vendors sell products through other channels or maintain their own website?

Absolutely.  There is no exclusivity with the Alaska Marketplace and vendors can use any additional sales channel they may be interested in utilizing.  Vendors can also add or remove products at anytime.  

What if an Alaska Marketplace customer contacts us for a sale outside of the marketplace?

Please help the customer as you would in any other situation.  Vendors are under no obligation to sell through the marketplace.  If we can help you build sales and awareness of what you have to offer, we are happy to do it!  

I already have a website. Can I integrate my products into the Alaska Marketplace?

Of course.  We operate the Alaska Marketplace on a WordPress platform utilizing Woocommerce for our e-commerce store.  If you are currently utilizing WordPress on your own site, it is a very easy process to export and upload your existing product data to the Alaska Marketplace, providing you with an instant new sales channel!

How are product returns and refunds managed through the Alaska Marketplace?

When vendors set up their account and online storefront, they are able to establish their own policies for shipping, returns, and refunds.  Vendors have full freedom in establishing their terms.  These terms, including your estimates for fulfillment times (the period of time between when orders are placed on the site and ultimately shipped by vendors) are communicated on vendor storefront and individual product pages.

Is there an agreement between vendors and the Alaska Marketplace?

Yes.  As part of the vendor registration process, vendors accept our terms and conditions which outline the general framework of the Alaska Marketplace.  See Alaska Marketplace section in our Terms and Conditions page.

Customers also accept these same terms and conditions during the checkout process.

I still need help... Where do I go?

Feel free to contact us anytime here.