Key takeaways

To sell your products online, you need the right products, the right price, the right stock and inventory systems, and the right courier company.

If you’re ordering products to sell for the first time, don’t buy in bulk. Test your market first.

If you’re choosing an e-commerce marketplace to sell on, make sure it is a credible fit for your values.

Around 80% of small businesses struggle with selling their wares online, or e-commerce, as it’s known, lacking confidence on how to go about doing it, according to Jamie Farmer, the founder of NZ-based e-commerce marketplace Buy Kiwi.

“Generally small businesses underestimate the complexity of e-commerce. It’s about having the right products, the right price and the right systems to manage stock and inventory, and engaging with the right courier companies,” says Jamie. Then there are legal complexities, the Consumer Guarantees Act, the Privacy Act, a whole bunch of regulations to consider, he adds.

Businesses selling their wares on Buy Kiwi, which was launched in January 2023, have to have at least 80% Kiwi ownership, the platform selling over 50,000 products from Wattie's tomato sauce to solar batteries, to rowing machines to Lego.

One of the most asked questions by Kiwi shoppers when browsing online is, is it in stock in New Zealand? And this will be a key question in this second to last shopping week before Christmas.

Jamie stresses that 99.5% of the products on the Buy Kiwi marketplace are in stock in the country. As a general rule a business can’t be on Buy Kiwi unless they have products in stock locally. If a product is out of stock and more stock is on its way, this is very clearly marked “pre-order,” says Jamie.

Buy Kiwi also gives businesses who sell on the marketplaces marketing trend insights as well as help with optimising their images and descriptions.

Lessons learned from a baby and childrens' goods retailer

Sleeptytot is one of the local businesses which sells on Buy Kiwi, as well as on its own site and on Mighty Ape. It also sells in brick and mortar stores throughout the country too, with stockists including Baby City and Baby Factory.

“When you’re choosing an e-commerce marketplace, it has to be a credible fit of your values,” says founder Fiona Boodee.

353909293_940007133779302_5636233078714597250_n (2) (1).jpg

“Also they should have a good range of customers, you want to get value for money and there should be a good finance system.”

Every time she sells a Sleepytot product on the Buy Kiwi marketplace it takes a 15% cut which is cheaper than other platforms, says Fiona. And she pays $50 a month to be on the website and included in the advertising.

The entrepreneur and former Police Detective has learned over the years to be more disciplined about bringing in new products.

“I got cocky thinking every product I’d brought in would be successful, but if you’re not careful, you’re sitting with $10,000 or $20,000 worth of product that’s not selling.”

If it’s not sold within a couple of months then it’s not going to sell at that price, adds Fiona.

Never buy in bulk with a new product, she advises. “Do your research and test the market. We would rather pay an extra amount to get a small quantity in because we’ll never be stuck with stock that way. Otherwise you’re sitting there with dead money.”

Instead of launching in straight away because you’ve got great ideas, plan and research at length, Fiona says.

For the full article in Stuff read here.

Where do I find startup funding in NZ?

Am I missing something?

Physical vs Digital

Many small businesses struggle with the complex world of e-commerce