In this article, you'll learn how to set up a Stripe payment page to collect a one-time payment from your users. You can charge a one-time fees for different offerings; however, this guide uses the example of a listing fee, a purchase made by providers to have their listings published on the marketplace.
You need to set up a different payem system because Sharetribe’s built-in payment system (Stripe Connect) is specifically designed for splitting payments and commissions between the marketplace, customer, and provider. One-time fees work differently, requiring a direct payment from your user to your platform. A different system is needed.
In this guide, we’ll focus on using Stripe Payment links to collect one-time listing fees in exchange for publishing a listing. Stripe offers secure payment processing and an easy way to set up a payment page without any coding. Though other payment systems are suitable for this use case, we recommend using Stripe Payment links.
Note: If you already have a Stripe account, you can skip steps 1 and 2 of this guide and jump straight to step 3.
1. Create and confirm your Stripe account
Creating a Stripe account is free, and you can delete it anytime. To create a Stripe account, go to https://dashboard.stripe.com/register
Fill in the required fields, then create your Stripe account
Go to your inbox to verify your email address. Check your email inbox and look for a confirmation email sent from Stripe (by notifications@stripe.com) named “Verify your email address.”
Click the confirmation link in this email and log in with your credentials.
Your Stripe account is now confirmed! Let’s proceed.
2. Activate payments on your account
As you will receive money from your users via your Stripe account, you have to complete your business profile by providing information such as your business type, industry, address, web URL and your bank account. This data is secured by Stripe and won't be shared with anyone. This process is called “Activating” your account. Click on "Start" on the page to fill in your business profile.
Complete all the fields according to the instructions and set Your website to your marketplace custom domain when asked.
It's OK to activate your account as an individual, you don't need a company ID. For example, in the US, it's okay to use your personal name and SSN in place of an EIN. You can read more about signing up without a tax ID or employer ID number from Stripe here.
The fields in the form vary based on the Business Location, so select that first!
Once completed, click "Agree and submit."
3. Create a product
Once you’ve activated payments in your Stripe account, the next step is to create a product in your Stripe catalog. In Stripe, a product represents the specific goods or services you offer. For your Sharetribe marketplace, this product will be the listing fee that providers will pay to publish their listings.
To create a product:
Go to "Product catalog" on the left sidebar and add a new product, or click directly on this link.
Fill in the product details:
Name
Description
Image (optional)
One-off
Price amount
Add your product.
That’s it! You’ve now created your listing fee product. If you need to make changes later, you can always edit it by clicking the Edit product button on the product page.
4. Create a Payment link
After creating the listing fee product, the next step is to create a payment link. In Stripe, a payment link is a customizable checkout page where you can add products from your Stripe catalog, allowing users to make payments easily.
To create a payment link:
Go to "Payment links" on the left sidebar and create a payment link, or click directly on this link.
Add the listing fee product created in the previous step.
(Optional) You can also configure other settings, such as collecting billing address and phone number, allowing promotional codes, and adding a custom payment confirmation message.
Click on Create link.
You can now copy and share the payment page link by clicking the clipboard icon next to the link. Here's an example of a payment link page for the listing fee.
5. Test the payments
When setting up your payment page, it’s a good idea to test the end-user experience before making the payment page live. Stripe makes this easy by offering a Test Mode, which allows you to simulate payments without processing real money.
By switching to Test Mode in your Stripe dashboard, you can create a test version of your payment page. This enables you to see exactly how the payment flow will function for users, but without handling actual money.
Stripe provides test card credentials that you can use to simulate a variety of scenarios, such as successful payments, declined transactions, or processing errors. This process ensures that your setup is working correctly and helps you troubleshoot any potential issues before your payment page goes live.
If you plan to use Zapier to automate the connection between Stripe and your marketplace, note that test payments (payments using test credit card credentials and the test checkout page) do not work as triggers in Zapier.
This means you will not be able to test the fully automated workflow while Stripe is in Test mode. Only Live mode payments on a live checkout page act as triggers. You can use Stripe’s test data only if you are finding the record it creates in Zapier manually while testing your Zap.
Learn more on how to connect Stripe and your marketplace using Zapier.
Final thoughts
Now you have a payment page set up with Stripe. Providers can use this page to purchase the right to publish a listing on your marketplace.
To monetize by charging a listing fee, you need to link to this payment page from your marketplace and you must connect what happens in your payment system to your marketplace. Namely, you must publish the listing in your marketplace when you receive payment.