If you're listing one of something — a single cow, a tractor, a specific piece of equipment — leave the quantity field at 1 and ignore the rest of this article. The marketplace works the same way it always did. This article is about the multi-unit flow for sellers and buyers transacting on commodities where one listing represents many units of the same thing.
Why multi-unit listings exist
Agriculture trades in batches. A grain trader has 100 tons of maize, not "one maize." A nursery has 1,000 seedlings, not one. A feed mill has 500 bags of pellet feed and ten different restaurants want 50 bags each. Forcing those sellers to create 100 separate listings (one per ton, one per seedling) would be operationally absurd. So the marketplace lets you list "100 tons of yellow maize at ₦500/kg, 5-ton minimum order" once, and multiple buyers each take a portion.
The listing stays open as long as there's stock left. It closes automatically when the last unit is sold.
Sellers — how to list a multi-unit item
At /marketplace/new, fill in the form as usual but pay attention to the Quantity & units section:
- Total quantity available — how many you have to sell. For 100 tons of maize, enter 100. For 500 bags of feed, enter 500.
- Unit — the label that describes one of your units. Pick from the suggestions (kg, tons, bags, crates, bundles, litres, pieces, dozens, pallets) or type your own. Whatever you put here will appear on the listing — "100 tons available", "500 bags available", etc.
- Minimum order (optional) — the smallest order you're willing to take. Useful for logistical floors. If you only want to sell tons in 5-ton blocks because that's your truck capacity, set minimum to 5. Buyers can't order less than that. Leave blank for no minimum.
The price field becomes "Price per unit" automatically when quantity is more than 1. Enter what you charge per ton/bag/whatever. The form shows a "Total if all sold" hint underneath so you can sanity-check.
A few rules to know:
- Quantity is set at creation and can't be changed afterwards. If you start with 100 tons and decide later to sell 150, that's a new listing — we don't yet support restocking. (We may add this in future if it's a real ask; let us know if it's blocking your trade.)
- Negotiable still works. You can mark a multi-unit listing as negotiable and buyers can offer at a different per-unit price. They can also offer for a different quantity than they'd Buy Now.
Buyers — how to buy from a multi-unit listing
The listing detail page shows you what's left. Two paths:
Buy Now. Use the quantity selector that appears next to the Buy Now button. The button label updates as you change the number — "Buy 30 tons — ₦15,000,000". Hit it, complete payment, you've taken 30 tons. The listing now shows "70 of 100 tons available" and is still open for everyone else.
Make an Offer. If the listing is marked negotiable, you can offer a different per-unit price. The Make an Offer modal asks for both your offer per unit AND how many units you want. The seller can accept exactly what you proposed, counter at a different price, counter at a different quantity, counter at both, or decline.
A few buyer rules:
- Min order matters. If the seller set a 5-ton minimum, you can't order 2 tons. The form prevents it.
- You're competing with other buyers. Multi-unit doesn't mean "reserved for you." If you start checkout but don't pay, someone else's payment can land first and reduce what's left. Always complete payment promptly.
- Stock can drop between accept and pay. If the seller accepts your 30-ton offer but other buyers have meanwhile bought 75 tons via Buy Now, your offer can't be paid (only 25 tons left). You'll see a clear message and need to submit a new offer at the adjusted quantity.
When does the listing close?
A multi-unit listing closes (stops accepting new buyers) only when quantity_remaining hits zero — i.e., every unit has been sold and paid for. Until then it stays open and visible.
When the listing closes:
- All other open offers on it auto-expire with the reason "listing sold."
- The seller doesn't see new offers anymore.
- The Buy Now button disappears for everyone.
If you want to close a listing manually before everything sells (e.g., you decided to keep the rest), use the existing close-listing action from your seller view.
How does this interact with payouts?
Each completed sale is its own order with its own payment, escrow window, shipping, and delivery confirmation. If three buyers each took 30 tons of your maize, you have three separate orders to ship and three separate buyers to confirm with. Funds release per order, not per listing.
Common questions
My buyer paid but the listing didn't close — is something broken? No, that's correct. A buyer paying for 30 tons leaves 70 tons available; the listing stays open. It only closes when remaining hits 0 (or you manually close it).
I want to lower my per-unit price after some are sold — can I? Yes, edit the listing the same way you'd edit any other. Existing orders are unaffected; only new orders use the new price.
A buyer wants more than I have left. They'll see "Only X tons remaining" when they try to checkout or offer. They can adjust their request to whatever's available, or wait if you plan to relist.
I have units in multiple grades / qualities (e.g., 100 tons of Grade A maize and 200 tons of Grade B). Should I list once or twice? Twice. Each listing represents a single SKU at a single per-unit price. Two grades = two listings.
Questions?
Email hello@agroyield.africa or open the chat at the bottom-right of any page.