Online selling looks easy: post photos, take orders, deliver. When the goods are imported, many steps sit behind the screen, each with a cost and a risk. Owners who understand the whole chain price correctly and avoid being surprised by duty, delays and returns. This guide follows a product from the supplier to your customer.

Choose products you can import legally and profitably

Not every product is a good import. Check that it is allowed, that it meets standards and that the margin survives all costs. Start with prohibited and restricted imports into Kenya and KEBS, PVoC and import standards. Electronics, cosmetics, food and children's products often need approvals. Then test demand cheaply: order a small quantity before a container.

Find and vet the supplier

A good supplier is reliable, communicates well and ships what they promise. Check the company, order samples and agree terms in writing; how to vet an overseas supplier before you pay gives a full method. Use a safe payment route, and read paying overseas suppliers safely.

Work out the true landed cost

Add the product price, freight, insurance, duty, VAT where it cannot be reclaimed, clearing charges, local transport and bank costs, and divide by the sellable units. The landed cost calculator and the import duty calculator do the arithmetic, and working out your profit on imported goods after all costs shows how to price from the result. Remember to allow for breakage and unsold stock.

Decide how to ship

Small, valuable goods often go by air or courier; bulky ones by sea. Parcels from online platforms may be handled by couriers who collect duty on delivery; see courier parcels and personal shipments: duty in Kenya. For regular volumes, a freight forwarder and a clearing agent will be cheaper per unit. Air freight vs sea freight compares them.

Understand VAT and registration

An online shop selling imported goods must think about VAT and the threshold. Once your sales pass it, you must register and charge VAT; the VAT registration checker shows where you stand. Registered traders can usually reclaim import VAT; see import VAT: how to claim it back and importing goods for resale: VAT and records. Below the threshold, the VAT paid at import is a cost to build into the price.

Clear the goods smoothly

Arrange a clearing agent, send them the documents early and have money ready for the duty. Tracking your shipment from order to delivery lists the steps, and storage charges and demurrage shows how to avoid extra costs. Check the goods on arrival and photograph any damage.

Manage stock and listings

Record every unit in stock, and make sure the website never sells what you do not have. Use a stock sheet with reorder levels; the reorder level and safety stock calculator tells you when to order, and the inventory and stock tracker records movements. Importing takes weeks, so plan stock for the lead time plus a safety margin.

Deliver and take payment

Decide your delivery options and charges, and make sure delivery costs are in the price. Offer payment methods your customers use, such as M-Pesa and cards. Record every sale with an invoice or receipt; the customer order and delivery tracker follows each order to delivery.

Plan for returns

Online sales bring returns. Decide your policy, state it on the site and record each return and refund; the sales return and refund tracker shows the refund rate and the main reasons. Faulty imports may be returnable to the supplier, so check the terms before you order.

Keep your records and pay your taxes

Keep the supplier invoices, shipping documents, duty receipts, sales records and bank statements. They support your VAT, income tax and customs position. If you are below the VAT threshold, you may be on turnover tax; use the turnover tax calculator to check, and read how to keep business records for KRA. A tidy chain, from order to customer, turns imports into a business and not a gamble.

Start with a pilot

Before ordering a large quantity, run a pilot: a small order of one or two products, sold through your shop for a month. Measure the landed cost, the time from order to delivery, the sales rate and the returns. The pilot costs little and tells you whether the product, the supplier and the price work together. Scale only once the numbers hold up.