Setting up an online shop in the UK - a step by step guide
So you want to set up an online shop and are confused by what to, when to do it and what is required. This guide will take you through all the steps and any requirements for getting your new online shop started.
Online shops
What do we mean when we refer to the term online shop? Online shopping is the process consumers go through to purchase products or services over the Internet.
An online shop (also known as a e-shop, e-store, internet shop, webshop or online store) is the online equivilent of a physical (bricks-and-mortar) shop or retail outlet.
This guide is concerned with the business of setting up an online shop, we also have a more specific article about technically building an online shop.
Your business
If you already run a business in the UK or work for a currently trading business you can ignore this part of the guide. If you already trade offline or even if you already sell on ebay then you should probably know much of whats listed below. Just skip to the section below.
Starting a business in the UK
Disclaimer: This guide is not meant to be taken as legal advice, we give general guidelines and links to government websites where further information can be found.
Main items to check
- Do I need a license to start trading?
- Do I need to register for VAT
More information is available at the links below
Other items to check
These are typically less likely to apply to new companies who are starting an online shop based business
- Do I need a license to start trading?
- Planning / building regulations
- Health and safety
- Responsibilities as an employer
- Legal requirements for letterheads and staionary
- Inform the relevant organisations regarding National Insurance and Tax
- Business insurance
Legal requirements when selling online
Disclaimer: This guide is not meant to be taken as legal advice, we give general guidelines and links to government websites where further information can be found.
There are a few legal requirements you need to consider when starting to trade on line, you can find all the information you require in our
Before you start building your online shop
No money up front to buy stock
There's no capital investment, no need to invest in stock and no danger of you suddenly having large stocks you are unable to sell.
You can sell a wider product range without buying stock
Using drop shipping allows you great flexibility in terms of product range. Promote as much or as little as you wish.
No need to worry about inventory and delivery
You can focus on listening to the market and discovering the products your visitors want to buy.
Disadvantages of dropshipping
Prices
Don't accept that the first drop shipper you come across will give you the best deal you should shop around.
Drop ship fees and charges
It's important to know all the costs involved so you can calculate your profit margins accurately. Any wholesale company that wants to charge you a
regular "participation" fee should be avoided - the only time you should have to pay a dropship company anything is in connection with a specific
order.
Shipping
Is the drop shipper using a reputable shipping company o deliver the goods? Where will they ship to?
Accounts
Will the drop shipping company automatically debit your credit card on each order you submit, or can you get monthly payment terms?
Support, returns and refunds
The last thing you'll want is to be caught up in a nasty situation where you have a number of returns - and have to foot the bill. Ask the dropshipping
company about their returns policy, what kind of support they'll offer you for their products and about any guarantees associated with their products - and
get it in writing.
Credibility
How long have the drop shippers been around for? Do they respond to your requests for information rapidly and professionally? Young dropship companies and
wholesalers have the habit of going bust quickly, or growing too rapidly and as a consequence basic good customer service suffers.
How do I get started dropshipping?
Its fairly easy to get started, the barriers to entry are low and you shouldnt have to invest much money up front.
- Set up a online shop (our easywebstore online shop builder is perfect)
- Find wholesale suppliers of products you wish to sell that will drop ship
- Open an account with the company
- Build your site, using content and images provided by the dropshipper or produced by yourself
- When an order is made your site should alert you and take payment
- Pass the customer details to the dropshipper
- The dropshipper should then bill you at the special price you have agreed upon. Fulfills the order (in most cases with labels referring to your
business/web site instead of the dropshippers)
How do I find drop shipping friendly suppliers?
You can always contact wholesalers directly asking them if they operate a dropshipping program. You can usually find details by searching on the internet.
Searching for the terms "drop shipping" or "drop ship" along with your area of interest usually gives pretty good results.
You can also try the sponsored links below, these should give you some pretty good up to date results for dropshippers
Dont forget you can also get help and chat to other merchants in our drop shipping forum.
Dropship directories
By far the easiest way to find drop shippers is to access to a drop shipping directory such as the Drop Ship Source Directory. Again you can search for
this or try some of the sponsored links below
Useful links
This guide was written buy the easywebstore support team. We would like to invite you to contact and chat to us if you have any further questions. You can also discuss this guide with us in our forums. We will be happy to help.