The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

Online Cannabis Marketplace?

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France
Hey! Hope you're all well.

I know it's a trendy subject, but I am planning to build a website where you could sell your cannabis production if you're a producer or buy your consumption of you're a consumer.

The website would be pretty similar to StockX but maybe different in the payment system.

My concerns are:
. Can I make my site only available to zones where cannanis is fully legalized? Like Canada, California...
. How to make sure my buyers are over 18 or 21?
. Will PayPal be okay to process our payments?
. Do I need a federal permit?
I'm not a producer so I don't really know... I Just connect consumers to producers.. Like eBay!

Thanks a lot?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

IceCreamAction

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
73%
Mar 20, 2016
85
62
29
Trinidad and Tobago
My friends back in Canada tell me they use online ordering now since legalization, i'd suggest checking out existing sites and see about organizing a supplier who is willing to work with you in terms of getting started.

Why are you looking at this market?
 

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France
My friends back in Canada tell me they use online ordering now since legalization, i'd suggest checking out existing sites and see about organizing a supplier who is willing to work with you in terms of getting started.

Why are you looking at this market?
That's a good odea thx!
There is a huge need and its a growing market. I believe a marketplace like this would help people a lot!
 

GigMistress

Bronze Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
294%
Nov 19, 2019
112
329
A cornfield in the Midwest
My concerns are:
. Can I make my site only available to zones where cannanis is fully legalized? Like Canada, California...
. How to make sure my buyers are over 18 or 21?
. Will PayPal be okay to process our payments?
. Do I need a federal permit?
I'm not a producer so I don't really know... I Just connect consumers to producers.. Like eBay!

I don't know you or what groundwork you've done, so apologies and please disregard if I'm off base. But, from what you're asking here, it seems as if you're coming at this backwards. It seems as if you've decided what you want to pursue without understanding what would be required to make it happen, what the costs and obstacles would be, what your prospective market might be (and so on, and so on). That makes me wonder how and why you chose this particular path.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

biophase

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
474%
Jul 25, 2007
9,121
43,260
Scottsdale, AZ
Basically you want to be Etsy for cannabis. Etsy itself is complicated, add to it an illegal substance and the risk of the product killing people, seems like a great idea!
 

Roli

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
160%
Jun 3, 2015
2,061
3,301
. Can I make my site only available to zones where cannanis is fully legalized? Like Canada, California...
. How to make sure my buyers are over 18 or 21?
. Will PayPal be okay to process our payments?
. Do I need a federal permit?
I'm not a producer so I don't really know... I Just connect consumers to producers.. Like eBay!

In answer to your questions

Yes
By only accepting credit card payments (not completely foolproof, no age ID online is).
No, however there are merchant service providers that will take your business, at a larger commission rate.
Probably.

The big thing to consider is the barrier to entry is so low that you are entering a very crowded marketplace. You're the second person on this site to ask this question in the last week. However maybe you have an idea to make your site completely unique, coupled with a huge marketing budget to make sure everyone knows about it.



the risk of the product killing people

Unless he laces it with heroin, I doubt he'll become the first person in history to kill someone with cannabis.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France
The big thing to consider is the barrier to entry is so low that you are entering a very crowded marketplace. You're the second person on this site to ask this question in the last week. However maybe you have an idea to make your site completely unique, coupled with a huge marketing budget to make sure everyone knows about it.
Are you sure about that? I believe I haven't seen a lot of people talking about a cannab marketplace. But I'll check it out!

And I believe the barrier to entry is somewhat high because it is a really controlled substance.
 

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France
I don't know you or what groundwork you've done, so apologies and please disregard if I'm off base. But, from what you're asking here, it seems as if you're coming at this backwards. It seems as if you've decided what you want to pursue without understanding what would be required to make it happen, what the costs and obstacles would be, what your prospective market might be (and so on, and so on). That makes me wonder how and why you chose this particular path.
To be honest, I don't really know either. But what do you mean by coming at this backwards? I know the costs, and I know the obstacles. I'm really open to learning so if you could please explain what is wrong with it I would greatly appreciate!
 
G

Guest34764

Guest
Unless he laces it with heroin, I doubt he'll become the first person in history to kill someone with cannabis.

This brings up a great concern actually. What if one of the suppliers laced their cannabis with another drug? Are you going to stop this business when someone dies? Or vet things before such an horrible issue happens. This sounds like a very tricky business and OP needs to do a lot more research if he ever wanted to get into this.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France
This brings up a great concern actually. What if one of the suppliers laced their cannabis with another drug? Are you going to stop this business when someone dies? Or vet things before such an horrible issue happens. This sounds like a very tricky business and OP needs to do a lot more research if he ever wanted to get into this.
You are right. This is a major concern. I'd need to verify each one of the sellers which would take a lot of time...
 

GigMistress

Bronze Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
294%
Nov 19, 2019
112
329
A cornfield in the Midwest
To be honest, I don't really know either. But what do you mean by coming at this backwards? I know the costs, and I know the obstacles. I'm really open to learning so if you could please explain what is wrong with it I would greatly appreciate!

You don't, though. Licensing could be an obstacle, and your post says you know nothing about that. Limitation of markets could be an obstacle (both in terms of potential markets and in terms of the infrastructure required to limit to legal markets) and you've said in your post you don't know anything about that. And so on, and so on. You've listed some major, fundamental issues that play a significant role in barriers to entry, set-up time and cost, cost of operation, and potential market and said you have no information about them.

By "backward" I meant that those are exactly the sorts of things one would normally assess before choosing a path, since things like whether it will cost $500 or $100,000 to get the infrastructure in place and whether you can start up in 90 days or will have to go through a two-year qualification process make a big difference in whether or not a business is the right choice for you.
 

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France
You don't, though. Licensing could be an obstacle, and your post says you know nothing about that. Limitation of markets could be an obstacle (both in terms of potential markets and in terms of the infrastructure required to limit to legal markets) and you've said in your post you don't know anything about that. And so on, and so on. You've listed some major, fundamental issues that play a significant role in barriers to entry, set-up time and cost, cost of operation, and potential market and said you have no information about them.

By "backward" I meant that those are exactly the sorts of things one would normally assess before choosing a path, since things like whether it will cost $500 or $100,000 to get the infrastructure in place and whether you can start up in 90 days or will have to go through a two-year qualification process make a big difference in whether or not a business is the right choice for you.
Hello! I've done some research and I've seen that:
1) The cost of establishing the marketplace website is relatively low. With some pro Tools I could do it for 1000$ or less. Marketing it is possible on Instagram, I've checked the rules.
2) The biggest problem here is the legal aspect: if I do need a license (which would be strange as I would just act as an intermediary between buyer and seller), what would it be for? As I don't sell myself the cannabis, I don't know...

And plus I looked at Etsy Terms of service and they said they are totally not responsible for any harm caused by products bought on their website. Could I say the same?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

biophase

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
474%
Jul 25, 2007
9,121
43,260
Scottsdale, AZ
Unless he laces it with heroin, I doubt he'll become the first person in history to kill someone with cannabis.

Have you looked at edibles? They've caused some deaths.

How does he police what is being sold? How does he know that the seller is selling what they say?
 

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France
Have you looked at edibles? They've caused some deaths.

How does he police what is being sold? How does he know that the seller is selling what they say?
I was thinking about manually approving sellers who only have a license from the Canadian government. What do you think?
 

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France
Good news: I asked a cannabis consultant and he said that I wouldnt need any license.29135
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

biophase

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
474%
Jul 25, 2007
9,121
43,260
Scottsdale, AZ
I was thinking about manually approving sellers who only have a license from the Canadian government. What do you think?

Isnt it easy to get a business license? Or are you talking about a different type of license?

How are you monetizing this?
 

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France
Isnt it easy to get a business license? Or are you talking about a different type of license?

How are you monetizing this?

I don't know if it's easy, but as long as it's validated by the government, it's ok.

I would take a commission fee. When a consumer buys on our website, the order will be transmitted to the seller and I would take a small percentage.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Roli

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
160%
Jun 3, 2015
2,061
3,301
Are you sure about that? I believe I haven't seen a lot of people talking about a cannab marketplace. But I'll check it out!

Yes, someone posted their site and asked for a critique, they were based over here in the UK.

And I believe the barrier to entry is somewhat high because it is a really controlled substance.

Possibly, however you have to consider the amount of people selling it illegally online at the moment. You'd have to imagine some of those guys going public once they're allowed to. Plus controlled in this context means you'll just have to pay some agency another enough money to obtain a license, hence a relatively low barrier to entry.

This brings up a great concern actually. What if one of the suppliers laced their cannabis with another drug?

Lol. That is never going to happen, that would be like lacing flour with cocaine, but still selling it for the price of a bag of flour. You'd go out of business in days.


Have you looked at edibles? They've caused some deaths.

I searched this, and found that a few people have died and their deaths have been linked to eating hash cookies. However when I read the stories, none of those people died as a direct result of eating the dope, moreso they committed suicide, or had an accident. So I think we can still claim that nobody has ever overdosed on marijuana.

How does he police what is being sold? How does he know that the seller is selling what they say?

I think this is the problem with all aggregate sites, unless you can personally sample, or get some kind of tester in (I'm available), then you simply can't verify what the seller is saying.
 
Last edited:

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France
Possibly, however you have to consider the amount of people selling it illegally online at the moment. You'd have to imagine some of those guys going public once they're aloud to. Plus controlled in this context means you'll just have to pay some agency another enough money to obtain a license, hence a relatively low barrier to entry.
Precisely! And where are they going to sell online when they'll be allowed to? On our website hopefully!

Do you have any background in the cannabis industry? Anyway, thanks for the precise answer.
 

Roli

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
160%
Jun 3, 2015
2,061
3,301

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France

ravenspear

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
207%
Jul 25, 2016
181
375
Have you looked at edibles? They've caused some deaths.

Oh good grief. You can easily order wine online. And alcohol causes far more deaths than cannabis. No one avoids opening an online wine business simply because alcohol can kill people.

Edibles don't kill you either. The business risk to this from some edibles killing people is much lower than the risk of the business owner slipping in the shower because of stress.
 

sparechange

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
161%
Nov 11, 2016
2,804
4,502
Canada (Vancouver)
If you google weed shops online a few bazillion will come up, what are you going to do differently? Most likely nothing, this is a money chasing venture and provides no value in the marketplace at all.

Stoner products on the other hand? Now we're talking! How about some light up bong or other smoking accessories?

Or better yet ''selling shovels in the goldmine'' Distributing growing lights, soil & fertilizer?

Here's an example.










Shooting ideas off the hip
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France
If you google weed shops online a few bazillion will come up, what are you going to do differently? Most likely nothing, this is a money chasing venture and provides no value in the marketplace at all.

Stoner products on the other hand? Now we're talking! How about some light up bong or other smoking accessories?

Or better yet ''selling shovels in the goldmine'' Distributing growing lights, soil & fertilizer?

Here's an example.










Shooting ideas off the hip
That could be a really great idea! Thanks man.
 

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France
If you google weed shops online a few bazillion will come up, what are you going to do differently? Most likely nothing, this is a money chasing venture and provides no value in the marketplace at all
I understand you! I believe there is no such thing as a marketplace for cannabiscannabis, in the way I'm providing it. Have you seen like an eBay for cannabis, with MULTIPLE registered sellers?

I've only seen online shops with one seller.
 

francevalue

The Apostle
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
96%
Oct 29, 2019
209
201
(̶S̶t̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶)̶ France

Kak

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
493%
Jan 23, 2011
9,678
47,666
34
Texas
Sell in Texas... It is not a saturated market yet. :rofl:
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top