Working with a streamer: when someone else sells your product

Not every seller is comfortable talking to a camera — and that is fine. On Dona someone else, a streamer, can sell your product in their own stream. You supply the goods and the price; they supply the audience. This article explains how such a partnership is put together.

Why it is worth doing#

The two sides have different strengths. The seller has stock, a warehouse and pricing. The streamer has viewers and the skill to carry a stream.

It helps new shops most: building your own audience takes months, while a streamer already has one. In categories where the product has to be shown — clothes, cosmetics, accessories — the difference is considerable.

Invitation and contract#

A partnership starts with an invitation. The panel has a streamers section where you send one, or review one that has arrived.

The terms are set down in a contract. It mostly covers three things: which products, for how long, and what share goes to the streamer.

One detail is worth knowing: the streamer’s commission is the share of the sale that goes to the streamer, and Dona takes its own part out of that commission rather than separately from the sale. In other words you are working with one figure, not two.

You set the share yourself. Too low and the streamer is not interested; too high and there is no margin left for you. The answer sits in between.

Who holds the stock#

This is where most of the confusion arises. The streamer shows the product on the stream, but the goods stay in your warehouse and you dispatch the order.

So check your stock before the stream. A product sold live but absent from the warehouse is the worst case: the buyer has paid and the item is not there. It is recorded as an unfulfilled order and affects your shop health.

Tell the streamer in advance how many of each item you hold. If they need to switch to another product mid-stream, they should know.

How to start#

Start small the first time. Hand over three or four products rather than the whole catalogue, and try one stream.

Afterwards look at two things: how many sales there were and how many returns came back. Many sales with many returns means the product was described inaccurately. That is worth raising openly, because returns cost both sides.

If the result is good, extend the term and add more products.