With the E-commerce industry booming, the question on every aspiring small business owner or entrepreneur is ‘Should I start a physical store or an online one?’

The physical stores, though still having traction, are a thing of the past for anyone looking forward to starting a new business. The last decade has transformed our lives with the advent of the internet and its power to connect people in spite of location.

As a consequence, the e-commerce sites attract the majority of sales owing to the plethora of conveniences they allow to the consumer. You can shop or browse anything from anywhere in the world. You can even compare other products and choose the best one for you without ever physically touching or seeing the product.

Flipkart is among the largest e-commerce marketplaces in India, selling products online from clothing and electronics to baby care, ebooks, home appliances, and jewelry. Started in 2007 by Sachin and Binny Bansal, it has grown exponentially to reach a vital position in the Indian online marketplace.

If you plan on selling your own product online, Flipkart India is doubtless the go-to e-commerce platform to get your business to take off and skyrocket in a narrow period of time.

This complete guide will help to explain to you in detail “How To Sell Online On Flipkart.”

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Why Sell On Flipkart? What Advantages Do I Get?

Flipkart is now a market leader generating millions in annual revenue in India’s E-commerce industry. It provides a massive platform for sellers. The reasons and advantages of selling on Flipkart have a lot to do with overcoming the drawbacks of getting into a physical retail store.

Let me clarify my point here with an explanation:

If you wish to start a business with a little capital and are considering to open a small Offline Shop, then the priority is to choose a locality for your new shop. The shop needs to be located in an area that should either be a non-residential area or commercial area.

The main reason to choose a commercial area is to draw in many customers who are already there to shop. So setting up a shop in a commercial area with similar establishments will make it visible to everyone walking by.

If you want to attract customers towards your shop, then you will need to advertise; decorate the interior of your shop for attracting customers and also maintain it on a day to day basis.

Even after doing all these things, how many people will visit your offline store these days?

Well, you can never be sure. The majority of individuals who visit your store probably reside in your shop’s locality, which you may consider to be a good thing, but it’s awful for business. In a physical shop, you need to conduct business within working hours; pay labor charges for the workers, pay a monthly rent for the shop, etc.

If you are opening a garments shop, then you can only sell clothes. Your shop may be selling all kinds of dresses, but an offline shop is restricted to selling only one type of product, which in this case is garments and its accessories.

A garments shop will probably not sell stationery items, because no one wandering into it is coming there to buy stationery or expects you to sell them (I mean you could but you really shouldn’t).

Even to sell related things such as shoes or accessories, you need to create divided sections in your already encumbered shop. To overcome this drawback and sell multiple genres of products at a time, you can make use of Flipkart even as a secondary marketplace.

Flipkart is an Online Megastore or E-commerce marketplace, wherein the website is online 24x7x365. So you can sell products at any time. Flipkart will also increase your product’s reach because your product will be visible to all the customers who are located even in the farthest corners of the country.

To make this point crystal clear, Imagine a person residing in Delhi or any other city wants to buy your product, he will be able to purchase through Flipkart. This increases the sales of your product when compared to your offline shop since you get passage to a flood of traffic through the internet.

You will also be able to sell as many products as you want in Flipkart in diverse categories, as there is no limiting factor put forth by the e-commerce giants.

How To Deliver Your Products To Your Flipkart Customer?

Now that you’ve decided to sell your products online, a question holds you back – how will you deliver your products to customers residing all over the country?

There is no need to stress yourself regarding this as Flipkart takes care of the entire delivery process. The only thing you need to do is neatly pack your product and keep it ready for dispatch.

Even the materials which are required for packing like Packing wrappers, tape, and everything else, will be provided to you by Flipkart.

The Flipkart dispatchers will come to your place, collect your packed products and deliver them to the respective customers. So with the help of this marketplace, your business is made simple, and your profits are significantly increased.

E-Commerce Gaining Huge Growth In India

Online retailing is made possible through the enormous growth of technology in India. The exponential growth of the internet has paved the way for E-Commerce.

Electronic Commerce or more popularly ‘E-commerce’ is a process where a business is carried out through an electronic medium like the internet. E-Commerce also helps customers to buy and sell their products quickly.

The major requirement for a seller to start online retafiling is a proper Internet connection. It also helps if you provide clear pictures of your product to be displayed on Flipkart to enlighten the customers about your product.

Also Read, Online Marketing: How to Start and Run Your Own Biz

How To Sell On Flipkart?

It’s easy to start selling on Flipkart. All you need to do is to follow these three simple steps:

• First, you need to create an account with Flipkart
• Verify your business
• Start Selling on Flipkart

1. Becoming a Seller on Flipkart / Creating An Account

A person who is Interested in selling his/ her product on Flipkart must first become a member with Flipkart. Before deciding to sell on Flipkart, you need to be sure regarding having mandatory documents like a PAN card, GSTIN Number, Bank Account number, a Cancelled Cheque and an Address Proof for becoming a seller with Flipkart.

It is effortless to join Flipkart as a seller; all you need to do is to follow the steps below:

• Go to seller.flipkart.com for registration.
• Enter your email ID and Mobile number in “Register Today.”
• Click on “START SELLING” button.
• Enter the following details on the account creation page:
  • Enter your full name.
  • Enter your Pin Code.
  • Select your Product Categories from the drop-down list.
  • Now create a new password for Flipkart seller account.
  • Type the below-mentioned letters in the box.
• Click on the Submit Button.
• Verify your Email address by clicking on the verification link received via Email from Flipkart.
• Then provide your contact details and primary product type.
• Fill in your Business details like PAN and TIN.
• Enter your Bank details.
• Enter your Display Name and the Description of your Business.
• Click on the Save and Continue button.

Thus, you have completed your registration with Flipkart. Upload the required documents on the welcome page.

2. Verification of your Business

The mandatory documents are listed below:

• Business Entity
• Tax Registration
• Bank Account

Business Registration

Business Registration is something the seller should provide, including business-related documents and information during the Flipkart Registration Process. It helps to verify if you are legally allowed to practice a trade.

Depending upon the documentation, business is registered in the following categories:

1: Individual/Sole Proprietorship

2: Private Limited Company

3: LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) / Partnership Firm

4: Trust and Foundation

1: Selling on Flipkart as an Individual

A sole proprietorship is perceived as a business wherein an individual decides to sell the products on his/her own name in Flipkart. The drawbacks of being an individual seller in Flipkart are, they can only afford a small bank loan up to a particular limit.

It is not easily transferable, and it does not offer LLP to the seller. You will also not be able to onboard any new Partners.

Documents to be provided if you choose Sole Proprietorship are –

IDENTITY PROOF

• Passport of the seller
• PAN card
• Voter’s ID
• Driving License
• Statement of bank account registered on Flipkart payment gateway
• Letter from a recognized public authority or public servant verifying identity
• Signed declaration on the business letterhead stating that the person owns and manages the Bank account held in the Name of the Business

ADDRESS PROOF

• Telephone Number
• Electricity Bill
• Bank Account Statement
• Letter from an employer
• Ration Card
• Lease agreement
• Public servant verifying identity

2: Selling On Flipkart as a Private Limited Company

One of the best approaches to becoming a seller in Flipkart is as a Private Limited Company.

This provides more benefits when compared to other business entities as it is easily transferable, permission to take partners, Limited Liability Protection to Promoters and quick scale-up operations.

IDENTITY PROOF:

• A copy of the Certification of Incorporation of Private Limited Company
• Copy of Memorandum of Association
• Company PAN Card

ADDRESS PROOF:

• Company Telephone Bill
• Company Electricity Bill
• Lease or rental agreement

3: Selling On Flipkart as an LLP or Partnership Firm

Another way of becoming a seller in Flipkart is as a Partnership Firm. To start a partnership business/firm, you must register a Limited Liability Partnership. This will provide the benefits of Limited liability protection, easily transferable, separate legal entity and other documents required to become a Flipkart seller quickly.

IDENTITY PROOF:

• LLP Incorporation Certificate
• Partnership Deed
• PAN card of the LLP or Partnership Firm
• Partnership firm to transact business on its behalf
• Partners holding the Power of Attorney with their photographs

ADDRESS PROOF:

• Firm / Partner’s Telephone Bill
• Firm/ Partners Electricity Bill
• Lease or rental agreement
• Company Electricity Bill
• License Agreement
• The person holding the Power of Attorney with their photographs

4: Selling On Flipkart as a Trust And Foundation

You can sell online in Flipkart in the name of Trust And Foundation. You should provide all the documents above in the name of the Trust or Foundation instead, like Trust address, Trust Legal Identity.

TAX REGISTRATION

Taxes are collected by all the service providers when they make taxable retail sales. Sales taxes could include state, country and local taxes. Tax Registration and Bank Account should also be in the Name of the Business.

The Following Documents are required for tax registration.

• Business Name
• PAN card
• TIN
• TAN
• Bank Account Name
• Bank Account Number
• IFSC Code of Bank

Some of you newcomers may be confused by what some of these abbreviations mean. Don’t worry, we will quickly cover it below. Others are free to jump to the next topic.

PAN Card

PAN stands for Permanent Account Number. PAN is a unique ten-digit number, issued by the Income Tax Department in the form of a Card to any “person” who applies for it. It acts as an Identity Proof. This PAN number is required in many activities such as opening an account, trading, receiving the salary and much more.

GSTIN

Goods and Services Tax Identification Number or GSTIN is a unique identifier assigned to a business or person registered under the GST Act. This identification number is utilized by tax authorities to keep records of GST dues and payments for those registered under the GST Act. The number replaces taxpayer identification systems such as the TIN (Tax Identification Number) which was earlier used by state taxation authorities to track state tax records such as VAT.

Also Read, How To Register A Company In India

3. Starting To Sell On Flipkart

Once you have completed all the formalities of Flipkart seller account registration, you can list your products to sell online on Flipkart. These following simple steps are here to help you sell your products on Flipkart.

How To List your Product In Flipkart

The first and most important step for selling your product on Flipkart is listing. This is where you should provide relevant information about the brand that you want to sell. The description you provide should be professional and accurate to help the buyer in making the decision to buy your products.

Follow This Simple Procedure To List Your Product:

1. You should first login to the seller portal.
2. Click the “Listing Tab” where you will have to list your products one by one.
3. Click the “Add listing in bulk”. Here, you can upload the details of your new product.
4. A catalog file will be provided to you when you choose “Add listing on bulk”. The file will appear like an excel sheet, where you can submit your detailed description of your product.
5. The last step in the listing of your products is the quality check of the product. So you should upload the required file in the portal.
6. Then they will check your product. Once the checking is complete, Flipkart will notify you if any errors need to be corrected. If all the entries are perfect, then they will mark the file as approved.
7. While taking the photo of your product. Please take the help of a professional photographer, because the images need to be crystal clear. The picture you provide could be the primary deciding factor in convincing a customer to buy your product.

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Updating Price And Stock Count Of Your Listing

To update your product’s price and stock numbers go to “My Listing” tab, which is found on the “Listing” tab.

After you are done updating all the details, the tab will become active. Which means your products are ready to be sold.

Before selling your products, You must make sure that you have uploaded all the required documents, which you have missed earlier for Ex: address proof Pan, ID proof, etc.. All your details should also be verified.

Fulfilling Orders/ Order Management

Order Management just involves receiving new orders and transporting your product to the customers.

This includes the following steps:

• Check how many buyers are placing new orders for your product.
• Then get confirmation of the order from the buyer.
• Next, You must pack the order which includes packing your product and labelling it neatly with the required details like name of the buyer, delivery address, etc. The packing should be neat and perfect.
• Keep your packed product ready for Dispatching.
• Highlight the icon “Ready To Dispatch” to inform the seller portal that the order is available.
• The last thing you need to do is keep track of the orders until they are delivered to the buyer.

Return Policy

If the customer is not satisfied with the Size, Color or Functionality of the product, then he/she can return or exchange the product with the seller within a few days of receiving it.

There are no additional shipping charges for returning the items.

If a product sent to the buyer has been found with an inherent defect, then Flipkart charges shipping expenses from the seller.

Shipping and Delivery

Flipkart will not charge the seller for listing a product. Shipping charges defer/change depending on the weight and dimension of the product and the distance of the delivery. The product will usually be delivered within 5 to 7 working days unless specified otherwise.

Commission

Flipkart will deduct (seller) some percentage of commission for promoting your product which you have sold. The Commission Percentage will range from 2.5% to 25%.

Also Read, 15 FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT AMAZON COMPANY

Conclusion

As most of us already know, Flipkart is one of the dominant forces in the Indian E-commerce industry. The opportunity to reach a broad range of audiences for your product is unparalleled and becoming a seller on Flipkart is absolutely free of cost.

Combining the highest growth rates with remarkably low cost of doing business, Flipkart grants unbelievable freedom to scale your business in conjunction with the demand of your product.

Flipkart eliminates all the hassles in setting up an online store and streamlines every step of the process to ensure ease of doing business. Even the delivery procedure is wholly taken care of by Flipkart.

FAQs

• Why should I sell on Flipkart?

Indian e-commerce giant, Flipkart has more than 10 crore registered customers, 10 million daily page visits and 80 lakh shipments every month to over 1000 cities. This e-commerce platform is perhaps the most reliable partner to take your products to customers all over India.

• Who can sell on Flipkart?

Anyone selling new and genuine products can become a seller on Flipkart. Following is the list of things you need to have:

1. GSTIN
2. PAN Card (Personal PAN for the business type “Proprietorship” and Personal + Business PAN for business type as “Company”)
3. GSTIN/TIN Number (not mandatory for few categories)
4. Bank account and KYC documents (Address Proof, and Cancelled cheque)
5. Minimum of 1 unique product to sell

• Who decides the price of the product?

As a seller, you are free to decide the price of your products.

• What are the fees charged?

Here are the following deductions made from the order item value:

• • Commission fee: A small percentage of the order item value differs based on the vertical/sub-category.
  • Shipping fee (calculated based on the product weight, shipping location )
  • Collection fee: This is based on order item value and customer payment mode (Prepaid/Cash on Delivery)
  • Fixed fee: A slab wise Fixed fee. This varies based on Order item value
  • GST (applicable on above listed components)

• Would I be liable for compensation if the goods are damaged or lost in transit?

Yes. You are allowed to raise a claim under the Seller Protection Fund when your products are damaged or lost in transit. The refund depends on the product and scenario.

• What protection does Flipkart offer in case of lost/damaged goods and fraudulent customer claims?

Flipkart has set up a Seller Protection Fund (SPF) to protect sellers against fraud, and you can request for SPF claim through the seller dashboard. You will receive the outstanding compensation when the buyer or logistics partner is at fault.