How to Sell on Rakuten: Step-by-Step Guide
Marketplaces shape the state of the modern e-commerce market. For many e-commerce owners, they have become an integral part of business expansion and multichannel strategy.
Rakuten is one of the leading marketplaces with millions of monthly visitors. This guide will help you decide whether Rakuten USA is for you, uncover the main regulations of the marketplace, and will guide you through the main steps of becoming a Rakuten seller.
Why You Should Sell on Rakuten: The Main Reasons for Choosing the Marketplace
With more than 150+ marketplaces, it is difficult to choose the right one to expand to. Let’s take a closer look at the main benefits and challenges of becoming a Rakuten seller which may greatly influence your decision.
What is Rakuten?
Rakuten is much more than just a marketplace. It is a group of companies and services with almost 1.3 billion members. As of marketplace, Rakuten is often referred to as Amazon of Japan. It was founded in 1997 by Hiroshi Mikitani as a marketplace for B2B and B2C operations in Japan.
As of Q3 2018, Rakuten has 100.60 million of monthly members and 46,704 of merchants.
Benefits of Selling on Rakuten
The marketplace is a little different from the main counterparts. Its customers are very loyal and usually do not shop on other marketplaces like Amazon or eBay.
The main advantages Rakuten offers to sellers:
- Personalized storefront
- Customer support
- Fair competition
- Rich features
- Quick payments
How Do I Sell on Rakuten: The Main Steps
Not that you have probably decided whether Rakuten is for you or not, it is time to learn more about the sign-up process and the requirements you need to meet to be able to become a Rakuten seller.
Prerequisites to Become a Rakuten Seller
Before trying to set up your account, find out whether you can become a Rakuten seller.
he marketplace requires sellers that reside in the USA to have:
- A seller panel
- One of the product barcodes — UPC, EAN, JAN, ISBN
- A brand name (individual sellers can use their own name)
- A unique manufacturer ID
If you want to sell on Rakuten USA and you are not a resident of the USA, the requirements are the following:
- Be a holder of bank or credit card issued by a U.S. bank
- Provide a W9 or W-8 form
- Have an email address for customer support. The main requirement is to answer customers during U.S. business hours
- An optional requirement is to provide a U.S. customer service phone number
- Shipping to the USA, which is fast enough for local customers.
Rakuten Marketplace Fees
How to Become a Rakuten Seller?
After Rakuten receives an application, usually it takes up to 3–10 business days to process it and send a reply.
After you receive approval, you can upload your product catalog to the marketplace. You can do it manually, upload in bulk with feeds or use a third-party solution that will streamline the process.
How to Improve Rakuten Sales?
- Create your storefront
- Add custom product pages
- Choose shipping options
- Work with e-commerce consultants
This is a brief summary of an article published on Sellbery blog. If you would like to learn the details about selling on Rakuten — read the full article.
