Marketplace Configuration

A crucial aspect of building your marketplace involves configuring key controls that dictate its behavior. The marketplace configuration settings oversee the functionality and features across various aspects within the platform. Access the marketplace configuration page from the Settings area.

Permission Requirements

You must have the "Manage marketplace configuration" permission granted through your permission group to access the marketplace configuration page.

Site configuration

Use the Site configuration section to define general information about your marketplace website:

Field	Description
Store name	This name will be used for the Dashboard's meta title and will appear in the Dashboard browser tab title.
Store description	Enter a brief description for your marketplace. This description will be used for the meta title and description on your homepage in the reference storefront. It will appear in the browser tab title and in search engine previews. Limit your description to 160 characters or less.
Store URL	Enter your storefront URL, without the trailing slash. For example: https://example.com This is used to generate URLs, for example to generate the link to send customers to submit payment for quotes in the storefront.
API URL	Enter your API endpoint URL with the trailing slash. For example: https://api-example.mpconsole.com/graphql/ This is required for certain plugins and webhooks to function properly.

Mail configuration

Use the Mail configuration section to adjust settings specific to emails:

Field	Description
Default email address*	This field is informational only, unless you have custom integration logic using this field.
Default sender name*	This field is informational only, unless you have custom integration logic using this field.
Support email*	Sent in email payloads as the support contact email for your marketplace.
Customer password reset URL	Enter your storefront URL where customers can reset their email. For example: https://example.com/reset-password/ This URL serves as the base for generating a unique customer password reset URL when a password reset is requested. Combined with the customer's email and a secure token, the resulting URL is sent in the reset_url field of the account_password_reset SendGrid email.

note

*When using the SendGrid plugin to send emails, the sender information is configured in SendGrid.

Units

Use the Units section to set a default unit for weight measurements across your marketplace:

Field	Description
Default weight unit	This field defines what unit of measurement your marketplace uses for product weight and weight-based shipping rates.

Business information

Use the Business information section to enter the name and address information about your primary operating business location.

caution

It's critical that this address matches the address configured in Avalara for taxes to function properly.

Templates

Setting	Description	Default
Attribute template strategy	Determines how attributes are assigned across various entities in your marketplace, including catalog attributes and custom fields. There are two modes: Strict: Sellers can only use attributes that the marketplace operator has added to a template. This approach gives marketplace operators control over which attributes are available for use. Flexible: Allows individual attributes to be added directly to any entity, in addition to those inherited from associated templates, giving sellers more flexible usage of attributes.	Strict

Products

The following settings control product catalog features.

Setting	Description	Default
Require product approvals	Controls whether seller products require approval before being visible to buyers. When turned on, newly added products or changes to existing ones enter an "In Review" state, awaiting approval by a marketplace operator.	Off
Require product types	Controls whether products must belong to a product type. When turned off, sellers can create products without a product type template, offering a more flexible PIM structure.	On
Variant uniqueness	Controls how the system identifies and manages duplicate product variants based on their attributes: Disabled: No checks are performed. Multiple sellers can have identical variants. Unique per seller: Ensures all variants listed by the same seller are unique. However, identical variants can still be listed by different sellers. Unique per marketplace: Ensures all variants across the marketplace are unique, preventing any duplicate variants globally. Currently, this setting can only be modified through the API.	Unique per marketplace

Shipping

The following settings control how shipping is managed within your marketplace, ensuring alignment with your fulfillment strategy and accurate shipping options for buyers.

Setting	Description	Default
Fulfillment model	Specifies whether the marketplace or sellers fulfill orders, which also determines who accrues shipping revenue: Fulfilled by marketplace: The marketplace manages all order fulfillment and accrue shipping revenue. Fulfilled by seller: Sellers are responsible for fulfilling their own orders, and they accrue the shipping revenue. Hybrid: A combination of both—the marketplace fulfills some orders, while certain sellers handle their own order fulfillment. For the hybrid option, use the Marketplace accrues shipping revenue for this seller setting for each individual seller to toggle whether the marketplace manages shipping on behalf of that seller.	Hybrid
Shipping options calculated by	Defines how shipping methods are determined and shown to customers for price-based shipping rates: Seller Total: Shipping methods are based on each seller's individual order total. This is typically used when sellers manage their own shipping. Marketplace Total: Shipping methods are calculated based on the total order amount for the entire marketplace. This is typically used when the marketplace manages shipping.	Seller Total

Timezone

The following setting defines basic timezone information for the marketplace.

Setting	Description	Default
Default timezone	The primary timezone for the marketplace. This timezone standardizes dates and times stored across the marketplace.	UTC

Countries

The following setting defines the primary country your marketplace operates in.

Setting	Description	Default
Default country	The default country for customers who visit your store.	N/A
Supported countries	Choose which countries you ship to. The countries selected in this field determine which countries can be added to shipping zones.	N/A

Payouts

The following setting impacts how balance accrues for seller payouts.

Setting	Description	Default
Accrue revenue when	Controls how revenue from orders becomes eligible for payout to sellers: Order fulfilled: Revenue is earned per order line item as items in the order are fulfilled. Order placed: Revenue is earned as soon as a buyer places an order, ensuring quick access to funds for sellers. You can't change this setting yourself. Contact Nautical Support for assistance with this setting.	Order fulfilled

caution

The choice of accrual mode is locked in and cannot be changed once your marketplace starts transactions. Selecting the appropriate mode is crucial as it impacts how you manage seller payouts.

Orders

The following settings control various aspects of order processing and inventory management within the marketplace.

Setting	Description	Default
Sellers can accept backorders	Controls whether backorders are allowed in your marketplace. Turn on to allow sellers to continue to sell out-of-stock products on your marketplace based on configurable thresholds.	Off
Sellers can send quotes	Controls whether seller staff members can prepare seller quote orders. A seller staff member's permission group must also be assigned the "Manage draft and quote orders" permission to access quotes.	Off

Stock allocation

The following settings control stock allocation and validation for orders.

Setting	Description	Default
Allocate stock for draft orders	Controls whether whether inventory is allocated for products in draft orders. Turn off to leave stock unallocated in draft orders, allocating only upon order finalization.	On
Allocate stock for offer orders	Controls whether whether inventory is allocated for products in offer orders. Turn off to leave stock unallocated in offer orders, allocating only upon order finalization.	On
Allocate stock for quote orders	Controls whether whether inventory is allocated for products in quote orders. Turn off to leave stock unallocated in quote orders, allocating only upon order finalization.	On
Validate stock upon order payment	Controls whether stock levels are validated before processing a payment against an order, ensuring that payments are only created when sufficient stock is available. This can be useful when stock allocation is disabled for certain order types, preventing overselling scenarios.	Off

Seller onboarding checklists

The following settings configure which steps appear in the seller onboarding checklist.

Setting	Description	Default
Create Payout Account	Controls whether the step to create a payout account is part of the seller onboarding checklist.	On
Create First Warehouse	Controls whether the step to set up a warehouse is part of the seller onboarding checklist.	On
Create First Product	Controls whether the step to create a product listing is part of the seller onboarding checklist.	On