Guides for small sellers in India
Plain-language guides for Instagram sellers, small brands and wholesalers: payments and COD, delivery, GST, pricing and getting found online.
All guides
· 4 min read
GST bill format for shops: B2B vs B2C
What a shop's GST bill must show, how a B2B tax invoice differs from a B2C bill, and when to charge CGST + SGST or IGST at the counter.
Read the guide· 3 min read
How to manage udhaar in your shop without a notebook
Credit limits, due dates, part payments and polite WhatsApp reminders: a practical way for Indian shops to keep the udhaar book straight.
Read the guide· 3 min read
Billing without internet: how offline billing works
What happens to a bill when the shop's internet drops, how offline bills sync without double billing, and what still needs a connection.
Read the guide· 3 min read
One stock for your shop and online store
Why shops that sell online oversell, and how one shared stock for the counter and the website stops it, with a checklist to set it up.
Read the guide· 6 min read
Why Instagram DMs don't turn into orders
Lots of 'price?' messages, few paid orders. Where DM selling loses buyers between the first message and payment, and the changes that close each gap.
Read the guide· 5 min read
How to stop answering 'price?' on Instagram
Why buyers comment 'price?' instead of buying, why 'check DM' loses most of them, and a reply system that turns each price comment into a link to buy from.
Read the guide· 6 min read
Buyers ghosting after they order? How to stop it
'Confirmed!' then silence: no payment, or a refused COD parcel. Why Instagram buyers ghost after ordering, and the checkout and COD settings that make it rare.
Read the guide· 5 min read
How to take advance payment for custom orders
Made-to-order work needs a deposit before you buy materials. How to size the advance, write a fair cancellation rule, and collect it at checkout, not in a DM.
Read the guide· 5 min read
COD or UPI? A guide for Instagram sellers
UPI is quick and safe for you; COD wins over buyers who don't know you yet. How to choose, how to mix them with limits and advances, and what each really costs.
Read the guide· 5 min read
Link in bio vs online store: which do you need?
A link-in-bio page lists links; a store sells. When a list of buttons is enough, when it starts costing you orders, and how to get both from one link.
Read the guide· 5 min read
Packing and shipping basics for Instagram sellers
Choosing a courier, packing so nothing breaks, setting delivery charges and handling 'where is my order?' — the basics for shipping across India from home.
Read the guide· 5 min read
Getting your first 100 orders from Instagram
No ad budget, a few hundred followers and a product you believe in. A stage-by-stage plan for your first 100 orders, and how to make each order bring the next.
Read the guide· 6 min read
Moving from a DM-selling tool to your own store
Switching from an Instagram store builder without losing products, links or buyers: export, CSV import, payments, the bio-link switch and the first week after.
Read the guide· 6 min read
How to price handmade products you sell on Instagram
A worked rupee example of pricing a handmade piece (materials, time, packing, fees and returns), plus custom add-ons and when to raise prices.
Read the guide· 5 min read
How to run an Instagram drop without overselling
A before, during and after plan for limited Instagram launches, so the first buyer to pay gets the piece, not the first to message.
Read the guide· 5 min read
How small sellers cut COD returns (RTO)
Every refused COD parcel costs two-way shipping. A stage-by-stage RTO routine for small stores: checkout, dispatch, transit and after.
Read the guide· 5 min read
Product photos and descriptions that sell
A five-shot phone photo list, a description template that answers the questions buyers DM you, and a before-and-after product page example.
Read the guide· 5 min read
Shipping charges and free-shipping thresholds, in ₹
Flat fee, free above an amount, or built into the price? Worked rupee examples for a small Indian store, and how to pick a free-shipping threshold.
Read the guide· 5 min read
Get your Instagram store found on Google
A practical starter for getting your Instagram store found on Google: your own domain, Search Console verification and submitting your sitemap.
Read the guide· 5 min read
How to start an online clothing store in India
A step-by-step guide for boutiques, labels and garment wholesalers: paperwork, sizes, payments and COD, shipping, returns and first orders.
Read the guide· 4 min read
COD vs prepaid: how small online stores reduce RTO
What RTO really costs a small store, and the COD rules (limits, pincodes, partial COD and risk scoring) that keep cash on delivery profitable.
Read the guide· 3 min read
Replace WhatsApp order lists with a B2B catalogue
WhatsApp is how Indian trade talks, but it is a poor order book. How distributors move ordering to an online catalogue with private prices.
Read the guide· 3 min read
How to sell on WhatsApp with a website
Combine WhatsApp chats with a website: product links, chat buttons and shareable lists, so orders land on your store without typing prices in chat.
Read the guide· 3 min read
GST basics for online sellers in India
A plain-language guide for small online sellers: when GST registration applies, CGST/SGST vs IGST, and what a GST invoice must show.
Read the guide· 3 min read
Own website or marketplace? What sellers need
Marketplaces bring buyers; your own website builds a business you control. An even-handed look at both, and how small Indian sellers use them together.
Read the guide· 6 min read
Sell wholesale and retail from one website
Most Indian distributors keep two price lists and no website, because trade rates online reach competitors. How gated pricing solves that.
Read the guide