A beginner's checklist before you start selling online in India

Registration and documents

Marketplace seller registration typically needs a bank account in your business or personal name, a PAN, and — depending on your turnover and category — GST registration. Requirements change and vary by category, so confirm the current requirement directly on the marketplace’s seller-registration page or with a tax professional rather than relying on general advice online, including this page.

A realistic packing setup

You do not need a warehouse for the first few orders, but you do need: boxes or mailers sized for your product, tape, cushioning material, and a scale. Improvising this after the first order arrives usually means a late dispatch.

A printer that matches your volume

At very low order volume, printing labels on a regular printer is fine. Once you are doing more than a handful of orders a day, a dedicated 4×6 thermal printer saves real time and paper cost — see the thermal printer buying guide when you get there. There is no need to buy one before your first sale.

Product photos that match reality

Listings with accurate, honest photos get fewer returns and fewer doorstep refusals than listings that oversell the product. This matters more for your RTO rate than most sellers expect — see reducing RTO orders.

A plan for the first month, not the first day

Expect some cancelled orders, some returns, and some label or printing mistakes in the first few weeks — this is normal, not a sign something is broken. Treat the first month as building your process: how you pack, how you print labels, how fast you dispatch. Sellers who fix their process early scale far more smoothly than sellers who only chase more listings.

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