Markets, Categories, and Memberships

This guide aims to clarify the lifecycle of our marketplaces and how it relates to our membership system. MorphMarket is divided into smaller marketplaces based on Regions (your location) and Categories (species of animals). Currently, we have four major regions: US/Canada, Europe, South Africa, and Mexico, each offering around 40 Categories for selling, totaling 160 distinct markets.

Categories Lifecycle:

Categories have three life stages: Staged, Developing, and Mature.

Staged

During this stage, Seller have access to the categories and can create ads, but these ads are not visible to the public. This stage allows for preparation, promoting and setup.

Developing

Once launched publicly, the marketplace enters the "developing market" stage, where commerce begins. Listings become visible to the public, and transactions can occur. To help sellers build a strong community and foundation while a region or category is in the Developing stage, free members do not have ad count or ad value limits.

Mature

When a market reaches a certain age, size, and level of activity, we declare it to be mature.

Our newest top level categories are Invertebrates and Amphibians, which are in the Developing Market stage. All other listed categories are considered "Mature", unless inside a Developing Region.

MorphMarket Memberships in 2024:

From January 1, 2024, European and South African regions will become Mature. Recognizing the smaller market size in these regions, we've decided to offer these membership plans at half the price of what users in the US region pay. This adjustment is part of our effort to provide a fair pricing structure and enhance accessibility.

Purpose of Memberships:

Our Subscriptions continue to provide essential support to mature marketplaces, which in turn support our sellers. Membership plans are available at monthly or annual fees, depending on your choice. Each membership level offers additional features, including increased limits on the number and market value of ads, translating into powerful marketing tools.

Our business model of paid memberships remains focused on two primary purposes:

1. They help support the increasing overhead costs of maintaining MorphMarket and keeping it at the forefront of exotic animal markets.
2. They enable us to provide new tools and benefits to the sellers who contribute to our community. We are continuously adding features to enhance the experience for both buyers and sellers.

MorphMarket is growing and evolving, becoming stronger every day. While many sellers are enjoying fantastic success in our marketplace, we understand that every seller's situation is unique. Our lowest plan is priced at a modest $11/month when paid annually, and we believe its features can very easily pay back that amount for any seller willing to put in the effort. We fully support you making the choice which makes the best business sense for you. In any case, feel free to continue listing a few ads a month at no cost at all.

PS: If you're in a developing region, when your market matures, you'll be in the best position to decide which paid membership level is right for you. You'll have a solid history of sales data to make an informed decision.

Thank you for being a part of the MorphMarket community. We are here to support your journey as a seller or enthusiast, and we look forward to helping you succeed in our marketplace.