How to start a business from home today with no money?
(Almost) Everything you need to know to start a business (whether selling product or service) from home today
1.Carousell
Carousell is probably the first option you’ll think of if you’re looking to sell something, probably because it’s so easy to get started.
All you need to do is register for an account, decide the price, take and upload photos of the items you’re selling and you can make a listing!
It’s very low-effort and you can easily do it yourself in a couple of minutes.
It’s probably also one of the more popular platforms since there are hardly any fees you need to pay as a seller!
The only time you’ll be required to pay any fee is if you’re listing items in the Cars, Motorbikes and Property categories, which is unlikely for you since you’re probably selling products or services.
The beauty of a marketplace like Carousell allows flexibility as you can choose between meet-up or delivery for your dealing methods.
One cons for that : You’ll have to deal with the whole process yourself. You’ll probably end up spending some time negotiating the prices and arranging for payment with potential buyers.
Most of the time, sellers will offer a lower price for meet-ups since it also takes some effort on the buyers’ end. You’ll be able to list locations and schedules of your choice and coordinate directly with the buyer.
While CarouPay is a relatively new payment feature that allows buyers to make payment in-app using their debit or credit card, more often than not, payment is through third-party transfer apps or by cash.
2. Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is the easiest amongst the various platforms here!
As long as you’re logged on to your Facebook account, you can access it under the Marketplace tab. There’s no need for a separate application or whatsoever.
Similar to Carousell, the listing process is also really straightforward — you just need to decide the pricing, upload the photos, add your description before waiting for buyers to contact you.
And likewise, Facebook Marketplace is free for sellers to list their items and use their platform.
Facebook Marketplace currently doesn’t offer any in-app payment services, so it’ll take a little more effort on your end to coordinate with the buyer when it comes to the payment method.
Buyers are also able to negotiate the prices so good luck with that!
Again, you’ll have to deal with this yourself so that could be time-consuming on the customer service side.
Facebook Marketplace works mainly on a meet-up basis, with a toggle option to offer shipping.
However, there are no pre-loaded shipping options, so again, you’ll have to discuss with your potential buyers
3. Shopee
I’m not sure if you’ve thought about selling on Shopee since it’s one of the most popular shopping apps in some regions.
You can use the same app and log-in to buy and sell on Shopee so it’s really rather easy to set up as well!
The basic steps are more or less the same as Carousell and Facebook Marketplace, with additional details required, such as the weight of the item you’re selling and your stock quantity.
While Shopee does not charge you for commissions or for listing your items on their platforms, they do have miscellaneous fees since they offer useful seller features to make the process easier.
You can link your debit or credit cards to Shopee to make a payment, which means Shopee needs to deal with these services. That’s why, as a seller, you’ll need to pay a **transaction fee of 2.14%**of the total amount you received as payment.
Apart from the transaction fee, you’ll also need to pay a service fee on completed orders to maintain the seller features you enjoy.
Therefore, you won’t have to spend time arranging for payment with your buyers since the payment service is built into the app.
The big pro here is: Being a marketplace that also hosts official brands, buyers will not be able to negotiate prices with you. Along with the fact that you don’t have to arrange for payment, you’ll be able to focus more on other things.
If you find having to meet up with buyers or carrying the items to the delivery points troublesome, Shopee would make a good consideration.
The reason why you had to find out the weight of your item is to calculate the shipping fees with Shopee’s delivery partner. You’ll still have to pack the necessary items, of course, but Shopee’s delivery partner will pick up your parcels and handle the rest!
So overall, Shopee can help to put more structure and system for your business if you are getting serios.
4. Lazada
Unfortunately, Lazada is the most tedious to set up amongst the few platforms here…
You’ll need to download a separate seller app and site that contains a wide range of features and a dashboard to track your sales.
Besides, there are so much more details that you have to fill up, such as the brand and model of the items, the weight, height, length and width of the package.
If you’re a casual seller, this might not be for you.
Since Lazada is such an established marketplace, you’ll also need to pay for the services they provide.
If you registered as a seller under Lazada Marketplace, you won’t be charged for a commission.
Some examples of the seller fees payable by you include payment fees, shipping fees, a reversal of item fees and other miscellaneous fees.
Just like Shopee, of course, payment services are built-in since it’s such a popular marketplace with lots of orders daily.
There’s no need to spend time negotiating prices with buyers as well, so you’ll really be able to allocate more time on other things.
With Lazada, you can choose a range of service providers for delivery, but it seems like Ninja Van or SingPost are the most common ones.
Similarly, you just need to handle the packaging of your items and you might need to bring your items to a common drop-off point, depending on the provider chosen.
Bonus 5. Ebay
For most casual sellers, it’s free to list on eBay. If you list more than 250 items per month, you’ll start paying a $0.35 insertion fee per listing. Category exclusions apply — you may check out the category of what you are going to sell and the relevant fees on this page: https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/selling/seller-fees
If you list more than 250 items per month, you may consider getting a Ebay Store subscription to unlock more free monthly listings, save on final value fees, and access tools designed for more active sellers like you.
If your item sells, eBay keeps a portion of the sale. This final value fee for most categories is 12.9% of the sale price or lower, plus $0.30 per order.
As far as shipping goes, sellers are responsible for shipping their sold items, and eBay provides tools to make shipping as convenient and affordable as possible. eBay Labels allows you to save on shipping costs by accessing pre-negotiated rates from major carriers including USPS, FedEx, and UPS. Plus, our shipping calculator will help you figure out your best shipping options and set your prices to maximize profits.
Selling on Ebay, you’ll receive your payouts in your linked checking account. Once the buyer’s order is confirmed, you can ship the item. The selling fees and other costs are automatically deducted, and your sales proceeds will show as Processing funds. It typically takes 1 day from confirming the buyer’s payment for the sales proceeds to appear as Available for payout.
There’s also a possibility that the transaction would be placed on hold (due to your selling history or performance, or to address disputes), in which case payout may take longer. In most cases, holds are lifted when a buyer confirms they’ve received their item or when a case is resolved.
Generally speaking, it takes 2 days from confirming the buyer’s payment to initiate your payout if your payouts are scheduled daily.
Summary: so overall, it really depends on what you need and what you plan for your business — do you want to be a casual seller or how serious are you in building this business. There are various level of ease and costs offered to your choice.
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