Starting an e-commerce business — what order should I make decisions in before building the site?

Step-by-step order of priority: 1) Talk to a financial advisor and set up a sole proprietorship, 2) Negotiate with shipping companies for volume-based rates, 3) Prepare application documents for a virtual POS, 4) Draft mandatory consumer agreements, 5) Secure a domain name and set up the e-commerce store.

Edit: asked below, I wrote the answer in the second message.

A 60,000 TL budget is enough to get started, but allocate it wisely. When we first launched, we dumped 35,000 TL of our budget into custom software, and then had nothing left for shipping or ads. Put 10,000-15,000 TL max into software and keep the rest as working capital.

Before registering a company, definitely ask your local tax office or accountant about the requirements for an "artisan exemption certificate." When selling handmade goods you produce yourself online you might be exempt from income tax up to a certain revenue threshold.

Roughly how many wallets do you expect to ship per month? Shipping companies won't give you discounted corporate rates unless you commit to a specific monthly package volume. Have you realistically calculated your volume before locking yourself into a commitment?

biggest trap is return shipping. when a customer doesnt like the item and sends it back u pay shipping both ways. if u dont bake that return margin into your pricing, building a site is totally pointless.

I did the exact opposite and built the site first, spending weeks obsessing over theme colors. Then my virtual POS application got rejected due to missing legal policies, and since I had no shipping deal in place, I had to pay retail shipping rates for my first orders out of pocket. Opening a site before finishing operational prep is just a waste of time.

The takeaway boils down to one simple rule: First tax and corporate setup, second unit shipping costs, third legal policies and payment provider, and dead last the storefront itself.

Leather goods have great profit margins, don't let the process intimidate you. Setting up a sole proprietorship is done online in a day or two now. Take it one step at a time without breaking the order, and your capital will comfortably get this business off the ground.

Looking at it as a process, the picture changes. Mistakes made on the e-commerce setup guide side are usually reversible but expensive.

If you get three different answers on a topic, the question was asked wrong.

The answer above hits the nail on the head. like when making a decision, also write down the cost of reversal.

I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.

You're right.

If you're going this route, sort this out first. Just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.

When we decide without measuring, we always end up in the same place. Hope this helps.

Thanks, this was very helpful.

The answer above hits the nail on the head. Start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.

Of course, it varies if your situation is different.

I'll try it.

Let me share my experience. A small market isn't bad; working cheaply in a small market is.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Let's separate the concepts, they're getting mixed up. Don't hesitate to ask; those who don't ask always pay more.

If I were you, I'd go this route.

Timely topic.