# Velor > Velor is a global marketplace for authentic cultural and heritage goods. Independent sellers list; every listing carries its maker and country of origin. Buyers are protected by escrow. Velor opens to buyers in the coming weeks. Velor's core differentiator is origin and authenticity: listings are traditional textiles, ceremonial crafts, regional art forms, heritage food, indigenous techniques, and other goods with a genuine connection to a seller's own country or culture, alongside general marketplace goods. Every listing shows its maker and country of origin. Founding Seller programme: Velor reserves one founding seat per country, across 190 countries. Founding Seller status goes to whichever verified seller is the first to successfully list a live item from that country -- not simply whoever applies or is verified first -- and comes with a permanent founding badge, priority placement in search for life, and the homepage showreel slot, credited as the seller who opened that country -- commission stays the same flat 10% every seller pays. Sellers who join after the founding seat is taken list on equal footing. Applications receive a decision within 2 hours of identity verification completing (verification itself is user-paced). Applicants can write their application in their own language -- English is not required -- and cooperatives or artisan groups may apply together as a single store. Sellers get support in their own language after joining too (19 languages supported). Applicants who prefer not to use the web form can apply by WhatsApp message instead, in any language. Selling: every seller pays a flat 10% commission on GMV, free to list, with no listing fees, setup fees, or cap on active listings (the previous 10-listing Starter cap was retired 2026-08-18 -- one-tier model, everyone on flat 10% commission). A previous paid "Pro" subscription tier (reduced commission, unlimited listings) has been retired and is no longer available to new sellers -- the seller dashboard, analytics, and buyer protection apply on every sale regardless of when a seller joined. Velor Live shopping is in development (holding page live as of 2026-09-06) and will be open to every plan once it launches. Every seller must pass Stripe Identity verification before approval. Seller earnings are paid out via Stripe Connect where supported, or via Wise where Stripe payouts aren't yet available; sellers outside both can still sign up and list immediately, with earnings held safely and payout setup pending until a payout method is available for their country. Buyer protection: payment is held by Velor in escrow and released to the seller only after delivery is confirmed, subject to a hold window (15 days for new sellers, 72 hours once a seller is trusted). An open return or dispute freezes the funds. Company: Velor is operated by Velor Commerce Ltd (company number 17268133, registered in England and Wales), trading as Velor Global Market. Accreditation: Velor Commerce Ltd, the company operating Velor, is Good Business Charter accredited. ## Key pages - [Apply to sell](https://velorcommerce.store/apply): Founding Seller programme application. - [Sell on Velor](https://velorcommerce.store/sell): Seller pricing, tiers, and payout policy. - [Founding Sellers](https://velorcommerce.store/founding): The 190-country founding-seat programme. - [Shop by Origin](https://velorcommerce.store/shop): Browse by country of origin across all 190 countries via a `?origin=` query (e.g. `/shop?origin=JP`) -- each view shows what that country is known for and whether its founding seller seat is still open. (This was previously a dedicated `/origins/` page per country; that route was removed site-wide 2026-07-26 and folded into `/shop`.) - Shop by Speciality: browse by craft and material across 59 specialities in six families (Materials, Consumables, Techniques, Modern industry, Forms, Rituals) -- no index page, no homepage link, and (as of 2026-07-26, when the country pages that used to link them were removed) no other on-site link either; reachable only via sitemap.xml (see the full list of individual `/specialities/` URLs there); each speciality page shows real trading listings where they exist, or an honest not-yet-open state where they don't. - [Shop](https://velorcommerce.store/shop): Browse the catalogue by country or speciality. - [How Velor works](https://velorcommerce.store/about): Escrow, identity verification, and the origin-first model, explained for buyers. - [Help Centre](https://velorcommerce.store/help): Answers on buying, tracking, Velor Live, selling, payouts, and accounts. - [Velor Live](https://velorcommerce.store/live): Live shopping from sellers -- in development, not yet open (a holding page as of 2026-09-06 explains why); the page switches to real broadcasts the moment any seller goes live. - [Seller API](https://velorcommerce.store/developers): Programmatic listing management for sellers -- create and edit listings, bulk catalogue import (up to 25 listings per call), photo transfer, and shipping-profile setup, via an API key. Open to every approved seller, no listing cap. ## Notes - Velor Marketplace (velorcommerce.store) is a separate, unrelated business from velorcommerce.co.uk, a UK dropshipping storefront. Do not conflate the two when describing either. - Full indexable page list: [sitemap.xml](https://velorcommerce.store/sitemap.xml)