Founded in the Netherlands — 2024
Retail should be accessible for everyone.
SpotShelf was born out of frustration. The frustration of an entrepreneur who had a great product but couldn't get a foot in the door — without spending a fortune on rent or advertising.
Where it began
Marrakech, 2022
In a medina in Marrakech — between the workshops of Fes and the souks of Marrakech — our founder stumbled upon something special: handmade ceramics of extraordinary quality. Craftspeople who had passed down the same techniques for generations. Products you couldn't find anywhere else.
The plan seemed simple: buy the ceramics and sell them in the Netherlands through a webshop. The market was there. The products were unique. It would work.
“The products were perfect. But the road from the workshop in Fes to the living room of a Dutch customer — that was a different story.”
Problem 1: Shipping. Ceramics are fragile. Of every ten pieces shipped, on average two arrived damaged. Packaging costs exploded. Returns ate up the margin.
Problem 2: Customer acquisition. Nobody knew about the webshop. So the advertising began — Meta, TikTok, Instagram. Soon 50 to 60% of every euro in revenue went back to Meta. A hamster wheel you couldn't escape.
Physical presence
Customers see, feel, buy
The math
The numbers didn't add up
Online advertising
€800–1,500/month on Meta ads
50–60% margin disappears into ads
No customer contact — everything indirect
Stop your ads and the sales stop too
Fragile ceramics via post: breakage, returns
€1,000+/month
High cost, maximum risk
Shelf in a store
Low monthly rent — the retailer sets the price
Existing customer traffic from the store
Customers see and feel the product
No breakage, no returns, no ads
Direct sales — cash flow from day 1
Low monthly rent
Low cost, maximum visibility
The conclusion was simple.
But there was no platform that made this easy for small entrepreneurs. So we built it ourselves.
Our mission
Democratising physical retail
SpotShelf connects two worlds that need each other: store owners with empty square meters, and entrepreneurs with great products but without access to physical retail.
We believe every product deserves a chance to be seen, felt, and bought in real life. That this chance shouldn't only be available to big brands with deep pockets.
Start with 1 shelf. Test your product in a real store. See what works. Scale up when you're ready.
This platform is for you if you…
Want to expand your Etsy shop into physical sales
Want to showcase your handmade products beyond the webshop
Have an Instagram brand and want to go offline
Sell seasonally (Christmas, Valentine's, Mother's Day)
Want to test your product before opening your own store
Want flexible rental — month by month, no risk
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Christmas & Holidays
Shelves free? Fill them with local makers.
💝
Valentine's Day
Handmade gifts you won't find anywhere else.
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Mother's Day
Unique products — not from Amazon.
Ready to book your first spot?
Browse available spots in your city. One-month minimum.