Selling on Catch and Kogan: Australian Online Marketplace Guide

Australia's ecommerce market generated approximately AUD 63 billion in 2024, representing 14 to 16% of total retail sales. Amazon Australia has rapidly grown to become the largest online marketplace by revenue, but significant opportunity exists in Australia's second and third-tier marketplaces: Catch (owned by Wesfarmers) and Kogan. Together with eBay Australia and Amazon, these platforms account for approximately 75% of Australian online marketplace sales. For Taiwan brands, diversifying across multiple Australian marketplaces reduces dependence on Amazon and captures consumers who prefer local platforms.

Catch (catch.com.au) operates as a curated marketplace with approximately 3,000 third-party sellers and over 3 million active products. Originally a flash-sale site, Catch has evolved into a full-service marketplace with a strong position in health, beauty, electronics, and household goods. Catch attracts approximately 5 million monthly unique visitors and has a loyal customer base drawn to its "Daily Deals" and competitive pricing. The platform's curation approach -- manually reviewing and approving seller applications -- means lower seller competition than Amazon but a higher quality bar for product listings.

Kogan (kogan.com) operates a hybrid model combining its own first-party product sales with a growing third-party marketplace (Kogan Marketplace, formerly Dick Smith). Kogan attracts approximately 4 million monthly unique visitors and has a customer base focused on value-oriented electronics, health, home, and lifestyle products. Kogan First (the platform's membership program, AUD 99 per year) has over 500,000 members who receive free shipping and exclusive deals, creating a high-engagement customer segment similar to Amazon Prime.

The strategic rationale for selling on Catch and Kogan alongside Amazon Australia: customer reach diversification (not all Australian online shoppers use Amazon -- Catch and Kogan reach consumers who prefer local platforms), lower seller competition (fewer international sellers have established presence on these platforms), category-specific advantages (Catch is particularly strong in health and beauty; Kogan in electronics and home goods), and brand building through multiple touchpoints that increase consumer recognition across the Australian market.

Catch Marketplace seller registration is available through catch.com.au/sell-on-catch. The application process includes: company registration details (ABN required -- Taiwan brands must establish an Australian entity or use a registered Australian partner), product category declaration, bank account details for settlement, and product feed submission (minimum 10 products required for initial approval). Catch manually reviews all seller applications within 10 to 15 business days. Approval criteria include product quality assessment, competitive pricing, and the seller's ability to meet fulfillment requirements.

Commission structures on Catch vary by category: health and beauty 12 to 15%, electronics 8 to 12%, home and lifestyle 12 to 15%, fashion 15 to 18%, and sports and outdoors 12 to 15%. In addition to category commissions, Catch charges a AUD 49.99 monthly subscription fee and a fixed payment processing fee of AUD 0.30 per transaction. There are no listing fees -- you pay commission only on completed sales. Settlement is fortnightly, with funds deposited into your nominated Australian bank account 14 days after the order fulfillment date.

Product listings on Catch must meet specific quality standards. Required elements: professional product photography on a white background (minimum 1000x1000 pixels), detailed product descriptions with specifications, accurate category classification, competitive pricing (Catch monitors pricing against Amazon and other marketplaces), and comprehensive shipping information. Catch reserves the right to suppress or remove listings that do not meet quality standards, and repeated violations can result in seller account suspension.

Fulfillment on Catch is seller-managed -- there is no Catch equivalent to Amazon FBA. Sellers are responsible for warehousing, picking, packing, and shipping orders directly to customers. Delivery performance requirements: orders must be dispatched within 2 business days, standard delivery within 5 to 7 business days, and express delivery within 2 to 3 business days. Taiwan brands should use an Australian 3PL warehouse (costs AUD 3 to 6 per order for pick, pack, and dispatch) to meet these delivery timeframes. Shipping products directly from Taiwan is technically possible but delivery times of 10 to 21 days result in poor customer reviews and seller rating penalties.

Kogan Marketplace seller registration is at marketplace.kogan.com. The application requires: Australian Business Number (ABN), bank account details, product catalogue in CSV or API format, and a commitment to competitive pricing. Kogan's approval process takes 5 to 10 business days and is less restrictive than Catch -- the platform accepts a broader range of sellers and product categories. However, Kogan requires sellers to offer free shipping on all orders over AUD 50 to Kogan First members, which must be factored into pricing.

Kogan Marketplace commission rates are generally lower than Catch: health and wellness 10 to 13%, electronics 6 to 10%, home and kitchen 10 to 14%, beauty and personal care 12 to 15%, and sports 10 to 14%. The platform charges a monthly subscription fee of AUD 39.99. No listing fees apply. Settlement is processed fortnightly with deposits into the nominated Australian bank account. Kogan offers a seller dashboard with real-time sales data, order management tools, and performance metrics including delivery speed and customer review scores.

Kogan's first-party business model creates both opportunities and challenges for third-party sellers. Kogan buys and sells products under its own brand (Kogan brand electronics, Kogan Mobile, etc.) and also sources products directly from manufacturers for resale. This means Kogan may compete with your products in certain categories. The advantage: if your product performs well on the marketplace, Kogan's first-party buying team may approach you for a wholesale supply arrangement, providing guaranteed volume at wholesale pricing. The risk: Kogan may source a competing product and feature it more prominently than third-party listings.

Product listing optimization on Kogan follows similar principles to Amazon but with some platform-specific nuances. Kogan's search algorithm weights price competitiveness heavily -- products priced above competitors for equivalent specifications receive lower search visibility. Title format should follow: [Brand] [Product Type] [Key Specification] [Quantity/Size]. Include all relevant product attributes (weight, dimensions, material, certifications) in the structured data fields, as Kogan's comparison shopping tool pulls from these fields to generate product comparison tables.

Comparing fee structures across Australian marketplaces: Amazon Australia charges referral fees of 6 to 15% by category plus FBA fees of AUD 3 to 8+ per unit; Catch charges 8 to 18% commission plus AUD 49.99 monthly; Kogan charges 6 to 15% commission plus AUD 39.99 monthly. For a health supplement with a retail price of AUD 40 and a product cost of AUD 12: Amazon all-in fees (referral + FBA) are approximately AUD 9 to 11 (22 to 28% of price), Catch commission is approximately AUD 5 to 6 (12 to 15%) plus 3PL fulfillment of AUD 4 to 6, and Kogan commission is approximately AUD 4 to 5 (10 to 13%) plus 3PL fulfillment of AUD 4 to 6.

Net profitability comparison: for a AUD 40 health supplement, Amazon net margin (after product cost, fees, and FBA) is approximately AUD 17 to 19 (42 to 48% of price). Catch net margin (after product cost, commission, and 3PL) is approximately AUD 17 to 19 (42 to 48%). Kogan net margin is approximately AUD 18 to 20 (45 to 50%). While Kogan offers the highest margin percentage, Amazon delivers the highest absolute sales volume. The optimal strategy is a multi-marketplace presence capturing the best of each platform.

Hidden costs to budget for: product photography and listing creation (AUD 1,000 to 3,000 for initial catalog setup across platforms), 3PL warehouse setup for Catch and Kogan fulfillment (AUD 500 to 1,500 initial setup, AUD 300 to 800 per month storage), marketplace advertising (AUD 500 to 2,000 per month on each platform), and returns processing (2 to 5% of orders, with return shipping and restocking costs of AUD 8 to 15 per return). Factor these costs into your profitability analysis before committing to multi-marketplace distribution.

Cash flow management across multiple marketplaces: with fortnightly settlement on all three platforms, and varying order volumes, Taiwan brands should maintain a working capital buffer equivalent to 6 to 8 weeks of combined marketplace sales. Use marketplace analytics dashboards to forecast weekly revenue and plan inventory replenishment. Australian 3PL warehouses typically require monthly payment for storage and per-order payment for fulfillment, creating an additional cash flow timing consideration that does not exist with Amazon FBA's consolidated billing.

Catch offers several marketing tools for marketplace sellers: Daily Deals (featured promotions on Catch's homepage, requiring a minimum 20% discount and application through the seller portal), Catch Club integration (loyalty program with 2 million+ members who receive free shipping on orders over AUD 60), and sponsored product listings (cost-per-click advertising within Catch search results, minimum bid AUD 0.20 per click). Daily Deals can generate 5 to 10 times normal daily sales volume but require sufficient inventory to fulfill the spike in orders.

Kogan's marketing tools include: Kogan First exclusive deals (offers visible only to Kogan First's 500,000+ members), featured product placement on category pages (negotiated directly with the Kogan marketplace team based on product performance and margin), and email marketing inclusion (Kogan sends regular promotional emails to its database of 3 million+ registered users). Kogan's promotional calendar is event-driven -- major sales events include Kogan Birthday Sale (July), Click Frenzy (November), and Boxing Day Sales (December).

Cross-marketplace marketing strategy for Taiwan brands: maintain consistent branding, product descriptions, and imagery across Amazon, Catch, and Kogan. Drive external traffic (from social media, Google Ads, and content marketing) to the marketplace listing that offers the best conversion rate for each traffic source. Use Amazon as the primary brand-building platform (highest traffic and review volume), Catch for health-conscious consumers (strong health and beauty category), and Kogan for value-oriented consumers (competitive pricing focus).

Review management across platforms: customer reviews are critical on all three marketplaces but managed differently. Amazon allows "Request a Review" automation. Catch displays a 5-star rating system with written reviews visible on product pages. Kogan uses a seller rating system that affects search visibility. Maintain a minimum 4.0-star product rating and 95% positive seller rating across all platforms. Respond to negative reviews within 24 hours with a resolution-oriented message. Products that fall below 3.5 stars on any platform require immediate quality investigation or listing adjustment.

Long-term growth playbook: launch on Amazon Australia first (6 to 12 months) to establish brand presence and collect reviews, then expand to Catch (month 6 to 12) using Amazon reviews as social proof in product descriptions, and finally to Kogan (month 12 to 18) for maximum market coverage. By month 18, a well-executed multi-marketplace strategy should generate 50 to 60% of revenue from Amazon, 25 to 30% from Catch, and 15 to 20% from Kogan.