B2B print store or print marketplace: which one fits your business

Both models sell to businesses, and both can run on WooCommerce, so the choice is easy to blur. A B2B print store and a print marketplace can serve the very same company buyer. The difference is not who buys. It is who sells, and who has to be paid when an order comes in.

This article explains what each store type does, when one is enough and when you need both, and how Printcart sells them. Both of our stores are in build today, so this is the moment to pick the model that matches your business, before you spend on a build.

Who sells and who buys?

Start with two questions, and answer them for the business you run today and the one you plan for the next few years.

• Who sells? If one company, yours, sells and produces every order, you need a B2B print store. If many independent sellers list their own products or designs and you operate the platform, you need a marketplace.
• Who buys? If your buyers are companies with teams, contract prices and payment terms, you need the B2B features. If your buyers are consumers and small businesses that pay at checkout, a marketplace without B2B accounts can be enough.

A printer selling to corporate accounts answers "us" and "companies": a B2B print store. A platform where partner print shops and designers sell to the public answers "many sellers" and "anyone": a marketplace. A platform where partner print shops sell to companies answers "many sellers" and "companies": both.

What does a B2B print store do?

A B2B print store gives each business client a company account and lets it order the way companies buy. In the Printcart B2B print store that means seven parts, all in build:

• Company accounts and roles. Buyers order under their company account, with roles for buyers and admins.
• Price lists by customer group. Contract prices for each company or group of buyers, so every company orders at the prices agreed with you.
• Catalogue access control. An open catalogue, prices hidden from guests, or a login required before anyone sees the catalogue.
• B2B quotes with expiry. Buyers request a quote; an accepted quote becomes an order.
• Purchase orders and net terms. A company pays by purchase order on net terms, within the credit limit you set for it.
• Quick order, reorder and order lists. Buyers order by SKU, repeat a past order or save the lists they reorder every month.
• Team member invites. Company admins invite their colleagues, so you do not create every account by hand.

The store runs on the Printcart plugin for WooCommerce, with the Printcart designer on the product page, so a buyer can still design online or upload artwork for a personalised job.

What does a print marketplace do?

A print marketplace lets several sellers run their own shops inside one storefront, while you run the platform. In the Printcart print marketplace store, also in build, the parts are:

• Seller stores. Each seller has a store page with its banner, logo, about and policies, and a place in a sellers directory. Sellers apply, and you approve or reject each application.
• Products and designs. Print sellers list products that buyers personalise in the Printcart designer; designers publish designs with a royalty, and print sellers choose to print them.
• One cart, one payment. Products from several sellers sit in one cart and are paid in one checkout.
• Orders split by seller. Each order splits into one sub-order per seller, and each seller ships its own part.
• Proof approval. The seller uploads a proof for each order line, and the buyer approves it or asks for changes before printing.
• Commissions and payouts. Fee rules set the platform's share, a ledger records every sale, fee and royalty, and sellers are paid in approved payout batches.

The hard part of a marketplace is not the storefront. It is paying many sellers correctly, every time. We cover that in how a print marketplace handles orders, commissions and payouts.

How do the two compare, side by side?

The same five questions, answered for each model:

• Who sells? B2B print store: you, one seller. Marketplace: many sellers, print providers who print and ship and designers who sell designs.
• Who buys? B2B print store: companies, with teams and roles. Marketplace: consumers and businesses.
• Whose prices? B2B print store: yours, with price lists per company or group. Marketplace: each seller's prices, plus your fee rules.
• How is an order paid? B2B print store: at checkout, or by purchase order on net terms within a credit limit. Marketplace: the buyer pays once, and each seller's share is recorded in a ledger and paid out later.
• What do you operate? B2B print store: company accounts, price lists, quotes and terms. Marketplace: seller approval, fee rules, payouts and the questions between buyers and sellers.

When do you need both?

You need both when a marketplace's buyers are companies. A network of partner print shops that sells to agencies and corporate clients is the usual case: the agencies want company accounts, contract prices and terms, and the partner shops each want to be paid their share.

That is why the Printcart print marketplace store includes the B2B store. A marketplace whose buyers are companies needs no second store, and a business that starts with one seller and company buyers can grow into a marketplace on the same base.

Which fits? Three example scenarios

These are example scenarios, not client stories.

• A packaging printer sells custom boxes to retailers that reorder every month and pay on terms. One seller, company buyers: the B2B print store.
• A print-shop network where five partner shops sell printed products under one brand, and each must be paid its share. Many sellers: the print marketplace store.
• A merch platform where designers sell designs, partner shops print them, and agencies buy in bulk on terms. Many sellers and company buyers: the print marketplace store, with the B2B store it includes.

What does each one cost?

Printcart sells full stores per year only, with the Printcart licence of the tier inside the yearly price. The B2B print store is the Store B2B package: the store, the Printcart Advanced licence for the year, store updates and 30 of your products set up by our team. The print marketplace store is built as a project and quoted under the Enterprise package, with onboarding of its own and 50 of your products set up; it has no price of its own.

Choose by value, not by price. For a B2B print store, the value comes from repeat orders per company and the staff time a self-service account saves on every quote and order. For a marketplace, it comes from the number of sellers, the orders each one brings and your fee on them, minus the cost of paying sellers and answering their questions. Put your own numbers in, not ours.

What goes beyond both stores?

Both store types have clear edges. Work outside them is custom development that we quote before we start, for example a connection to your ERP, or a workflow your buyers need that the store does not cover. Tell us about it when you ask for a quote, and we scope it in writing.

How do you decide?

Write down who sells and who buys, today and in two years. If the answer is one seller and company buyers, start with the B2B print store. If it is many sellers, start with the marketplace, and the B2B store comes with it.

If you are still unsure, send us how your buyers order and who produces each order: message us on WhatsApp or write to sales@printcart.com, and we tell you which store fits. Contracts and payments are made with Netbase JSC, the company behind Printcart.