A Breakdown of Unfair ChannelAdvisor Pricing and How CedCommerce is Countering it

Starting an eCommerce business is a huge task these days as it needs investment. And when sellers want to grow their business via selling on multiple platforms, they need the help of multichannel service providers, for example, ChannelAdvisor. The company simply provides API extensions to help automate the whole selling process to overcome issues like overselling and underselling. But the ChannelAdvisor pricing model is absurd. They charge way higher fees for providing these services, which doesn’t seem fair as you have to put a large amount of your monthly revenue to pay these charges.

The good part – there are better ChannelAdvisor alternatives that are providing the same services at a fraction of what ChannelAdvisor is charging. CedCommerce is one such competitor that you should add to your list if you are using ChannelAdvisor or are considering them. To understand why here are all the details on how ChannelAdvisor is an overpriced solution and how CedCommerce will help you reduce these extra expenses.

Also Read: Tips to Start Multichannel Business on Magento

How Much is ChannelAdvisor Cost for its Multichannel Services?

We have talked to the previous ChannelAdvisor users to understand the pricing issues faced by them. After analyzing the common ChannelAdvisor issues, we found that the majority of users claimed that the higher selling prices charged by ChannelAdvisor are the main reason they started looking for its alternatives. And, they wanted the ones who are providing the same services but at a better rate.

Let’s understand the pricing structure of ChannelAdvisor and why you have to pay such a high cost to use the service.

Subscription Fees

The majority of ChannelAdvisor’s earnings come from subscription fees that they charge for the access of their services for a fixed interval, usually a year. This fee is fixed and usually ranges from $12,000 to $18,000. This amount is only for a single module and it will multiply with the number of marketplaces you want to connect with or the number of modules you want to use. But sellers have complained that ChannelAdvisor renews your subscription plan before the actual billing date and also without informing you.

Implementation Fees

Apart from fixed subscription fees, sellers also pay implementation fee that includes training and installation charges. ChannelAdvisor provides training for the modules that sellers have bought. According to some, the training and setup of the module can last for about 3 or more months. Here, they cover the basics and won’t teach you anything besides their ineffective set training plan. Also, you have to pay about $750 extra charges for each module you are using, just for training.

Commission Rate

With ChannelAdvisor, you also have to pay a varying commission charge. According to them, ChannelAdvisor starts charging a specific percentage when sellers’ monthly GMV exceeds the amount they specified while signing the contract. Roughly, the commission rate ranges between 2 to 4 percent of the monthly GMV that the sellers earn. It feels like an extra expense.

Also Read: Get Rid Of Unfair ChannelAdvisor Commission Rate

Extra Launch Support

They also provide you extra launch support in the name of helping you sell on multiple marketplaces. Some sellers claimed that they paid $3,000 for extra launch support thinking the onboarding process would be a cakewalk. But to their surprise, inventories never synched with the marketplaces where they wanted to sell their products. So, they had to cancel all the listings, resulting in a loss in revenue and a loss of $3,000 that they paid for this support as the amount is non-refundable.

What do Previous ChannelAdvisor Users Say?

We discussed the price-related issues with some of the previous ChannelAdvisor sellers. And we came to the conclusion that these sellers were paying way more than they expected to earn by using ChannelAdvisor’s services.

Let’s understand it with an example.

Suppose David is a Magento seller who wants to expand his online business by selling on different platforms. Now if he takes ChannelAdvisor’s multichannel selling service for Amazon and eBay, he has to pay these prices:

One Time Fees

• Implementation fees: $750 (Amazon) + $750 (eBay) = $1,500
• Extra Launch Support: $3,000
• Total = $4,500

Annual Fees

• Subscription fees: $12,000 (Amazon) + $12,000 (eBay) = $24,000

Note: As ChannelAdvisor keeps its pricing structure hidden and has a different price list for different sellers, we have created this price range from the varying outcome we got from ChannelAdvisor’s previous sellers. So, there is a chance you may find their price more or less in reality.

Once you start earning and your revenue exceeds the amount you have specified while signing a contract, you have to pay 4% commission charges as well. So, if your monthly revenue is $60,000, you have to pay $2,400 as commission fees. In addition to this, some marketplaces also charge commission fees, ranging from 3 to 4%. So, you have to pay a total of 7 to 8% per month as commission charges.

In short, you have to pay about $4,800 per month and $57,600 annually as commission to both ChannelAdvisor and the marketplace.

So, your expense for using the ChannelAdvisor service is $86,100 for two marketplace extensions.

Also Read: Common ChannelAdvisor Challenges Faced By Merchants

How CedCommerce Beats ChannelAdvisor Pricing Model?

CedCommerce’s pricing model for multichannel selling is quite straightforward and affordable, unlike ChannelAdvisor. With CedCommerce, you’ll get ChannelAdvisor’s level of service by paying just a fraction of what you are paying to CA for the multichannel services. In addition to this, we also offer the services that ChannelAdvisor isn’t offering, like a fully customizable solution.

Now when we say customization, we mean it.

Our customization service allows you to add/remove any feature you want or don’t want in your solution. So, you don’t have to pay for the features that you don’t need or want with your multichannel solution. In short, you’ll only pay for things you want. It is another point that makes us stand out and become the best ChannelAdvisor competitor.

What to Expect When Buying Multichannel Solution from CedCommerce?

As mentioned earlier, the pricing model of CedCommerce’s multichannel services is quite straightforward. The cost of our Integration extension starts from $499 annually. Apart from this, you don’t have to pay commission charges, training fees, installation charges, or any type of hidden fees.

Let’s take the example of David again. If he buys Amazon and eBay extensions from CedCommerce, he has to pay these prices:

• Module Cost: $499 + $499
• Implementation fees: $0
• Total = $998

Once you start earning high revenue after taking our services, you don’t have to worry about paying commission charges. Because we don’t believe in taking any part from the profits that your earn from your online store. But you still have to pay 3-4% of the commission fees that some marketplaces charge.

So, if David’s monthly revenue is $60,000, he will only pay a 4% commission of this amount, i.e., $2,400.

After considering all prices, David’s monthly expense after taking CedCommerce service is $3,398, i.e., about $4,000 for two marketplace extensions.

Finally, let’s compare the pricing plan of the multichannel service of ChannelAdvisor vs. CedCommerce. Now, David will spend $86,100 for using Amazon and eBay multichannel service from ChannelAdvisor. In contrast, he has to spend about $4,000 to get the same service from CedCommerce. Here, you can see the huge price difference for yourself.

CedCommerce vs. ChannelAdvisor Pricing Comparison

Criteria	ChannelAdvisor	CedCommerce
Subscription fees	Starts at $12,000	Starts at $499
Implementation fees	Charges $750 per module	None
Commission charges	About 4%	None
Installation fees	Starts at $750 per module	None
Extra Launch Charge	$3000	None
Additional Charges	VAT, training fees, etc.	None

Also Read: Complete Comparison of CedCommerce vs. ChannelAdvisor

Final Verdict

From CedCommerce and ChannelAdvisor price comparison, we can say that after switching to our service David will pay only a fraction of what he was paying to ChannelAdvisor for the same services. So, if you are considering switching to our service, you can expect to get:

• ChannelAdvisor’s level of service
• Additional benefits from Ced
• On chat & call 24×7 customer support
• Additional Freedom of Store/Sales Process Customisation
• A dedicated account manager