AMP: A New Way to Look at e-Commerce

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You probably know Auctiva best for the products we build for sellers on eBay. Many of you have been enjoying our listings tools to boost your business and simplify your eBay work for years.

After being in the e-commerce business for more than 10 years, Auctiva has the knowledge and experience to undertake a new project for sellers. One that is going to help shape a new way to look at e-commerce for individual sellers: Auctiva Marketplace Platform.

So, what is AMP?
The Auctiva Marketplace Platform, or AMP, as we call it, is a technology framework that allows software developers to build custom marketplaces. There are lots of products that allow people to create online stores, but AMP is the first to make it easy to build online marketplaces.

What is the difference between a marketplace and an online store?
An online store offers items from a single seller. Marketplaces offer items from multiple sellers, all in one place. In the same way that a farmer’s market has much more foot traffic than a roadside fruit stand, online marketplaces bring more buyers by having inventory from multiple sellers. Marketplaces organize the inventory of multiple sellers and streamline the shopping process, creating an optimal experience for both buyers and sellers.

Why do we need more marketplaces?
Today, there are just a few mega-marketplaces where most people go to shop online. Everyone can name the successful mega-marketplaces that have built up their inventory, seller base and popularity over a long period of time. But where is the variety? Where are the marketplaces that cater to niches? Where are the marketplaces that offer true competition to the well-established few?

How did the Web get so stagnant… and sellers get so trapped?
Until now, it has taken a significant investment of time, money and technology to “open” a new e-commerce marketplace. New marketplaces struggle to attract new sellers and build up inventory. That struggle is one of the main reasons why most sellers are “trapped” into selling on only one marketplace.

The large marketplaces have not been forced to innovate or address the concerns of their sellers, because there has been little in the way of successful competition. Most buyers are also trapped into shopping on one of the few marketplaces that have a large enough inventory to accommodate their desires. Who wants to shop where the stores are empty?

How can AMP marketplaces help you?
AMP supports the independent seller. We partner with other inventory providers who share our philosophy of supporting independent e-commerce sellers. The platform aggregates this inventory and makes it available to every new AMP marketplace. This means that sellers can be found in numerous places but only have to go through the listing process once.

Buyers want more choices when they shop. More inventory from more sources means more buyers—and more potential sales. Sellers’ items will be seen all over the Web instead of being locked on one site, and buyers will have more options when it comes to deciding where to shop.

AMP is flexible. We want to help create all types of marketplaces, like those that cater to specific product niches, user communities or locales. Our platform allows development of apps to reach mobile users, apps to target specific audiences on social networking sites and blogs, and more. If you can dream up a marketplace, odds are AMP can help you make it a reality.

We’ve already started!

Elevate your shopping Elevate + Amplify = Elefy!
Take a look at our first marketplace offering built on AMP: Elefy.com. Elefy is a search-based example of an online marketplace that can be created using our AMP platform. The Auctiva Marketplace Platform is bigger than just Elefy, though. AMP will power dozens of new selling venues, all aimed at getting more people browsing your inventory, and ultimately buying your products. Elefy is currently in beta but is soon to be officially released.

For more information about how AMP can help you, visit AMP’s Web site or our blog. And visit Elefy.com.