How to create an online marketplace like eBay
eBay is a consumer-to-consumer marketplace: individuals list what they own, buyers pay online, the platform holds the trust between two strangers and keeps a fee on each sale. Here is how to build a version for your own niche on Kreezalid — and the one eBay mechanic you will not get.
The short answer
A marketplace like eBay is a C2C product marketplace: private sellers list items — mostly second-hand — at a price, buyers pay through the platform, and the operator earns a commission on each sale. On Kreezalid you build it at fixed prices, with the Price Offers app for buyers who want to negotiate. Kreezalid does not run auctions; if timed bidding is the core of your idea, this is not the tool.
The five features it needs
- Listings anyone can publish. A simple listing form with photos, condition and a price, for individuals rather than businesses.
- Fixed prices and offers. A buy-now price on every item, and a way for the buyer to propose a lower one.
- Payments held by the platform. The buyer pays the marketplace, not the seller; the seller is paid out with your commission deducted.
- Seller profiles and reviews. A public page per seller, with ratings from past buyers, so strangers can trust each other.
- Messaging and moderation. Questions answered before the sale, and an admin who can take a listing or a user down.
- a month to build it in private, on the Build plan
- €39
- from a template to a marketplace you can open
- ~7 days
- of free trial, no credit card
- 14 days
What eBay actually does
eBay began with auctions, but most of what makes it work is simpler than that.
Private sellers, mostly second-hand
Anyone with an account can list. Items are unique — one phone, one pair of boots — so stock is one unit and the listing closes when it sells.
Auctions and “Buy It Now”
Items sell by timed bidding or at a fixed price. Today most eBay listings are fixed-price, often with a “best offer” option.
Payment through the platform
The buyer pays eBay; eBay pays the seller after deducting its fees. Neither side shares bank details.
Reputation as the trust layer
Feedback scores on every seller and buyer. A new seller with no history sells less, and knows it.
A buyer-protection programme
A money-back guarantee when an item does not arrive or does not match. eBay funds and arbitrates it.
Shipping sorted by the seller
The seller chooses the carrier, prints a label and ships. The platform shows the cost and tracks delivery.
eBay is a trademark of eBay Inc., with which Kreezalid is not affiliated. This page describes eBay's publicly visible model so you can build your own version of it.
How to build it on Kreezalid, in 7 steps
A C2C marketplace is a products marketplace whose sellers are individuals. The build is the same; the rules differ.
Pick a niche and a products template. Second-hand children’s clothes, vintage hi-fi, collectible games: a focused niche is what gets strangers to trust a new platform. Start from the template closest to it.
Design the listing form for individuals. Few mandatory fields, a condition attribute (new, like new, used), photos, a price. Stock of one by default, so a sold item disappears from search.
Decide how prices work. Fixed prices on every listing. Switch on the Price Offers app so buyers can propose a price in the inbox and sellers accept or decline before checkout. There are no auctions to configure, because Kreezalid has none.
Connect payments and set your fee. With Stripe Connect, the buyer pays the marketplace, your commission is deducted and the seller is paid out automatically. Set the commission globally or per category.
Set shipping and pickup. Sellers ship their own items under the rules you define; delivery to pickup points is available in France. Hand-to-hand collection works too, for local marketplaces.
Build the trust layer. Seller profile pages, reviews on sellers and items, an inbox for questions, and moderation from the back office: approve listings before they go live if your niche needs it.
Brand it and open. Theme editor, your domain with SSL, a clear policy page on returns and disputes — written by you, since no buyer-protection fund comes with the software — then open on Launch.
Preloved City, a second-hand marketplace, moved onto Kreezalid in 7 days: read the case study.
What eBay’s model needs, and how Kreezalid covers it
The C2C mechanics, sorted by what every plan includes, what an app adds, and what is not on offer.
Native on Kreezalid
- Listings published by any registered user, with your approval rules
- Condition and other attributes on the listing form
- Fixed prices, stock of one, listing closes when sold
- Payment through the platform, commission deducted, seller paid out
- Seller profile pages and reviews on sellers and items
- Buyer–seller inbox, moderation of users and listings
- Shipping rules set by you, applied per seller
- Search by category, price and attributes
With an app, a theme edit or the API
- Buyer proposes a price, seller accepts or declines — Price Offers app
- Pickup-point delivery in France — Mondial Relay app
- Second-hand listings feed — Dero app
- Seller badges and a seller directory — User Badges, Seller Directory (Algolia) apps
- Saved searches and alerts for buyers — Saved Searches & Alerts app
- More photos per listing — More Photos per Listing app
- Anti-spam on signup and forms — Google reCAPTCHA app
Custom development or out of scope
- Auctions and timed bidding
- A platform-funded money-back guarantee
- Carrier label printing from the back office
- Identity document checks — a specialist service via the API
What you will not get
Say it before the first seller asks: three things eBay has that a niche C2C marketplace built on Kreezalid does not.
Auctions
There is no timed bidding on Kreezalid. Items sell at a fixed price, with optional offers through the Price Offers app. If auctions are the point of your marketplace, choose a tool built for them.
A buyer-protection fund
eBay refunds buyers from its own pocket and arbitrates. On your marketplace, you write the dispute policy and decide each case; payments through the platform give you the lever, not the fund.
Buyers on day one
eBay’s audience is why a listing sells in hours. Yours has to be built, niche by niche, which is why a narrow focus matters more than a long feature list.
Label printing in the back office
Sellers ship with the carrier of their choice under your rules; Kreezalid does not generate carrier labels, apart from the Mondial Relay pickup-point integration in France.
Building something closer to another platform?
Each of these pages maps a well-known platform onto the same building blocks.
- Build a marketplace like Amazon →A multi-vendor product marketplace: shared catalogue, seller onboarding, one basket split per seller, commissions and shipping rules.
- Build a marketplace like Etsy →A makers’ marketplace: a shop per creator, handmade attributes, variants, reviews with photos and SEO on every listing.
- Build a marketplace like Airbnb →A booking marketplace: availability calendars, duration pricing, deposits, host profiles, two-sided reviews and payouts after each stay.
- Marketplace templates →24 starting points by sector and model, each with its pages and its booking or checkout flow configured.
Go further
What a marketplace between individuals has to get right: the model, the trust, the payments.
- Peer-to-peer marketplaces →Selling, renting or swapping between individuals: business model, validation and the build.
- How to build trust on a marketplace →Reviews, verification and policies: what makes a stranger pay another stranger.
- What Amazon, Etsy and Airbnb got right →Marketing, a solid platform and a seller recruitment plan: the three things the big marketplaces share.
Building a marketplace like eBay: FAQ
Can I create a marketplace like eBay with auctions on Kreezalid?
No. Kreezalid sells at fixed prices; buyers can propose a price with the Price Offers app, which the seller accepts or declines. There is no timed bidding.
How much does it cost to create an online marketplace like eBay?
€39 a month on the Build plan while the marketplace is private, €129 a month on Launch once it is open. The 14-day trial is free, without a credit card. Payment fees, design and marketing are the rest of the budget.
Can private individuals sell on my marketplace?
Yes. Any registered user can publish listings, with the form and the approval rules you set. Payouts go to the seller’s bank account through Stripe Connect.
How do payments work between two individuals?
The buyer pays the marketplace at checkout. Your commission is deducted and the seller is paid out automatically. Neither side sees the other’s bank details.
How do I keep scammers off a C2C marketplace?
Approve listings before publication, moderate users and listings from the back office, show seller reviews, keep conversations in the inbox and route every payment through the platform. Write your dispute policy before you open.
Can I run it for second-hand items only?
Yes. A condition attribute on the listing form and stock of one per item are enough; the Dero app can also publish your listings to a second-hand feed.
Do I need developers to build a multi-vendor marketplace like eBay?
No. Everything above is configured from the back office. The API and webhooks are there if you later connect other tools.
Your second-hand marketplace could be live this week.
Fixed prices, offers, payments through the platform: start from a template and open in about 7 days.
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