Marketplaces actively attract new sellers: they promise access to a multi-million audience, ready-made infrastructure, and rapid growth. Advertising campaigns are designed to create the illusion that all you need to do is register, list your products, and sales will start rolling in.

Believing in an easy start, novice entrepreneurs, at best, break even. They learn the nuances: commissions, paid advertising within the platform, certification costs. Errors in logistics, incorrect cost calculations, and high return rates ultimately eat away at profits.

Due to its apparent simplicity, novice sellers rush and neglect an important step that does not guarantee success, but its absence will definitely lead to business losses, zero profit and closure. We are talking about preliminary preparation, routine study of the terms and conditions of the platform, and tedious analysis of one's capabilities. HLTS South Korea specialists have analysed the most common mistakes that turn a marketplace launch into a failure.

Marketplaces work like search engines. For a product to ‘rise’ in the search results, you need sales, reviews, and a high service rating. Without the first 10-15 reviews, the card hardly moves. The algorithm simply does not show the product to the audience if it has a low rating. It is based on delivery speed, return rate and accuracy of product descriptions. This creates a vicious circle: to sell, you need to be at the top, and to get to the top, you need sales and reviews. Newcomers have to spend money on advertising or lower prices, and even that does not guarantee success.

Marketplaces strictly enforce their rules. A product listing can be removed from search results or blocked overnight if:

• there are complaints from buyers (e.g., the quality does not match the description);
• the product documentation was not provided on time;
• the listing rules were violated (prohibited words, photos, etc.);
• there is too high a percentage of returns or late deliveries.

Restoring your rating is a long and not always successful process. For a business, this means an immediate halt in sales and losses.

The most common mistake is registering and uploading products without thoroughly studying the platform rules. In addition to blocking and lowering ratings, the platform may fine the seller for late shipment of orders, errors in filling out product cards, use of prohibited descriptions or images, sale of goods without documents, high percentage of returns and customer complaints.

Many choose products ‘on a whim’: they see a trend and decide to follow it. But without understanding who is buying and why, the chance of failing is higher than the chance of making a profit. Internal marketplace analytics services, external platforms, and independent research can help here. Sometimes, choosing the right niche is everything. HLTS ltd offers transparent and understandable terms for placing dropshipping products on its platform.

Beginners often fill in only basic information on the product card. They do not optimise the description for search queries, do not specify characteristics, and post only a couple of photos. As a result, the products are difficult to find in search, and even if a potential buyer does come across the card, it will not inspire confidence or a desire to buy.

Marketplace is not ‘pure profit from every sale.’ Commissions, logistics costs, warehousing, returns, fixed fees, mandatory subscription costs, and other additional fees (which vary from platform to platform) all eat into your margin. Without accurate calculations, it's easy to end up in the red, even with decent sales volumes. You need to consider not only the purchase price and mark-up, but also all associated costs.

Newbies often set prices ‘by eye’ — too low to attract attention, or too high to recoup costs faster. Both strategies are losing ones: the first eats into profits, the second affects sales.

Marketplaces constantly adjust their rates, logistics rules, and promotion mechanics. What worked yesterday may be prohibited today or cost twice as much.

For example, on Amazon, for the sale of one item for £50, about £7.5 goes to the platform commission and another £7 or so goes to logistics through FBA. In reality, the seller is left with £35 — and that's before taking into account purchasing, delivery, and returns.

Certificates, declarations of conformity, licences — failure to provide the necessary documents will result in goods being blocked and fines being imposed. Sometimes, the paperwork takes weeks and is not cheap. This stage needs to be planned before launch.

The situation is no easier in Asia. In South Korea, the marketplaces Coupang, Gmarket, and Naver Shopping charge commissions of 10–15%, and participation in fast delivery programmes requires additional costs. Foreign sellers have to deal with issues related to language, localisation, and certification. A mistake many beginners make is to underestimate these costs and enter the Korean market without adapting their business and products. HLTS company has been operating in the South Korean market for many years and knows the requirements of local platforms and the peculiarities of the Korean mentality. We help find reliable suppliers, support transactions, and verify their integrity.

Not every product is profitable to sell on marketplaces. In some categories, profits are eaten up by low margins, in others by commissions or expensive delivery. Some have too many returns. Even with successful sales, 20-30% of revenue goes to commissions and fees. The seller's task is to take all costs into account and calculate profits and expenses in advance.

HLTS Co. Ltd helps foreign dropshipping companies find partners and customers in the South Korean market. Conversely, knowing the local specifics, we bring niche Korean online stores to the global dropshipping market.