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November 2021 | latest update: 19.04.2024 | by Lili

 

Seller verification on various marketplaces

 

Table of contents

 

 

Whether authorised and/or third party, not all sellers are created equal. Or rather, there can be a huge difference between seller and seller. But how do marketplaces separate the wheat from the chaff and decide which sellers are legit? Well, there’s a process for that called seller verification.

 

What is seller verification

Seller verification is the procedure prospective sellers on an online marketplace have to go through to verify their identity. This procedure is aimed at protecting consumers from sellers acting in bad faith, ensuring that competition between sellers is fair, and reducing the amount of counterfeit products on the platform.

 

Each online marketplace has its own procedure (if any) for seller verification. Some only allow sellers to start selling once they verified themselves, while others give unverified sellers limited access to the platform’s features. Others even offer some kind of incentive for sellers to verify themselves.

 

Let’s take a look at the verification processes sellers have to complete on some of the most popular online marketplaces.

 

Amazon

Amazon requires its sellers to provide two separate government-issued IDs to verify their seller account. Sellers can take pictures of these and upload them for verification to Amazon.

 

What these IDs can be depend on the country or region of the seller in question, but in general, a passport, a national ID card or a driver’s licence would be best. Also, sellers’ documents should be in one of Amazon’s supported languages (English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese or Portuguese). If that’s not the case, applicants should provide a notarized translation as well.

 

 

Amazon boxes waiting to be shipped

Amazon boxes waiting to be shipped

 

 

Depending on the location, additional documents may be required, including a business license, a utility bill or a credit card statement.

 

Once all required documents are uploaded, Amazon asks applicants to wait a few days until it reviews the information and may request further clarifications. If a seller doesn’t respond to these requests or is unable to provide all the necessary documents, their application will be deleted.

 

eBay

Due to the nature of this marketplace, eBay has different rules for professional and individual sellers. For the latter category, applicants need to provide their name, address, date of birth and their Social Security Number (or equivalent in the country of their origin).

 

For professional sellers, the rules are slightly stricter. They have to apply with their legal business name, address, employer ID number and phone number. If these aren’t sufficient, eBay may ask applicants to scan a photo ID, like their driver’s license or national ID card.

 

All sellers must link and verify their bank account to their eBay profile in order to receive payments.

 

AliExpress

The international B2C platform of the Alibaba Group, AliExpress is a massive and increasingly popular online marketplace. Besides Chinese vendors, AliExpress allows international third-party sellers to register and sell on the marketplace as well.

 

There are less details available about the seller verification process than in the case of Amazon or eBay. Prospective sellers must first register an account on AliExpress by providing information such as their business name and register number, tax certificate, and the ID of the legal representative.

 

AliExpress promises to review the information given within 2-3 business days, which is necessary for sellers to start selling.

 

Wish

Not exactly known for its rigorous processes and high quality products, Wish still has a seller validation requirement in place. According to this, prospective sellers need to provide their business address, phone number, a government ID for individuals and a business license and/or tax documents.

 

In some cases unvalidated sellers may still be able to access the platform, but they can only sell a limited amount of products.

 

Lazada

Lazada has different requirements for individual and corporate sellers. Sole proprietors need to upload their business contact, banking information and a government ID. The marketplace runs a compulsory training for individual sellers, which they have to participate in before they can proceed. Finally, they have to pay the membership fee and capital requirements before their store can be opened.

 

Corporate sellers have a slightly different set of rules. They also have to provide their contact and banking information, including government IDs.

 

However, they’re required to upload their business registration as well, which proves the business is registered with the government. In exchange, they can skip the training.

 

Shopee

Shopee also allows individual and business sellers to offer their products on the platform. Individuals only have to provide an ID and a mobile phone number, while businesses have to submit their business information (including tax number and business license number), business license documents, as well as their Singpass (a digital ID issued by the Singapore government).

 

Walmart

This American marketplace, well-known for its giant physical stores, requires its sellers to provide their business and contact information, along with their inventory, shipping, return and tax procedures. Once the information is uploaded, Walmart reviews all the documents to verify if the seller is eligible for selling on their marketplace. The contents of the verification process itself is not published, but it’s supposed to take around 2 business days.

 

OLX

OLX also verifies its sellers, however, the process doesn’t seem to be very rigorous. In fact, all OLX requires from its sellers is a government ID along with a selfie. (Yes, it says selfie on OLX’s official site)

 

Screenshot of help.olx.in displaying information about the verification process

Screenshot of help.olx.in displaying information about the verification process

 

 

Mercado Libre

Prospective sellers (both individual and professional) on Mercado Libre need to provide their contact information, including email and phone number. These are validated by the marketplace. Then the next step is uploading business information, including business name, contacts and tax number.

 

People who have already shopped on Mercado Libre can convert their user account into a seller account by following a link on their profile and adding the above information.

 

 

Wildberries

To register on Wildberries as a seller, you need to open a seller’s account. Depending on your type of business, you may need different documentation to get your account running. Self-employed sellers need to provide an ID/passport, some information about themselves and their tax number, while businesses have to add their bank details to the above requirements as well.

 

 

Fruugo

Fruugo requires its sellers to provide personal, contact and business information, including tax and if applicable, VAT number. In addition to its regular verification procedures, the marketplace has announced a cooperation with Detected, a startup that facilitates business onboarding. In the case of Fruugo, Detected makes the seller verification process easier by aggregating business information about prospective sellers.

 

 

Vinted

As it’s a C2C platform, Vinted sellers don’t have to be businesses, which means that verification looks a bit different. Vinted sellers have to open an account on the platform, which they can do by linking their social media accounts, or registering with their email address.


The platform suggests that users verify their account to boost trust for their listings. This can be achieved by linking their social media accounts, uploading pictures to their profile and sharing a little information about themselves.


Besides consumers, businesses can also sell on Vinted. This requires them to register an account on Vinted Pro, providing additional details such as their business identification number.

 

 

Trendyol

Prospective sellers on Trendyol have to provide their business name and ID, contact information, company type and tax information. Trendyol verifies sellers’ phone number via a text message, and checks the validity of other given information before allowing the new vendor to start selling on the platform.

 

 

Tokopedia

Since the platform was recently bought by TikTok, seller registration now incorporates both companies’ channels. Existing TikTok users can sign up with their TikTok account, or create a new one specifically on the Tokopedia site via their email address or phone number. These are immediately verified by the marketplace. 


New sellers then need to provide their business details and contact information. Uploaded documents, including passport/ID and business registration number are verified by Tokopedia before the new vendor’s shop becomes accessible to customers.

 

 

Issues with seller verification

As you see, the level of requirements for seller verification varies greatly from marketplace to marketplace. But even the strictest validation requirements are not enough to fully eliminate fraudsters from a platform.

 

A good example of this is Amazon. Of the four marketplaces covered, Amazon has by far the strictest seller verification requirements. And yet, the marketplace keeps making an appearance on the annual review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy issued by the US Trade Representative.

 

How is that possible?

 

Fake ID, fake verification

Well, as big as it is, Amazon (and any other online marketplace) is not a government entity and doesn’t have access to tools and databases that allow government agencies to discover if an ID is fake.

 

 

A person holding a passport and two microchip-cards

A person holding a passport and two microchip-cards

 

This means that fraudsters with a decent fake (or stolen!) ID have a fair chance of getting through a marketplace review, even the strictest one. And besides, sellers who refrain from illegal activities and “only” sell grey marketed or bad quality items may even use their own IDs.

 

All in all, while seller verification is a necessary and good tool for filtering out some harmful sellers, it’s nowhere near enough to ensure your brand’s protection from counterfeiting and other IP infringements on online marketplaces.

 

Marketplace monitoring to the rescue

If you don’t want to give counterfeiters, grey marketers and any other harmful sellers a chance, allow globaleyez to set up a comprehensive online brand protection program for your brand, including our highly efficient marketplace monitoring service.

 

Our dedicated brand protection experts, armed with specialized software tools, can monitor over a hundred online marketplaces worldwide. We discover IP-infringing listings quickly and efficiently, providing you with comprehensive reports and actionable advice on potential next steps, including removal of the offending listings.

 

If you’re worried about inefficient seller verification or any other problem that could harm your brand’s IP rights, contact globaleyez and tell us about your issues.

 

 

 

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