MANILA, Philippines- More than any other social networking site, Multiply.com has become a haven for online stores, many of them evolving from the owners’ personal profiles. Carol Roble, who sells accessories like 2009 sunglasses on somethin2wear.multiply.com, first used her Multiply account for blogging and posting pictures. “When I decided to start my business, the idea of posting the items started,” she said. “The Multiply website is very user-friendly so I did not have a hard time customizing it.”

Users say that what makes Multiply especially conducive for online stores is its customization feature. It doesn’t take a computer engineer to create unique pages since Multiply provides hundreds of free templates. Most of the stores sell clothes and accessories in cutesy sites while gadgets and even services are also available in sleek pages. The beauty of having an online store on a social networking site like Multiply versus a standalone web site or a physical store is that it encourages meaningful connections, not necessarily the widest network.

Charlene Ebersole of secretbakeshop. multiply.com said she had an online store on another site but it wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do, which was to garner sales. So she decided to put up another online shop on Multiply.

Anna Maria Tan of seibufashion.multiply.com said, “First-time sellers can easily sell here while learning the ropes of online selling. The more contacts you have the bigger chance that you can sell an item.” She said the Multiply community was so effective that her site was able to start a pre-order trend, where the seller only procures products from suppliers after getting an order from buyers.

Pretty soon even services such as made-to-order clothing thrived and generated enough business to fund physical stores. At least that was how it turned out for Elle Uy of modista.multiply.com. On her site, potential buyers get to choose the type of fabric and style of clothing before providing body measurements according to a guide. The clothes then get made and delivered on an agreed date. “Not a conventional way to sell clothes online, but business has been good at Multiply, that we decided to expand it to an official site and a physical showroom at Banawe Terraces in Quezon City,” she said.

Students May Anne Sumauang and Jennerine Hernandez, who have a fashion and accessories store bansheeonline.multiply.com, have their eye on more temporary stores. “We are planning to join bazaars in due time when we have enough money for that,” Sumauang revealed.

So, there are two main concerns already solved: the store “space” and the marketing. But how does one get paid? Two of the generally accepted ways are through bank deposits (with the seller then shipping the items) and cash on delivery (via meet-ups). Since Pinoys are all about being mobile, it is not surprising that sellers have also come to accept electronic money sent via cellular phone such as as GCash or Smart Money.

This offers a bit of risk on the buyer’s side though. They have to shell out cash up front. People have shown willingness to use it, however, when they see that they can trust the seller and the prices are not too high. Seller trust on Multiply is established through the testimonials and feedback.

Since Paypal became available in the Philippines, a world of e-commerce opened up. If you can live with the transaction fees, it makes payments less of a hassle. All the technology involved does not make dealing with buyers much easier, however. Pin Chu, who sells personalized stationery and other paper products through iprints.multiply.com, said online buyers are very vocal since they can leave messages on one’s site.

Sellers say another disadvantage on Multiply’s site is that there is no special folder for PMs (personal messages). Unlike on Yahoo where there is a separate folder for sent messages and an inbox where you can view messages sent and received, on Multiply, you can only backtrack, which is time-consuming and confusing.

There is also no rating system on Multiply, unlike on online auction sites, although messages can be doctored. Kim Lato of gadget store kimstore.multiply.com, has gone the extra mile to post an album of pictures of herself with buyers. According to a Multiply user nicknamed deaconblue, who signed up with Multiply a few years ago and discovered online stores just this year, he started out looking for a digicam and ended up buying a Macbook from kimstore instead.

“As far as transparency goes, Kim has made the wise step of making an album in her Multiply site composed entirely of pictures of herself with her buyers. This accords her a lot more credibility than the ratings system of ebay.ph, or written testimonials in other buyers’ sites, both of which can be doctored/manipulated,” he said.

But the mistrust can go both ways. Sumauang shares that while it is understandable why some buyers ask many questions and are hesitant to make even a downpayment for an item they haven’t physically touched, there are also buyers who abuse the sellers. For example, some would ask about and reserve an item, only to cancel at the last minute when other genuinely interested prospects have already looked elsewhere.

Ebersole notes Multiply is “safer” than other sites. “Multiply has features that other networking sites don’t have, which is why online sellers prefer it. It is more secure (my Friendster shop was hacked) since it allows one to see those who viewed your site per page. It is so specific that it allows one to choose who among one’s contacts can view and comment on a specific page or photo,” she said.

Lato, who just graduated, said that her virtual store on Multiply gave her extra spending money and savings for her future. Other Multipliers have day jobs. Juggling studies or a job with managing a physical store would have been a lot more difficult without the online factor, but thanks to technology, these entrepreneurs are doing pretty well.

But the real beauty of Multiply is in the relationships. “I’ve joined the Filipina Homebakers Online, which is a site for Filipina bakers on Multiply and we meet and share baking tips and techniques. I’ve also found ‘long-lost’ friends and relatives on Multiply,” Ebersole said.

There have been rumors circulating that Multiply will cancel accounts used for business due to provisions in its policy, but no actual closures have been reported. “I think it has already been clarified by Multiply itself that they are referring to big companies. As for me, I upgraded my account to premier as a way of expressing thanks to Multiply. Also for me to establish that I’m a legitimate seller here,” said seibufashion’s Anna Marie Tan.

Multiply owners themselves have recognized the value of this unexpected niche carved out by Multiply, even partnering with ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. to take care of advertisers and commercial entities such as TV productions wanting to take up Multiply space. “It’s happening more in the Philippines and we wish we could take credit for having foreseen that, but we hadn’t. It’s a happy surprise though. And we are certainly looking at supporting that through new products and services,” Multiply vice president for business development David Hersh said.

The marketing potential is huge. Of Multiply’s one billion page views per month, about 300 million page views come from Filipino users located worldwide. Of the site’s nine million or so users worldwide, 2.2 million are Filipinos. Unmistakably, the old small business model has been turned upside-down, thanks to technology.