Start a New Takealot Seller Business

By Rian Fourie Takealot Seller

So you are filled with ideas of products you want to sell online, but don’t know where to start?

Let us take you through a step-by-step guide on how to Start a New Takealot Seller Business.

1. Register a Business

Your first step on this exciting journey will be to pick a name for your new business. Registering a new business will cost anywhere from R500.00 to R1500.00. You have the following options:

Register your new business with CIPC (http://www.cipc.co.za/index.php/register-your-business/companies/) – this is not advised if you are not familiar with the registration process;
Approach a company to register your new business;
Approach an accountant to register your new business – this is advisable as you will then have a professional who is familiar with your business that can at a later stage, assist with your import permit, annual CIPC fees, as well as all SARS related requirements.

After registration, you will receive your official registration documents from CIPC.

2. Open a Business Bank Account

A business operates as its own entity and will require its own bank account. Browse around and choose your bank wisely. If you want to import products from other countries, you will most likely need to make FOREX payments / pay with your business credit card. We found First National Bank to be the most accommodating and user friendly. Remember to ask for a company Credit Card as it will come in handy later.

3. Apply for an Import Permit

If you are sourcing your products locally, you can skip this step.

When importing goods into the country, you have the following options:

You can import the goods under your personal ID number 3 times per year. If you are in a hurry to get started with the importation of your goods, you can bring in your first shipment under your ID number while you are waiting for your Import Permit.
As you will be importing frequently once your business grows, you will require an import permit. Ask your accountant to apply for your import permit as soon as possible – the cost for this will range from R2000.00 to R4000.00.

When making Forex payments, the bank will request your import permit.

4. Source Products

This step is by far the most important out of all of them. Sourcing products is the foundation of your new business and will stay the most important aspect all the way through. Whether you source products locally or internationally, it is important to do research and see if there is a demand for the products you want to sell. Be careful to enter an oversaturated market. Try and be original in your ideas.

Useful tips when sourcing products:

Try to find suppliers that pay attention to communication – if you continuously have to request their catalogue, move on to the next supplier. You do not want to source products from a supplier who does not focus on customer service, this will just end up causing frustration at a later point;
Build relationships with suppliers – it is a two-way street;
Request quotions from various suppliers – this gives you an idea if you are being overcharged for a product;
Try to find a supplier with a wide variety of products or large catalogue – you will start out small, but will probably expand your product range once your business grows. If you can source multiple products from one supplier, this makes sourcing easier;
Consider Shipping Options and get quotes from your supplier for various shipping companies (e.g., DHL, Fedex, Aramex, UPS etc,.)
Consider Shipping/Delivery costs;
Consider Takealot Fees;
Consider import VAT and Duties;
Compare your intended selling price to other similar products on Takealot;
Calculate your projected profit.

Another thing to understand is that there are many extra costs involved with the importation of the following types of products. Takealot may also ask to view the certificates for said products and may disable listings if you are unable to provide them.

Any product that uses Wi-Fi or Bluetooth needs to be certified by ICASA. This can be expensive.
Any product that plugs into a power socket or connects directly to a battery needs a LOA. This is time consuming and costs money. A product that can plug into an USB is fine.

Try and avoid these products unless you have the budget to get the correct certification.

Let’s Recap

If all of the above checks out, you are well on your way to making your first sale. Calculating your landed cost can be a daunting task. Stockburst Analytics can calculate your Landed Cost on your products by calculating your VAT and Duties and allocating Shipping Costs to your products.

Stockburst Analytics also has a Takealot Pricing Wizard to show the Projected Profit on your new products.

5. Register with Takealot

This is the Start a New Takealot Seller Business. You are set to apply for your Takealot Seller Account. Please read How to become a Takealot Seller and follow the easy steps.

6. First Import

Place your first order with your supplier. Importing goods is not always the easiest thing in the world. You have to familiarize yourself with things like HS Codes, Import VAT and Import Duties. You will deal with South African Customs at some point. Read our article on The Basics of Importing to South Africa.

Please make sure that you never under declare product value and be sure to tell your supplier the same.

7. Hardware and Software

Your new business will need some gadgets to get going.

The first item on the list will be a computer or laptop;
The second thing you need is a printer. A mono (single colour) printer will be sufficient;
Your new products will need barcodes so you need a Barcode Printer – We found that the Brother QL-800 range (starting at R2500.00) will work the best for a small to medium size business. Barcodes can easily be copied from Takealot and pasted into the free P-Touch Editor Software;
You need Software to manage your new business, Stockburst Analytics is the all-in-one application to succeed in your new Takealot business endeavours. Stockburst Analytics offers packages that is perfect for a start-up company.