SokoMarket-FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (General)

Here you can find answers to basic questions about the site and troubleshooting some common issues. We will attempt to answer most of your questions

About Sokomarket

Registering & Login

Account Info

Buying & Selling on SokoMarket

Forums

About Sokomarket

What is SokoMarket?

Soko is a Swahili word that means market or marketplace; read more in "about us" section to see the origin of the word. The concept of sokomarket.com is to bring manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, sellers and buyers into one place. It has a section of buying and selling with an in built gift registry. In addition, it has a section for B2B marketplace for global importers and exporters. Sokomarket.com plans to make this a true marketplace where everyone can find a piece of what they want. Sokomarket.com will continue to roll out new features for the users to help them customize their stores as they want. If you are a business that is interested buying or selling things in bulk then you can make a sell offer or buyer offer to attract other businesses that deal with similar trade.

What is so unique about SokoMarket?

We would hate to be lumped up with the label "we are more of the same, so why should I register with you?"; the thing that set SokoMarket apart from other websites is that we have tried to research for what matters with buyers and sellers and created this hybrid platform with unique features that will bring the trading community together.

How can I contact SokoMarket?

Use this contact form

Does SokoMarket sell anything?

No, it does not, SokoMarket is an "ecommerce platform" built to facilitate in trading. Also, SokoMarket is not involved in the final transactions between the sellers and buyers.

Does SokoMarket support Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption?

Yes. SSL (secure order protection, secure certificate or digital certificate) is a protocol for securely encrypting and transmitting electronic information between web servers across the Internet, and is the most popular method for ensuring the secure transmission of information. A locked security icon on the browser shows that the connection is encrypted.

Registering & Login

How do I register?

Registration is easy just click here.

How do I get started on SokoMarket?

The first step is to become a member. Just click the register link at the top right-hand corner of the site to get started. You will need a valid e-mail address, a unique username and a password. Usernames can only be numbers and letters; no funky characters or spaces are allowed; usernames are not case-sensitive so don’t worry about using lower or upper-case.

Why do I have login problems?

Have you activated your account via the confirmation e-mail sent by SokoMarket? You can't login if your account has not been activated. When you first register with SokoMarket, we send you a confirmation e-mail. You'll just need to click on the link provided on the e-mail and copy the confirmation code to activate your account. You might also be mistyping your password or confirmation code, be sure that the CAPS LOCK is off. If the problem still persists get in touch with our customer support department at: support@sokomarket.com.

Where is my confirmation e-mail? I don’t think I received one!

First check your junk/spam folder for the email. Because we are new, your email filtering system may not recognize us. Your confirmation email may have been routed to a junk email folder or caught in your spam filter. You should check these folders to see if the confirmation email is there. Contact support to resolve this issue at support@sokomarket.com

Account Info

What should I do if I forget my password?

No problem, this happens to all of us. Simply go to the login page and click the password reset link. We will send a password to your confirmed email address.

What should I do if I forget my username?

If you forget your username, we can send it to your email address that you used to register the account. If this happens, just click on the forgot your username link and then check your email in a few minutes for your username information. Don't forget to check the spam and junk folders in case the email is routed there by your email software.

Can I change my password?

It is a good idea to change your password from time to time. You can do this as often as you would like. Simply login to your SokoMarket account and go to Mysoko section. From there you will see a change password link. Click on this link and follow the instructions.

Can I change my username?

No, your username cannot be changed. For this reason please take a moment and ponder and consider your username carefully before registering

Is it possible to just close one account and open another one?

Yes, but we can't transfer any of the information from one account to another. You will lose all of information and items on file. That is to say it will be a complete starting over. Also, you will have to give us another email address. For security reasons usernames and emails can't be reused once they are in our system. Also, we have worked hard to limit the ability for disreputable traders to just create new accounts to avoid the consequences of bad behavior. For this reason it is not possible to reuse an email account if it was used on a previous SokoMarket account.

How do I delete my SokoMarket account?

Are you sure? This would be unfortunate but if you have considered this and really want to take this action, you will need to contact our support staff. Send an email to support@sokomarket.com with the subject line DELETE ACCOUNT. Be sure to send the message from the email address on file in your SokoMarket account and provide us with your username.

How do I get a picture like others in the SokoMarket chat forums?

That picture is commonly known as the avatar; as long as the picture complies with SokoMarket policies you can choose anything. The avatar can be changed on the Mysoko page by clicking profile link. That section lets you edit your public profile information.

What else should I have in my profile?

Public profiles are very important because they let other members and potential buyers to get to know you. The whole point of SokoMarket is to build a community, and a community is made up of many diverse and fascinating individuals. We want to know about you! You should include the following in your public profile:

  1. A bio –This can be as long as necessary to tell people about you. What kind of work do you do? What are your interests? What are your hobbies? Tell us about yourself and what matters to you.
  2. Your location – This is necessary for the buying and shipping of items, not to mention a reference of your business. You don’t need to give out your street address; simply the city and/or state will do just fine.

I have other information to change, how do I do that?

Almost all of your information can be changed on Mysoko page after you log in.

What is my Contact List for?

Your Contact List is your personal list of people and companies you correspond with through Sokomarket.com. Your Contact List contains username and company name to help you keep in touch with your business partners.

How do I add a member to my Contact List if I don't know their username?

To add a contact click on add contact displayed on the product page and an add message will be sent to the member for approval. The member name will appear on your contact list only after the member accepts your request.

How do I send messages on buy offer?

Send messages by clicking Contact Now on the product detail Check for replies in your Message Center and reply

What is the importance of Company Profile?

In order to market yourself and your products more effectively & credibly, the Company Profile section plays a very important part. A well-written & descriptive Company Profile clearly conveys the credibility, authenticity and an insight of your business to buyers. Research proves that buyers prefer to contact sellers who properly present their Company profiles. Once you've created your company profile, your profile will show up in the search results of our real-time database. It will also be sent to registered members. Here is what you should include in your Company Profile:

  1. A strong company logo is essential for marketing and branding. So, we urge that you must include a logo in your company profile
  2. Showing the history of the company also plays an important role and, hence, creates a good impression on the viewer
  3. Mentioning the capacity of the company also makes you prominent amongst others
  4. Presentation is again one of the vital tools to get noticed as attraction is a must in order to get more and more business
  5. A detailed Profile shows the authenticity and the credibility of the member and their company

Buying & Selling on SokoMarket

Can I still sell single items?

Yes you can, browse to the sell your stuff section in Mysoko and list it.

What happens when my item expires?

At the moment the expiry date is not enforced. Items can be listed for extended periods of time until they are sold or user removes it. This applies to buy offer and sell offer too.

How do I pay the seller?

Sellers accept different payment methods. During checkout on your final submission after you confirm the order, you will be prompted with seller preferred method of payment. Sellers have an option of accepting PayPal Google Checkout, money orders and others.

Do I have to live in the United States to sell on SokoMarket.com?

No, anybody in the world can list a company, buy offer, Sell offer and even open a store and sell items. All you need is a valid email address.

What is a Buy Offer?

A buy offer is a purchase request posted by a buyer. Essentially, it is an invitation to suppliers to send their quotes regarding a certain product or product range. Post a buy offer if you cannot find the products you want to source on sokomarket.com. Most suppliers do not post their entire inventory, so tell suppliers what you want and let the right suppliers come to you. When posting your buy offers, you can specify your preferred method of contact.

What is the difference between Sell items and Sell Offers?

Sell items allow you to display items that can be sold and purchased right from the SokoMarket website. This mostly involves items that are not sold in bulk and the quantity in stock is displayed on the product page. The buyer can buy to the maximum available in stock. There is no limit to how many products you can post. A Sell offer is a Trade Lead posted by a supplier. It can contain product information, availability, timelines and more. Sell offers are sorted according to the date they are posted making it important to re-post often. Sell offers also have an expiry date. Free members can post up to a maximum of 30 products

How do I post buy offers and sell offers?

Sign in to Mysoko and click on post a sell offer or post a buy offer.

How can I find sell offers or buy offers ?

By searching in the sell offers or buy offers section.

How to make sell offer or buy offer payment?

Sokomarket.com is not a trading company or a manufacturer and we are not involved in transactions between our members. If you are interested in the products on our site, simply contact the supplier directly about the price and transaction details. Sokomarket.com will never charge you commission on any transaction. All payments should be negotiated with and made directly to the supplier.

What is the Importance of Sell Offers?

Sell Offers section is the least used and most misunderstood section on B2B Portals. This is an area that needs to be updated frequently by you. Products Catalog helps buyers understand the major products you are selling. It gives them an idea of what line of business you are in and your major production. On the other hand, Sell Offers help buyers understand in more detail the models or types of products that are available according to current industry trends or demands. Here you post information about products which are heavily in stock and you want to do business with high potential. You can always generate multiple Sell Offers from your Products Catalog mentioning different designs, models, quality, etc. as it varies from product to product. As trends change, products change as well. Therefore, Sell Offers can be deleted and re-posted any time you want. While Posting Sell Offers you need to pay attention to the following issues:

  1. All the Sell offers must have pictures uploaded with them. It is commonly believed that "A picture speaks for itself". A good quality picture creates more interest for buyers and helps them visualize the product in more detail. Also, pictures show your professional attitude to the buyers.
  2. A Premium Member can post unlimited products. It is highly recommended that you post maximum number of Sell Offers and update them every 3 to 4 days. This is because the more relevant information you post the more exposure you get on our website and your Sell Offer looks fresh to the buyers as well.
  3. Sell Offer is also the best way for promotional stuff where you brief the buyers about the benefits they can gain with the short time Offer posted.
  4. Provide all the information in a concise manner containing all the related information including: Quality, Quantity, Delivery Time, Price, and Mode of Payment.

What is a Keyword and how important it is?

Keyword is a single word or phrase that a potential user searches to find the most relevant results he is looking for. To get those searchers to find your product and services, you need to include right keywords for your product or services. A good keyword can be the deciding factor to grow your online business and gain targeted inquiries. If you have chosen inappropriate keywords it may derive wrong audience to you which mean low sales and inquiries.

What is the importance of choosing a good keyword for a product?

Proper attention is required in selecting the most appropriate keyword or right combination of words that accurately describe your product or service which are most likely to be searched by the potential buyers on SokoMarket. Choosing a right keyword may take lot of time but will benefit you in a long run because it helps in bringing qualified trade leads to you which ends up increasing sales conversion. It is quite a tough task to define good keywords for your product; there are many factors to be considered to rightly describe your products and influence the buyer. Given below are some major factors that will give your product more visibility at SokoMarket.com, which can easily lead to increase sales leads.

  1. Be Relevant and Analyze your target audience:
    Your keyword should be relevant to your product and services nature and always keep your target audience in mind that what they are going to search if they want to buy your specified product or service.
  2. Stay away from the Generic keywords
    it has been researched that when a user wants to find something, he tries to fine tune his search by making a combination of words to get more relevant results in quick time. In other words, if he is looking for a shoe to attend particular occasion or function, he will try to search phrase ("Party Shoes") by mixing keyword of party nature with shoe to get most targeted results, rather than simply searching "Shoes". Another important part is that generic keywords have lot more competition as compared to phrases which may decrease your visibility. Generic keywords do offer more traffic but have very low conversion rate so try to avoid generic keywords.
  3. Be Specific & Comprehensive.
    Always focus on choosing a specific keyword, if you are men’s shoes manufacturer then use "men’s shoes manufacturer" rather than using"shoes manufacturer". People who search for "shoe manufacturer" may be looking for bridal shoes, prom shoes, or any other kind of ladies shoes available. If men’s shoe manufacturing is your concerned business category then getting a bride to send inquiry to you is worthless. It would be better to have fewer users interested in men’s shoes rather than high users interested in women’s shoes.

How to market my sell offers products on Sokomarket.com?

The best way to promote your products online is to Display your products free on Sokomarket.com. You can add up to 30 products free. To attract more buyers, add detailed product specifications. You can also search for buyers directly by checking the latest buy offers. Buy offers are like wanted ads or purchase requests that tell you exactly what buyers are looking for.

How do I search for buyers?

Click the Buy offer tab on the Search Bar, make sure the buy offer is highlighted and illuminated red enter a product name in the search box then click search. Refine your search results by Category, business type, and region in advanced search

What can I do if I've paid but haven't received the goods?

If you have paid for a shipment of goods but have not received delivery of the shipment, please report your case to us at. Please note that Sokomarket.com is a service provider and is not part of financial transactions between buyers and suppliers. Sokomarket.com cannot guarantee that any dispute will be settled or that the results of any settlement will be satisfactory.

Forums

How do I modify/delete my posting in community?

After posting, you have an hour to edit or delete your post after that only moderator can modify or delete postings in community. Please contact the moderator to delete your posting.

Why has my posting in community been deleted?

Once Sokomarket.com (or its designated moderator) determines your posting infringes our User Agreement, we will delete the posted information without notice. If you have questions about why your post has been deleted by the moderator, please contact the moderator directly in the appropriate discussion board.

Why has my posting in community been moved?

If Sokomarket.com (or its designated moderator) determines your posting in community is more appropriate in another category, it can be moved without notice to the poster.

Why can't I reply to or comment on some of the postings?

Postings/replies usually fail for one of the following reasons:

  1. Some postings are locked, which means they cannot be replied to. You can see the "Thread closed" symbol at the top of locked threads
  2. Only moderators and/or authorized members can post and/or reply
  3. The article or thread to which you are replying has been locked or deleted

Why can't I post a new topic?

All members can start a new topic within community section. If you can't post a new topic, please make sure that you have signed in with your username and password. Please also make sure that you have not been temporarily or permanently banned