# Vendor settings

Vendor panel (marketplace)

The **Vendor** settings page holds every store-wide switch for the marketplace: whether customers may apply to become vendors, whether vendors can edit their own public profile, how vendor reviews work, and which address fields a vendor fills in. Individual vendors (name, commission, active or not) are managed separately, see [Create, approve and activate vendors](https://grandnode.com/vendor-panel-create-and-approve-vendors). Only administrators can open this page.

### Where to find it

In the admin panel go to **Settings → Vendor settings** (address `/admin/Setting/Vendor`). Change the switches you need and click **Save** in the top right corner. Like other settings pages, it can be saved for all stores or, with a store selected, for one store only.

![The Vendor settings page with switches for vendor applications, contact, profile editing, reviews and the vendor address fields](https://grandnode.com/Plugins/Theme.GrandNodeCom/Content/kb/vendor-panel/admin-vendor-settings.webp)

Settings → Vendor settings: general switches, review rules and the vendor address form.

### General settings

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Number of vendors to display | How many vendors the storefront's vendor block lists. **0** hides the block and also turns off the vendor list page `/vendor/all/` (it redirects to the home page). Individual vendor pages still work. |
| Default vendor page size options | The comma-separated page sizes (for example `6, 3, 9`) given to vendors created from the storefront application form. Each vendor can have its own later. |
| Show vendor on product details page | Shows *Vendor: name* with a link to the vendor page on the product page. |
| Allow customers to contact vendors | Adds a **Contact vendor** tab to the vendor page. The message is emailed to the vendor's address. |
| Allow customers to apply for vendor account | Turns on the application form at `/vendorapply` for signed-in customers. When off, that address redirects to the home page. |
| Allow search by vendor in store advanced search | Adds a vendor drop-down to the storefront's advanced search. |
| Allow vendors to edit info | Lets vendors edit their own name, description, picture, SEO fields and address in the vendor panel (user menu → vendor info). When off, that page shows *access denied*. |
| Notify about vendor information changes | Intended to email the store owner when a vendor edits its info. See the tip below. |
| Terms of service | Adds a mandatory "I accept the terms of service" checkbox to the vendor application form. |

### Vendor review settings

Customers can rate a vendor (not only a product) on the vendor page. These switches control who can do it and when reviews appear.

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Vendor reviews must be approved | New reviews stay hidden until someone approves them. The customer sees a message that the review appears after approval. |
| Allow anonymous users to write vendor reviews | Lets guests review. When off, only registered customers can, and guests also cannot vote on review helpfulness. |
| Vendor review possible only after purchasing product from vendor | Allows a review only from a customer who has at least one order with status *Complete* containing that vendor's products. Pending or processing orders do not count. |
| Vendor review possible only once by customer | One review per customer per vendor. |
| Notify about new vendor reviews | Emails the vendor when a new review is written. |
| Vendor Reviews Allowed by default | Sets **Allow customer reviews** on vendors created through the storefront application form. You can still change it per vendor. |
| Default rating value | The star rating pre-selected in the review form (1 to 5). |
| Number of review visible on vendor page | How many reviews the vendor page lists. |

### Address settings for Vendor

A vendor has one address, shown on the vendor page's **Address** tab and filled in on the application form and the vendor info page. The **'Company' enabled**, **'Street address' enabled**, **'Street address 2' enabled**, **'Zip / postal code' enabled**, **'City' enabled**, **'Country' enabled**, **'Phone number' enabled** and **'Fax number' enabled** switches decide which fields the form shows. When a field is enabled, a matching *required* switch appears next to it so you can make it mandatory. With everything off, as on a fresh install, vendors enter no address at all.

### A sensible starting configuration

1. Turn on **Show vendor on product details page** so buyers know who they are buying from.
2. Turn on **Allow customers to apply for vendor account** and **Terms of service** if you accept new sellers.
3. Turn on **Allow vendors to edit info** so vendors keep their own description and picture up to date.
4. Keep **Vendor reviews must be approved** and **Vendor review possible only after purchasing product from vendor** on to avoid fake reviews.
5. Enable at least **'Country' enabled**, **'City' enabled** and **'Street address' enabled** if you want vendors' addresses on their pages.
6. Set **Number of vendors to display** above 0 if you want a vendor block and the `/vendor/all/` page.

### Tips and common mistakes

- **"The apply page just goes to the home page."** Either **Allow customers to apply for vendor account** is off, or the visitor is not signed in (guests are sent to the login page first).
- **Vendor info link missing in the vendor panel.** The link in the vendor's user menu appears only when **Allow vendors to edit info** is on.
- **Nobody can review a vendor.** With *only after purchasing* on, the customer needs a *Complete* order from that vendor. Also check **Allow customer reviews** on the vendor itself: when it is off, the review form is refused for that vendor whatever the settings say.
- **Notify about vendor information changes** is stored and shown here, but in the current version saving the vendor info page does not send an email. Do not rely on it for moderation; check vendors' pages yourself.
- Email texts (new vendor application, vendor review notification, contact vendor) are message templates. See [Content management](https://grandnode.com/docs-content).

### Related

- [Create, approve and activate vendors](https://grandnode.com/vendor-panel-create-and-approve-vendors)
- [Vendor profile, reviews and the vendor page](https://grandnode.com/vendor-panel-vendor-profile-and-reviews)

- [Web page](https://grandnode.com/vendor-panel-vendor-settings)