Types of Marketplaces You Can Build with Sharetribe - Real Examples & Ideas
After building 20+ marketplaces on Sharetribe, we've learned that the best ideas come from personal frustration. One client couldn't find a drone for his wedding video. Now he runs a €2M camera rental marketplace. Another was tired of empty parking spaces while searching for parking downtown. Today her app handles 1000+ daily bookings.
What can you build with Sharetribe? Let me show you what actually works.
Rental Marketplaces: The Money Makers
Sarah from Stockholm had a problem. She owned €5,000 worth of camera equipment that sat unused 350 days per year. Meanwhile, hobby photographers were spending fortunes on gear they'd use twice.
Her marketplace started with just cameras and lenses. Users kept asking: "Do you have drones? Lighting? Stabilizers?" Six months later, she's processing €15K monthly in rentals.
Why does it work? People trust renting from individuals more than rental shops. It's cheaper, more flexible, and often comes with free advice from passionate owners.
What rents well:
Photography equipment brings the highest returns. One Canon 5D Mark IV rents for €100/day - that's €3,000/month if booked weekends only. Drones are gold mines. DJI Mavic 3 owners make €75-150 per day.
Outdoor gear follows close behind. Roof boxes for cars, camping equipment, ski gear - anything seasonal and expensive. One client's paddleboard rental marketplace in Finland does 80% of annual revenue in just three summer months.
Party supplies surprised us. Fancy speakers, lighting, decoration packages. One Amsterdam marketplace specializes in wedding decorations. Average order? €300 for a weekend.
The challenge nobody talks about:
Insurance and deposits. That's where most DIY marketplaces fail. Renters worry about breaking things. Owners worry about theft.
We solved this for BikeShare Nordic by building automated damage workflows. Renter reports damage? System guides through photo uploads, estimate requests, claim processing. What took days now takes hours. Trust increased. Bookings doubled.
Service Marketplaces: The Steady Growers
Tom was a freelance designer tired of Upwork's race to the bottom. He knew dozens of talented professionals facing the same problem - great skills, wrong platform.
His marketplace focuses on one city, one standard: every professional charges at least €50/hour. No exceptions. The result? Clients get quality. Professionals get respect. Platform takes 15% and everyone wins.
Local services print money:
Cleaning services book like crazy. One Copenhagen marketplace handles 500+ home cleanings monthly. Average booking: €80. Platform fee: €12. Monthly revenue: €6,000 from one service type in one city.
Pet services are goldmines. Dog walking, pet sitting, grooming. PetBacker proved the model. Local versions thrive because pet owners want neighbors, not strangers.
Home repairs and handyman services work when you solve trust. Background checks, insurance verification, photo evidence of completed work. One Baltic marketplace requires video walkthroughs before and after. Claims dropped 90%.
Education marketplaces scale fast:
SkillMatch started with 10 math tutors. Parents loved booking verified teachers for €30/hour instead of agencies charging €60. Word spread through parent WhatsApp groups.
Three months later: 200 tutors across 50 subjects. The twist? Group classes. One teacher, five students, €15 each. Teacher earns €75/hour. Parents save 50%. Platform takes €11.25. Everyone wins.
Product Marketplaces: Choose Your Niche or Die
"Let's build Amazon for handmade goods" never works. "Let's build a marketplace for handmade ceramic pottery in Scandinavia" does.
Maria's pottery marketplace proves this. 50 ceramicists. 2,000 customers. €10K monthly sales. Small numbers? Sure. But 25% commission on €120 average orders means €2,500 monthly revenue from a side project.
Sustainable fashion actually sells:
But only with curation. Vinted handles volume. Niche marketplaces handle quality. One client's vintage designer marketplace accepts only 10% of applications. Result? Average item price €200 vs Vinted's €20.
B2B product marketplaces are hidden gems:
Restaurant supply marketplace in Germany. Sounds boring? They process €100K monthly. Restaurants need specialty ingredients, equipment, supplies. Suppliers need customers without massive sales teams. 15% commission on a €500 order beats 30% on a €50 consumer sale.
Space Marketplaces: The Underrated Winners
Empty space is wasted money. This simple truth powers profitable marketplaces worldwide.
Event spaces command premium prices:
Peerspace proved the model. Local versions thrive because venue hunting is painful. One Nordic marketplace focuses only on photography locations. Average booking: €400 for 4 hours. Commission: 20%. That's €80 per transaction.
Corporate event spaces are better. Average booking: €2,000. Same commission: €400. One booking equals 20 consumer transactions.
Storage solves real problems:
Neighbor.com showed the way. People pay €100/month to store boxes in your garage. One London marketplace added twist: business storage only. Companies pay €500/month for secure document storage. Higher prices, better customers, fewer headaches.
The parking opportunity everyone misses:
Not hourly parking. Monthly parking subscriptions. Office workers pay €150/month for guaranteed spots. Building owners list unused spaces. One Stockholm marketplace handles 500 spots. €75K monthly volume. €11K revenue. Completely automated.
B2B Marketplaces: Where Real Money Lives
Forget consumers. Businesses spend real money and complain less.
Professional services at scale:
ProjektuBanka matches businesses with consultants. Average project: €15,000. Platform fee: 10%. One transaction = €1,500 revenue. Compare that to consumer marketplaces celebrating €50 sales.
The key? Solve real business problems. Invoice factoring, purchase order financing, escrow services. Boring? Yes. Profitable? Absolutely.
Equipment sharing between businesses:
Construction companies own excavators used 100 days yearly. Other companies rent them for €1,000/day. One marketplace in Germany processes €500K monthly in heavy equipment rentals. Commission: 8%. Revenue: €40K/month.
Medical equipment sharing follows similar model. MRI machines, specialized tools, diagnostic equipment. Hospitals save millions. Equipment owners monetize idle assets. Platform takes its cut.
The Models Nobody Expects
Reverse marketplaces flip the script:
Instead of sellers listing, buyers post needs. Contractors bid on home improvement projects. Designers compete for branding work. Suppliers offer quotes for bulk orders.
Why it works: Buyers get options. Sellers get qualified leads. No endless browsing. No tire kickers. Just real opportunities and serious offers.
Subscription marketplaces guarantee revenue:
Toy library subscriptions: Parents pay €30/month for unlimited toy swaps. Kids get variety. Parents avoid clutter. Toy owners earn steady income.
Tool library memberships: €50/month for unlimited tool access. Weekend warriors save thousands. Tool owners monetize idle inventory. Platform processes predictable monthly revenue.
Community marketplaces build themselves:
University textbook exchanges. Company internal marketplaces. Neighborhood tool sharing. Low commissions, high trust, organic growth.
One company marketplace we built handles lunch orders, parking spots, desk bookings, equipment loans. 5,000 employees. No marketing costs. Instant adoption.
Making Your Choice
Pick your marketplace based on three factors:
Your unfair advantage: What do you know that others don't? Which community trusts you? What problem do you personally face?
Unit economics that work: Can you make money on each transaction? If platform fee is 20%, item costs €10, and shipping is €5, you lose money. If service costs €100 with no shipping, you profit €20.
Supply you can access: Can you get first 10 sellers? First 100? Without supply, you have a website, not a marketplace.
What Kills Marketplaces
Too broad: "Uber for everything" dies fast. Pick one thing. Do it well. Expand later.
Too complex: Launch with 5 features, not 50. Airbnb started without payments. Added complexity after proving demand.
Ignoring supply: No sellers = no marketplace. Focus 80% effort on supply, 20% on demand. Demand follows supply, rarely opposite.
Wrong pricing: Research what users actually pay. 30% commission on €20 items might work. 30% on €2,000 items won't.
No differentiation: "Like Amazon but smaller" isn't a strategy. What makes you special? Why should anyone care?
Your Next Steps
You've seen what works. Question is: what problem will you solve?
Start here:
- List 10 problems you personally face What do you struggle to find? What's too expensive? What's inconvenient?
- Check if supply exists Can you find 10 potential sellers? 100? If not, pick different problem.
- Calculate rough numbers Average transaction size × commission % × transactions per month = revenue Make sure math works before building anything.
- Start conversations Talk to 10 potential sellers. Will they list? Talk to 10 buyers. Will they purchase?
- Pick your Sharetribe plan
- Testing idea? Start with Build ($39)
- Ready for real users? Go Lite ($99)
- Need professional features? Choose Pro ($199)
- Want custom features? Extend ($299) plus development
Ready to Build Something Real?
Every marketplace we've built started with someone saying "there must be a better way." Maybe that someone is you.
Two ways forward:
Option 1: Start building today Sign up for Sharetribe and test your idea. Use examples from this guide. Launch fast, learn faster.
Option 2: Get expert guidance first
Free Marketplace Strategy Session
Tell us your idea. We'll share:
- Similar marketplaces that succeeded (or failed)
- Technical requirements you'll face
- Realistic timeline and costs
- Common pitfalls to avoid
- Clear action plan
In need of an consultation or have any questions?
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