Questions, answered honestly.
The things people ask most before they start, answered plainly. Where the honest answer is no, we say so, then tell you what you get instead.
14-day free trial · No card required
What do people ask about Crate?
Crate answers the questions merchants ask before they start: whether Crate is a marketplace, whether Crate brings customers, how a business gets paid, what selling on Instagram and WhatsApp involves, and what is needed to register a business. Crate is not a marketplace and Crate does not send traffic; Crate gives a business its own branded store, its selling channels and its payment tools. Crate takes the payment methods of the merchant's own market and prices in that market's own currency, USD in the United States and NGN in Nigeria. Crate is used from a phone as readily as from a desktop. Each answer below says plainly where Crate has not yet confirmed a detail.
Start today, learn as you go.
No setup fee, no card, no code. Add a few products and you can be taking your first order the same day.
5 questions
Do I need to know how to code to use Crate?
No. However, you still get a store that looks like your brand. You build and brand it visually, with your own logo, colors and fonts, and there is nothing to install.
How quickly can I start selling?
You can be live the same day. Sign up, add a few products, pick a theme, and share your link. There is a 14-day free trial and no card is required to start.
Do I need a registered business to start?
No. You can start today with your name and your products, and add fuller business details as you grow. Crate grows with you.
Can I bring the products I already have?
Yes. Add products by hand, or add them in bulk if you have a lot. Your photos, prices, variants and stock all live in one catalog, priced in US dollars.
What does it cost to get started?
Nothing to try. You start on a 14-day free trial with no card required, then pick a plan when you are ready. See the pricing page for the current plans.
One catalog. Every channel.
List a product once and sell it from your own store, Instagram, WhatsApp and your counter. Nothing to keep in sync by hand.
6 questions
Where can I sell with Crate?
From your own branded online store, from Instagram posts and DMs, from WhatsApp chats, and in person at your counter with point of sale. It is all one catalog.
Is Crate a marketplace?
No. However, you get something better: your own branded store and the tools to run it. Your customers come to you, not to a crowd of other sellers on a shared platform.
Will Crate bring me customers?
No. However, Crate makes it effortless for the customers you already reach to buy from you and come back. You get a store, channels and payment tools so nothing is lost in a DM again.
Can I sell on Instagram and WhatsApp?
Yes. List a product once and sell it from your store, from an Instagram post or DM, and from a WhatsApp chat, all from the same catalog.
Can I sell in person too?
Yes. Sell at your counter with point of sale, from the very same catalog and stock. One system, not two that never agree.
Do I have to manage each channel separately?
No. Every order from every channel lands in one queue, and every sale updates the same stock. You work in one place, not five.
Get paid, and know the moment it lands.
Take card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and bank transfer, the ways your customers actually pay. Money is confirmed instantly and withdrawn to your own bank.
6 questions
How do my customers pay?
By card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and bank transfer, the ways your customers already pay, all priced in US dollars. No app for them to download and no friction at checkout.
How do I know when I have been paid?
Payments are confirmed instantly. You get an alert the moment money lands and the order moves, so there is no refreshing and no wondering.
How do I get my money?
Your balance is yours. Withdraw it to your own bank account whenever you are ready. Your money is in your bank, not locked inside an app.
Is my money locked inside Crate?
No. However, it does land in your Crate account first so every payment is tracked. From there you withdraw to your own bank account anytime.
Can I take payments from customers abroad?
Yes. Sell to customers in other countries without losing them at checkout, and settle to your own local account in US dollars.
What does it cost to get paid?
You can see any fees on the pricing page before you start. We show costs up front, in plain language, never as a surprise after the sale.
Start free. Pick a plan when you grow.
Every plan comes with your store, your channels and a place to get paid. Change or cancel whenever your business changes.
6 questions
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Start with a 14-day free trial and no card is required to begin. Pick a plan when your business is ready.
Do I need a card to start?
No. However, you get the full experience while you try it. Add your products, take orders and get paid on the trial, then choose a plan when you are ready.
Can I change plans later?
Yes. Move up as you grow, or down if you need to. Your store, products and orders stay exactly as they are.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. There is no lock-in. Your customer list is yours to export and your balance is yours.
What is always included?
Every plan comes with your own branded store, selling on Instagram, WhatsApp and in person, one order queue, card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and bank transfer payments, instant alerts and withdrawals to your bank.
What currency is pricing shown in?
Us dollars. Priced and paid in US dollars. Built for small businesses in the United States. Ready for customers anywhere.
Your store, your customers, your data.
The business is yours. Crate gives you the tools; your brand, your link, your customer list and your money all stay with you.
6 questions
Is the store really mine?
Yes. Your brand is on every page, you get your own link and can connect a custom domain, and your customers are yours. Crate is the toolkit; the business is yours.
Who owns my customer data?
You do. Every customer and their order history is saved automatically and is yours to export whenever you want. You are in control of your customers' data.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes. Connect a domain you own and your store lives on it, with SSL handled for you, so it looks and feels like your brand end to end.
Will I oversell if I sell in a lot of places?
No. However you sell, every sale on any channel updates the same stock count instantly, so the number you see is always the real number.
Is Crate built for businesses like mine?
Built for small businesses in the United States. Ready for customers anywhere. Priced and paid in US dollars. Checkout takes card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and bank transfer, the payment methods customers where you sell actually use.
What happens to my data if I leave?
It stays yours. Export your customer list, and withdraw your balance to your own bank account. Nothing about your business is held hostage.
Ask us anything. We answer plainly.
If your question is not here, the team is a message away. Or just start your free trial and see it for yourself. No card required to begin.
Still have a question?
Start your free trial and see it for yourself, or reach the team and we will help you get set up. No card required to begin.
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