Beginners Guide - How to Become a Seller on Flipkart?

Price

Flipkart and most other online marketplaces are very competitive. They have quite a few sellers selling the same product and the sale price is more or less the same. There is no drastic variation in price. If someone thinks he can price a product high he is unlikely to receive orders especially if other sellers are offering the same product at a reasonable price. As a beginner, you have to research Flipkart and know which products sell most and their average selling price if you expect to receive orders.

Making a profit

You have to sell at prevailing prices and still make a profit. Your profit is the difference between selling and your purchase price minus the fees you have to pay to Flipkart. What this means is that your selling price must be around the prices prevailing on Flipkart and that there must be quite a difference between purchase price and selling price so you have something left over after paying Flipkart their charges.

Flipkart charges

Flipkart does not charge anything for registration. However, when you sell a product they charge a percentage as commission based on product value and category. Then there is a fixed fee. You pay courier charges and collection fee if a parcel is sent on cash on a delivery basis and then there is GST applicable on all these charges. If margins are slim then Flipkart charges could not only eat away all your profits but you could find that you have made a loss.

Product selection and sourcing

The registration as the seller on Flipkart is the easiest. The tough part is to select the right products to sell and source the products at a price that gives you a profit after paying Flipkart and still selling at prices offered by other sellers. Research Flipkart or engage services of experts to know which products sell most on Flipkart. Set up a supply line so that you get the product at the lowest possible price. You could obtain products directly from the manufacturer or wholesale distributors but you may have to buy in bulk. You could pick product categories such that you can easily buy these products from local malls surplus inventory that is going for a low price.

Warranty

It is important for beginners to know if you think of selling on Flipkart that there is a warranty to be offered to make sure you offer genuine products and get the warranty from your supplier. If you do not and if there are returns you will make a loss. Some unscrupulous buyers will return a product even if there is nothing wrong and you have to find ways to sell it at a lower price or seal it and sell again. If a product is defective the Flipkart puts it all to your account including reverse shipping. If a claim is wrong on the part of buyer you do get the full refund of shipping and other charges and will not suffer a loss unnecessarily.

Get all these things very clear before you venture to register as the seller on Flipkart.