Prepare a new product for online sales as a separate item: identify the customer’s task, describe the specifications, check the photos, variants, price, stock and packaging. Assign someone to handle enquiries and set a criterion for assessing the first sales.
Before launch, calculate the costs of a fulfilled order. After the test, compare actual costs and the selected metric with your plans. Use the result to make a specific decision: change the listing, review the price, improve order handling or continue selling under defined conditions.
Connect the customer’s task with the product’s specifications
Start with a hypothesis about what the customer wants to do, what problem is getting in the way and what result they expect. Write it in one sentence. Then compare the hypothesis with the specifications of the specific item.
For every promise in the description, identify the corresponding specification. If you mention compatibility, name the specific dimensions or models the product is compatible with. If that information is unavailable, remove the promise and ask an employee to confirm it with the supplier. Do not replace unknown specifications with general claims about quality.
Make a short list of questions worth answering before purchase: size, material, what is included, how to use it and available variants. Keep only questions relevant to this item. Use the list to prepare the description and the seller’s answers.
Build the listing and check every variant
Assign one employee to compile the information and another to compare the listing with the product. Use this working checklist for the review.
| What to check | Employee’s action |
|---|---|
| Name and specifications | Compare the description with the specific item and the supplier information available. |
| What is included | List what the customer will receive in one order. |
| Variants | Check each combination of size, colour or other differences separately. |
| Photos | Show the product that is actually being sold. Compare the image with the selected variant. |
| Price | Check the price for each variant and recalculate it for the planned discount. |
| Stock | Compare the available quantity of each variant with the quantity actually on hand. |
Track stock separately for each variant combination. Do not combine different sizes and colours into one number when checking availability. Inventory management helps prevent sales of products that are already out of stock.
Check packaging and order costs
Pack a sample shipment of this item. Weigh it, measure its dimensions and check the shipping cost for the selected delivery method. Record the cost of packaging materials and the work involved in preparing the order separately. Repeat the check if a product variant requires different packaging.
Include the unit cost of the product, packaging, payment fees, order fulfilment, marketing and platform fees in your price calculation. Add the costs of returns, discounts and the portion of delivery paid by the store. Include duties and taxes where they form part of your selling costs; do not insert arbitrary rates.
Separate actual costs from planning assumptions. For example, label the amount set aside for possible returns as a plan. After sales, replace assumptions with actual figures. Do not count the same fee twice in different line items.
Illustrative example: calculating one purchase
Suppose a store sells an organiser for UAH 800. All amounts below are fictional and are provided only to illustrate the calculation.
- Product cost to the store — UAH 450.
- Packaging — UAH 25.
- Payment fee — UAH 20.
- Order preparation — UAH 35.
- Delivery portion paid by the store — UAH 40.
- Marketing cost per purchase — UAH 70.
- Allocated platform fee — UAH 10.
- Planned amount for possible returns — UAH 30.
The listed costs total UAH 680. The amount left after these costs is: 800 − 680 = 120 UAH. This is the amount before accounting for other costs, including taxes and the store’s fixed costs not included in the example. Do not call it net profit.
If, in this illustrative example, the price is reduced to UAH 720 while the listed costs remain unchanged, the amount left is UAH 40. Recalculate every cost item before offering a discount: the assumption that costs will stay the same needs to be checked.
Prepare to handle enquiries
Assign an employee to answer questions about the new item and decide who will cover for them. Acknowledge receipt of the enquiry in your first reply. If you need to check something before answering, tell the customer what you are checking.
Prepare answers about specifications, what is included and variants. Ask the employee to record recurring questions. Use those notes to add the specific information customers are missing to the listing.
Set decision criteria before sales begin
Write down the hypothesis, how you will test it, the metric you will measure and the result threshold. Add the test period, budget and person responsible for the calculation. Choose a metric that fits your objective: the number of completed purchases or the amount left after specified costs.
When the test ends, compare the result with the initial threshold. Separately review customer enquiries, variant availability and actual costs. Record the decision and the next change you will test. If you change the price, description or delivery terms, record the new conditions before the next review.
Go back to the previous step