What is OpenSky? OpenSky Review

Basic Introduction

Unlike Amazon and eBay, OpenSky focuses on products such as clothing, home furnishings, electronics, jewelry, cosmetics, accessories and fitness equipment. The sellers it faces are small and medium-sized enterprises, and the consumer group is mainly high-income women aged 35-60 with strong purchasing power. In terms of price, the average customer price of OpenSky's products is generally between US$35 and US$55. Compared with the price competition on eBay and AliExpress, the competition here may still be about quality.

The main promotion method is the intelligent recommendation model, which is similar to Wish. Consumers search on different websites, and the platform uses big data analysis to determine user preferences. Based on different user habits, it then pushes intelligent content through scenarios.

cost

1. Rent: Monthly ($39.95 USD) or Yearly ($379 USD -20% savings)

2. Commission: 18% regardless of category

3. Transaction Fees: Once you have established your Merchant Plan, OpenSky will charge you a fee for each transaction: 15% transaction fee and 3% credit card processing fee

Logistics requirements

The seller can choose the delivery method by himself. It supports domestic direct delivery or overseas warehouse delivery

Logistics timeliness requirements: Logistics dynamics must be updated within two working days and delivered within ten working days, otherwise there will be a fine

Entry requirements

Chinese sellers on the OpenSky platform have at least 50 different SKUs with guaranteed quality.

In terms of logistics, it takes 10 working days from the time a user places an order to the time they receive the product.

Regarding returns, sellers need to have a local return address in the United States and can request a return unconditionally within 14 days. The platform does not charge any fees. However, if there is a problem with the product and the return is made, the platform will charge a certain fee.

In terms of foreign exchange settlement, sellers can use cross-border payment Worldfirst and Payoneer, and OpenSky will pay back twice a month.

Entry channel

On July 19, 2017, ESG Group and OpenSky reached a strategic cooperation, and ESG Group officially became OpenSky's official designated agent in China. ESG will use its e-commerce resources in China to help OpenSky attract investment and provide Chinese sellers with OpenSky platform entry services.

As this is the first time for OpenSky to attract investment in China, it is not yet directly open to all sellers. It is still an invitation-only platform. Sellers can apply through the ESG Group, but they also need to be reviewed by ESG.  

Financing

OpenSky raised $19 million in its first two rounds of funding within just six months of its founding.

In October 2011, OpenSky raised $30 million in a new round of financing led by Providence Equity Partners, a U.S. private equity fund. Highland Capital Partners, Canaan Partners, and the Raine Group also actively participated in this round of investment.

In June 2015, Alibaba Group will sell its US online shopping subsidiary 11 Main to another US online trading platform OpenSky. In exchange, Alibaba will acquire 37.6% of OpenSky's shares.

References

• 1. Shopping website OpenSky raises $30 million: NetEase [cited on 2011-10-24T16:00:00.000Z]
• 2. OpenSky, a new platform with an annual GMV of over 5 billion US dollars, has come to China: Sohu [cited on 2017-07-24T16:00:00.000Z]
• 3. Alibaba has made strategic investment in the US e-commerce company OpenSky’s investment in China: Lianshang [cited on 2017-07-19T16:00:00.000Z]