Customer service mistakes in e-commerce: how to improve customer relations?
12.11.2024 r.
3 minutes reading
In a nutshell:
- What fees apply at Allegro?
- Commissions on Allegro
- Allegro shop costs vs. own online shop
3.1 Examples of shops on Allegro - what are the profits from sales?
3.2 Comparing profits from your own online shop with sales on Allegro
- Summary
- Conclusions
Nowadays, with online selling becoming more and more popular, choosing the right platform to sell on can significantly affect the success of a business. Allegro, as one of the largest and oldest online shopping destinations in Poland, is introducing new changes to commissions that may make it worth considering other options. In this article, we compare the costs of running your own online shop with those of using Allegro, highlighting the benefits and challenges of both solutions.
What fees apply at Allegro?
Allegro is a platform that attracts a large number of users thanks to its recognition and established position in the market. However, as with any large platform, there are costs involved in using it.
Maintenance costs:
- Sales commission (2.46% to 20.91% gross),
- Subscription (three packages: £49; £199; £3,000 gross),
- listing an item in an auction (in most categories, this option is free, but you pay when listing real estate and antiques),
- commission for sales via Allegro Pay from 0.43% To max.6.15 zł (gross).
The amount of sales commission is not fixed and depends on several factors:
- The final selling price of the item, i.e. the highest bid in the auction or the "Buy Now" price,
- The category in which the item was issued,
- Number of items sold - for multi-item offers, the commission per item is multiplied by the number of items sold,
- Depending on whether the buyer covers the shipping costs.
If the buyer does not bear the shipping costs (e.g. as part of Allegro Smart! or when delivery is free), These costs are not added to the commission. By contrast, in the case of payment on delivery as part of Allegro Smart!, where the buyer pays PLN 4.99 per shipment, this amount is taken into account when calculating the commission.
Commissions on Allegro
Below you will find the current commission rates for a few selected categories.
| Lp. | Category on Allegro | Gross (net) commission |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | House and garden - Buildings and accessories - Garage doors | 11,07% (9,00%) |
| 2. | Child - School supplies - Stationery - Colouring books | 12,92% (10,50%) |
| 3. | Electronics - Photography - Accessories - Accessories and cleaning products | 10,19% (8,28%) |
| 4. | Collections and art - Design and antiques - Antiques - Books | 12,30% (10,00%) |
| 5. | Fashion - Clothing, footwear, accessories - Women's clothing - Jeans | 8,08% (6.57%) |
| 6. | Automotive - Tyres and wheels - Tyres - For motorbikes and scooters | 5,54% (4.50%) |
| 7. | Sport and tourism - Skating, slackline - Roller skating | 13,53% (11,00%) |
| 8. | Supermarket - Food products - Tea and infusions | 6,15% (5,00%) |
| 9. | Beauty - Perfumes and waters - Unisex fragrances - Perfumed waters | 9,84% (8,00%) |
| 10. | Health - Other | 20,91% (17,00%) |
The amount of the commission depends on the final price of the goods and the delivery costs chosen by the buyer.
Allegro shop costs vs. own online shop
The costs of running an online shop and selling on Allegro differ significantly.
Own online shop:
- Initial costs: Purchase of a domain, hosting, software (e.g. open source or SaaS), graphic design, configuration of functions (from several to tens of thousands of zloty).
- Maintenance: Subscription for server, SSL certificate, technical support, marketing, optimisation (from several hundred to several thousand zloty per month).
- Flexibility: Full control over functions and appearance, but greater responsibility for administration and security.
The costs of running a basic online shop on, for example, a platform whose software we have available free of charge like WordPress, can vary depending on several factors.
In simple terms, the costs of maintaining your own shop can be summarised as follows:
- Domain: ~£70 per year
- Hosting: ~£150 per year
- SSL certificate: ~£80 per year
- Administration: ~£7,200 per year (£600 per month)
The total annual cost excluding marketing fees and additional extensions is approx: 7500 PLN
Sale on Allegro:
- Initial costs: No platform development costs.
- Commissions: Item listing fees and sales commissions (up to 20.91% transaction value).
- Marketing:
- Costs of promoting listings in Allegro Ads - from several hundred PLN per month.
- Mentions cost as much as £19.90 for 10 days, while promotion on the department's website goes up to £29.90 for 10 days.
- Range: Access to a broad customer base, but less control over branding and customer loyalty.
- Lots of competition: It is very easy for customers to switch from ours to other similar offers.
The choice depends on the scale of your business, your budget and your preferences in managing sales. However, as there are not as many charges with an Allegro shop as there are when running your own shop, it is best to illustrate the differences with an example.
Examples of shops on Allegro – what are the profits from sales?
- You own a lamp shop on Allegro. Your commission on sales is 12,92%. Customers do not pay for postage because you offer them free shipping through Allegro Smartwhich they are happy to use. In addition, customers choose to pay using Allegro Pay, which involves an additional charge. of 0.43% total order value and shipping costs, but not more than PLN 6.15 per transaction. You do not have any subscription, so you have to pay a unit transaction fee of PLN 1.00 for each order, regardless of the number of units sold.
You sell 300 lamps per month with an average value of £200. You sell around 30 lamps every day, which usually means 30 separate orders. What is your commission on sales?
Background information:
- Average price per lamp: PLN 200
- Monthly number of lamps sold: 300
- Daily number of lamps sold: 30
- Number of orders per day: 30
Calculation:
- Total sales revenue:
Monthly revenue from the sale of 300 lamps:
300 × 200 PLN = 60 000 PLN
- Allegro commission:
The sales commission is 12.92% on the total revenue:
PLN 60 000 × 0.1292 = PLN 7752
- Allegro Pay:
Let's assume that each of the 30 daily orders is paid via Allegro Pay. Let's calculate the fee:
PLN 60 000 × 0.0043 = PLN 258
However, due to the maximum fee of £6.15 per transaction, per day is:
30 × 6.15 PLN = 184.50 PLN
Monthly:
PLN 184.50 × 30 = PLN 5535
- Unit transaction fee:
Monthly number of orders (30 per day for 30 days):
30 orders/day × 30 days = 900 orders/month
The fee per transaction is £1, so the monthly cost is £900.
Summary of costs:
- Sales commission: PLN 7,752
- Allegro Pay: PLN 5,535
- Unit transaction fee: PLN 900
Total costs:
PLN 7 752 + PLN 5 535 + PLN 900 = PLN 14 187
The monthly profit is:
PLN 60 000 - PLN 14 187 = PLN 45 813
Are you thinking about setting up your own shop?
Contact us to discuss the details and we will prepare a tailor-made offer.
2. you own a digital camera shop on Allegro. Your sales commission is 5.54%. You do not pay a shipping commission because your customers choose Allegro Smart. In addition, your customers do not use Allegro Pay, so you do not add the 0.43% fee. You have a basic subscription that costs £49 per month, so you are exempt from the unit fee.
You sell 30 cameras a month with an average value of £800. What is your commission on the sale?
Background information:
- Average price per camera: 800 PLN
- Monthly number of cameras sold: 30
- Sales commission: 5,54%
- Basic subscription: PLN 49 per month
- No commission on shipping (Allegro Smart)
- No unitary charge (by subscription)
- No charge for Allegro Pay
Calculation:
- Total sales revenue:
Monthly revenue from the sale of 30 cameras:
30 × 800 PLN = 24 000 PLN
- Allegro commission:
The sales commission is 5.54% on the total revenue:
PLN 24 000 × 0.0554 = PLN 1 329.60
- Subscription:
The basic subscription costs £49 per month.
Total costs:
PLN 1 329.60 + PLN 49 = PLN 1 378.60
The monthly profit is:
24 000 PLN - 1 378,60 PLN = 22 621,40 PLN
Comparison of profits from your own online shop with sales on Allegro
Why isn't there a separate paragraph in the text regarding examples of our own shops? If we want to make a comparison with our shop, we do not need to create different examples, as variables such as category-dependent commission or listing fees are not present. Our shop operates according to its own rules, which is one of its greatest strengths.
- Compared to the first example, the Allegro lamp shop, the annual fees for running your own online shop (without additional plug-ins or paid add-ons) amount to approximately PLN 7,500. Meanwhile, the monthly Allegro commission is as high as PLN 14,187. Comparing the two options, you save £13,562 per month (£14,187 - £625).
This results in an annual saving of £162,744 (£13,562 x 12 months).
- The second example shows, that despite a significantly lower commission on sales, the lack of Allegro Pay from customers, the exemption from shipping commissions and the lack of a unit fee, running a shop on the Allegro continues to prove less favourable than managing your own online shop. In the case shown, the monthly cost of an Allegro shop is £1,378.60, while maintaining your own shop is around £625.
Comparing the two options, you save £753.60 per month by opting for your own online shop. On an annual basis, this saves as much as PLN 9,043.20!
The examples provided show what a huge difference in cost can be achieved by running your own shop rather than using a platform such as Allegro.
Conclusions
Having your own online shop is certainly a more profitable investment in the long run and a more effective business development strategy than selling exclusively on platforms such as Allegro. Some of the key benefits of having your own online shop are listed below:
Benefits of having your own online shop:
- Control of the brand
Having your own shop gives you full control over your visual identity, shopping experience and marketing strategy. You can build and promote your brand according to your own rules, which is more difficult to achieve on platforms such as Allegro.
- Flexibility in sales management
You can adapt the shop to your needs, make changes to the offer, prices or payment methods without the restrictions imposed by external platforms.
- Loyalty programmes and personalisation
The possibility of introducing loyalty programmes, personalised offers or dedicated promotions that can increase customer engagement and loyalty.
- Building long-term relationships
An in-house shop enables you to create long-term relationships with your customers and collect data that can help you better tailor your offer to their needs.
Summary
Considering integrating your own online shop with Allegro can benefit both parties. You can benefit from Allegro's extensive reach and customer base, while building your brand and sales through your own shop. This gives you the opportunity to sell in both channels simultaneously, which can increase your chances of reaching more potential customers. The integration allows you to synchronise your offerings and manage your sales from one place, making operations easier and saving time.
To sum up, Your own online shop is an investment, which requires commitment and resources but brings long-term benefits in terms of greater control over the brand, flexibility in sales management and higher profits. Integration with Allegro, on the other hand, is an additional strategy that can strengthen your market presence.
