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Seller FAQ

Seller FAQ:


Q: How does Ethical Ocean work?

A: Ethical Ocean is an online marketplace where a diverse range of ethical sellers and ethical buyers can meet and do business. Sellers sign up to the site and load their ethical products for free. Customers visiting the site search for specific products by ethical categories and add them to their shopping cart. Customers purchase products through Ethical Ocean's checkout system. Money is transferred directly to the seller along with the details of their order. The seller completes the transaction by shipping the goods to the customer, and marking the order as complete.

The steps involved when an order occurs are:

  1. Shopper buys your product on ethicalocean.com, payment is accepted by Ethical Ocean;
  2. You immediately receive and order notification by email;
  3. You can log in and view complete order details at any time;
  4. We send you payment via Paypal within 24 hours. This includes the product price - 18% commission and the shipping price you have specified (which we don't charge commission on), as well as any taxes you have elected to charge.
  5. We don't ask you to ship product until you receive payment from us. Once payment is received, please ship within 48 hours.


Q: What value does Ethical Ocean add to my business?

A: For businesses not currently selling online, Ethical Ocean becomes your online sales portal. You can easily list your products, advertise your brand, promote your ethics, and manage and track your sales; all at no risk and with no membership fees.
For businesses already selling online, Ethical Ocean expands your market size by giving you access to an increasingly growing and ethically minded set of customers.
One of the greatest benefits of Ethical Ocean is the linking factor. Just as shoppers discover new shops and products by walking through a marketplace, Ethical Ocean has built in recommendation and linking features that help customers find new ethical products like yours.


Q: How long does it take to load my products onto the site?

A: Your first product will probably take an hour to load, as you familiarize yourself with the site. After your first product is live, you will be able to add a new product in 5 to 10 minutes.


Q: How much does Ethical Ocean cost?

A: We charge a commission of 18% on all sales.


Q: Why do you charge a sales commission and payment service fee? Why would I pay commission when I can sell items myself?

A: Think of us as a very active affiliate. Our fee helps us market your products to networks outside your own. We actively market your products via mailing lists, social media, editorials, and holiday gift guides. Also, by aggregating thousands of ethical products in one marketplace, we attract tens of thousands of shoppers every month. Who couldn't use more sales?


Q: How do I get paid?

A: We issue payments via Paypal within 24 hours of an order taking place. We do not expect you to ship products until you have received payment, although we find that most of our sellers ship orders immediately after their first few payments.


Q: How does shipping work? Who sets the price?

A: You set the price for shipping. You can set a flat rate price for Canada and the USA. You can also offer a lower incremental price for every product after the first, which provides incentive to buyers to purchase multiple products from you. We pass shipping through to you directly without commission, but keep in mind that lower shipping has been shown to yield more sales.


Q: How do I charge taxes on sales?

A: If you are a Canadian seller, Canadian taxes to be charged can be selected when you set up your seller profile. We will only charge the selected taxes for a customer in the applicable province. Keep in mind that HST cannot be separated into GST and PST. If you need to charge federal tax in a province that has HST, you must select the applicable HST for that province.

If you are an American seller, you must only charge taxes if you have a nexus within the customer's state. 99% of the time this results in no taxes being charged, and so we do not charge US taxes at this time. Please check your local state tax laws for further information.


Q: Will listing my products on the Ethical Ocean lock up my inventory? How do I updated the number, size and colours of the products I want to sell?

A: We offer easy-to-use inventory management. You can customize your sales page to match your inventory, including information like size, colour pieces remaining in stock. If you sell out your inventory, your product will not be available for checkout. When stock becomes available again, simply change the status of the product in your profile, and the product will instantly become available to customers.


Q: How does the Ethical Ocean verify that I am indeed an ethical provider?

A: We only list products that are good for our planet and it’s people. As you list a product for sale, you will have the chance to check various certifications and ethical claims (eg. fairtrade, organic, energy savings, etc.). For each claim, you will have the opportunity to show certification or make a detailed claim. All new products will be reviewed by the Ethical Ocean team to make sure we end up with the world’s most ethical product line.


Q: My Seller Profile has been created, but I can't load products. What is wrong?

A: We receive a large number of seller applications every week, and we review each one before products can be loaded. We strive to approve profiles as quickly as possible, but it can sometimes take up to a week. Once your profile is approved, you will receive and email letting you know you can upload products. If we cannot approve your profile for some reason, we will let you know why.