What is a community marketplace?

Where a conventional marketplace takes a large cut of every sale and routes it to shareholders, a community marketplace realigns the economics locally. Good Circles is one example: shoppers save about 10% on local purchases, local businesses keep 89% of their profit on a 1% fee, and 10% of the merchant’s profit funds a nonprofit the shopper chooses.

That structure makes it a local-first alternative to big platforms and a natural successor to programs like AmazonSmile — see the AmazonSmile alternative and how it compares. The result is a single purchase that does three things at once: saves the shopper money, funds a local cause, and keeps a local business viable.

Early access is underway in Meridian & Lauderdale County, and Good Circles launches on schedule in September 2026 in the Jackson, Mississippi metro before expanding across Mississippi and to the cities that request it most. Learn the model on how it works.

Is a community marketplace the same as a "local commerce platform"?

Essentially, yes — a local commerce platform is the infrastructure; a community marketplace is what it becomes when the economics favor the community. Any software that lets local businesses list, sell, and get paid is a local commerce platform. It earns the name "community marketplace" when the transaction itself is structured for local benefit: on Good Circles that means the shopper's ~10% saving, the business keeping 89% of profit on a 1% fee, and 10% of profit funding a shopper-elected nonprofit. For how that compares with the big platforms' 15–30%-of-sale fees, see Good Circles vs national marketplaces.

Is there a community marketplace app?

Good Circles is web-first — there's no app to download. You sign up and shop from any phone or computer at goodcircles.org, which keeps it accessible to every neighbor and every business without an app-store step. Mobile apps are on the roadmap after launch; joining now happens on the web in about two minutes, and in Meridian & Lauderdale County early access is already underway.

Good Circles partners with the No More 9 to 5 Club, which trains the entrepreneurs who become local sellers — the people a community marketplace depends on. Try the No More 9 to 5 Club (30-day trial)