When we decided to find out how to sell on Poland’s biggest marketplace, we realised that no one at Tamebay had any knowledge of Allegro, so our first step was to find someone who did. Our expert is Zornitsa Mincheva Dobreva, Head of International Expansion at Pentagon and she has kindly agreed to give us some tips to get started.
14 million people are registered on Allegro which accounts for more than 50% of the Polish ecommerce market. Polish ecommerce itself is outpacing the rest of Europe with 23% growth year-on-year, compared to 18% in the rest of the EU single market. These are some pretty compelling reasons to sell in Poland, so here are Zornitsa’s tips on how to get started with Allegro:
How to start selling on Allegro in Poland
What are the first steps to getting set up on Allegro?
The registration on Allegro is quite straight-forward. To sign up just go to allegro.pl, click on “My Allegro->Sign Up” and follow the instructions.
From your Allegro account, a link can be followed in order to create a PayU account (the wallet collecting all funds from Allegro).
Do you need a local bank account?
No, there is no need for a local bank account. Funds from PayU can be remitted to GBP bank accounts.
How is currency processed?
All payments on Allegro are in Polish Zloty (PLN). PayU stores and sends the funds in PLN. The local bank of the recipient would then convert the PLN into GBP.
What are the standard/recommended shipping and returns policies?
Free shipping is highly recommended. A local returns address is highly recommended as well, but is not mandatory.
What is the process of getting set up for a UK seller?
The process is the same as with local sellers. It’s worth noting that everything on the site is in Polish so it’ll really help if you have a Polish speaker in your business, language is probably the biggest barrier to selling on on Allegro.
How do you open an account? Do you need to be invited or request information from site?
There is a My Allegro button at the top of the home page. It leads to a login page where you should click on Sign Up. No invitation is needed.
What type/size of sellers are Allegro looking for? Why type of products are most suitable for the platform?
Allegro covers all product verticals, so there are no restrictions.
What are the best ways to handle stock?
Best option is to have local warehouse if possible, if not- a quick and free shipping is highly recommended.
Any other specifics?
Both the listings and the customer service should be in Polish. The listing design is customisable so this is something that sellers could take advantage of as well.
Is there anything else I need to know before signing up to Allegro?
No, that’s it. If you’re a marketplace seller you already have all the skills you need to be successful on Allegro. The only things you’ll find different are the language and the currency. The currency is easily handled, so find a Polish speaker to work with and you’re ready to get started.
Expert help to sell on Allegro in Poland
We’d like to thank to Zornitsa for her help with this article. If you’d like expert assistance in getting started on Allegro the guys at Pentagon are ready to assist.
6 Responses
I wonder why nobody goes crazy about this idea. I don’t think the language is the main barrier as finding staff who speak Polish shouldn’t be a problem.
Do they still not have variant listings? That put us off when we looked before
I wondered why someone with a Bulgarian name is advising on trading with Poland, and I see Pentagon have two offices in Bulgaria – are they going to advise us to trade with Bulgaria next ?
To be competitive you’d have to invest in a warehouse in Poland as offering free delivery/returns from/to the UK will force you to up the price for the item you sell which in turn either won’t be competitive or will give you small (if any) return. There is already a lot of sellers there Polish and foreign that import stuff from China and sell them locally and Europe-wide. Setting up an account and start to sell on Allegro is indeed easy. Providing proper Customer Service that knows the market and the Polish customer’s expectation is a whole other thing. I invested in a small but hardworking Polish team that is also fluent in English and they are taking care of my ebay.uk and allegro accounts and they are doing a great job. Best of luck with your expanse guys!
I run an online business in Poland that sells on allegro. I also sell to the UK. I have logistics to the UK covered and it might as well work the other way around. If anyone should be interested in exploring the possibilities he or she might contact me.