All businesses / E-commerce with own product

Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Start a e-commerce with own product: the real numbers

Selling a product you stock yourself. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€3,000–€15,000

Hours / week

15–40

First income

~10 wks

Net margin

35%

Saturation

high

Realistic ceiling

€600–€4,500+

This ceiling is not a wall

The figure above is what this earns in the shape described — you, running it. Past that it keeps going, but by hiring people or adding units, not by you working more hours. That is a different job from the one you would be starting, and worth knowing before you start it.

What nobody usually tells you

Capital goes into stock before you know it sells. And 35% margin evaporates between ads and returns: with no product edge it's an expensive way to work for Meta.

The route, in five steps

  1. Validate with a pre-order before buying stock
  2. Order the smallest batch the supplier accepts
  3. Calculate real cost: product, shipping, returns, ads
  4. Sell on one channel until it works
  5. Reinvest everything for six months, take nothing out

What you'll need to buy

These are the categories every e-commerce with own product pays for in the first month. We break down what each one actually costs at this size on the tools page.

initial stockplatformads budgetshipping

Does it hold up for you?

These numbers are the average case. Whether this business clears your target depends on your capital, your hours and how long you can wait — put them in and see.

Run my numbers → See the tool stack