You can participate in the WorldofGood.com Marketplace Access Program (MAP) as a MAP Agent and help producers and products that are on file with a Trust Provider but need some assistance to participate in our marketplace.

This page is for organizations and individuals who wish to become MAP Agents. These Guidelines can help you understand the kinds of business arrangements you can make, important questions to ask, and detailed policies and tips to help you and the producers and products you work with achieve success.

• If you are a currently an eBay Trading Assistant, an eBay seller, a person with an interest in supporting producer groups around the world, or a producer’s friend or relative, this page is for you.
• If you are a producer and are looking for guidance in how to use the Marketplace Access Program, please review the MAP Guidelines for Producers.

Becoming a MAP Agent

Help us build awareness of and opportunity for People Positive products in the United States. Becoming a MAP Agent on WorldofGood.com can be a powerful way to grow or start a socially positive online business. Whether your goals are primarily profit-based, entirely social, or somewhere in between, please consider applying if you’re a registered seller on eBay, your account is in good standing, and you have an eBay Feedback Score of 25 or higher with at least 98% positive.

Apply to become a Marketplace Access Program (MAP) Agent

What’s on this page

In these Guidelines you’ll find:

• Steps to becoming a MAP Agent
• Scenarios of producers and MAP Agents working together
• A self-assessment guide to help you determine what services you can provide to producers
• Suggested questions to ask producers about their business so that you can better understand their resources
• Information on becoming a product-level MAP Agent
  

Steps to becoming an active MAP Agent

1. Review this page to determine what services you can and will offer to producers.
   
2. Complete and submit the application.
   
3. If you are approved, we’ll list your name and a description of your services in our MAP Agent Directory so producers can contact you. You’ll also be able to use our Producer Directory to proactively seek producer groups.
4. Create your profile in the WorldofGood.com Community. (If you’re an active WorldofGood.com seller, you’ll want to add information about your MAP Agent status to your existing profile.)
5. Find producers that are qualified to sell on WorldofGood.com who are seeking the MAP Agent services you offer.
6. Build a written, signed mutually beneficial agreement with each producer for performing services. The agreement should cover your responsibilities and obligations to each other, such as how each of you will be paid, and determine how this cost will impact your business.
7. Ask the producers you will be working with to send us a confirming email (anchor link to MAP Agent Confirming Email).
8. Start selling on WorldofGood.com.
   

MAP Agent Confirming Email

Before we can authorize you to sell on WorldofGood.com as a MAP Agent, we must receive an email from the producer or the product manufacturer that is:

1. Sent to MAP@worldofgood.com
2. Sent from the email address of the person on the Trust Provider member list*
3. With the subject heading ‘'Add a MAP Agent”
4. Including the following details:

• Producer or product manufacturer representative’s first and last name
• eBay user ID (if applicable)
• Trust Provider they are affiliated
• Email address on file with that Trust Provider
• Their organization’s name and telephone number

* If this isn’t possible, we’ll use the phone number (see step 4) to authenticate the request.

Scenarios: Producers and MAP Agents working together

Many producers who make products that are eligible to be sold on WorldofGood.com have very limited experience selling directly to consumers or through an intermediary. This might be due to any number of obstacles that producer groups regularly face. We’ve heard many stories of these challenges. Here are just three of them. While reading this you’ll soon realize not only how great a need there is for your services as a MAP Agent, but also how great an impact your relationship with a producer group can have on the group and its community. (For privacy reasons we have kept the name of each group confidential.)

You can learn more about producer groups in our Producer Directory and in our Community.

Textile Producers, Cambodia
This producer group has been working with adults living with disabilities to make beautiful textiles, including embroidered purses. Through its membership in multiple Trust Provider organizations, this group has access to market intelligence and can plan the next season’s product lines based on this valuable information. However, these producers have never sold directly to U.S.-based consumers; rather, they have only sold to Fair Trade importers, who pay half of the contract price in advance. The group depends on this type of financing and either needs to replicate this model or to receive training and education on other ways to successfully manage its cash flow needs.

Jewelry Producers, Pakistan
This producer group designs and produces women’s jewelry in a remote region in Northern Pakistan. The group is very computer savvy and very interested in starting to sell on WorldofGood.com. This would be the first time they sold directly to consumers. But from their remote mountainous location, the cost to ship piece-by-piece to buyers based in the U.S. would be almost quadruple their wholesale price. They need a way to reduce their shipping costs while taking advantage of WorldofGood.com.

Pottery Producers, Mexico
This producer group makes traditional handcrafted Mexican pottery, including dishes and vases. Though this group already has three long-term contracts with U.S.-based importers, it could be producing a lot more – but it doesn’t have the resources to manage the shipping of individual packages, or to list individual products on WorldofGood.com. The group would like to take advantage of the WorldofGood.com opportunity, but the lack of business resources might prevent it from doing so.

Self-Assessment Guide

Ask yourself these questions to determine what services you have the interest and capacity to provide to producers. (eBay is a valuable resource for detailed information on each selling element. Visit the Answer Center and the Selling pages for additional information.)

General

• Will I sell on a consignment model or would I prefer to buy the goods and sell directly?
• What’s my storage capacity? Do I need a warehouse? Can I use my basement or garage?

Shipping and Customs

• How can I help the producer find a logistics provider if needed?
• Will any shipping charges from the producer’s country to my warehouse be included in or added to the cost for my services?
• What information does the producer need to complete a U.S. Customs form? How can I obtain that information and share it with the producer?
• What are my options with the producer if the products get damaged in shipping or in my warehouse, or are returned from a buyer?

Payment

• How can I give the producer payment in advance, either partially or fully, so the producer group can better absorb the cost of production which in turn helps support their family and community?
• How often will I send payment to the producer groups?
• How will fees for these payments be covered – included or in addition to my fees?
• How will the fluctuating value of the U.S. dollar impact the producer and me?

Technology

Suggested Questions to ask Producers

Use this section as a guide when you are talking to producers about their business so that you can better understand their resources and needs

General

• What goods can and do you produce?
• How long does it take you to produce those goods?
• What seasonal factors affect that production?
• What pictures, samples, and so on of the goods you produce can you provide?
• What will be the prices for the goods you want to sell?

Shipping and Customs

• How do you handle shipping logistics?
• What experience do you have with U.S. Customs procedure?

Payment

• Can you receive payment via PayPal in the country you live in?
• How often do you need for me to send you payment for the goods that have been sold?
• What is your ideal advance payment for the goods you ship?

Technology

Apply to become a Marketplace Access Program Agent

Are you a product-level MAP Agent?

If you are an authorized reseller of products that are certified by a Trust Provider, you can become a product-level MAP agent. You won’t need to complete the MAP Agent application to do so. As long as you sell products that are verified or monitored by a product-level Trust Provider, and a maker of these products informs WorldofGood.com that you’ve been authorized as a reseller, we consider you a product-level MAP Agent.

Here’s an example:

• You want to sell on WorldofGood.com but you have no Trust Provider affiliations.
• You’ve noticed a packaged Fair Trade product called Elizabeth’s Coffee that has the logo of TransFair USA on its packaging.
• You learn from the WorldofGood.com Trust Provider Directory that TransFair USA is a Product-level Trust Provider.
• You contact the makers of Elizabeth’s Coffee and ask them to authorize you to sell their TransFair USA Fair Trade Certified coffee on WorldofGood.com.
• The makers of Elizabeth’s Coffee agree.
• They send us a MAP Agent Confirming Email about the new arrangement.
• You’re now a product-level MAP Agent. When you list Elizabeth’s Coffee on WorldofGood.com, you include TransFair USA under Product in the Trustology section of the WorldofGood.com listing form. Learn more about listings on WorldofGood.com.