Performing Arts: Visual Arts: Media and Entertainment: Software and Digital Media: Cultural Heritage.
Creative individuals and businesses living in the UK and India are gifted a shopfront where they can present themselves to local and global audiences within a creative marketplace. The SHOP ONLINE marketplace does not charge for advertising and offering vendors products for sale.
Each marketplace vendor is provided a personalised shopfront where they can showcase details, images, specifications, delivery options, product variations, and pricing within their own section of the marketplace.
SHOP ONLINE marketplace offers creative artisans, musicians, storytellers, authors and entertainers a fully functional online store. This platform allows customers to preview and discover more about each creator and their products. Customers can seamlessly add items to the integrated Ecwid secure checkout, where purchases can be made via Square Online e-commerce or the One-to-One checkout option, depending on the type of product.
SoukUk collaborates closely with each vendor to establish the most appropriate sale price for their products. This process takes into account various factors, including payment processing, currency conversions, PDF downloads, video streaming, and options for physical delivery. Additionally, it encompasses any downloads, streaming services, or other third-party resources that may be required for producing the material, such as video filming, audio recording, or production.
When customers are ready to make a purchase from the vendor’s shop, they can configure their order based on available options, such as volume discounts, colours, sizes, and more. They can then add products to the shopping cart”, modify their order, provide their email address, agree to the terms and conditions, and select a delivery option. Products requiring physical shipping from within the UK or India can only be purchased through the One-to-One checkout option. The buyer then enters their billing address and proceeds to select ‘Place Order’.
Buying process
Selecting ‘Place Order’ finalises the e-commerce purchase or One-to-One transaction. The system automatically sends a copy of the transaction to the customer, the SoukUk marketplace administration, and subsequently the vendor.
Checkout process:
- Ecwid uses secure protocols (HTTPS) to protect sensitive customer information.
- Ecwid provides the platform and tools for managing shipping; delivery payment takes place automatically during the checkout process.
- SoukUk Marketplace uses Square, an online e-commerce payment service provider (PSP), to facilitate purchase and sale transactions between vendors and buyers, aside from those that occur under the one-to-one purchase option. For further information regarding Square Online (PSP) payment processing,
- Square deducts transaction and currency fees from SHOP ONLINE marketplace vendors in pounds sterling. Learn more about online payment and currency processing for both UK and non-UK card purchases.
- SHOP ONLINE only facilitates the purchase of creative digital products within vendors’ checkout areas and their downloading or viewing online. All other purchase and delivery transactions and arrangements take place between the buyer and seller directly through the buyer selecting the One-to-One checkout option.
- One-to-One Checkout: All purchase and delivery arrangements, other than digital downloads or streaming-type products, take place directly between the vendor and buyer. Learn more about one-to-one transactions…
- All vendors and buyers are solely responsible for any income, sales, VAT taxes or import duties involved with and in relation to the transaction of sale between them, facilitated within the SHOP ONLINE marketplace.
- The SoukUk Square Online vendor account management team keeps a real-time record of each vendor’s sales transactions. This record details the management charges associated with their Square Online and the SoukUk marketplace checkout, which encompass relevant digital material downloads, audiovisuals, private video purchases, and live-streaming commission costs. Vendors can request a copy of the current sales income record, which is also available at scheduled intervals.
Charges and Deductions:
Square Online Facilitation charges a fee of 1.4% plus 25p for UK card transactions and 2.5% plus 25p for non-UK card transactions. When a customer makes a payment in a currency other than sterling, the buyer’s bank or card issuer is responsible for handling the currency conversion. The buyers bank apply their exchange rate, which may include additional fees and margins, to convert the payment amount into pounds sterling.
SoukUk is a not-for-profit online initiative that supports creative individuals and businesses. Therefore, it only deducts a small percentage of Ecwid’s monthly rental charge, along with the time required to set up vendors’ shopfronts and checkout processes, from the sale of vendors’ products. Typically, this deduction ranges from 5% to 8%, plus any charges digital downloads and streaming services might charge for the service required.
Once a digital download or streaming purchase transaction is completed, Square Online automatically deducts transaction fees based on the buyer’s card, applying either UK or international rates. The remaining balance is deposited into the vendor’s account within the SHOP ONLINE marketplace. From this account, the marketplace account team deducts any administration fees and digital third-party download or streaming costs incurred in facilitating and managing the vendor’s sales before transferring the balance to the vendor’s chosen bank account, whether in the UK or abroad.