Most local shop owners in Dhaka depend only on people who walk past their shop on the street. At the same time, big shopping websites make you wait weeks to get your money and make you compete with giant importers.
The Near Buy welcomes both physical shops and online stores. It helps neighborhood shop owners, market stalls, and local online sellers put their products on the platform and sell directly to thousands of customers living nearby—from 5 to 50 kilometers around your location.
With The Near Buy, customers order directly from your store, get fast delivery within 4 hours or on the same day, and can even walk into physical shops to pick up orders for free. You set your own prices, bargain with buyers without losing money, and receive your weekly payouts directly into your bank or mobile wallet.
Here is your simple, step-by-step guide to running your shop on The Near Buy.
Setting Up Your Shop on the App
Opening your store on the app takes just a few minutes from your phone or computer:
- Sign Up: Open The Near Buy and tap Start Selling or Seller Sign-Up. Enter your mobile phone number, type in the 6-digit SMS code sent to your phone, and choose a password.
- Add Your Store Photo and Name: Upload a photo of your shop’s front signboard (or your online store logo and banner). When neighbors see your store on their screen, they trust your shop right away.
- Pin Your Location: Mark your shop or pickup location on the map and write down your address or market area so nearby shoppers can easily find you.
- Set Your Opening Hours and Weekly Holiday:
- Enter the time you open and the time you close each day (for example, 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM).
- Choose your regular weekly market closing day (such as Tuesday or Friday). The app will never send you orders when your store is marked closed.
- Going on Vacation? If you need to close for a few days for family events, shop repairs, or stock counts, simply turn on the Temporarily Closed switch. Your items will be hidden while you are away without hurting your seller rating.
Adding Items and Managing Your Stock
Putting your items on the app is simple and quick:
- Clear Names and Descriptions: Use simple, clear names that customers search for (for example, “Men’s Cotton Polo Shirt - Blue” instead of just “Shirt”). Mention the brand, material, and key details.
- Sizes and Colors: If an item comes in different sizes (like S, M, L, XL) or colors, add them as choices. Enter how many of each piece you have in stock.
- Real Photos from Your Shelves: Take clear photos of the actual items sitting on your store shelves. Real photos from your own shop build trust with your neighbors.
- Keep Your Stock Up to Date: Only list items you physically have in your store right now. If your last piece sells to a customer who walks into your physical shop, change the number to zero on your phone right away so online customers do not order something you do not have.
How Bargaining Works for Sellers
Bargaining is a normal part of shopping in Bangladesh. The Near Buy lets you bargain with online buyers right on your phone while protecting your profit.
How Bargaining Works:
- You Choose Which Items Allow Bargaining: You can sell an item at a fixed price, or you can turn bargaining on.
- Your Secret Minimum Price: When you turn bargaining on, you type in a secret minimum price (for example, if the listed price is 1,200 Taka, you can set your secret minimum at 1,000 Taka).
- Automatic Protection: Customers never see your secret minimum price. If a customer offers an amount that is too low (like 600 Taka), the system automatically turns it down. You only receive offers that leave you with a fair profit.
- Replying in One Tap: When an offer arrives on your phone:
- Accept: Agrees to the customer’s price.
- Suggest Middle Price: Offers a middle price (for example, suggesting 1,100 Taka if they offered 1,000 Taka).
- Decline: Turns down the offer.
- 60 Minutes to Buy: When you agree on a price, that special price is saved in the customer’s cart for 60 minutes so they can finish paying.
Accepting Orders within 60 Minutes
Responding quickly helps you get more customers:
- Instant Order Sound: When a customer places an order, your phone will ring with an alert.
- 60 Minutes to Accept: During your open shop hours, check your shelf, make sure the item is ready, and tap Accept Order within 60 minutes.
- Out of Stock on One Item? If a customer orders three items and one item just sold out in your physical store, do not cancel the whole order. Simply tap Adjust Order, remove the one missing item, and accept the other two. The customer’s bill will update automatically.
- Fast Responder Badge: Shops that accept orders quickly (within 15 to 30 minutes) get a Fast Responder Badge and appear higher up in search results so more neighbors buy from them.
Packing and Delivering Orders
Packing your items carefully keeps your customers happy:
- Pack Neatly: Put items inside clean bags or boxes.
- Rainy Weather Protection: During the monsoon season, always put clothes, electronics, and paper goods inside a sealed plastic bag inside the box so rainwater cannot damage them.
- Attach the Order Slip: Put the order slip on the package showing the customer’s first name, phone number, order number, and delivery area. To protect customer privacy, merchants only see the customer’s phone number and general neighborhood area—merchants never see the customer’s exact private home address. Only the delivery rider receives the exact address to bring the parcel to the door.
- Choose How the Order is Delivered:
- Store Pickup: If the customer chose Store Pickup, mark it ready on your phone. When the customer walks into your store, check their order number and hand them their parcel.
- Doorstep Delivery: Hand the package to your store delivery rider or neighborhood courier to take to the customer’s address.
Making Sure You Get Paid: The 8-Digit Code and QR Code
For Cash-on-Delivery orders, The Near Buy uses a simple code to make sure you never lose money or have delivery arguments:
- When your delivery rider arrives at the customer’s door, the customer will have a private 8-digit code and a QR code on their phone screen.
- Your rider scans the QR code with their phone, or types in the 8-digit code.
- The system checks the code instantly on both phones and marks the order as Delivered.
- Your rider collects the exact cash from the customer on the spot.
[!IMPORTANT] Important Rule for Delivery: Tell your delivery riders never to hand over a package before scanning the QR code or typing in the 8-digit code. This protects your store from anyone claiming they did not receive their parcel.
Handling Returns and Replacements
Good customer service keeps neighbors coming back to your shop. Customers have 7 days after delivery to report broken, damaged, or wrong items.
How to Handle Returns:
- Check the Request: When a customer reports a problem, look at their message and photos on your dashboard within 48 hours.
- Inspect the Returned Item: When the customer returns the item to your store, make sure it was not purposely broken or misused.
- Send a Replacement within 48 Hours: If the item was damaged or the wrong size or color was sent, send the customer a brand-new replacement within 48 hours at your cost.
- Refunds: If you do not have another piece in stock, the system will give the customer a full refund.
- Help with Disagreements: If you believe a return request is unfair or false, tap Ask Support for Help. Our team will look at the photos from both sides and resolve it fairly within 2 to 3 days.
Getting Paid: Your Seller Wallet and Weekly Payouts
All your earnings are tracked on your Seller Dashboard:
- Available Balance: Money from completed orders that is ready to be sent to your bank or mobile wallet.
- Pending Balance: Money from online card or mobile wallet payments held safely while the order is being delivered and checked.
- How Cash Orders Work: When you deliver Cash-on-Delivery orders, your shop keeps 100% of the physical cash collected at the customer’s door. The small platform fee on that sale is simply deducted from your online balance, so you never have to go to a bank to pay platform fees.
- Low, Clear Fees: A small fee is only charged when an order is completed successfully. If an order is cancelled or returned, no fee is charged.
- Weekly Payouts: Every Tuesday, your cleared earnings are sent automatically to your verified bank account, bKash merchant account, or Nagad merchant account.
Requirements to Sell, Store Rules, and Allowed Items
To keep The Near Buy safe and trusted for everyone, sellers must follow these basic rules:
Requirements to Open a Shop:
- Must Be 18 or Older: You must be at least 18 years old to register as a seller and receive payouts. (Shoppers can be any age, but sellers must be adults aged 18 and older).
- Both Physical Shops and Online Stores Welcome: You can sell on The Near Buy if you run a physical retail shop, a boutique, a market stall, or an online business.
- Documents Needed:
- Valid Trade License (for a physical shop or an online business).
- National ID card (NID).
- 13-digit BIN or business tax number.
- Clear photos: For physical shops, a photo of your front signboard and store shelves. For online businesses, screenshots or links to your active online store/page and photos of your current stock.
What You Can Sell (Non-Food Retail Only):
- Items You Can Sell: Clothes, shoes, sandals, bags, watches, phone chargers, earphones, cables, small electronics, home decorations, kitchen tools, bedsheets, curtains, hand tools, hardware, books, stationery, and soaps or cosmetics with the official BSTI seal.
- No Food Allowed: You must never list or sell food. No fresh meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, fruit, eggs, restaurant meals, cooked dishes, street snacks, or groceries (like rice, flour, oil, spices, or baby food).
Rules for Sellers:
- Real Products Only: Never sell fake, copycat, or replica goods under famous brand names. Selling fake items will result in your shop being closed permanently.
- Fair Pricing: Never charge more than the printed Maximum Retail Price (MRP).
- Keep Orders on the App: Never ask customers to send you money privately outside the app to avoid platform fees.
- Protect Customer Privacy: Merchants only see the customer’s phone number and neighborhood area—merchants never see the customer’s exact home or apartment address. Customer phone numbers must never be saved for marketing, shared with others, or posted on social media.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: Does it cost anything to open a shop on The Near Buy?
No. Creating your account, adding your items, and setting up your store is completely free. The Near Buy only takes a small fee when you make a successful sale.
Q2: How long does it take to approve my shop?
Our team reviews your Trade License, National ID, and shop photos within 24 to 48 business hours. If any photo is blurry, we will send you a message asking for a clearer picture.
Q3: Can I sell if I only have an online store and no physical shop?
Yes! The Near Buy welcomes both physical shops and registered online stores. If you run an online store with a valid Trade License and National ID, you can open a store on The Near Buy, list your items, and sell to nearby customers.
Q4: What if an item runs out of stock while my shop is open?
Use the Adjust Order button on your phone to remove that single item from the order and accept the rest. Then change the quantity of that item to zero on your dashboard so no one else orders it.
Q5: Can I deliver orders using my own store staff or rider?
Yes. You can deliver orders using your own shop rider, or use neighborhood couriers. In both cases, the rider scans the customer’s QR code or types in the 8-digit code at the door before collecting the cash.
Q6: How do I get help if I have a question about an order?
You can email our seller support team at merchants@thenearbuy.com, chat with us directly inside your Seller Dashboard, or visit our support office in Moghbazar, Dhaka during business hours.
Q7: Can I see the customer’s full home address?
No. To protect customer privacy, merchants only see the customer’s phone number and general neighborhood area (such as Dhanmondi Road 8). The customer’s exact home address is only shared with the delivery rider who physically brings the package to their door.
