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.

Do your profits have a positive, measurable effect on at least one Social Impact?

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.

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.

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).

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.