We are on the sideof the small shop.
A vendor platform that gives small business owners the reach of a national campaign at a price a corner bakery can afford.
What it costs
Less of the sale, out of the same order.
Every marketplace takes a cut. Here is what the big ones take out of one sale, next to ours - using each platform's own published fee schedule.
| Platform | Fee | Share of the order | Extra cost compared with lytebuy |
|---|---|---|---|
| lytebuy | $3 | 4% | n/a |
| Groupon | $22.50 | 30% | $19.50 more |
| Amazon Handmade | $11.25 | 15% | $8.25 more |
| eBay | $10.60 | 14.1% | $7.60 more |
| Etsy | $7.58 | 10.1% | $4.58 more |
On a $75 order, lytebuy takes $3. The same sale on Groupon costs $22.50 - $19.50 more out of the same order.
Who pays for the servers. Someone has to keep the lights on, and that is what the 4% at checkout pays for - not a cut of your craft. The buyer pays it, not you. On Etsy, eBay and Amazon that cut comes out of the seller's side.
Card processing is not included. Stripe's fee is absorbed by the vendor on lytebuy, exactly as it is on the other platforms here, so leaving it off every row keeps the comparison fair.
Groupon has no published rate. It is negotiated per merchant. The bar uses the middle of the 20-40% range in Groupon's own worked examples, and their commission sits on top of the discount the merchant funds. Vendors are also paid only when a voucher is redeemed, not when it sells.
Not charted. Faire and Shopify are left out on purpose - wholesale (brand to retailer), not retail; a storefront the vendor rents and must drive their own traffic to, not a marketplace with built-in demand.
What we believe
Four things we will not trade away.
Fair and honest, or not at all
We stay out of the flow of your funds, keep a per-vendor ledger, and never quietly change the terms. If we cannot do something honestly we would rather not ship it.
A low barrier for the small business
Progressive onboarding means you can be selling before you have finished filling in forms. No agency retainer, no minimum spend, no gatekeeping.
Real people, really local
Artisan vetting and a reseller filter keep the platform full of people who actually make and serve things, not drop-shippers with a logo.
Built to outlast us
This is meant to be handed on, not flipped. That shapes every decision about what we build and who we take money from.
How it works
From a shop door to a sale.
- Step 1
A vendor claims their page
Photos, hours, the thing they are known for. It becomes a real web page that search engines can find.
- Step 2
They post what is good today
A deal, a fresh batch, an event. Followers get it in their lytebuy inbox never an unsolicited push.
- Step 3
Neighbours find them on the map
Someone three streets away sees the offer, takes the detour, and spends their money locally.
- Step 4
The vendor sees what worked
A code scanned at the counter ties the visit back to the post, so the next campaign is planned on evidence.
Where we are
Starting where we live.
We are building in Lotus, California, in the open, with the businesses on our own main street. Growth comes town by town, not by carpet-bombing a market.
- For every vendor listing and promotion
- Free For every vendor listing and promotion
- Vetted makers and services, not resellers
- Local Vetted makers and services, not resellers
- We publish what we are building and why
- Open We publish what we are building and why
Want to be part of it?
Whether you are selling, investing, or just curious, we would like to hear from you.