The Shop for Change gives you an opportunity to directly connect with disadvantaged sellers and buy their unique products. We are an online marketplace where the majority of profits support sellers who are struggling to access basic human rights.

The Shop for Change charges only 5% commission on sales, enabling the vast majority of profits to go back to the seller.

Our sellers ensure that more than 50% of profits directly contribute to one or more of the following social impacts:

• Reduce poverty & hunger
• Increasing access to education
• Gender equality & empowerment of women
• Increasing access to child health
• Increasing access to maternal health
• Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Increasing access to safe drinking water

United Nations Millennium Development Goals
The social impacts listed above are based on the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were established in September 2000, and represent commitments by 189 countries to effect real, measurable change by 2015. The Shop for Change focuses on these goals by enabling buyers to make social impact at a grass roots level.

Find out more about the UN Millennium Development Goals here: United Nations MDG Website or MDG Monitor.

Start shopping for change

You can explore The Shop for Change in a number of ways!

Find products
You can filter all products by category, country, social impact and price range and even by a combination of these characteristics. Additionally you can use the search tool at the top right of the website to find a products by name.

Meet sellers
You can browse all sellers and filter by country or social impact. When viewing a seller’s profile page, you can learn about their story and browse their range of products.

The Shop for Change is open to buyers all around the world.

1. When you have finished adding items to your cart, roll over Your basket in the top right
2. Click Checkout and check your order
3. You will be asked to log in if you haven't already
4. Fill in your delivery details
5. Select the appropriate shipping (domestic or international) and check the costs to ensure they are correct – if you think the cost seems too high, you can query it via our contact form
6. Review your order
7. Click Submit if everything looks correct
8. Finalise your payment using a credit or debit card via PayPal's secure site (if you don't have or don't wish to have a PayPal account, you can pay without logging on using a credit or debit card).

You can place an order and pay securely online using VISA, MasterCard, other major credit cards or with a PayPal account. The Shop for Change currently uses PayPal to securely handle all credit card transactions. Find out more about PayPal.

When your payment is confirmed, a purchase order is sent to the seller. The seller fulfills the order and posts directly to you. After a dispute resolution period is over, The Shop for Change pays the seller for the order less our 5% commission.

The Shop for Change website displays prices and charges in Australian dollars (AUD).

To cancel an order, contact The Shop for Change team immediately with your order number. Please note, some orders may not be refundable.

Please read the Buyer Terms & Conditions for more information.

Buyers can report a non-delivery or other issues with their order within 14 days of the estimated delivery date. Buyers should contact The Shop for Change to report any issues as soon as possible.

An email is sent to the buyer on the estimated delivery date notifying that the order should have arrived. If you report a non-delivery, we will help you work with the seller to find a solution. 

Please read the Buyer Terms & Conditions for more information.

If you have problems with your order contact The Shop for Change immediately and we will help you work with the seller to find a solution. Please use our feedback system to review the seller's products and service.

When the case is resolved, the buyer or the seller must contact The Shop for Change to close the dispute.

Buying directly from the poor online involves some level of risk. Each seller is screened by The Shop for Change before initiating a profile on our website and we have a system of ratings and reviews, so you know what experience other buyers have had with a particular seller. However, it is important to consider that some sellers will be operating from very difficult circumstances. One way that The Shop for Change can actually help in times of natural disaster or political unrest is to encourage purchasing from those regions – while the risk of non-delivery may be higher, the benefits to people in need will be greater. 

The sellers on The Shop for Change are from the ultimate grassroots level. It is our goal to target people that are so small in the economic food chain, that their products or business would likely have had no chance to be verified or certified by international organisations before joining our online marketplace. These are the poorest, and therefore the most in need of a resource like The Shop for Change. 

For this reason, we have created a trust-based opportunity for people who deserve a 'hand up' to join our marketplace with the proviso that verification will be pursued through our verification partners after they have joined. As a buyer, you can chose to buy only from verified sellers, or from the complete world of sellers, including those just starting out on The Shop for Change. 

When you buy on The Shop for Change, you also begin to connect with a community of sellers around the world. Our community is here to help each other by overcoming communication barriers and sharing knowledge, ideas and experience. As a buyer, you can contact sellers to give feedback and advice or even to collaborate. Sellers can also respond to your feedback. In this way, you can help disadvantaged sellers to improve their product ranges or service.

The Shop for Change values the privacy of our sellers and buyers. We will not sell any of your personal information, and will only provide it to third parties unrelated to the Website with your consent. We take reasonable steps to keep your personal information secure, and to prevent unauthorised disclosure, access or misuse. For more information, please read our Privacy Policy.

When you sign up to be a seller, you'll get your own online shop. You can upload photos and information about your organisation, and manage your list of products for sale. Having a shop on The Shop for Change means connecting with a community of buyers and sellers around the world.

For artisans struggling to access basic human rights, through to organisations supporting those in need, sellers are invited to join The Shop for Change for free - and start selling online. The Shop for Change charges only 5% commission on sales so the majority of proceeds go back to the seller to enable a maximum social impact.

Setting up shop is simple!

Once you've completed your shop profile and uploaded your products, it will be verified by The Shop for Change seller support team. When your shop goes live, it will then be promoted to buyers all around the world. You will also have your own shop web address to promote to your own networks (eg. www.theshopforchange.com/seller/your-username).

Eligibility & requirements

To sell on The Shop for Change it's important that you meet our Eligibility Criteria, Operational Requirements (both detailed below) and accept the Seller Terms & Conditions. Additionally, all products you sell need to meet the Australian customs requirements.

Contact us to start selling

It is free to set up your own shop on The Shop for Change and there is a 5% commission on sales you make. This contributes to the development of The Shop for Change as our teams works to grow this international market of sellers and buyers. There are no upfront fees however sellers are required to pay any bank transfer fees when they get paid. These costs can vary based on the type of payment from free to $15 AUD for an international money transfer.

With a mission to maximise social impact, our sellers are required to comply with our Eligibility Criteria:

Eligibility Criteria

1. More than 50% of profits are directly supporting a disadvantaged person or group – those struggling to access basic human rights¹
2. Profits have a positive, measurable effect on at least one Social Impact²
3. Sale prices and profits will be disclosed to The Shop for Change if requested
4. If you are based in Australia, you a registered business with an Australian Business Number (ABN)
5. The items for sale are produced:
   1. Free of child and slave labour
   2. In sweatshop-free, safe environments
   3. While protecting and conserving the environment
   4. In appreciation of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights

1. Generally we consider those at a disadvantage to be facing social or economic marginalisation, with limited access to food and water, education or health care. These descriptions may fit the seller, or the person or group who benefit from the seller's profits. Please note that this evaluation can be complex, and The Shop for Change reserves the right to assess seller eligibility on an individual basis. 

2. Social Impacts include: Reducing poverty & hunger, increasing access to education, gender equality & empowerment of women, access to child health, access to maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and access to safe drinking water.

Related FAQs

Q: We are the Australian distributors for products made by the NGO, so we are not the disadvantaged seller directly. Is this okay?

A: Yes. While ideally, we would like to allow buyers to deal as directly as possible with the disadvantaged person or group, the Operational Requirements necessary to run an online Shop can mean that sales are managed by a supporting organisation. As a distributor, you can even make a profit, as long as more than 50% of total profits go back to the disadvantaged person or group.

In order to maintain high-quality standards of service, sellers on The Shop for Change must be able to meet the following Operational Requirements. If at any time a seller is unable to satisfy these requirements, they must deactivate their shop. Sellers can re-activate their shop at any time.

Operational Requirements for sellers:

1. Access the Internet and communicate by email at least once every 3 days
2. Speak, read and write English¹
3. Take digital photographs and upload them using the Internet
4. Write a description about their shop, their story and the Social Impact² they are tackling
5. Provide descriptions, costs and upload digital photographs of their products
6. Update the quantity of products they have in stock on the website when necessary
7. Receive orders by email and post/dispatch them in a timely manner
8. Promptly and honestly respond to any buyer questions using The Shop for Change website and email
9. Have access to a bank account through which to receive funds
10. Collaborate with The Shop for Change staff to optimise their shop profile and product presentations

If a seller cannot satisfy the Operational Requirements, they can consider finding someone who can help:

• Someone they know and trust that meets the requirements, OR
• Consider forming a collective with other sellers in their area and involve someone that can meet the requirements

1. Some basic help is made available on The Shop for Change website, and tools such as Google Translate may help, but it is expected that sellers have an ability to read and write in basic English or have someone who can help when required.

2. Social Impacts include: Reducing poverty & hunger, increasing access to education, gender equality & empowerment of women, access to child health, access to maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and access to safe drinking water.

• Products made by you, or the person or group you represent. 
• Product categories include: Wearable, Home and Garden, Art and Music, Gifts and Novelties.

You cannot sell:

• Illegal or prohibited items
• Items that don’t meet the requirements outlined in the Australian customs requirements.

While The Shop for Change is still in development, our team currently assists you to manage your Shop. However, in the near future, you will be able to do this independently.

Once you have confirmed that you meet the Eligibility Criteria, Operational Requirements (see above) and accept the Seller Terms & Conditions, we will need you to provide the following to get your shop online:

Shop profile

• Shop name
• Contact name, phone number and email address
• Where is the person or community who will benefit from your sales? (country and specific region)
• Where are your products shipped from? (country and specific region)
• Photos (to represent you / your organisation on your shop profile page)
• Your story (up to 500 words): the people you support and why, the impact you have, about you / your organisation etc.
• Which Social Impacts your organisation contributes to (see the Social Impacts supported by The Shop for Change):
• On average, how long does it take to post your products?

Business details

• Your registered business and / or trading name
• Registered business address
• If you are an Australian registered business:
  • What is your Australian Business Number (ABN)
  • Do you charge GST?

Banking

In order for The Shop for Change to make payments to you we need to obtain your preferred payment details. Please note any applicable transaction costs, including currency conversion, are deducted from your total payment. We process seller payments at the beginning of each month and you can choose to receive a payment at that time or wait until you have made more sales. As you will need to pay the money transfer fee, we pay you in a single payment for all payable orders. 

What is your preferred payment method and details?

PayPal

Please provide your registered PayPal email address for receiving payments. This is usually the cheapest method to get paid and is often free (note you may incur a currency conversion fee if your PayPal account is not in Australian dollars).

Electronic bank transfer

For Australian businesses:

Please note all Australian electronic fund transfers (direct credit) costs approximately $0.50c per payment and will include "SHOPFORCHANGE" as the remitter name. This is a single fee when you receive a payment for all payable orders.

• Your BSB:
• Your account number:
• Your bank:

For businesses outside Australia:

Please note international money transfers cost approximately AUD$15.00 per transaction and will include "SHOPFORCHANGE" as the remitter name. This is a single fee when you receive a payment for all payable orders.

• Bank (eg. SWIFT) code
• Bank's full name
• Bank address
• Recipient (your) full name
• Recipient (your) address
• Recipient (your) account number
• Recipient (your) email address - if applicable
• Your IBAN (Europe & UK) or IFSC (India) - if applicable

Product details

• Product name
• Multiple images of your product, including close-ups of product details (see Images below)
• The identification number ('SKU') you wish to give your product (eg. WF001)
• The price of your product (please include The Shop for Change 5% commission and any applicable taxes as this will be deducted from the product price)
• Detailed product description, including its use, dimensions, colour options, disclaimers (about colours, washing, design consistency etc. if required), and any interesting back-stories to the product
• Available quantity of the product
• Category of product (one or more of Wearable, Home & Garden, Art & Music, Gifts & Novelties)
• Words you would like to tag the product with (see Tagging below)
• Weight of product in grams (Important: please be as accurate as possible as the weight is used for calculating the cost of shipping)

Images

We recommend you provide 4 images for each product you sell. Ensure you include close-up photos of product details. Images are best displayed when wide ('landscape'), rather than tall ('portrait'). It is important that images are big enough to enable the buyer to view a large. Image specifications are as follows:

• Maximum filesize 2MB
• Allowed file types: gif, jpg, png, jpeg
• Images must be between 400-800 pixels wide and 300-600 pixels tall

Tagging

Tags allow your product to be discovered even more easily. Each product listed can be linked with certain words that allow it to be found in searches along with products with similar features. For example, a ‘yellow owl pendant’ can be tagged with words ‘Yellow, Jewellery, Ladies, Women, Girls, Bird, Owl, Animal, Pendant, Gift’.

Promoting your shop

While we will market The Shop for Change and promote your products periodically as ‘featured’, we will also be providing additional features including a shop widget to enable you to easily promote your store / products on other websites including blogs and social media. We also ask that you regularly provide our team with news about your products or organisation to include in our e-Newsletter correspondence to buyers. 

Sold listings

When a product is sold, the seller is notified via email of the sale and is requested to post the item as soon as possible, within their specified dispatch time. Once a product’s stock quantity is sold out, the product automatically becomes inactive. The product can be reactivated by updating the stock quantity.

Shipping charges

Postage and handling charges are calculated automatically, based on the weight of the product(s) sold. Shipping charges are added to the sale price that buyers pay, so these costs are covered when you are paid for the sale. 

Vacation Mode

If you are unable to post products for a period of time, you can temporarily disable your shop and reactivate it when you are able to send items again. It is important that you process all orders made before you disable your shop. Please contact us to put your shop into Vacation Mode as required. 

Related FAQs

Q: How is pricing of products set?

A: All product details and prices are set by you. The effect of supply and demand will ultimately enable you to price your products to suit your market. It is important when setting a product price, that you remember to include The Shop for Change's 5% commission and any applicable tax charges.  

Q: Can I promote my products on The Shop for Change from my own website or domain name?

A: Yes, if you have your own website or domain name, you can link this to your shop on the The Shop for Change. This means that site maintenance and marketing is taken care of by our team, and you can still promote your products through your own website. You can link or advertise your shop URL which is www.theshopforchange.com/seller/yourshopname

Q: Will there be any contracts for sellers or are we free to close our shop at any time?

A: The Shop for Change provides a seller contract that sets a range of expectations while your shop is online. However, you can close your shop at any time (permanently or temporarily), without charge, as long as all orders have been dispatched and closed. The contract also covers obligations such as keeping your shop up-to-date, particularly the product descriptions and availability, and that sold items are dispatched within predetermined dates. For more information, please read the full Seller Terms & Conditions.

Q: Does stock availability have to be manually entered and always kept up-to-date or do I just need to enter if a product is out of stock?

A: It will be important to ensure stock is available to meet expected delivery times. Both quantity and estimated time to dispatch are managed by the website based on the original quantity you enter when you list the product. For stock that is in abundance, the quantity can be set to unlimited. When stock of a product becomes low, you will be notified via email. If a product is sold out, it will be labeled as such for buyers until you update the quantity with new stock.

Q: Can I include information about other places I sell, such as community markets on my seller profile?

A: As social impact is our goal, we are generally more than happy to have you promote your other sales channels on your profile. We also appreciate and will support you in promoting your own shop on The Shop for Change.

Our objective is to keep the The Shop for Change as effective as possible for buyers to find and purchase products. Let us know if we can improve this in any way.

How will you get paid?
Buyers use PayPal to purchase and pay The Shop for Change for products. The Shop for Change then pays sellers through their PayPal account or their personal / company / organisation bank account. Sellers are required to pay any applicable transfer fees.

When will you get paid?

At the beginning of each month, The Shop for Change processes all orders and makes payments to sellers for completed orders.

Normally, an order is completed after:


• it has been shipped;

• the estimated time to delivery has expired + 14 days; and

• no issues (such as non-delivery) have been flagged by the buyer.

The Shop for Change values the privacy of our sellers and buyers. We will not sell any of your personal information, and will only provide it to third parties unrelated to the Website with your consent. We take reasonable steps to keep your personal information secure, and to prevent unauthorised disclosure, access or misuse. For more information, please read our Privacy Policy.

When you join The Shop for Change, you connect with a community of buyers and sellers around the world. Our community is here to help each other by overcoming communication barriers and sharing knowledge, ideas and experience. As a seller, you can contact other sellers to ask for advice and even to collaborate. You can also request and respond to buyer feedback to improve your product range or service and make more sales.  

Are you working with or do you know of artisans or producers who struggle to access basic human rights? Perhaps they are selling in limited local markets and are unable to generate enough sales to escape the cycle of poverty.

From individual grass roots artisans struggling to access basic human rights, to co-operatives and non-government organisations focused on supporting those who need help most, The Shop for Change provides a marketing and sales platform to generate income for the purpose of effecting change.

We invite you get in contact and join us as a seller, partner or affiliate!

Get in contact

The wider our buyer networks expand, the greater social benefit we can deliver. This is the exciting nature of The Shop for Change. If you are able to help us to reach out to wider audiences, we'd love to hear from you.

Get in contact

The Shop for Change chooses to charge a nominal 5% mark-up on sales to help fund the growth of this global marketplace, while ensuring a maximum return is delivered to where it is needed most – our disadvantaged sellers. As a bootstrapped start-up company, we are fully self-funded and welcome opportunities for sponsorship by individuals or organisations to fast-track our growth. Please contact us if you think you can help in this way. 

Get in contact

The Shop for Change is effecting social change globally. If you'd like to take part in this change, and you have a skill or motivation that can help us, please get in contact. We are currently looking for people who can help our team and/or our sellers with:

• Seller support
• Internet training for sellers
• Marketing strategies
• Product design
• Business development
• Seller verification

If you've got a skill or talent that's not on the list and that you think could help, we'd love to hear from you!

Get in contact

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to get in contact.