I Built a Zero-Commission Local Marketplace From Scratch. Then I Turned the Codebase Into a SaaS Boilerplate

#ecommerce #sass

I Built a Zero-Commission Local Marketplace From Scratch. Then I Turned the Codebase Into a SaaS Boilerplate

The problem I wanted to solve

Most marketplace platforms take a cut from every transaction. 10%, 20%, sometimes more. For small local businesses like shops, restaurants, service providers and people posting classifieds, that commission can be the difference between staying afloat and shutting down.

I wanted to build something different. A zero-commission local marketplace that connects residents with nearby shops, restaurants, service providers and classifieds, without taking a cut of every sale.

What I built

A full-stack marketplace platform that covers:

Core marketplace infrastructure: merchant listings, categories, search, location-based discovery using OpenStreetMap and Leaflet
A social layer with follow/unfollow, reviews and promotional flash deals
Subscription plans (FREE, PRO, BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE) with centralized plan configuration
A PWA, offline-first architecture: installable app, service worker, push notifications with VAPID keys and a dedicated push module for order updates
Admin tooling including a full email broadcast system with SMTP, validated pipelines and a CORS-safe API
A lightweight AI advisor widget to help users navigate the platform

Stack: NestJS and PostgreSQL/Prisma on the backend, Next.js and TypeScript with PWA support on the frontend, Docker and AWS for infra.

From product to boilerplate

Once the platform reached a solid production state, I realized the underlying infrastructure I'd built (auth, subscriptions, push notifications, admin broadcast, PWA scaffolding) was reusable well beyond my specific use case. Anyone building a local marketplace, whether it's services, classifieds, delivery or rentals, ends up solving the same foundational problems.

So I packaged the codebase into a standalone SaaS boilerplate. It's not a toy starter kit put together for the occasion. It's the same infrastructure currently running a live marketplace in production, cleaned up and documented so other developers can skip months of groundwork and launch faster.

You can check it out here: AfriMarket SaaS Boilerplate

Beyond the boilerplate

If you'd rather not build it yourself, I also take on custom development work. That includes extending the boilerplate, building marketplace features specific to your market, or full white-label builds on top of this same stack (NestJS, Next.js, Prisma). If that sounds useful, feel free to reach out.

What's next

I'm continuing to build out the original platform, working on service-request flows and deeper PWA integration, and I'll keep iterating on the boilerplate based on early feedback.

Happy to answer questions about the architecture, the offline-first choices or the subscription logic in the comments. Always glad to talk shop.