In an increasingly digital-age it’s very rare for those with a physical product or high street presence, to not take advantage of the many channels there are to sell online. Selling a product online allows you to reach a wider audience and new customer pockets. So, let us learn today how to go about it.

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Start Your eCommerce Business In 3 Easy Steps
In an increasingly digital-age it’s very rare for those with a physical product or high street
presence, to not take advantage of the many channels there are to sell online. Selling a product
online allows you to reach a wider audience and new customer pockets. So, let us learn today
how to go about it.
There are simple tactics to figuring out how to sell online and they all arise from the answers to
three basic questions – why, what and how?
1) Why sell online?
eCommerce in India is booming and the market is about to touch $120 billion by 2020. Over to it
is the burgeoning m-commerce that gives rise to immense opportunities for online businesses.
Perhaps, the best time to start selling online is now.
2) What to sell online?
a) Piggybacking on trends: Start your initial research by studying on the new and
upcoming trends on online retail giants, such as Flipkart, Amazon or eBay. What are the

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month’s top picks, most favourite products or bestselling items? Can you spot any
particular trends like colours, shapes, fabrics or patterns? Selling a similar-looking
product is a smart way to get your cut on this trend.
b) Some healthy parameters to decide before starting your online store: What matters at
the end of the day is how much money you get to keep. Healthy margins will determine the
future of your eCommerce business. So, before you start selling Online, calculate the costs
involved.
a. Shipping Cost – Visit your nearest courier or shipping company and find out how much it
would cost to ship your product in various parts of India. Make a list of states and shipping fee.
Normally this costs between 5% to 15% of the product cost depending on the size and weight of
the product.
b. Packaging Cost – Depending on the type of product you are planning to sell, you will need to
consider the packaging cost. Check the different packing material and calculate how much you
will need for one product. Calculate the total cost per product accordingly. Normally it’s between
0.5% to 2% of the product cost.
c. Payment Gateway Cost – If you planning to setup your own store, you will need a payment
gateway. Payment Sites normally charge between 1.5% to 5% of the total transaction amount.
There could be one time setup fee and recurring annual maintenance fees.
d. Storage Cost – Depending on the product, you might need to rent warehouse or some storage
space for your products. Find out this cost as well. Some online marketplaces like Amazon let
you use their warehouses at a small fee.
e. Marketing Cost – There are free ways to promote your business but at some point of time you
will have invest in paid marketing channels. Google’s AdWords is a good platform to start with
online ads and it also offers tools to calculate the costs.

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Here is a simple formula to calculate Profit Margin
Profit Margin= Selling price – (Sourcing Cost + Packing & Shipping + Transaction Fees +
Marketing Cost + Variable Costs)
If your profit margin is positive, you are good to go ahead and start selling online. If it is very
low or negative, you should think about minimizing the costs.
c) Create digital catalogue of your products:
a. You will need to create a list of products in a spreadsheet. Later you will be able to import that
list to eCommerce marketplaces or self hosted shopping cart. This list should contain Product
Code (or SKU), Product Name, Description, Category, Selling Price, Discount (If any), Brand,
Colour and other applicable attributes.
b. Then, take 3-4 good quality photographs of the product from different angles, preferably in
white background. Product images play a vital role in online selling, so it is recommended to
take help from a professional. In some case, you can get these photos from the manufacturer as
well.
d) Setup End to End Process:
a. It is better to get organized from the day one. It could be a simple checklist for doing quality
checks, packaging, invoicing, etc. This will help also help your staff when you are not around.

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3) How to sell online?
Here is one of the top tier levels to consider before you begin looking at the many platforms
available:
a) Hosted Vs self-hosted ecommerce platforms:
a. If you want to set up a full website where people can come to view your products and your
products only (as opposed to a marketplace such as Amazon or eBay), then you’ll need to choose
between a hosted or self-hosted ecommerce platform.
b. In terms of a hosted platform, the benefits and disadvantages are much the same. A hosted
platform, such as Shopify or BigCommerce, is like renting a space to sell your products, hosted
on someone else’s server. The platforms are usually very easy to use, even for beginners.
c. For self-hosting, on platforms such as WooCommerce and Magento, you would run the
software from your own platform or machine (for example, within WordPress). This gives you
far more scope for customization – where you, or someone you hire, can make changes to the
look and feel of your online shop front. The drawback is that if you don’t have understanding of
coding this may be difficult and/or expensive to manage and understand.

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b) Selling On Marketplaces Vs Own Web Store:
a. Sell online using eCommerce Marketplaces:
Process of selling on these marketplaces is very simple and you can start selling within a week.
Your options for online marketplaces– Flipkart, Amazon, eBay, Snapdeal, Shopclues and
PayTM.
Process Involved – All you have to do is to visit seller-registration pages of these sites and
submit your business details. You will need to keep VAT registration number, PAN number and
Bank details handy. Some sites need address proof as well. You can upload scanned copies of
these documents. Verification is completed normally in couple of days.
Advantages – You can save big on the marketing cost. All of these marketplaces attract millions
of visits everyday and have a loyal user base. You also don’t need to worry about the payment
gateway and shipping. Most of these portals provide packing material as well.
Disadvantages – These marketplaces charge higher commission on every sale. For some items, it
could go up to 15-20%. Apart from this, you may feel to have little control over how your
product is displayed on their sites.
b. Setup your own web store or shopping cart to sell online:
This option can be further split into two parts – You can either develop your own eCommerce
website and host it on your own server or create a web store using online store creators. We will
discuss the second option here.
Popular options – Zepo, KartRocket, Build a bazaar, MartJack and Shopify.
Process Involved – Just register on one of these sites and upload your product catalogue. You
can link your own payment gateway or use the one provided by these sites.
Advantages – Interface is easy and no technical knowledge is required. You customize the look
and feel of your store.

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Disadvantages – You will have to invest in marketing your site. It will take time to build trust
and customer-base.
Thus, we walked through the basic set-up for an eCommerce selling and which is
relatively simple to go by.
(References: profitbooks, ecommerceguide)