How to build a multi-vendor marketplace in Bubble.io: Step-by-Step Guide

Go to the Data tab and create these Data Types. User (built-in): add fields for role (Option Set: Buyer, Vendor, Admin), store_name (text), store_description (text), stripe_account_id (text), and approved (yes/no). Product: title (text), description (text), price (number), images (image, list), category (Category Option Set), vendor (User), active (yes/no), inventory (number). Order: buyer (User), vendor (User), products (list of OrderItem), total (number), status (Option Set: Pending, Paid, Shipped, Delivered, Cancelled), commission_amount (number). OrderItem: product (Product), quantity (number), price_at_purchase (number).

Create a page called vendor-signup. Add inputs for store name, store description, and any verification documents. The Submit workflow should: (1) Make Changes to Current User setting role to Vendor, store_name, and store_description. (2) Set approved to no (admin must approve). (3) Send an email notification to the admin. Create an admin dashboard page with a Repeating Group showing Users where role = Vendor AND approved = no. Add an Approve button that sets approved to yes.

Create a page called vendor-dashboard. Add a section for adding new products with inputs for title, description, price, category dropdown (from Option Set), image uploader (multi-file), and inventory count. The Save Product workflow creates a new Product with vendor set to Current User. Below the form, add a Repeating Group showing Products where vendor = Current User. Each cell should have Edit and Delete buttons with corresponding workflows.

Create the main marketplace page. Add a category filter dropdown, a search input, and a Repeating Group of Products where active = yes AND vendor's approved = yes. Connect the search input and category dropdown as constraints with Ignore empty constraints checked. Inside each cell, display the product image, title, price, vendor name, and an Add to Cart button. Add a product detail page (type: Product) showing full product info.

Create a Cart Data Type with buyer (User) and items (list of CartItem). CartItem has product (Product), quantity (number). When Add to Cart is clicked, check if the buyer has an existing Cart — if not, create one. Add a CartItem for the selected product. Build a cart page showing all CartItem records in a Repeating Group with quantity controls and a total calculation. For checkout, use the Stripe plugin's Checkout action to create a Stripe Checkout session with the total amount.

After successful payment (using a Stripe webhook that triggers a backend workflow), create an Order record with the buyer, total, and status set to Paid. Create OrderItem records for each cart item. Calculate the commission (e.g., 10% of total) and store it in commission_amount. For payouts, you have two approaches: (1) Use Stripe Connect to split payments at checkout time, or (2) Track balances in a VendorBalance Data Type and process payouts manually via Stripe Transfer. Clear the buyer's cart after order creation.