Selling online
How to sell online: a step-by-step plan
Selling online is open to anyone with a product and a phone, but making it work takes a few decisions in the right order. What do you sell and to whom? Do you sell through your own webshop, a marketplace or social media? Which rules apply, how do customers pay and how does the parcel reach them? This guide walks through each step, from the first idea to the first orders.
In short
- Start with what you sell and to whom, and check your margin before you build anything.
- Your own webshop gives you the customer relationship, marketplaces give you reach. Many sellers use both.
- Selling regularly to make money usually means registering a business, and EU consumer rules such as the 14-day withdrawal right apply.
- Offer the payment methods your customers use, and be clear about shipping costs and returns.
- Visitors do not come by themselves: plan search, social media and email from the start.
Decide what to sell and to whom
Everything else follows from this. Pick a product or range you understand, and a group of customers you can describe. Then check two things before you invest: is there demand, and is there enough margin?
Demand you can test cheaply: search for your product, look at what competitors sell and at what price, and ask potential customers. Margin is your selling price without VAT, minus the purchase price, shipping, payment costs and returns. If little is left, adjust the price, the product or the supplier before you start.
- Products you make yourself
- Products you buy wholesale and resell
- Dropshipping, where a supplier ships for you
- Digital products such as courses or downloads
- Services you book online, such as workshops or tickets
Choose your sales channels
You can sell online in three main places. Each has its own trade-off between reach, cost and control, and they work well together.
Your own webshop is yours: your brand, your prices, your customer data, no commission per sale. Marketplaces such as Amazon, Etsy and eBay bring visitors from day one, but charge commission and set the rules. Social media shops on Instagram and Facebook help you sell to people who already follow you. For selling your own used items as a private person, second-hand apps are the simplest route.
Pros and cons at a glance
- Own webshop: full control and customer data, but you bring the visitors yourself
- Marketplace: instant reach, but commission per sale and their rules
- Social media shop: close to your followers, but depends on the platform
- Second-hand apps: easy for private sales, not built for a business
Good to know
Under EU tax rules, marketplaces and second-hand platforms report sellers with 30 or more sales or more than 2,000 euro in a year to the tax authorities.
Arrange the legal basics
Once you sell regularly with the aim of making money, most EU countries treat you as a business, even if you sell next to a job. That usually means registering with the chamber of commerce or tax office, and looking at VAT. Our guide on starting an online store without registering a business explains where the line is in the Netherlands, Germany and Spain.
Consumer rules apply from your first sale to a consumer. Customers in the EU may withdraw from an online purchase within 14 days without giving a reason, and you must tell them how. Your shop must show who you are and how to reach you, and you need a privacy statement.
- Register your business when the rules in your country require it
- Check whether you charge VAT or use a small business scheme
- Show your business name, address, email and phone number
- Write terms and conditions, a returns policy and a privacy statement
- Explain the 14-day withdrawal right before the order button
Good to know
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules differ per country and change over time.
Offer payment methods customers trust
A customer who does not see their favourite payment method often leaves the checkout. What people expect depends on the country, so match your methods to where your customers live. Show the methods early, on product pages and in the footer, so nobody is surprised at the last step.
What customers expect
- Netherlands: iDEAL, which is moving to Wero
- Belgium: Bancontact
- Spain: Bizum and cards
- Germany: PayPal, cards and SEPA direct debit
- Everywhere: Visa and Mastercard
Sort out shipping and returns
Shipping is part of your product. Decide which countries you deliver to, what it costs and how fast it arrives, and show it before checkout. Unexpected shipping costs are one of the most common reasons people abandon a cart.
Plan returns too. Under EU rules you refund the price including the standard delivery cost within 14 days of a withdrawal, and the customer pays the return shipping only if you said so beforehand. A clear returns page saves you questions and builds trust.
- Set shipping rates per country
- Consider free shipping above an order amount
- Use sturdy packaging that fits your products
- Send track and trace with every order
- Publish a returns page with the steps and costs
Find your first customers
A new webshop gets few visitors by itself. Combine a few channels and keep at it for months rather than weeks.
Search engines bring steady, free traffic once your product and category pages answer what people search for. Social media works well for products you can show. An email list lets you reach people who already bought or signed up. And a marketplace can bring your first sales while your own shop grows.
- Write clear product and category pages with the words customers use
- Share your products on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok
- Collect email addresses and send useful updates
- Ask happy customers for a review
- Measure which channel brings orders, and do more of that
Start selling with SitePack
On SitePack you build your own webshop without technical work. You add unlimited products with variants, set shipping rates per country, run discounts and take payments through SitePack Payments, with the local methods your customers use. Links to your legal pages appear in the footer automatically, and your shop runs on European servers with SSL and daily backups.
A webshop starts at 25 euro per month on Starter, billed yearly. Try it free for 14 days without payment details, or have us build your shop for 750 euro one-off.
- Webshop from 25 euro per month, billed yearly
- Unlimited products, variants and discounts
- Local payment methods through SitePack Payments
- 14-day free trial, no payment details needed
Keep reading
- How to start an online store The full guide, from idea to first order.
- E-commerce platforms compared How to choose the platform for your shop.
- Online store without registering a business When you need to register, per country.
- Terms and conditions for an online store What to include and when to show it.
- Facebook and Instagram shop Sell to the people who already follow you.
- SEO for online stores Get found with your product and category pages.
Ready to get started?
Put your first version together today. Fourteen days free to try, no payment details needed.