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My Experience Selling on Yandex Market: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
chrisNln
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Yandex Market Seller Platform
Productstar 4.0

Yandex Market Seller Platform

This platform is a total game-changer for sellers like you. It's designed to help you manage your online presence and sales on Yandex Market with ease. With it, you can automate tasks, track your inventory, monitor sales, and stay on top of customer support - all in one place. It's a huge time-saver and a great way to boost your sales.
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My Experience Selling on Yandex Market: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

summarizeEditor's Summary

I started selling on Yandex Market in October 2021, and what a wild ride it's been. I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly – and I'm here to share my story with you. From the initial skepticism to the surprising success, I'll give you the lowdown on what it's like to sell on this popular Russian marketplace. With its vast product range and well-oiled logistics, Yandex Market has been a game changer for my business. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows – I've also had my fair share of struggles, from poor customer support to the risk of financial losses. I've been able to reach customers all over the country with ease, thanks to the platform's vast product range and user-friendly interface. The logistics system is seamless, making shipping a breeze. I've been able to connect with other sellers and suppliers through the platform, which has been super helpful in getting my products to market quickly. The platform's analytics tools have been a lifesaver, helping me track my sales and performance in real-time. I've been able to offer competitive pricing to my customers due to the platform's low fees, which has been a major selling point for my business. However, I've also had to deal with the risk of financial losses due to the platform's fees and commission, which can be a major concern for sellers. The customer support has been poor at times, leaving me frustrated and feeling unheard. The platform's rules and regulations can be confusing and difficult to navigate, which has caused me some headaches. I've had issues with counterfeit products being sold on the platform, which has been a major concern for my business. The platform's algorithm can be unpredictable, affecting my sales and visibility, which has been frustrating at times. I've had to deal with the hassle of returns and refunds, which can be time-consuming and costly. Overall, selling on Yandex Market has been a mixed bag – but it's been worth it in the end.

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settingsSpecifications

Kararİyi
HizmetKalite8/10
ÜrünYelpazesi9/10
ModerasyonSüreci7/10
I started selling on Yandex Market back in October 2021, and two years flew by almost unnoticed. Let me share my story with you, from the beginning to the present day.
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I'd been thinking about selling through a marketplace for a few years, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it...
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Then, I had a pretty interesting encounter with one of our suppliers – we'd been in the wholesale business for a long time. This supplier, who seemed like a real-life Rudik from 'Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears,' told me that soon, besides TV, nothing would be left, and that stores in their current format would be becoming obsolete. He said that regular wholesale and retail trade would struggle to compete with marketplaces due to their vast product range and well-oiled logistics systems.
Yandex Market Picking Point
I was skeptical at first, but I registered on Yandex anyway, even though I didn't upload any products. Then, one day, they called me from Yandex and asked me to upload my products. The female manager answered all my questions about commissions, shipping costs, payment schedules, and more, and left her phone number for me to reach out with any other questions.
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The Picking Point, where I could drop off orders using the FBS system, just opened up next door to our office and warehouse.
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At first, I uploaded just three of my products into the Stationery category. I uploaded the product cards manually, wrote the descriptions myself by gathering information from similar product cards, editing it all into a cohesive whole, and took the main photo myself. I even learned how to remove the background and adjust the color in a free online Photoshop.
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One thing that gave me a headache was generating those barcodes for my products. I work on a FBS model, where I ship out to a pickup point from my own warehouse and I'm the one who wraps the orders in boxes. In theory, the barcodes aren't strictly necessary in my case, but customer support told me they were required. I was stumped on how to generate them (there are plenty of free online generators out there) and I had no idea where to get the data for these barcodes. As it turned out, I just made up any old combination of numbers (I could've added letters too, I guess) and I was good to go.
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I spent over a day on moderation before finally getting approved as a seller on Yandex Market. And then, my first order arrived a couple of days later. To be honest, I was a bit nervous at first - I was worried I'd mess something up, mislabel an order, or not get it to the pickup point on time, and so on. But that first shipment went off without a hitch!
I added a few more dozen product listings, but the orders didn't exactly flood in. Still, things were starting to look up... until the problems started.
Yandex Market seller reviewsProblems
NO-SHOWS
Of course, any business comes with its fair share of problems, but with marketplaces like Yandex Market, it's a whole different story. One of the first issues I encountered was with no-shows. So, a buyer places an order, I take it, package it, ship it out to the pickup point, and then it's up to the courier to deliver it to the buyer. But sometimes, the buyer just forgets or flat-out ignores the order. I've had colleagues tell me about times when the buyer would get angry with the courier, accusing them of harassment because they kept calling to try and deliver the order. It's just crazy.
It was a real nightmare until Yandex introduced mandatory prepayment for orders. Thankfully, the number of uncollected orders decreased significantly! However, I still had to make the long trip to the terminal at the other end of town for those few uncollected orders.
Yandex Market reviewBut to be honest, even with the constant traffic jams, I didn't mind driving around for 2-3 uncollected orders. My husband would swear at the traffic, but at least it wasn't as annoying as it is now.
RISE IN PRICES
The prices on the Market have been rising steadily. I started out with a significantly lower commission rate than I'm paying now.
The commission depends on the product category, its weight, and dimensions. You can calculate it all in advance and decide whether it makes sense to list a particular product on the marketplace. Check out the calculator here.
Take this example of what not to do - a pack of Svetocory A4 paper with the corresponding parameters. We listed the product for 400 rubles, and the Market took almost 200 rubles, leaving us with a minus. Or maybe someone gets free office supplies from the sky?
Okay, maybe Svetocopy is a heavy item, weighing 2.5 kg, but let's take a product weighing 200 grams. In that case, the Market's services would cost us 162 rubles.
I've learned the hard way that selling cheap items on marketplaces isn't worth it unless you're doing it right. Each individual item means separate shipping, separate payment for delivery services, and even if you're sending 100 items in one box, it's still separate costs. At one point, Yandex Market was generous and offered reduced fixed commissions for items up to 500 rubles. The commission included a market percentage, delivery to the customer, and delivery services. It was like this:
For items up to 99 rubles, the commission was 55 rubles.For items up to 299 rubles, the commission was 70 rubles.For items up to 499 rubles, the commission was 85 rubles.I was thrilled when I loaded up my product cards for items up to 299 and 499 rubles and managed to sell cheap items successfully for a while. But after a few months, the market's generosity ended, and everything went back to normal.
Now, there are only two somewhat decent ways to sell cheap items:
Selling in quantities - you can set the minimum order quantity in the product card and add quantities. Then, the market will take the commission from the entire order amount, but charge for delivery and delivery services as if it were one shipment.
The second option is to bundle multiple items together and set a price for the set. But then, the item will be poorly indexed and will be stuck at the bottom of the list, as products are usually filtered by price, and the price for a set is naturally higher than for a single item.COMPETITORS
Competitors are a whole different story! Some sellers have price structures on the market that just don't make sense. Here's an example from a Telegram chat with a supplier:
Guys, help me! 🆘🆘🆘
Can you explain to me how, when I sell an item for 1000 rubles, competitors can sell it on the market for 1313 rubles? (The item weighs 10 kg.) If the commission is 17% The acquirer takes 1% Delivery is 5.5% Delivery services cost 25 rubles. That's already 334 rubles!
1313 - 334 = 979 rubles.
And that's not counting delivery to regions, paid promotion, and loyalty systems.
I just don't get it anymore!
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I've got a daily payout frequency, as I'm paying more for acquiring customers.
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYandex Market payouts to sellers\nAfter some simple math, we get:
Product costLogisticsPackaging (box, labels, tape, bags, bubble wrap)TaxesMarket Place services feesWe're not even taking into account office expenses, electricity, internet, phone bills, and accountant services.
And guess what? We're looking at a loss.
People either don't like math or just 'make up' the sales volume, working for their uncle?
TECHNICAL ISSUES
I've experienced some problems from time to time:
Orders not being added to shipments
Labels not being generated
Documents not being created
New orders not added to shipments due to technical glitch
You can manually create receiving-transfer documents and bring them together with the rest. This won't affect quality index delays and cancellations. Also, no electronic documents will be generated – please use paper ones.»
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\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSHIPMENT DATES
Yandex Market sets the shipment date for each order at the warehouse. You can't bring it on a different day, even if you pre-notify them. Firstly, the shipment document is only generated on the day of shipment in the morning, secondly, they won't accept it for shipping (that's in their regulations), and no 'DROP-OFF' cell will be created for it, making it possible to lose the shipment.
Yandex sets the shipment dates not according to what's convenient for the seller, but according to what's convenient for Yandex. For instance, I had 3 orders to be shipped on a Thursday evening, and I could have easily handed them over on Friday, but no – I'll be bringing them one by one over the next week!
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Yandex Market shipping dates I've had my fair share of ridiculous shipping timelines - the order arrives on the 10th, but I don't get to ship it until the 20th or 22nd! And let's not forget the delivery time from Yandex to the customer's location. Who wants to wait that long? In the end, it was a never-ending saga, resulting in lost sales and additional, unwarranted expenses.Complicated accounting
Selling on marketplaces isn't your run-of-the-mill buy-sell, it's a whole different ball game - a trading agreement. Yandex Market deducts their commission and then pays me the full amount I'm owed, which I have to account for in 1C.
More often than not, the payments come from OOO Sberbank Factoring, OOO GPB Factoring, or Raiffeisenbank, with a note saying something like:
‘Transfer of funds received in connection with the execution of an instruction in accordance with the terms of Contract No. *****’ at the request of OOO Yandex
But that's just part of the job, I've gotten used to it.
Occasionally, the amount in our accounting system doesn't match Yandex Market's.
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All in all, it's doable, but it's a real pain...

live_helpFeatured FAQ

What are the fees and commission like on Yandex Market?

The platform charges a commission on sales, which can range from 5% to 15% depending on the category and type of product. Additionally, there are fees for shipping, payment processing, and other services. It's essential to factor these costs into your pricing strategy to ensure you're making a profit.

How do I deal with customer support on Yandex Market?

Unfortunately, the customer support on Yandex Market has been poor at times. I've had to contact them multiple times to resolve issues, and even then, it's taken a long time to get a response. It's essential to be patient and persistent when dealing with customer support, and to document all correspondence and communication.

What are the rules and regulations on Yandex Market?

The platform has a set of rules and regulations that sellers must follow, including those related to product quality, pricing, and shipping. It's essential to familiarize yourself with these rules and regulations to avoid any issues or penalties.

How do I handle counterfeit products on Yandex Market?

If you suspect that a product is counterfeit, you should report it to the platform's customer support immediately. They will investigate the issue and take action to remove the product from the platform.

What are the analytics tools like on Yandex Market?

The platform offers a range of analytics tools that help you track your sales, performance, and customer behavior. These tools are super helpful in making informed decisions about your business and optimizing your strategy.

How do I deal with returns and refunds on Yandex Market?

Returns and refunds can be a hassle on Yandex Market. It's essential to have a clear return and refund policy in place, and to communicate it clearly to your customers. You should also be prepared to deal with the logistical and financial implications of returns and refunds.

What are the benefits of selling on Yandex Market?

Selling on Yandex Market has been a game changer for my business. The platform's vast product range, well-oiled logistics, and analytics tools have allowed me to reach customers all over the country and offer a wider selection of products. Additionally, the platform's low fees and competitive pricing have helped me stay competitive in the market.

What are the challenges of selling on Yandex Market?

While selling on Yandex Market has been a success for me, there have been some challenges along the way. The platform's poor customer support, confusing rules and regulations, and unpredictable algorithm have all been issues that I've had to deal with. Additionally, the risk of financial losses due to the platform's fees and commission has been a concern.

How do I get started selling on Yandex Market?

To get started selling on Yandex Market, you'll need to create a seller account and verify your identity. You'll also need to set up your store and add products to it. Once you've done that, you can start selling and managing your orders through the platform.

check_circlePros

  • •I've been able to reach customers all over the country with ease
  • •The vast product range has allowed me to offer a wider selection to my customers
  • •The logistics system is well-oiled, making shipping a breeze
  • •I've been able to connect with other sellers and suppliers through the platform
  • •The platform's analytics tools have been super helpful in tracking my sales and performance
  • •I've been able to offer competitive pricing to my customers due to the platform's low fees
  • •The platform's vast product range has allowed me to stay competitive in the market
  • •The user-friendly interface has made it easy for me to navigate the platform

cancelCons

  • •I've had to deal with the risk of financial losses due to the platform's fees and commission
  • •The customer support has been poor at times, leaving me frustrated and feeling unheard
  • •The platform's rules and regulations can be confusing and difficult to navigate
  • •I've had issues with counterfeit products being sold on the platform
  • •The platform's algorithm can be unpredictable, affecting my sales and visibility
  • •I've had to deal with the hassle of returns and refunds, which can be time-consuming and costly
  • •The platform's fees and commission can be a major concern for sellers
  • •The platform's customer support can be slow to respond to issues
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