Using Allegro as an online sales channel

Using Allegro as an online sales channel

Allegro is a great place to sell online, regardless of whether eCommerce is your main business activity or just something extra. The reason is obvious — by selling on Allegro, you can reach millions of customers because of the platform’s reach. According to Mediapanel research, in November 2020 the website was used by over 21 million users, making Allegro the undisputed leader of the Polish eCommerce market and the tenth most popular eCommerce platform in the world. That is why every month more and more people are interested in the idea of selling on Allegro. If you’re included in this increasingly large group, then keep reading to learn more about getting started and selling successfully on Allegro! 

 

 

 

The sales opportunities that Allegro offers are clear. In this guide, we have put together tips and information for the owners of online stores that will improve the current sales on the most popular eCommerce website in Poland.

 

Here’s what you’ll learn:

 

  1. How to construct an offer on Allegro
  2. What opportunities to promote offers there are on the portal
  3. How Allegro Ads work
  4. What the options are for managing buyer ratings and comments
  5. How your sales panel works
  6. The settlement methods with Allegro and buyers
  7. Which delivery options on Allegro are worth using
  8. How returns and complaints on Allegro work
  9. The differences between Allegro Lokalnie and Allegro.pl
  10. What should you take care of when securing your Allegro account

 

Products not allowed for sale or allowed conditionally

 

Before you start making plans to sell, it is worth analyzing which products cannot be listed on Allegro. Each advertisement displayed on the website must meet the same basic requirements. This means that products sold may not infringe the rights of third parties or result from theft. In addition, it is not possible to offer products that, under the applicable law, have not been approved for trading. The offer should not incite to spread hatred, racism, xenophobia or conflict between nations, or defame other persons or groups of persons.

 

For security, legal or ethical reasons, Allegro has introduced additional restrictions and does not allow the sale of certain items. Groups of prohibited products include:

 

  • alcohol
  • databases and emailing services
  • access and services related to viewing and listening to multimedia content on request
  • vehicle registration certificates and vehicle cards
  • website addresses
  • prescription drugs
  • explosives and pyrotechnics
  • medical devices for professional use

 

Products that are not allowed for sale cannot be offered as free add-ons to other goods sold.

 

Allegro separately indicates items whose sale is conditional, which means that they can be offered on Allegro only after meeting the necessary conditions. Among other things, this group includes:

 

  • tobacco products - only collector products can be offered
  • tickets for events - only company accounts can be sold after obtaining the prior consent of Allegro and signing a contract with the website
  • pepper gasses and stun guns - they are approved for sale to entities with appropriate licenses for their sale and after prior verification of permits by Allegro
  • mushrooms - only if they have a special certificate issued by a classifier or mushroom expert, or are classified as cultivated or marketed mushrooms in other EU countries
  • live animals - it is possible to publish offers related to the sale of live animals, but they are only to be of advertising nature, and the issuer should ensure humane transport of animals

 

The full list of prohibited or conditionally admitted products for sale on Allegro can be found on their site.
 

Placing an offer on Allegro

 

CHOICE AND CHANGE OF CATEGORY

 

Choosing the right category is very important because it allows users to find a given product fast. When publishing an offer, you can use two options:

 

  • select the product name or code from the catalog, thanks to which Allegro will automatically assign the advertisement to the appropriate category
  • manually indicate the product category from a drop-down list

 

For 12 hours from the publication of the advertisement, if no purchase offer appears, you can change the category to which the product has been assigned. This will not be possible later. It is worth paying attention to the proper categorization of offers, because in the event of making the wrong choice, Allegro may change the category for a given ad or permanently delete the account if the situation repeats itself.

 

DESCRIPTION AND TITLE OF THE OFFER FOR ALLEGRO

 

The content of the offer should correspond to the selected category for a given product and match the photos in the offer. Above all, however, you should not copy descriptions from other sellers. Firstly, such a practice is illegal, and, secondly, it lowers the position of the offer in search results. You should also not replace product descriptions with graphics, as Google algorithms are not able to read the content from the photo. This can cause you to lose search engine traffic.

 

At the very beginning, you must be sure that the description is correctly formulated, does not contain errors and is clear. Transparency means that the text should be properly formatted, contain bolds and underline the most important phrases. In other words, the description should be legible. A properly constructed description should also be useful for the buyer. This is its main task. Concise information determines the effectiveness of the descriptions.

 

The title of the offer is also important. On Allegro, the seller has 50 characters to use. For a title to be effective, it should only apply to the product being offered and inform the buyer what the offer is about. The keywords related to the item should be placed at the very beginning of the description.

 

It is not allowed to use special characters in the title, phrases inadequate to the advertisement or containing words aimed at attracting the attention of recipients, like "Sale!" or "promotion!". Avoid repeating keywords multiple times when creating your listing title. This is one of the illegal practices that will have a negative impact on Google's search for an offer.

 

Promoting offers on Allegro

 

There are four basic types of promotion on Allegro. Each of them can be activated when creating an ad, in the part of the form called Promotion Options or by editing the offer in the My Offers tab.

 

By using the features available, you can be sure that your ad will always be placed ahead of the offers of sellers who have not used the promotional tools. Highlighted ads can be promoted for whatever number of days you decide, with the fee being paid on a per-day basis.  

 

Another way to promote offers is the Promo Package, which additionally causes the title of the promoted offer to be highlighted through the use of bold font, and the entire offer will be displayed on a blue background.

 

The fourth promotion option is Promoting on the section's website. Selecting this option leads to an advertisement in the Promoted Offers section of the relevant product category page. Along with the thumbnail, the price and title of the offer are displayed. To promote the product on the website of the section, the description of the product cannot contain information about other offers or the address of the website. Moreover, the offer may not have a negative impact on Allegro's image.

 

PROMOTING OFFERS WITH COINS

 

Sellers who have a business account with an average sales rating of at least 4.8 and have received at least 5 ratings from buyers in the last 30 days can start promoting offers with Coins in the Coins tab. The fee for Coins is charged only at the time of sale. Buyers can exchange the collected coins for coupons and use them to pay for purchases, which encourages them to deal with sellers who promote their products using Coins.

 

SELLING IN THE SALE AREA

 

Sellers with a business account and sales quality at least at the neutral level may start Sales in the Opportunity Zone in the My Offers tab. Offers in this section are displayed with the price crossed out on the Allegro main page and on a special, dedicated page. This is a very good way to distinguish your offers on the site and reach new customers.

 

ALLEGRO BRAND ZONE

 

Another method of promoting offers is dedicated to manufacturers and authorized sellers who offer only new and original items. To start selling in the Allegro Brand Zone, you have to contact the website using the contact form. A guardian will be appointed for a given account, who will agree the terms of cooperation with the seller and guide you through the process of implementation into the program.

 

DISCOUNT AND PROMOTION PACKAGE FOR START - WELCOME PROGRAM

 

For sellers who have just started operating on the site, Allegro allows them to take advantage of the Welcome Package, which offers interesting discounts and promotions, even lasting up to 8 months. To join the program, you must activate the package in the Discount Center tab. All benefits are awarded in stages. In the first stage, you can use:

 

  • a discount on commissions and a 100% discount on the Professional Subscription
  • a free package of 100 highlighted listings

 

Promoting products by giving discounts on subsequent purchases

 

An effective way to promote offers on Allegro is to give customers discounts on subsequent purchases. Thanks to this, you can encourage users to make larger purchases more often and attract new customers. The possibility of granting discounts can be activated in the Discount sets tab after selecting a quantity discount. The seller chooses whether he grants a discount for the purchase of several items of the same thing or different products. The minimum amount of the discount that can be granted is:

 

  • 15% for the second product
  • 30% for the third product
  • 40% for the fourth product
  • 50% on the fifth product

 

The discount is not available to sellers who offer their products in the Opportunity Zone.

 

Allegro Ads

 

To create an ad on Allegro Ads, log in to the website and select Add Campaign. The form will guide you through the process of creating a name for your campaign and adding any offers you intend to advertise. The next step is to set the budget as well as the date and place of broadcasting the campaign.

 

BUDGETS IN ALLEGRO ADS

 

When advertising a product in Allegro Ads, you can select the amount of your daily advertising budget. Sellers configure the budget amount by specifying:

 

  • Daily budget - the maximum daily amount you want to spend on advertising
  • Total budget - the total amount you want to spend on advertising for the duration of the campaign

 

DAILY LIMITS ON ALLEGRO ADS

 

On Allegro, the seller does not pay for the display of the advertisement, but only for clicks. Setting the daily advertising budget in Allegro Ads does not mean that the advertiser's account will be charged the same amount every day. The daily budget is a maximum amount, not a fixed amount. One day, when the traffic on Allegro is lower and the budget is not used, some funds are transferred to other days when the traffic is higher. The maximum difference between your daily budget and your actual spend can be 30%.

 

KEYWORDS FOR AD GRAPHICS

 

In the case of image advertising, you should choose the keywords and negative keywords appropriately. Keywords are phrases that accurately describe the products being promoted. Thanks to their use, users can easily find advertised offers from the search engine level. Negative words, on the other hand, are phrases that prevent the ad from being displayed after entering them in the search engine. As a result, the offer reaches only people who may be genuinely interested in the products in question.

 

Make sure your keywords and negative phrases are not the same. This may result in your ad for that keyword not showing.

 

ALLEGRO ADS PARTNER

 

If you are looking for a specialist who has the appropriate knowledge and experience to properly run and optimize an Allegro Ads campaign, there is a list of companies participating in the Allegro Ads Partner program. Only companies employing the best specialists in running an advertising campaign on Allegro are placed on the list.

 

Managing sales

 

RATINGS AND COMMENTS ON ALLEGRO

It's natural for sellers to want nothing but positive ratings and comments. However, it’s likely that at some point a customer will leave a negative comment or review. In such a situation, Allegro gives the seller the option to ask the buyer to remove his rating within 21 days of posting a comment or issuing a rating. Allegro employees do not take part in this relationship.

 

In the Received Ratings tab, the seller can use the Request Deletion option. The buyer has 14 days to respond to the request and to withdraw the assessment. If he agrees to remove it, it will not affect the seller's average rating.

 

CAN ALLEGRO GET INVOLVED WHEN NEGATIVE REVIEWS ARE LEFT BY CUSTOMERS?

 

Allegro employees may remove a comment or rating issued by a buyer only at the buyer’s own request. However, there are three cases in which Allegro may take action at the seller's request.

 

  1. The content of the comment violates Allegro's rules - in this case, Allegro will remove the comment along with the rating.
  2. The buyer has issued a negative review by mistake - Allegro will also delete the comment and review, if the mistake is not in doubt.
  3. The buyer issued the rating too early - Allegro's intervention is possible only when the type of rating or the content of the comment clearly indicates a mistake on the part of the buyer.

 

If the rating or comment received by the seller meets one of the above conditions, you can contact Allegro. However, each case is considered individually and Allegro may refuse to intervene.

 

MY SALES QUALITY PANEL

 

Allegro collects information about each user and their rating as a seller. All information is available in the My Sales Quality panel and covers the last 30 days. The assessment is made on the basis of five criteria: the assessment from buyers, customer service, attractiveness of the offer, order fulfillment, compliance with the regulations.

 

In the panel, the user can also check how he compares to other sellers on Allegro and read commentary on the results obtained. This is an excellent resource for what needs to be changed to get a higher rating as a seller. It is worth working with the panel and keeping track of the results appearing in it, because they have a general impact on the positioning of offers on Allegro.

 

Allegro Finance

 

All payments with Allegro can be managed in Allegro Finance, which contains all information about previous payments of buyers and about funds available for withdrawal, which takes place automatically or at the request of the seller. The withdrawal can be ordered in the Funds and Transaction History tab. There is no limit to the frequency of the withdrawal request. Automatic payouts, on the other hand, can be set up to take place every working day, weekly or monthly.

 

QUICK PAYMENTS IN ALLEGRO

 

Allegro allows you to use two types of quick payments free of charge: PayU and Przelewy24. These are separate services run by two different companies and so, in both cases, it is necessary to verify the seller's data. This can be done in the Deposit Settings tab.

 

In order to activate the PayU service, it is necessary to provide data and the bank account number of which the seller is the owner or co-owner, to determine the method and date of payments and to select notifications that the user intends to receive in connection with withdrawals. The next step is to make a transfer for the amount of PLN 1.01 from the indicated bank account in order to verify the account. After verification of the data, the funds will be returned to the account.

 

The Przelewy24 service can only be launched by sellers who already have an active PayU service. In the Payment Settings tab, you will be able to activate an additional type of payment by making a verification transfer, also for the amount of PLN 1.01. After making the transfer, complete the personal data, fill in the identity confirmation form and send it along with the necessary documents, which vary depending on the seller. Certain documents should be sent in the case of a regular account, others will have to be presented by self-employed persons, companies, foundations or associations. 

 

Payments from buyers by PayU and Przelewy24 are available as part of two separate services in the Funds and Transaction History tab. The seller, however, can see the sum of all outstanding payments from buyers so far.

 

RETURNING PAYMENTS TO BUYERS

 

In order to return a payment to a buyer, you must have funds in Allegro Finance with which the buyer made the payment. Making a return transfer is possible after going to the Orders tab, expanding Actions and selecting the Return payment option. The next step is to indicate the reason for the return. You can choose a simple return, complaint, unavailability of the goods or insufficient payment by the buyer. When making a return, you should choose whether the return is for a certain number of products or if it will be indicated in the amount. It is also possible to reimburse the buyer for shipping costs.

 

After completing these steps, the amount will be decucted from the funds available in Allegro Finance and paid to the buyer's account within 2-3 days.

 

If there are no free funds on the seller's account, Allegro will accept the return order and if the funds appear on the account within 24 hours, the refund will be issued. Otherwise, the order will be canceled and all steps will have to be repeated.

 

POSTPONED PAYMENT FOR BUSINESSES

 

Deferred payment for companies is a very interesting solution for transactions made between companies, which can be launched in the Allegro Finance tab. Thanks to this payment method, the seller receives payment for the invoice after the contract is completed, and the buyer / entrepreneur can postpone the payment date - by 21, 45 or even 60 days. The commission for the first month of Paying to Business is 0%. In the following months, the commission is fixed and amounts to 0.5% of the gross invoice value plus VAT - regardless of the deferment date.

 

Prices and fees

 

Allegro collected these fees from sellers:

 

  • fee for listing items
  • a commission on sales
  • fees for any additional options
  • maintenance fee for items that have not been purchased for 365 days

 

From June 2020, delivery costs are also taken into account when calculating sales commissions. This means that if the buyer does not pay for shipping due to membership in a free-shipping program (called Allegro Smart!, similar to Amazon’s Prime membership), the commission for the shipment will not be added either. The issue of fees and commissions on Allegro is a very extensive topic, but sellers can quickly check their amount using the fee calculator.

 

If the buyer has withdrawn from the contract and has not completed the transaction, the seller may file a commission refund request within 45 days. To submit an application, go to the Orders tab, select Inventory and then Commission Refund. In the next step, you should indicate the items and their quantity that the user resigned from purchasing. Then Allegro will send an email to the buyer to indicate the reason for withdrawal from the contract and consider the request for a commission refund.

 

Sending through Allegro

 

The methods of delivery for a given offer together with the price are set by the seller. The following options are available:

  • package sent by mail
  • courier
  • package sent to parcel pickup point
  • pickup on-site at seller
  • item sent electronically where applicable

 

Sellers also have the option of using Allegro’s InPost delivery, thanks to which they can offer buyers very favorable prices for shipping orders. However, joining the program means that you cannot determine shipping prices on your own. The seller is limited by the maximum prices, which for the individual delivery methods available in the program are as follows:

 

  • Allegro InPost parcel locker- PLN 8.99 gross for advance payments and PLN 12.49 for cash on delivery payments
  • Allegro miniKurier24 InPost - PLN 10.95 gross for advance payments and PLN 13.41 for cash on delivery payments
  • Allegro Kurier24 InPost - PLN 13.39 gross for advance payments and PLN 15.87 for cash on delivery

 

As part of the Allegro InPost service, prices include insurance for each shipment up to the amount of PLN 5,000.

 

FREE SHIPPING WITH ALLEGRO SMART!

 

Allegro also lets buyers take advantage of free delivery under Allegro Smart!. Marking offers with the Smart symbol increases the chances of a sale, because the costs of delivery and return of parcels are covered by Allegro. To enable buyers to purchase products from Allegro Smart! the seller should:

 

  • obtain at least 5 unique, positive transaction assessments in the last 12 months
  • have the status of a Super Seller or an average sales rating of at least 98%
  • correctly handle the email addresses of buyers in the sales management system
  • make timely payments for Allegro services
  • ensure that your offers comply with Allegro Regulations

 

ALLEGRO SMART! SHIPMENTS IN OMNIPACK

 

In cooperation with Omnipack, Allegro Smart! is considered as shipping based on the seller's courier agreement. The Omnipack system recognizes a shipment sent via Allegro Smart based on a specially encoded email address of the recipient. Here's what this encoding looks like:

As part of Allegro Smart, we send parcels using:

 

1.    Allegro Smart InPost:

  • Allegro Smart parcel lockers
  • Allegro Smart Returns
  • Allegro Returns
  • Smart parcel lockers

 

2.    Polish Post Office 

  • Allegro Pocztex Courier 48
  • Allegro Pickup points, including Żabka, Orlen & Ruch
  • Allegro Registered Shipments

 

3.    DPD

  • Allegro Courier DPD

 

SHIPPING ITEMS VIA ALLEGRO SMART!

 

As part of Allegro Smart!, the seller is obliged to follow the basic rules related to packing all parcels.

 

  1. No prohibited items can be shipped.
  2. The packaging should be adapted to suit the value and type of the item that is being shipped.
  3. The size of the packaging should be adjusted to the size of the item.
  4. Do not ship packages with irregular shapes or with protruding parts.
  5. The parcel should not be wrapped with stretch foil since it makes it difficult for the parcels to move along sorting lines.

 

Failure to comply with these rules may result in imposing additional fees on the seller for the excess handling of the shipment by the carrier.

 

COMPLAINTS AND CLAIMS FOR PARCELS SENT BY INPOST VIA ALLEGRO SMART!

 

Only the sender may submit a complaint about the shipment, and as part of Allegro Smart! Allegro is the sender of the parcels. The website, however, grants the sellers a power of attorney to submit a complaint on their own within 12 months from the date of shipment. They can be downloaded from the Delivery Settings tab or received from Allegro via email. The service also helps sellers in the event of a negative consideration of the complaint from InPost. In order to use the assistance, please contact Allegro within 14 days of receiving the decision. It will be necessary to document all the facts and documents related to the complaint and to provide full correspondence with InPost representatives.

 

Returns and claims in Allegro

 

Every buyer on Allegro has the right to return goods purchased without giving any reason within 14 days of receiving the parcel. The return can also be made by a sole proprietorship who purchased a product not directly related to a business. However, there are a number of cases indicated by Allegro where the seller may refuse to accept the return of the goods.

 

BUYER PROTECTION PROGRAM

 

Each seller should read the Buyer Protection Program launched by Allegro, under which the website provides the buyer with compensation of up to PLN 10,000 if:

 

  • the buyer paid for goods he did not receive
  • the buyer received a product that differs significantly from the description in the offer

 

If the buyer's application for compensation from Customer Service is approved, the seller must take into account the possibility of suspension of the account by Allegro and taking debt collection measures against him. At the same time, law enforcement agencies may initiate proceedings against the seller.

 

In the event that Allegro pays the buyer the funds, the seller is obliged to return the full amount of compensation to Allegro's account. Therefore, if the buyer has completed an application for compensation from the Buyer Protection Program, he should contact Allegro without undue delay and explain the problem to avoid unpleasant consequences.

 

Allegro Local

 

Allegro Local was created for occasional, individual sellers, but sales can also be run by companies. Each Allegro user can put up products for sale at Allegro Local for free and under simplified conditions. Listed ads are visible both on Allegro and Allegro Local.

 

What’s the difference between Allegro Local and Allegro? Allegro Local:

 

  • does not allow you to purchase in installments
  • has a much more simplified form for issuing offers
  • does not allow reviews
  • allows you to start a chat with the buyer and reserve items
  • does not allow the listing of Allegro Smart! and promoting advertisements with Coins
  • does not require adding a description to the offer

 

On Allegro Local you can list and sell items for free or use a paid advertisement with the option of using “buy now” or an auction. In this case, the transaction service fee is 7.9% of the value of the item (except for items in the Electronics department, where it is 4.9%). The fee is charged only after the buyer completes the online payment or after completing the delivery form, if he has chosen the option of payment on delivery.

 

If the seller on Allegro Local is a business, that business is also obliged to accept the return of the goods if the buyer withdraws from the contract within 14 days.

 

Account safety 

 

Securing your Allegro account is extremely important and the website offers a number of possible security measures to maximize user safety. One of the recommended solutions is using two-step login. After activating it, when logging in, the user is asked to enter the Allegro password, and then to enter a code that he will receive via SMS. Thanks to this double verification, unauthorized persons will not be able to log into the seller's account, even if they have the password.

 

To enable verification of logging in via SMS, go to the Two-step log in tab and then select the phone number to which Allegro will send the verification code.

 

Protection against phishing

 

Phishing is a fraud method that impersonates another person or institution in order to obtain confidential information. Criminals can send a message in which they insist on logging in to Allegro via a suspicious URL address. Very often, the messages contain threats of account blocking or some other threat to influence the emotions of the recipient. If the user logs in via such a website, the fraudsters intercept the data which is necessary for logging in.

 

There is only one effective form of defense against phishing - vigilance. Do not log in using links that do not lead directly to Allegro. The website even launched a special address phishing@allegro.pl, for reporting any suspicious messages.

 

Sales on Allegro – summary

 

Allegro no longer resembles an unruly internet bazaar, as it did at the beginning of its operation. Today it is a fully professional eCommerce platform. However, it is worth remembering that the mere listing of offers does not guarantee sales success. Building a position on the website requires setting a strategy and sales goals. At the same time, sellers must take steps to differentiate themselves from aggressive competitors. Being focused on quick profit is not the way to success. At Allegro, you should act strategically, use the available functions and skillfully manage the promotional tools at your disposal. We hope that our guide will help both beginners and advanced eSellers in achieving effective sales.

 


[1] https://www.wirtualnemedia.pl/artykul/najpopularniejsze-serwisy-internetowe-i-aplikacje-mobilne-w-polsce-wyniki-mediapanel-listopad-2020

[2] https://cyfrowa.rp.pl/biznes/43823-allegro-10-ta-platforma-e-handlu-na-swiecie

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