Why we need service payments

We have been working in the e-commerce market for over 10 years. The scheme of our work has long been worked out and debugged. However, sometimes we are faced with the question: «Why do we need to pay service payments?»‎. Therefore, we want to clarify this point a little.

Service payments provide:

automatic filling of the site with goods, descriptions, prices and data about sellers;
automatic translation of providers content (Taobao/Tmall, 1688, Alibaba, JD, AliExpress and Ebay) into various languages;
new functionality development (add-ons, free updates);
server performance support;
bugs correction, failures and malfunctions elimination;
сonsulting and technical support.

In addition, our company connects not only Taobao API, but also other popular trade providers. Now you can connect:

No doubt, that such a scheme of work does not always suit potential customers but most often, this is due to ignorance of work principles and what it is for. Having figured it out, agents understand that service payments are necessary to ensure reliable and stable operation of online stores based on OT platform. In addition, we always meet our clients’ needs. When purchasing resale shop OT Box, service fees are billed only after the start of commercial activity (when website owner starts to get orders through the site) or after three months from the purchase date. This way, our customers can easily set up their online store and start a promotion campaign without technical support costs.

I will give an example from practice. Once one of the potential clients said: «I was offered a site of this type but it uses parser. You don’t have to pay any service fees.»‎ We respect any opinion of the client and constructive criticism.

We also respect client’s choice and always welcome those who come back to us and appreciate our product and services. Such cases are common when customers come back to us and buy our product because a third-party software did not meet their requirements.

So why do we have service payments?

We have mentioned already that OT Box is not just a website. It is based on a service platform that requests data from a third party through API from Taobao. This allows you to automatically fill online stores with goods, descriptions, prices and data about sellers, as well as keep them up to date. OT Box is a complex mechanism that requires daily maintenance and control to keep it running like clockwork and keeping your online store customers happy and loyal.

In 2021 year Alibaba has completely closed its API. Therefore, we switched to the New System, which operates on our own product base. We are constantly updating and replenishing it.

We are also constantly looking for new ways to get product information. We managed to develop a stable system of receiving goods for the operation of online stores created on the basis of the OpenTrade Commerce platform.

However, getting information from marketplaces has become much more difficult, and there are a number of difficulties in our work. Firstly, all guaranteed available methods of obtaining information from Chinese marketplaces are currently paid. Secondly, for the stable operation of the New System, more resources are needed than was previously required. For example, additional servers and new employees are required for development. Thirdly, the consequences of the corona-virus, the economic crisis and the general rise in prices have negatively affected our sphere. Over the past year, the cost of infrastructure and maintenance of the OpenTrade Commerce platform has more than doubled.

Currently, it isn’t possible to work directly with Taobao API.

Therefore, if you objectively look at service payments, they are useful both for our company and for our customers. OT team resolves all technical issues of the project. All sorts of changes go unnoticed thanks to our specialists who monitor them, adjusting our API to them for the continuous and stable operation of our customers’ online stores. Technical work is ongoing and requires certain technical and financial resources.

Service payments allow us to maintain, develop and improve the system, release updates and additions for you and advise on various issues. They also help us provide you technical and customer support.

Practice of maintaining websites through monthly service payments, on the one hand, makes the relationship between you as an agent and us as a developer transparent, and on the other hand, it encourages us to constantly improve and develop our system, release updates and additional options.

One of our priorities is ensuring quality work for our clients. Thanks to the system of service payments we do not depend on the volume of sales of our solutions. Our relationship with clients is clear: you pay service fees and we support and develop the platform you work on.