Custom marketplace development for platforms that outgrew Sharetribe and CS-Cart.
Multi-vendor marketplaces with custom matching logic, complex pricing rules, payment splits, and vendor management — built for B2B and B2C platforms where off-the-shelf tools hit their ceiling. Shipped by the team behind a B2B steel marketplace, a 40%+ sales increase eCommerce rebuild, and production SaaS platforms.
Production projects shipped since 2017
Building complex platforms and enterprise systems
Sales increase from a marketplace-grade eCommerce rebuild
Clutch rating from verified client reviews
Sharetribe got you started. Now your pricing logic lives in a spreadsheet beside it.
You launched on Sharetribe, Arcadier, or CS-Cart Multi-Vendor because it was fast. Listings went up. Vendors onboarded. Transactions started flowing. Then reality arrived: your buyers need tiered pricing based on volume and contract terms. Your vendors need custom commission structures. Your matching logic is more complex than a category filter and a search bar.
Now your team maintains a spreadsheet of pricing exceptions that runs alongside the platform. Vendor payouts are calculated manually because the split logic doesn't fit what the tool supports. You've built three Zapier automations and a Google Sheet to handle order routing that the marketplace software can't do natively. Every new vendor type or pricing rule means another workaround.
The cost isn't just the time spent patching. It's the deals you can't close because the platform doesn't support the buyer's procurement workflow. It's the vendors who leave because the payout process is slow and opaque. It's the marketplace features your competitors are shipping while your team debugs Zapier triggers. Off-the-shelf marketplace tools are built for the first 80% of the problem. The remaining 20% is where your business actually competes — and it's the part the tool can't handle.
Outgrowing your marketplace platform? Tell us what's breaking and we'll map out what a custom build looks like.
Describe your marketplaceA marketplace built around your transaction model — not a template you bend until it breaks.
We build the marketplace around how your buyers and sellers actually transact. Custom matching algorithms that score supply against demand using the criteria that matter to your market — not a generic search index. Pricing engines that handle volume tiers, contract terms, location-based rates, and negotiated discounts without spreadsheet workarounds.
Multi-vendor management with per-vendor commission structures, payout schedules, and performance tracking. Payment processing with split payments and escrow — the platform holds funds, calculates splits, and releases payouts on configurable triggers. Dispute resolution workflows built into the transaction flow, not bolted on after.
AI is included in every marketplace engagement: intelligent matching that improves with transaction data, automated catalog categorisation, fraud detection on listings, and demand forecasting for vendors. Not a separate line item — built into the platform from day one.
What we build into every marketplace.
Marketplaces and commerce platforms we've built and shipped.
CrazyPi: B2B steel marketplace — production system
Situation: A B2B steel trading company needed a marketplace platform where steel mills, distributors, and industrial buyers could transact directly. Pricing varied by tonnage, steel grade, mill source, and delivery distance. No off-the-shelf marketplace tool could handle the pricing logic or the B2B procurement workflows their buyers expected.
What we built: A custom B2B marketplace with dynamic pricing calculated from multiple variables in real time, vendor management with mill-specific inventory feeds, buyer dashboards with order tracking and procurement history, and a quoting system for high-volume orders that required negotiation before transaction.
What changed: Steel buyers and sellers transact on a platform that handles the pricing complexity their industry requires — no spreadsheets running alongside it. The quoting and negotiation workflow converted high-value buyers who wouldn't commit to a fixed-price listing.
marketplace with dynamic pricing — live in production
eCommerce platform rebuild — 40%+ sales increase
Situation: A market-leading retailer's existing eCommerce platform couldn't support the catalog complexity, pricing rules, and multi-channel order management the business needed. Conversions were declining. Performance was degrading under load. The platform had become the bottleneck, not the growth engine.
What we built: A custom commerce platform with a product information system handling complex catalog structures, dynamic pricing, multi-channel inventory sync, and a checkout flow designed around the specific conversion patterns of their customer base.
sales increase after the platform rebuild
Custom marketplace vs Sharetribe vs CS-Cart Multi-Vendor.
Sharetribe and CS-Cart Multi-Vendor work for standard two-sided marketplaces with simple listing and transaction models. Custom is for platforms where the matching logic, pricing rules, or vendor workflows are the competitive advantage — and off-the-shelf tools can't handle them.
| Capability | Custom marketplace | Sharetribe | CS-Cart Multi-Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing logic | Any model — volume tiers, contracts, negotiation, location-based, real-time calculation | Fixed price or hourly; custom pricing needs code fork | Multi-vendor pricing with basic tier support; complex rules need add-ons |
| Matching algorithm | Custom scoring based on your market's criteria — specs, location, history, availability | Category + search + location filters | Product filters; no algorithmic matching |
| Vendor management | Per-vendor commissions, dashboards, inventory sync, performance scoring, payout schedules | Basic vendor profiles; commission per transaction | Vendor plans with storefronts; limited performance tracking |
| Payment splits | Stripe Connect, Razorpay, or custom — escrow, multi-party splits, configurable triggers | Stripe Connect with fixed split model | Built-in splits; limited to supported gateways |
| B2B workflows | RFQ, quoting, negotiation, bulk ordering, contract-based pricing, approval chains | Not built for B2B | Basic B2B features; complex workflows need heavy customisation |
| Search and discovery | Elasticsearch or Meilisearch with market-specific facets and relevance tuning | Basic search with location and category | Built-in search; limited faceting control |
| Scale | Architecture designed for your transaction volume and growth trajectory | Scales within Sharetribe's infrastructure limits | Self-hosted; scales with your server investment |
| Ownership | Full source code, complete IP, no per-transaction platform fees | Hosted SaaS — monthly fee + transaction percentage | License purchase; code access with restrictions |
Three concerns marketplace founders raise about custom builds.
"Custom marketplace development is expensive."
It is — compared to a Sharetribe subscription. It's not expensive compared to the revenue you lose when the platform can't handle your pricing model, or the vendors who leave because payouts take two weeks and a manual spreadsheet. We build in phases: core marketplace first, then expand. The first phase goes into production and generates revenue while we build the next. You're not paying for a year of development before seeing results. And there are no per-transaction platform fees eating into your margins as you scale.
"It takes too long to build a marketplace from scratch."
A marketplace MVP with listings, matching, payments, and vendor management deploys in 12–16 weeks. Not 12 months. We've shipped B2B marketplaces with complex pricing engines in that timeframe. The difference between "too long" and "the right pace" is usually scope discipline — we define the smallest marketplace that can transact, ship it, then iterate based on real usage data. Your competitors who launched on Sharetribe in two weeks are now six months into fighting its limitations. You'll be six months into scaling a platform that fits.
"Getting transaction volume is the hard part, not the platform."
True. The platform doesn't create demand. But the wrong platform kills demand you've already generated. A buyer who can't get an accurate price because your pricing logic runs on a spreadsheet beside the platform — that buyer leaves. A vendor who waits three weeks for a payout because splits are calculated manually — that vendor lists on your competitor. The platform's job isn't to generate volume. It's to not lose the volume you're generating. We've seen marketplaces gain traction specifically because the transaction experience — pricing accuracy, payout speed, matching quality — was better than alternatives running on off-the-shelf tools.
How we build your marketplace.
Every marketplace engagement follows the same four-phase structure.
Common questions about marketplace development.
Have a question about building a marketplace?
Talk to us directly — no forms, no sales reps.
Tell us about your marketplace. We'll show you what the platform looks like.
Walk us through the transaction model, the pricing logic, and the vendor workflows that your current tool can't handle. We'll map the architecture and show you what a custom marketplace replaces — and what it takes to build.
Book a 30-minute call