Service · Websites and web apps

Marketplace platform

Most marketplace ideas start from spotting a messy market: lots of small sellers, buyers unsure where to look and no platform connecting them with any trust. The idea is often sound. The catch is that a marketplace does not just display listings; it has to stand behind them. Picture a platform for used farm machinery with sellers across Castilla y León and Extremadura. If an advertised tractor does not exist or arrives with a hidden fault, the buyer complains to the platform, not the seller. That is why we design the rules for trust, payment and complaints first, and the visible part afterwards.

Verification
identity and bank account of each seller
Commission by category
editable without code
Form 238
DAC7 data captured at sign-up
Disputes
a shared, logged workspace

What falls within the scope of this service

The platform consists of three dashboards and the rules that link them. These are the parts of a complete first version.

Pin down the details with one of our engineers

Buyer storefront

Search, filters by category and area, listings showing seller details, and checkout with payment held safely until delivery.

Seller dashboard

Verified sign-up, manual or bulk listing, stock, orders, payouts and sales reports. Large sellers connect through an API or feed.

Operator dashboard

Moderation of listings and sellers, handling of illegal content notices, disputes, refunds, and commission and fee settings.

Payments and payouts

Stripe Connect or Adyen for Platforms to split each payment, hold funds until delivery and pay sellers on fixed dates.

Commission invoicing

Monthly invoices to each seller for commissions, issued from a Verifactu-compliant system.

Regulatory data

Trader information required by the Digital Services Act and DAC7 reporting data, ready to export.

How the engagement unfolds, one stage at a time

Launching a limited version early and growing on real data works best. Expect months for the first release.

01

Market rules

Who may sell, what may be listed, what you charge, when sellers get paid and what happens when something goes wrong, all written down before any screen is designed.

02

Money flow

Stripe Connect or Adyen for Platforms configured, seller verification, holds and refunds, tested end to end with dummy transactions.

03

Minimum version

Storefront, seller sign-up, moderated listings, checkout and payouts. No paid boosts or advanced features yet.

04

Launch with real sellers

Opening with a small group of sellers recruited individually, every transaction followed closely and adjustments made before the doors open wider.

The platform must know who is selling before it pays them. Marketplace payment providers require each seller's identity and bank account to be verified before any payout, and EU rules require you to keep their contact and registration details. If seller onboarding ignores this from the start, the first payouts freeze just as the marketplace gains momentum. Verification is therefore part of version one.

Common questions

Generally the platform is not treated as the seller of the goods, but it does have duties: acting on notices of illegal content, identifying traders and not misleading buyers about who is selling. The Digital Services Act sets these out; your lawyer determines how they apply to you, and the platform makes them workable.

It varies widely by sector, driven by product margins and the value of the service. What matters is that the fee covers payment costs, moderation and customer support. We help you model several scenarios before settling on a rate, and the platform lets you change it per category without coding.

An EU rule requiring platform operators to report their sellers and those sellers' income to the tax authority; in Spain it is filed on form 238. We capture the required data from launch so the annual return comes out of the system, not a spreadsheet. Your tax adviser confirms exactly how it affects you.

To validate the idea, yes, and at a fraction of the cost. Limits appear once you need custom commissions, payouts or seller verification. If the model proves itself, you move to a bespoke platform with your data and sellers already on board.

Through an issues area inside the platform where all three parties write and everything is recorded. The operator can mediate, hold payment or refund. Someone has to work through those cases every day, which is worth budgeting for from the outset.

Tell us about your marketplace idea

Explain your niche and how the platform will make money. We will size a first version and split it into phases.

Hours
Monday to Friday, 9:00-18:00 Spanish time (CET), answers within a working day
Meetings
Video calls via Google Meet or Teams

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