How to sell laptops online: A UK guide
Being portable, convenient and easy to use, laptops have become one of the fastest-selling products online. In 2022, laptop sales generated nearly £3.6 billion in revenue across the UK [Statista, December 2022], indicating good potential.
So, if you’re interested in starting your own online laptop e-commerce store, here’s a brief guide.
So, if you’re interested in starting your own online laptop e-commerce store, here’s a brief guide.
What types of laptops or laptop accessories can you sell online?
Broadly speaking, you can sell the following kinds of laptops or laptop accessories in your online store:
- Business Laptops: Ideal for companies, co-working spaces, Small and Medium Enterprises and entrepreneurs, these need to be durable and reliable, and preferably from internationally reputed brands. These also commonly require higher RAM (Random Access Memory), which refers to short-term computer memory where data is stored during operations, and hard disk space, which indicates the total amount of storage space available for data.
- Personal-use Laptops: Preferred by individuals for non-office use, often with lower specifications and costs. Here, customers can choose high-end brands or cheaper, less-known ones depending on the features and cost. These don’t usually call for high RAM or large disk space.
- Gaming laptops: Specifically designed for avid gamers and game designers, these feature high-end graphics cards, higher RAM, and more powerful processors.
- Ultrabooks, Netbooks, Notebooks and Tablets: These are smaller, more easily portable products for both work and personal use.
- Accessories: Keyboards, mice and mousepads, microphones, headphones, speakers, USB drives and hard drives.
How to set up an online laptop store?
First, you need to decide where you will source your products from: wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers or third-party assemblers. Choose based on quality, delivery time, cost and the profit margin you can add.
Then, you need a website on which to host your store: you can build your own, hire a professional to build it, or use an existing site like Amazon. On the site, you need to list all your products with detailed specifications, high-quality pictures, and warranty information.
Last but not least, you need to have a plan for the storage, shipping and delivery of your laptops. You also need to be prepared for returned items as well as offer customer support. This is where an existing site like Amazon can potentially be advantageous (see below).
Then, you need a website on which to host your store: you can build your own, hire a professional to build it, or use an existing site like Amazon. On the site, you need to list all your products with detailed specifications, high-quality pictures, and warranty information.
Last but not least, you need to have a plan for the storage, shipping and delivery of your laptops. You also need to be prepared for returned items as well as offer customer support. This is where an existing site like Amazon can potentially be advantageous (see below).
How to sell laptops on Amazon?
More than 85,000 small and medium enterprises from the UK chose to sell on Amazon in 2022. Here’s how you can start your seller journey:
- Register as an Amazon Seller and create your laptop store.
- Choose a suitable selling plan and list your products.
- To deliver your items, you can use Amazon’s own fulfilment service (Fulfilment by Amazon), or use other methods like dropshipping.
- Amazon will also handle customer support for you.
Amazon even allows you to promote your online store using Amazon Ads, with Seller University offering multiple courses that can be of use.
Conclusion
Building a successful online laptop store can be a potentially profitable venture if you research thoroughly, provide high-quality products and timely service, in addition to having an effective business plan.
FAQ
Can I sell my own brand of laptop on Amazon?
Yes, under Amazon Launchpad, which has specific requirements you need to meet. These requirements can be found on the Amazon Launchpad site.
Can I handle order fulfillment by myself and use Amazon’s warehouses for storage?
Yes, you can do this by choosing Fulfilment by Seller.
Can I sell laptops on multiple channels and also on Amazon?
Yes. Amazon provides multi-channel fulfilment for this specific scenario. More details can be found on the Amazon website.
What happens if there is a problem with a laptop that was sold?
When a damaged, defective, or broken laptop is sold, customers can select the refund, return, or replacement of the item. Customers will need to return the original item within 30 days to avoid being charged for both the original and replacement items or they can ask for a refund.
You can see more information about the process of Return & Refunds of defective items here.
You can see more information about the process of Return & Refunds of defective items here.
Is there a minimum or maximum price to sell laptops for on Amazon UK?
As a seller, you have the flexibility to choose the price you want to sell your laptops on Amazon UK.
The price you select will be determined by your product sources, such as manufacturers, wholesalers, or retailers, in addition to your profit margin, the quality of the computers and their various specs. You can determine an ideal competitive price to set for your products based on this.
The price you select will be determined by your product sources, such as manufacturers, wholesalers, or retailers, in addition to your profit margin, the quality of the computers and their various specs. You can determine an ideal competitive price to set for your products based on this.
Can you sell used laptops on Amazon UK, or do they have to be new?
Yes. You can sell used, refurbished, or new laptops on Amazon UK through Amazon Renewed programme, which ensures that these match Amazon's standards of high-quality, like-new products.
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