If you’re an international brand looking to sell on Trendyol and Hepsiburada, you’re targeting two of the most active e-commerce marketplaces in Europe and the Middle East. Turkey’s online retail market has grown rapidly over the past decade, and both platforms now attract tens of millions of monthly shoppers. For foreign sellers, however, the path to getting listed — and staying compliant — involves a specific set of requirements that differ meaningfully from platforms like Amazon or eBay. This guide breaks down what you need to know, step by step.
Why Turkey’s Marketplaces Matter for Global Brands
Turkey sits at a unique crossroads between Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, making it one of the more strategically interesting markets for cross-border commerce. With a population of over 85 million and a median age below 35, the country has one of the highest rates of mobile commerce adoption in the region.
Trendyol alone processes millions of orders per day and holds roughly 60% of Turkey’s e-commerce market share. Hepsiburada, backed by NASDAQ-listed parent Hepsiburada A.Ş., commands a significant share of the electronics, home goods, and lifestyle categories. Together, they represent the dominant channels for consumer purchasing in Turkey — and increasingly, they are expanding logistics and seller services to support international supply chains.
For brands that want a foothold in the region without building out a full local subsidiary, these platforms offer a relatively accessible entry point. But accessible does not mean simple. The requirements for foreign sellers are specific, and the operational logistics require careful planning.
Trendyol: Market Position and Seller Requirements
Trendyol was founded in Istanbul in 2010 and is majority-owned by Alibaba Group. That backing has fueled aggressive investment in logistics infrastructure, seller tools, and international expansion. The platform spans fashion, electronics, groceries, cosmetics, home goods, and more.
Who Can Sell on Trendyol?
Trendyol accepts sellers from select international markets, though the process is not fully self-serve for most foreign entities. International brands typically fall into one of two seller categories:
- Cross-border sellers — shipping directly from abroad into Turkey under a customs arrangement
- Local-stock sellers — maintaining inventory inside Turkey and fulfilling from a local warehouse
For most serious brands, the local-stock model is strongly preferred. Trendyol prioritizes listings that can guarantee two-day or same-day delivery windows, and cross-border shipments from outside Turkey often cannot meet those SLAs consistently. Buyers on the platform expect fast delivery, and listings that underperform on delivery metrics are deprioritized in search results.
Trendyol Seller Requirements for Foreign Brands
To register as a seller on Trendyol as a foreign company, you will typically need:
- A valid foreign company registration (apostilled or notarized, with Turkish translation)
- A Turkish tax identification number (obtained via a tax office application)
- A Turkish bank account or a local payment intermediary
- A local authorized representative or legal point of contact in Turkey
- Product compliance documentation (CE marking, EPDK/BTK approvals for electronics, etc.)
- A fulfillment address within Turkey for inventory dispatch
Some of these requirements — particularly the tax ID and bank account — require either establishing a legal presence or working through a licensed intermediary. Many foreign brands choose to work with a Turkish market entry partner to handle the administrative side while they focus on product and sales.
Hepsiburada: Platform Overview and Requirements
Hepsiburada is often described as Turkey’s answer to Amazon, and the comparison is apt. The platform started as an electronics retailer and has expanded into a full-category marketplace with its own logistics arm (HepsiJet), advertising tools, and seller financing options. It currently reaches tens of millions of registered users.
Hepsiburada’s Seller Ecosystem
Hepsiburada operates a hybrid model: it sells some products directly and offers a marketplace for third-party sellers. The third-party marketplace, called Hepsiburada Marketplace, is where most international brands will operate. The platform has a more structured onboarding process than Trendyol, with dedicated account manager support for larger brand partners.
Requirements for International Sellers
Hepsiburada’s requirements for foreign sellers largely mirror Trendyol’s, but there are a few distinctions worth noting:
- Foreign brands must have a local stock address in Turkey — Hepsiburada does not support pure cross-border fulfillment for most categories
- Product data must be submitted in Turkish and must comply with Turkish consumer protection labeling regulations
- Category-specific approvals are required for health, food, cosmetics, and children’s products
- The platform requires an active Turkish VAT registration in most cases
Hepsiburada has been expanding its international seller program and has published updated guidance on cross-border fulfillment for Turkish marketplaces in recent years. Working with a local fulfillment partner who already has active API integration with the platform saves significant setup time.
The Registration Process: Step by Step
The actual registration process for both platforms follows a broadly similar sequence. Here is a realistic overview of what to expect:
Step 1: Prepare Your Company Documents
Before approaching either platform, gather and authenticate your core company documents. This typically means a certificate of incorporation or equivalent, your articles of association, and proof of your registered address. Documents in languages other than Turkish will need certified translation by a sworn translator (yeminli tercüman) in Turkey.
Step 2: Obtain a Turkish Tax Identification Number
This is the step that surprises most foreign brands. To legally sell in Turkey, even through a marketplace, you need a Turkish vergi numarası (tax number). Foreign companies can apply for this through the Turkish Revenue Administration (GİB). Depending on your company’s situation, you may need to appoint a local representative to complete this step.
Step 3: Open a Turkish Bank Account or Set Up Payment Routing
Marketplace payouts in Turkey are made in Turkish Lira (TRY). Both Trendyol and Hepsiburada require a valid Turkish IBAN for seller payouts. Some foreign companies open a local account through a Turkish bank with international services; others use licensed payment intermediaries. Currency conversion and repatriation planning is worth thinking through early.
Step 4: Apply for a Seller Account
With documents and tax registration in place, you can apply for a seller account on each platform. Both Trendyol and Hepsiburada have dedicated seller portals. Account approval typically takes one to three weeks, during which the platforms may request additional documentation or clarifications.
Step 5: List Your Products
Product listing in Turkey requires Turkish-language titles and descriptions, proper categorization, and compliance with Turkish e-commerce regulations under Law No. 6563. Images must meet platform specifications, and pricing must be displayed in TRY. For brands with large catalogs, bulk listing tools are available, though they often require technical integration.
Step 6: Configure Fulfillment
This is where many foreign brands hit a practical wall. Without local inventory and a compliant dispatch address in Turkey, you cannot realistically meet the delivery standards either platform requires. This is where a local third-party logistics partner in Turkey becomes not just helpful, but effectively necessary.
Fulfillment Requirements and the Role of 3PL Partners
Both Trendyol and Hepsiburada expect sellers to meet strict delivery SLAs. Trendyol’s seller scoring system factors in on-time dispatch, delivery rate, and return handling. Hepsiburada applies similar performance metrics that directly affect listing visibility. Meeting these benchmarks from abroad, without local stock, is nearly impossible for most product categories.
A Turkish third-party logistics provider (3PL) handles several functions that are critical for foreign brands operating on these platforms:
- Receiving and storing incoming stock from international shipments
- Processing orders within the same-day or next-day windows required by the marketplace
- Integrating directly with marketplace APIs so that inventory levels and order statuses sync automatically
- Managing returns in compliance with Turkish consumer rights law (14-day return window)
- Handling customs documentation for inbound shipments where applicable
What to Look for in a Turkish Fulfillment Partner
Not all fulfillment providers in Turkey are equipped to handle marketplace seller accounts for foreign brands. When evaluating partners, the criteria that matter most are:
- Direct API integration with both Trendyol and Hepsiburada (not manual order processing)
- Demonstrated accuracy rates in picking and packing — errors here lead directly to returns and negative reviews
- Same-day shipping capability for orders received before a defined cutoff
- Experience handling inbound international freight, including customs clearance coordination
- Transparent per-unit pricing with no hidden fees on returns or special handling
How FulfillmentTR Supports International Marketplace Sellers
FulfillmentTR is a Turkey-based fulfillment operation built specifically for brands that want to sell through Turkish and regional marketplaces. Operating out of a purpose-built facility in Bursa — one of Turkey’s major logistics hubs — the operation uses OSR Shuttle automation technology to achieve high-throughput order processing with consistent accuracy.
The OSR Shuttle system is a goods-to-person automated storage and retrieval solution that significantly reduces picking errors compared to traditional warehouse operations. FulfillmentTR maintains a 99.9% order accuracy rate, which directly supports marketplace seller performance scores on both Trendyol and Hepsiburada.
FulfillmentTR is backed by AKA Technic, an established logistics and technology group with deep roots in Turkish supply chain operations. That institutional backing translates into reliable infrastructure, stable capacity planning, and direct relationships with Turkish carrier networks.
For international brands specifically, FulfillmentTR offers:
- Direct marketplace API integration with Trendyol and Hepsiburada, so inventory and order data flow automatically without manual intervention
- Same-day shipping on orders received before the daily cutoff, ensuring marketplace delivery SLAs are consistently met
- Inbound freight coordination for international shipments arriving by air or sea
- Multilingual account support for foreign brands unfamiliar with Turkish marketplace operations
- Scalable storage capacity for seasonal peaks without long-term space commitments
Brands that have tried to manage Turkish marketplace fulfillment through fragmented local providers often encounter problems with order sync delays, inconsistent pick accuracy, and slow return processing. FulfillmentTR’s integrated approach eliminates most of those friction points from the start.
You can read more about the specifics of how marketplace API integration works for foreign sellers and what documents are required for international shipments into Turkey in our related guides.
Common Mistakes Foreign Brands Make When Entering Turkish Marketplaces
Having worked with international sellers across multiple categories, a few recurring mistakes stand out:
- Underestimating the document requirements. The authentication and translation process for company documents takes time. Starting this early — before you even apply for a seller account — saves weeks of delay.
- Skipping Turkish-language product content. Machine-translated listings perform poorly in search and often contain errors that reflect badly on the brand. Investing in proper Turkish copywriting pays off in conversion rates.
- Using a cross-border fulfillment model when a local stock model is needed. Trendyol in particular penalizes listings with delivery windows beyond two or three days. If your product category is competitive, cross-border dispatch from abroad will leave you at a structural disadvantage.
- Not accounting for return volumes. Turkish consumers use their 14-day return rights actively, especially in fashion and electronics. Fulfillment partners must be set up to process returns quickly and restock items efficiently.
- Ignoring TRY volatility in pricing strategy. The Turkish Lira has experienced significant fluctuation over recent years. Pricing strategy for the Turkish market requires regular review to protect margins.
Getting Started
Entering Turkey’s marketplace ecosystem as a foreign brand is genuinely achievable — but it rewards sellers who come prepared. The registration requirements are specific, the fulfillment standards are high, and the competition from established local sellers is real. Brands that succeed typically combine solid product-market fit with a reliable local fulfillment infrastructure from day one.
If you’re at the stage of evaluating whether Turkey is the right next market for your brand, or if you’re ready to move forward and need a fulfillment partner with proven marketplace integration, FulfillmentTR is set up to support both conversations.
Contact the FulfillmentTR team to discuss your product range, expected volumes, and timeline. The team can provide a fulfillment cost estimate, walk you through the marketplace onboarding process, and outline exactly what’s needed to get your first shipment into the Bursa facility. Reach out via the FulfillmentTR contact page to get started.