Ankorstore Sellers: How to Launch Your Own Store (2026 Guide)

Every month you pay Ankorstore's 3% processing fee on reorders, you are paying rent on customer relationships you already own - and unlike rent, you could stop paying it tomorrow.

•Why Ankorstore Sellers Are Going Independent
•Step 1: Decide If It Is the Right Time
•Step 2: Choose a Platform
•Step 3: Set Up Your Store
•Step 4: Import and Recreate Your Products
•Step 5: Build Your Email List
•Step 6: Drive Your First Traffic
•Step 7: Run Both Channels Simultaneously
•Your Launch Checklist
•The Cost of Waiting
•Frequently Asked Questions
•About This Research
•Related Articles

Why Ankorstore Sellers Are Going Independent

Ankorstore is a genuinely useful platform. The network of 200,000+ European retailers, the built-in payment guarantee, and the simplified order management make it attractive, particularly for brands early in their wholesale journey.

But the platform has also shown how quickly things can change. In 2023, Ankorstore laid off approximately half its workforce. In December 2025, it overhauled its entire fee model. Both were significant events that required sellers to adapt on a timeline set by someone else.

The case for independence is not anti-Ankorstore. It is pro-resilience. A brand that runs its own wholesale store alongside Ankorstore is not dependent on any single platform's continued existence, pricing decisions, or algorithm changes.

It also compounds differently. Ankorstore's value to you stays roughly constant. Your own store's value grows every month you add retailer contacts to your database, build SEO equity, and deepen direct relationships.

Before reading further, review the full Ankorstore fee breakdown and the Ankorstore vs. own website comparison to understand where you stand financially.

Step 1: Decide If It Is the Right Time

Not every Ankorstore seller should build their own store right now. Some genuinely are not ready.

Signs it is the right time:

•You have 20+ active retailer relationships through Ankorstore
•Your monthly GMV on the platform is above €2,000
•You have experienced a platform policy change that disrupted your business
•You want to offer custom pricing, net terms, or minimum orders that do not fit Ankorstore's structure
•You are investing in brand building and want your wholesale presence to reflect that

Signs it is too early:

•You are still discovering your first wholesale customers through the platform
•You have fewer than 10 active retailer relationships
•You do not have time to manage a second channel
•You rely on Ankorstore's payment guarantee for most of your orders because you cannot afford a default

There is no shame in being in the "too early" category. Ankorstore is a legitimate tool for the discovery phase. The goal is to recognize when you have graduated from discovery into relationship management - and that is when independence pays.

The decision framework is simple: If more than 50% of your Ankorstore revenue comes from retailers you already know well, you are paying 3% per order to manage relationships you own. Build your own store.

Step 2: Choose a Platform

Most B2B Stores Do Not Need an Enterprise Solution

The wholesale store software market has expanded dramatically. Most Ankorstore sellers do not need expensive B2B enterprise tools. They need a clean, functional ordering portal with customer-specific pricing and a simple checkout. That is available on Shopify and WooCommerce today.

Option A: Shopify (Recommended for most brands)

Shopify's standard plans start at approximately €29/month. B2B features - including wholesale pricing, net-payment terms, and company accounts - are available through Shopify's built-in B2B tools on higher plans or via third-party apps like Wholesale Gorilla or Faire Wholesale App alternatives.

The Ankorstore Shopify app allows you to sync your Ankorstore catalog directly to Shopify, which cuts down the initial setup time considerably. Your product data, images, and pricing do not need to be manually recreated.

Shopify is best for brands that want a solid, well-supported setup and are comfortable paying for a polished experience.

Option B: WooCommerce (Best for budget-conscious brands)

WooCommerce runs on WordPress and is free to install. Plugins like B2BWoo or Wholesale Suite add B2B-specific functionality - retailer registration approval, customer-specific pricing tiers, minimum order requirements, and net-terms checkout.

Total monthly cost including hosting is typically €15-€40/month. It requires more technical setup than Shopify but offers more flexibility in structure.

Option C: B2B-Native Platforms (For specific use cases)

Platforms like Orderchamp, Creoate, or Stockist.com are wholesale-specific and offer built-in buyer discovery similar to Ankorstore, alongside your own store functionality. If you want to replace Ankorstore's discovery feature rather than just its ordering infrastructure, these are worth evaluating.

Our recommendation: For most Ankorstore sellers moving to an independent store, Shopify with a B2B app is the best combination of capability, speed to launch, and ease of use.

Step 3: Set Up Your Store

Once you have chosen a platform, setup follows a predictable sequence.

Domain and branding. Register a domain if you do not have one. Use your brand name with a simple structure like yourbrand.com/wholesale or trade.yourbrand.com. A dedicated trade subdomain signals professionalism to retailer buyers.

Retailer application page. Most successful B2B stores require retailers to apply for a trade account rather than allowing open ordering. This creates a quality gate that matches what Ankorstore does through its curated platform model. Ask for business name, location, type of store, and annual turnover. A short application takes 2 minutes and screens out non-legitimate buyers.

Pricing structure. Decide whether you will show pricing publicly or behind a login wall. Most wholesale brands opt for a login wall - you only see wholesale prices once you are approved. This prevents competitors from monitoring your pricing and keeps your retail and wholesale channels cleanly separated.

Payment options. At minimum, set up Stripe or PayPal for card payments. For net-30 or net-60 terms, apps like Resolve Pay or Balance integrate with Shopify to provide buy-now-pay-later functionality for business buyers - replicating Ankorstore's payment terms without going through the platform.

Minimum order settings. Set minimum order values that reflect your actual operational requirements. Most wholesale stores start at €100-€200 minimums. This is now configurable on Ankorstore too, but your own store gives you complete freedom.

Core pages to create:

•Trade account application / registration
•About the brand (trade-focused version)
•Ordering and shipping terms
•Returns policy for wholesale
•Contact page for trade enquiries

Get Started: build your store and own it forever

Step 4: Import and Recreate Your Products

Product migration is the task most sellers overestimate in difficulty.

If you use the Ankorstore Shopify app, your catalog is already synced to a Shopify account. The migration is mostly a restructuring exercise - you already have the data.

If you are starting from a different base, gather your product information from your Ankorstore seller dashboard. Export what you can. At minimum, you need:

•Product names and SKUs
•Product descriptions
•Images (download originals if possible, not compressed platform versions)
•Wholesale pricing per product
•Variants (sizes, colors, etc.)
•Stock levels

Do not copy descriptions verbatim from Ankorstore. Rewrite them for your own store. Different audience framing, slightly different language. This prevents duplicate content issues and lets you tailor the tone for direct buyer relationships.

Quality over quantity. If you have 300 SKUs on Ankorstore, you do not need to migrate all 300 on day one. Start with your top 30-50 by revenue. Get those live, get the store selling, and add remaining products over the following weeks.

Images matter enormously for wholesale. Buyers in boutiques want to visualize how the product will look in their store. Lifestyle images and flat-lays convert better than pure product-on-white. If your Ankorstore images are weak, improving them during the migration is a compounding investment.

Step 5: Build Your Email List

Your Ankorstore retailer contacts cannot be exported as an email list. But you can build that list systematically - starting today, regardless of where you are in the store-building process.

The simplest approach. When an Ankorstore order is completed, use the platform's messaging system to send a short follow-up. Something like: "Thanks for your order - we send a monthly trade newsletter with new product previews and exclusive restocking deals. Reply 'yes' to be added, or sign up at [your domain]/trade."

This is not against Ankorstore's policies. You are not redirecting orders. You are building a brand relationship alongside the transactional relationship.

What to do with the list once you have it.

An email list of retailer buyers is a direct sales channel. Use it to:

•Pre-sell new product launches before they go live
•Offer exclusive seasonal deals to loyal stockists
•Share brand storytelling that builds preference over commodity alternatives
•Drive reorders without waiting for retailers to come back to Ankorstore on their own timeline

According to research on B2B email marketing from HubSpot, email generates an average ROI of approximately 42:1 for B2B businesses. That is a channel worth owning.

See the complete guide to building a customer list as a marketplace seller for detailed implementation.

A List of 100 Buyers Is Worth More Than 10,000 Impressions

One hundred retailers who have opted in to hear from your brand are worth more than ten thousand anonymous platform impressions. Each email you send costs almost nothing. Each retailer on that list has already proven they buy your product. This is the most asymmetric ROI available to any wholesale brand, and most Ankorstore sellers have not started building it yet.

Step 6: Drive Your First Traffic

A new wholesale store with no traffic produces no orders. Traffic is where most sellers get stuck. Here is what actually works.

Direct outreach to existing Ankorstore buyers. This is your fastest path to first orders. You already have a relationship. Use the Ankorstore platform to share your new direct ordering option, framing it as an exclusive benefit: "You can now order directly from us at [yourdomain.com/trade] with even better pricing on reorders."

LinkedIn. Wholesale buying decisions are made by business owners. LinkedIn is where European independent boutique owners are reachable. A simple post introducing your brand to the European retail community, with a link to your trade application page, reaches an audience that Ankorstore's discovery algorithm does not.

Trade shows and events. Physical touchpoints produce digital follow-through. Every trade show introduction, every business card exchanged, becomes a store visitor when you have a trade URL to direct people to.

Google search (medium-term). Retailers search Google for wholesale suppliers in specific categories. An optimized product page - "wholesale [your product type] Europe" - can generate consistent organic traffic within 3-6 months. This is a slow burn but a compounding one. The complete guide to getting traffic without a marketplace covers the SEO tactics in detail.

Paid advertising. Facebook and Instagram ads targeting boutique owners and retail buyers in your category can drive qualified trade leads at a reasonable cost per acquisition. The Facebook ads guide for marketplace sellers covers targeting setup.

Content and brand positioning. If you are a brand with a story - a founder background, a production method, a sourcing philosophy - content marketing to the retail community builds long-term inbound. A short monthly newsletter on trends in your category positions you as a resource for retail buyers, not just a vendor.

Step 7: Run Both Channels Simultaneously

The biggest risk in building an independent store is abandoning Ankorstore too early and losing the discovery traffic before your own store has traction.

The correct sequence:

•Build your store. Do not announce it to your Ankorstore buyers yet.
•Get your first 5 direct orders, ideally from existing buyers who you personally invited.
•Once you are confident in the ordering experience, begin promoting your direct channel in Ankorstore follow-up messages.
•Over the next 90 days, move reorders of your most established relationships to your own store.
•Keep Ankorstore active for new retailer discovery. Do not delist products.

What to offer on your direct store that you cannot on Ankorstore:

•Lower minimum orders for VIP accounts
•Net-30 payment terms for established stockists
•Exclusive pre-season ordering windows
•Volume discounts that kick in above thresholds
•Direct phone/email access for large accounts

These benefits create a genuine pull for retailers to move their reorders to your direct channel.

The target state in 12 months:

•Ankorstore: 40% of revenue, concentrated in new retailer acquisition
•Own store: 60% of revenue, concentrated in established account reorders

At this ratio, your business is resilient. Ankorstore could change its fees, lose funding, or shut down - and your core revenue continues uninterrupted.

See the 90-day marketing plan template for a ready-to-use timeline.

Your Launch Checklist

Use this checklist to track your progress from Ankorstore-only to hybrid channel.

Pre-build decisions

• Confirm you meet the readiness criteria (20+ retailer relationships or €2,000+/month GMV)
• Choose your platform (Shopify recommended)
• Register your trade domain
• Decide on pricing display (open vs. login-walled)

Store setup

• Install platform and choose a clean, professional theme
• Set up B2B pricing app or built-in wholesale tools
• Create retailer application / registration page
• Set minimum order and shipping terms
• Connect payment processor (Stripe or PayPal minimum)
• Set up net-terms option for established accounts (optional)
• Create core pages: terms, returns, contact, about

Product migration

• Export / document your top 30-50 SKUs from Ankorstore
• Rewrite product descriptions (do not copy verbatim)
• Upload optimized product images
• Set wholesale prices and variant structure
• Test a complete order flow as a guest retailer

Email list building

• Create a trade newsletter signup (embedded on your store)
• Draft your Ankorstore follow-up message sequence to invite buyers to subscribe
• Set up an email platform (Klaviyo, Mailchimp, or equivalent)
• Write a welcome email sequence (2-3 emails introducing your brand directly)

Traffic and launch

• Identify your first 10 outreach targets (existing Ankorstore buyers)
• Create a LinkedIn announcement post
• Draft your first trade email newsletter
• Set up basic Google Analytics or equivalent tracking
• Submit store sitemap to Google Search Console

Ongoing (post-launch)

• Keep Ankorstore listing active and updated
• Send direct outreach to new Ankorstore buyers within 48 hours of each order
• Review direct vs. platform revenue split monthly
• Publish 1 blog post per quarter targeting wholesale search terms

The Cost of Waiting

Every month you delay building your own store is a month of compounding missed value.

The math on a €5,000/month GMV brand:

	Ankorstore only	Own store (from month 3)
Month 1-2	€5,000 × 3% = €150 fees	Build time, no direct revenue yet
Month 3-12	€5,000 × 3% × 10mo = €1,500 fees	50% reorders move direct: €750 saved
Year 1 total fee cost	€1,800	~€1,200 (after partial migration)
Year 2 total fee cost	€1,800	~€600 (most reorders direct)
Store build cost	€0	€499 one-time
Year 2 net saving	-	€1,200+/year

The store build cost is recovered in savings within the first year for a brand doing €5,000/month on Ankorstore.

More importantly, the owned retailer database compounds. A year from now, you could have 50-100 retailer email subscribers who order directly. Two years from now, 150-200. That list has value independent of any fee calculation.

Get Started: build your store and own it forever

StableCommerce builds wholesale-ready independent stores for marketplace sellers. The Launch package is €399 (one-time). The Growth and Authority packages are €699 (one-time) and include SEO setup. You pay once. The store is yours forever. No ongoing fees to us, just your hosting costs.

The Bottom Line

Building your own store is not about abandoning Ankor. It is about owning what you build instead of renting it. Every buyer you convert on Ankor can become a direct customer on your own site - one you can reach for free, forever.

The sellers who act early have the easiest transition. Products are established, reviews exist, a customer base is forming. Waiting until you are forced to move means rebuilding from a harder position.

Your own store is not a gamble. It is an asset. And unlike Ankor, you pay once and own it forever.

Get Started: build your store and own it forever. The StableCommerce Agency builds your store from scratch - Launch package from $999, one-time. No recurring platform fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to leave Ankorstore to launch my own store?

No. The recommended approach is to run both channels in parallel. Ankorstore remains your new-retailer discovery tool. Your own store serves established accounts and reorders.

How long does it take to launch a wholesale store?

With professional help, a functional store can be live in 1-2 weeks. DIY, expect 3-4 weeks if you are working on it part-time. Product migration and testing are the most time-consuming elements.

What is the minimum I need to spend to launch a wholesale store?

A DIY WooCommerce store can be launched for approximately €15-€40/month in hosting with free plugins. A professionally built Shopify store with proper B2B setup costs €399-€699 one-time, plus €29-€79/month.

Will I lose my Ankorstore customers if I build my own store?

No. Your Ankorstore profile remains active. Retailers who find you there will still order there. You are adding a direct option, not removing the existing one.

How do I get my first orders on a new wholesale store?

Direct outreach to your existing Ankorstore buyers is the fastest path. You already have a relationship. An invitation to order directly with an exclusive discount or benefit converts most active accounts.

Is Shopify good for wholesale B2B?

Shopify is one of the best platforms for wholesale, especially with its native B2B features or apps like Wholesale Gorilla. The Ankorstore Shopify app also enables catalog syncing, which cuts down migration time considerably.

What should I offer retailers to encourage direct ordering?

Better net terms, lower minimums for VIP accounts, exclusive early access to new products, and direct contact access all provide genuine value that Ankorstore cannot match.

How do I handle payment terms on my own store?

For basic card payments, Stripe or PayPal are sufficient. For net-30/60 terms, apps like Resolve Pay, Balance, or Kriya integrate with Shopify and WooCommerce to provide trade credit without you taking on the credit risk directly.

Can I import products from Ankorstore to Shopify?

The official Ankorstore Shopify app handles catalog syncing between the two platforms, which cuts down migration time considerably. Check the Ankorstore app on the Shopify App Store for current sync capabilities.

What if my own store gets no traffic?

Every successful wholesale brand started with zero traffic on their direct site. The first traffic comes from direct outreach to existing buyers. The second wave comes from LinkedIn, trade shows, and referrals. SEO traffic builds over 3-6 months. The mistake is expecting instant organic traffic - plan for a 90-day ramp.

Should I hire someone to build my store or do it myself?

If your time is worth more than €20-€30/hour, hiring someone is almost certainly the better investment. Professional builds take 1-2 weeks instead of 3-4 and produce a better result. StableCommerce builds wholesale stores starting at €399. Get started here.

How do I price the same products on my own store vs. Ankorstore?

Ankorstore encourages brands to match their direct-channel pricing. The practical approach is to offer your standard wholesale price on both, with exclusive benefits (volume discounts, better terms) on your direct store rather than a lower listed price.

About This Research

StableCommerce is an e-commerce agency that builds independent stores for marketplace sellers. This article is based on current platform fee schedules, seller community discussions, and hands-on platform research conducted in 2025-2026.

Content reviewed and updated: 2025-12-04

•Ankorstore Fees 2026: Complete Seller Fee Breakdown - Every fee explained so you know exactly what you are paying and why
•Ankorstore vs Own Website: Which Is Better for Sellers? (2026) - Head-to-head comparison with fee tables at every revenue level
•Complete Guide to Launching Your Own Store as a Marketplace Seller - The full playbook for going independent from any marketplace
•Marketing Guide for Marketplace Sellers - How to drive traffic once your independent store is live
•How to Get Traffic Without a Marketplace - Organic and paid traffic strategies for independent wholesale stores

Connect With Us

•Blog: Browse all articles
•Reviews: Read seller reviews on Trustpilot
•Company: Follow Stable Commerce on LinkedIn
•X (Twitter): @GoldshteinAnton
•LinkedIn: Anton Goldshtein
•Discord Community: Join our Discord

Ankorstore Sellers: How to Launch Your Own Store (2026...