The modern world of e-commerce knows no borders, but for many Ukrainian entrepreneurs, entering international markets has still seemed a challenging task until recently. The company Western Bid, founded in 2001 by Mykhailo Birman, has become a reliable bridge connecting Ukrainian manufacturers with buyers from over 100 countries worldwide. Today, the company is not just a financial intermediary but a powerful logistics, educational, and consulting hub that serves over 50,000 clients and has shipped more than 10,000,000 parcels.
Leading Ukrainian publications actively write about Western Bid’s activities, innovative services, and significant contribution to the economy — from Forbes Ukraine and Ekonomichna Pravda to specialized portals such as Speka.media and ThePage. In this article, we have collected the main points from what the press writes about the evolution, services, and educational initiatives of the company.
Transformation from a financial partner to a logistics giant
The company’s history began in the USA with its headquarters initially in Minnesota, and later in Miami, Florida. As noted in the press, from its inception, Western Bid has been a reliable financial partner, helping Ukrainians accept payments via PayPal for selling goods on eBay. Since 2008, the company has added support for sellers on the handmade goods platform Etsy.
A real breakthrough and scaling occurred in 2018–2019. Understanding market needs, the company established partnerships with global logistics giants (UPS, FedEx, DPD) and «Nova Poshta», becoming a major player in the field of logistics. This decision was driven by the fact that Ukrainian sellers needed not only financial tools but also fast and reliable international shipping. Today, Western Bid ships over 3000 parcels daily, offering 7 options for international delivery (including consolidations and fulfillment services).
"Etsy-nomics": How Ukrainian crafters are conquering the world (According to Forbes)
Publication Forbes Ukraine in its detailed article “Etsy-onomics” analyzes in detail the phenomenon of the success of Ukrainian handmade products in the global market. Journalists note that Ukrainian craftspeople have massively replaced local fairs with the global market, where goods can be sold at twice or three times the price.
Currently, more than 20,000 Ukrainian stores are registered on Etsy, selling over 1 million items annually. The publication emphasizes that such a boom has been largely made possible thanks to the infrastructure provided by platforms like Western Bid. Journalists note:
Ukraine has always been famous for its leather, wooden, and pottery products. It’s in our blood
— and it is companies like Western Bid that help convert this talent into a stable currency income.
"Komok" — a revolution in commission trading: Insights from "Economic Truth"
In 2021, Western Bid presented an innovative service “Komok” — the first Ukrainian online commission shop for international markets, which was detailed in “Economic Truth”.
ATTENTION! The “Komok” project was suspended after the start of the full-scale invasion.
The project was also actively discussed on specialized resources such as KeyCRM blog and Dialog.ua.
Oleksandr Radych, Director of External Communications at Western Bid in Ukraine and founder of the Sales Academy, explained the philosophy behind creating the service in his interview with “Economic Truth”:
”Western Bid Agency has been providing brokerage services in electronic commerce since 2001… but people often ask if they can entrust the sale entirely and focus on manufacturing. Since our mission is to make electronic commerce as accessible as possible for every Ukrainian, the idea of the “Komok” service was born based on these requests. You provide us with the product, it is stored with us, and sold on international platforms. After the sale, we send the product to the customer, and you receive the payment.”
The service allows listing not only modern products made of leather or wood on Western markets (on the company’s popular American accounts), but also vintage items and antiques, delegating all concerns related to listing, communication, packaging, and dispute resolution to Western Bid.
Practical solutions for business without obstacles
Profile IT and business publication Speka.media published a detailed guide on how to sell in Europe and the USA. The publication emphasizes that Western Bid takes on almost all the entrepreneur’s routine.
The CEO of the company Mykhailo Berman emphasized in a comment to the publication the agency’s customer-oriented approach:
“If you are a master of your craft — all you need to do is take a break from your favorite activity and make a few organizational steps: register, bring your product, and list new items… We fully handle the organization of the process. […] We provide the opportunity to sell your product to Americans directly from America — just send it to our warehouse (Fulfillment Center) located in Miami, Florida”.
This same topic is also covered in an interview with ThePage, discussing mechanisms of international trade without having a own platform (notably, through the own marketplace LAVKY from Western Bid, which allows free listing of products).
An important confirmation of the quality of services is feedback from the sellers themselves. For example, Ukrainian entrepreneur Ivan Kozak commented for Speka:
“They can be approached with any request or question… Not long ago, I had payment issues on Etsy, which threatened the survival of my store. And this despite Etsy’s support team telling me that nothing could be done about it anymore. After that, I concluded that Western Bid knows more about Etsy than Etsy itself”.
Educational mission: Sales Academy and collaboration with the government
One of the company’s most powerful areas of activity is its educational work. In 2017, the company launched the online school “Western Bid Sales Academy”, which has already been attended by over 5,000 Ukrainian entrepreneurs, visiting more than 150 online and offline events.
Oleksandr Radich, the founder of the Academy, is the author of electronic guidebooks on Etsy and Shopify. His expertise is regularly engaged for joint projects with government and private initiatives. Specifically:
Ukrposhta (E-Export School): The company is a permanent resident of the Ukrainian Post’s Export School events. The network features popular video interviews with Oleksandr Radich and Yulia Pavlenko regarding client service in crisis situations and network development through email newsletters.
Dія.Бізнес: Western Bid specialists regularly participate in seminars. For example, in April 2023, a powerful intensive was held in Poltava, aimed at export for the local community.
Universities and Support Centers: Specialists give lectures at Sumy State University, Kyiv National Economic University (KNEU), Lviv Business Support Center, and the Novaya Pochta Business School.
YouTube Community: Company representatives are often invited to interviews by Ukrainian YouTube leaders, such as the channel “Ostanniy Capitalist”, where they discuss how international trade boosts global economies, or on the author’s program Dmitry Mashtalir.
In 2023, the company took further steps in community building by creating the Western Bid Sellers Club, which allows entrepreneurs of various levels to exchange experiences through regular offline meetings.
Adaptation during wartime and contribution to economic development
The full-scale invasion of 2022 became a challenge for the entire logistics industry. However, Western Bid responded quickly to the crisis. With the closure of Ukrainian airspace, the company developed new logistics routes through Europe to ensure uninterrupted delivery of goods worldwide. Despite having to temporarily close several regional offices (Poltava, Zaporizhia, Zhytomyr), the consolidation center in Kyiv and a network of 17 offices (Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro, Ternopil, etc.) continue to operate actively. In just the period from June 2022 to June 2023, over a million shipments passed through the Kyiv consolidation center.
For its resilience and innovation, the company has received numerous high awards. In 2022, Western Bid was the winner of the Ukrainian Business Award 2022 (scoring 69.9 out of 100), and also received the title of “Industry Leader 2022” within the national business rating.
Since 2023, the company has been a member of the European Business Association (EBA). On the official resources of EBA and the Interfax-Ukraine portal, press releases about the company’s participation in specialized exhibitions (such as the 18th All-Ukrainian Logistics Day), where experts share their experience in e-commerce, are regularly published.
Full range of services: From logistics to crisis management
According to media publications (including on the portal MC.today), the main advantage of the company lies in its comprehensive approach. In addition to payment solutions and logistics, Western Bid provides:
Product advertising and listing design;
Professional translation services for communicating with clients;
Handling complaints, disputes, and processing returns at own warehouses in the USA and Europe;
Parcel insurance with full compensation in case of loss;
An exclusive b2b platform Bid Market for authorized agent-sellers.
Conclusion
As numerous publications, interviews, and analytical articles confirm, Western Bid has long surpassed the status of an ordinary intermediary. Today, it is a powerful ecosystem player that nurtures a new generation of Ukrainian exporters. With its educational programs, advanced logistics routes, and innovative services (such as “Komok” or the Fulfillment Center in Miami), the company proves: Ukrainian handcrafted goods and industrial craft products are worthy of the world’s best showcases. And thanks to Western Bid, this path to the global consumer becomes fast, reliable, and financially advantageous.