Last week GoDaddy announced the opening of their online Marketplace. That’s right, you can now sell on shop for goods at Godaddy . I emailed them for additional information and they responded in less than 24 hours. That was a great start.

The following is their response to my questions:

Q: Whateverebay: “Payment methods accepted?”

A: GoDaddy: The same payment methods that can be used with GoDaddy.com can be used through this storefront.
We currently accept four forms of payment. They are as follows:
• Credit Card
• Online Check (U.S. banks only)
• GoodAsGold (You can add funds to your GoodAsGold account by check, Money orders or wire transfers)
• PayPal* (Online Payment)

Unfortunately, we do not accept this form of payment:

• Cash
The majority of our customers use credit cards to pay for their services. Paying by credit card streamlines our billing process and helps us keep our prices the lowest you’ll find. And it is particularly useful in making sure your valued domain names don’t expire: Just select the “auto-renew” option and we’ll renew your domain name for you.

We accept these major credit cards:
• Visa
• MasterCard
• American Express
• Discover

We also allow for payment by Personal or Business Check drawn off of a U.S. bank account.
In order to use a check for a purchase on our site, you would need the following information:
1. Bank Routing Number
2. Checking Account Number

If your checking account is a Business Account, you would also need to input the name of the company when filling in the check information. If the checking account is a Personal Account, then your Driver’s License Number, Issuing State, and your Date of Birth would be required.

We also offer our GoodAsGold payment option. Here’s how it works:

1. Set up your GoodAsGold plan.
2. Download complete, easy to understand instructions on how to do a wire transfer.
3. Wire transfer and stock your GoodAsGold plan with cash to spend, $100 is the minimum.
4. We email you confirmation that your GoodAsGold plan is set.

We now accept payments via PayPal*. PayPal is one of the safest, most widely accepted ways to pay for your purchases on the Internet. It lets you use funds from either your bank account or credit card; and you can use it with confidence: Your transactions are protected by PayPal’s sophisticated fraud prevention system.

All you need is a PayPal account to get started. It’s fast and easy to set up; in fact, you can do it while you complete your purchase.
• In the shopping cart under “Select Payment Method,” choose “PayPal Account”.
• Click “Checkout.”
• Click “Go To PayPal” to log in to your existing account or to create a new one.
• Verify the merchant from whom you are purchasing from.
• Accept the merchant agreement.
• When you receive your transaction ID number, click “Back to Merchant” to return to our site and finishing checking out.

*We will only accept PayPal accounts that are backed by a Credit Card.

We do not accept the following:
• PayPal account only backed by check.
• PayPal account backed by a non-verified bank account.
• PayPal account backed by a VERIFIED bank account.
• PayPal account backed by PayPal version of funds on hand.

PayPal will not let you select an account the does not meet our criteria. PayPal will prompt you for a credit card number if your PayPal account does not have one applied.

Q: Whateverebay: Can the merchant use their own checkout?

A: GoDaddy: You must use our checkout for this storefront

Q: Whateverebay: How can they promote their store? Badges, widgets, Google?

A: GoDaddy: Currently, you cannot integrate other advertising products into this application.  We will market the site in general as the Go Daddy Marketplace, but you will should still do your own targeted advertising to draw people to your store.

Q: Whateverebay: Can we also promote our own website on your site?

A: GoDaddy: Advertising will not cross to GoDaddy.com, only promotions for the Marketplace as a whole.

The above answer is vague. I was able to confirm that you are allowed to promote your site. You can include links to your website.

What does this cost you?

There is a monthly membership fee of $4.99 p/m and a 10% Sale Fee. You must also be aware in the event you have a chargeback there is a flat fee of

You can use GoDaddy buttons or banners to promote your Store on your blog etc….

Take a look at the fine print:

“10% commission fee applied to all sales. A credit card is required to open a Go Daddy Marketplace account. Vendors issuing refunds will receive a return of 70% of the original commission charged; orders with credit card chargebacks are subject to a $25 fee and will result in no return of original commission.”

A $25.00 fee in the event of a chargeback is usually what would pay your Merchant Account. This varies on the length and type of relationship you have with your bank.

As you have already noticed; many of the online service providers are now opening their own Marketplace. With the changes eBay has made and the cry for help from sellers many new Marketplaces are opening up. I agree eBay must make changes; yet, the timing could not be worst.

New marketplaces are opening up everywhere and you as a seller now have plenty of options and payment service options. The days where eBay reigned are numbered. Can eBay recover? Sure… Why would you wait? You need to make money now. Driving traffic to your own website is critical to your success.

Many of you already use GoDaddy services and might feel comfortable managing all your online needs in one place. I think that you should never limit yourself. I have several projects on right now. Opening a store at GoDaddy will help me to continue to brand my online store. Take a look at the categories, right now would be a great time to get in and dominate them.

Would you consider selling at GoDaddy? How is your current traffic at eBay? Are you finding success in another marketplace that you did not think would do so well for you?