One thing I’ve learned from selling on marketplaces is this:
Cheap products sell.
Yes, sir. In fact, sometimes they sell very fast.
Go to the backend of the big marketplaces and look at the numbers.
Jumia. Konga. Amazon.
In many categories, the products with the most competitive prices are the ones getting the most attention and the most orders.
And honestly, this makes sense.
We like cheap things.
Especially online.
Give somebody two similar products.
One is ₦15,000.
The other is ₦25,000.
Most people will first look at the ₦15,000 one.
Even if they know the cheaper one may not be as good.
Some people will buy the cheaper one, complain about the quality later, and still do the same thing next time.
Because sometimes, price wins.
But here is where it gets interesting.
The product that sells the fastest is not necessarily the product that makes you the most money.
And this is where many marketplace sellers get it wrong.
You can find a product that sells like crazy.
100 orders.
500 orders.
1,000 orders.
You think you have found a winner.
But then you calculate everything.
Product cost.
Marketplace commission.
Advertising.
Fulfilment.
Delivery.
Returns.
Damaged products.
And suddenly, that “best-selling” product doesn’t look so attractive anymore.
Sometimes, you are simply doing more work for less money.
This is why I’ve learned not to look at price in isolation.
Price is only one part of the offer.
Two sellers can sell almost the same product.
One is cheaper.
But the other has better pictures.
Better product descriptions.
Better reviews.
Better ratings.
Better presentation.
Better customer experience.
And sometimes, the more expensive seller still wins.
Not because customers don’t care about price.
They do.
But customers don’t only buy price.
They buy the entire offer.
Then there is another issue:
Visibility.
A very cheap product that nobody sees will not sell.
Simple.
You can have the cheapest shoe on the marketplace.
If you are buried on page 10, who is going to buy it?
Meanwhile, another seller is selling the same type of shoe for ₦5,000 more, but appears right in front of the customer.
Better visibility.
Better ranking.
Better pictures.
Better reviews.
And that changes everything.
So marketplace selling is not simply about:
“Who has the cheapest price?”
It is also about:
“Who gets seen?”
“Who gets clicked?”
“Who gets trusted?”
And most importantly:
“Who actually makes money after the sale?”