PC Bargain is known for selling gadgets and equipment products. It expanded its product offerings to groceries and apparel at its Saipan branch in 2022 and Guam branch in 2023, resulting in the creation of Avedson, LLC, Micronesia's first e-commerce marketplace website, selling products exclusively online.
Following the success of PC Bargain's Avedson, LLC website, owner Leo Legaspi decided to offer a website to third party sellers in Micronesia and personal shoppers in the United States, and created Avedson Marketplace (www.avedson.com).
“I want to help local businesses on Saipan that don't have a website and don't have their business online yet. The benefit of having an iWebsite is that not only can they sell their products on Saipan, but it also gives them the opportunity to expand their market as Saipan has a population of less than 50,000 while Micronesia has a population of over 500,000. That's why Avedson, LLC created an online marketplace to help all local businesses expand their business or set up more small businesses on the islands including Rota and Tinian. Local produce can be sold directly to residents of Guam and neighboring islands through the Avedson Marketplace website,” Legaspi said.
structure:
• To register for free, visit the website at www.avedson.com.
• Once your registration as a seller is approved, you will need to set up and customize your online store and you will be provided with a setup guide.
• Sellers can now list the items they want to sell.
• Sellers can utilize Avedson Marketplace marketing tools to attract customers.
• Sellers can track orders and manage customer interactions through the platform.
• Sellers have the opportunity to expand their business by monitoring sales and adjusting strategies as needed to continue to grow.
Avedson Marketplace takes a 10% to 12% cut of a seller's total number of items sold that month.
Legaspi added that while most items are welcome, there are guidelines and restrictions for certain products and Avedson Marketplace policies will also be taken into consideration when opening stores.
Meanwhile, when it comes to shipping, he said Avedson Marketplace offers tools and resources to help manage shipping, but you still have to manage the logistics yourself. They just offer support to make sure products get to customers efficiently.
Avedson Marketplace currently has 20 third-party sellers in Guam and Saipan, five U.S. personal shoppers in California, two in Honolulu, Hawaii, two in Texas and one in New York.
One of the most effective marketing strategies for Legaspi is hosting weekly live sales and webinars on their Facebook page.
“It's been almost a year since we started live streaming from our Guam branch and sales have been growing. I actively participate in the weekly webinars, which are held every Monday (Monday 6 p.m. California time) for U.S. personal shoppers and every Tuesday (Tuesday 7 p.m. Saipan time) for Saipan and Guam sellers,” he said.
Avedson Marketplace is located at the Courtney's Plaza building in Chalan Kanoa (just after the US Post Office traffic light). For more information, you can also email them at www.avedson.com
