What you need to start selling
What you need to start selling
Selling on Creatures means real money will flow to you, so before your first listing can go public there are a few one-time things to set up. You do them once, and then you can list as often as you like. This article walks each one, what it is, and why it is there.
A verified phone number
- What it is: Creatures sends a code to your mobile number and you enter it to confirm the number is yours. The steps are in Verifying your phone number.
- Why it is required: it ties your account to a real, reachable person. On a marketplace where live animals and real payments change hands, that is the baseline trust signal, and it protects honest buyers and sellers alike.
- What it means for you: until your phone is verified, you cannot complete the steps that make a listing live. Verify once and you are set across the whole platform.
Identity verification
- What it is: a secure identity check handled by Stripe, where you confirm who you are with a government ID. See Verifying your identity for what to have ready.
- Why it is required: sellers receive money, so Creatures confirms a real identity behind each seller. It is the same trusted flow that unlocks payouts.
- What it means for you: completing it raises your seller trust level and clears the way to receive funds. You only do it once.
A connected payout account (Stripe Connect) with payouts enabled
This is the step that lets money actually reach your bank, walked end to end in Connecting your payout account.
- What it is: a Stripe Connect account you connect to Creatures. Stripe is the payment processor that holds and moves funds. You provide your business or personal details and a bank account, and Stripe verifies them.
- What "payouts enabled" means: Stripe has finished verifying you and switched on the ability to pay out. A connection that is started but not yet verified does not count; payouts must be enabled.
- What it means for you: with payouts enabled, the proceeds from a sale can be withdrawn from your Creatures Wallet to your bank. Without it, you cannot take a listing public, because there would be no verified place to send your money.
The public-listing gate
Putting these together, a listing can only go public once you have a connected Stripe account with payouts enabled. Creatures checks this before your listing is visible to buyers.
- What it is: a gate that confirms you are ready to be paid before you are allowed to sell.
- Why it exists: it prevents a sale from completing with nowhere to send the funds, which protects both you and your buyer.
- What it means for you: finish the verification and connect your payout account first, and your listings publish smoothly. If a listing will not go public, this gate is the usual reason; complete payout setup and try again.
After setup, your fees
Once you are set up, selling carries a 5% seller fee on each sale (waived if you have Creatures Pro), and the buyer pays a separate 5% buyer fee. The full money picture is in Seller fees and the Creatures Pro subscription and How seller payout works.
Two more things you can put in place
Beyond the required setup, a few optional tools make selling smoother:
- Require a signed agreement on a sale. You can ask buyers to sign a sales contract or health agreement before they buy. See What agreements are and how signing works.
- Keep track of your buyers. Creatures gives you a buyer pipeline to follow interested buyers and stay in touch after a sale. See Your buyer pipeline.
- Offer bookable sessions alongside your animals. Beyond selling animals outright, you can sell tours, classes, lessons, or appointments that buyers book and pay for. See Creating a bookable offering: tours, classes, and appointments.
Related information
Updated on: 23/06/2026
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