Technically speaking, how does Merchbar work?
Merchbar looks like a retailer but is actually a marketplace.
To customers, Merchbar is one unified destination to discover and buy 100% official merchandise from thousands of their favorite artists, but behind the scenes, we’re actually a marketplace that makes partnerships to source authentic products from verified partners and then drop ship them to fans.
Merchbar partners with over 100 merch companies, labels, distributors, and other retailers of physical products. These partnerships allow us to integrate into their systems, list their products on Merchbar, distribute them to the millions of fans we reach each month, submit orders to them, and then our partners drop ship those products to the fans.
Merchbar gets product listing information, images, inventory levels, and other key information by integrating directly with eCommerce platforms (like Shopify and Magento), logistics providers, wholesalers, distributors, and artists’ official stores.
Merchbar then uses this data to list products on the Merchbar platform and to our distribution partners.
When customers find something they want to buy orders take place on Merchbar and are submitted via our integrations to be shipped by our partners.
This allows Merchbar to remove the need for management to manually update listings, personally manage profiles, and duplicate the work of creating product links across several channels.
Where does merchandise listed on Merchbar come from?
Merchbar works to create a single unified destination for fans to discover and buy their favorite artists’ merchandise and vinyl. To do this, Merchbar partners with many sources of official, authentic, and licensed merchandise including direct partnerships with artists and artists’ representation as well as partnerships with record labels, merch companies, and official distributors.
Unfortunately, we aren’t able to provide item-specific source information. If you are an artist or artist representative and have concerns about the authenticity of products listed on Merchbar please click here to request the removal of a product.
Merchbar has partnered with a large number of artists, merch companies, record labels and a wide range of distributors around the world. We are always looking for new partners to grow our network of merch for fans.
If you work with a merch company or your merch is managed by a label or distributor, Merchbar likely has an existing deal with your merch provider—all you need to do is ask them to make your merchandise available on Merchbar.
If you’re not sure or you do not work with a merch company Merchbar works with and you’re interested in discussing a potential partnership with Merchbar, please complete this application form.
Your application will be reviewed by our Industry Relations team. Please be patient while waiting for a response as Merchbar receives hundreds of applications every week.
What does it cost to join Merchbar?
Most of our partners pay a small registration and/or monthly plan fee to get started. This will be explained in further detail when we begin your onboarding process.
Potential partners understandably want to know about selling plans, fees and ultimately how much it costs to sell through Merchbar and our network of distribution partners. The answer is it depends on the scope of your business, the plan you select and how you perform after joining Merchbar. That last point is crucial: we want to partner with suppliers who are responsive, have complete and accurate listings, and ship orders in a timely manner. We don't want to penalize poor performance, but may be forced to do so if you cannot or will not meet our minimum plan requirements.
Get things started by submitting your partnership application.