Sell on Amazon India, Flipkart, Meesho or your own website?

Short answer: To sell on Amazon India or Flipkart you generally need a GST number, and you pay a referral fee by category (commonly in the single digits to mid-teens percent at the time of writing) plus closing and shipping fees. Meesho charges no commission at the time of writing and lets some sellers start without GST, but works best for low-price products and has high return costs. Your own website keeps the margin, the brand and the customer’s phone number, but you must bring the buyers. Most sellers end up with a marketplace for reach and their own store for repeat orders.

Owners search "sell on amazon india" when a product is selling well on WhatsApp and Instagram and the next step is unclear. Amazon has the buyers, Flipkart has the tier-2 and tier-3 towns, Meesho has the zero-commission headline, and a website of your own has the best margin and no crowd. This guide explains what each is good for, compares fees and control in one table, walks through the steps to start on each, shows how to check profit before listing, and explains why WhatsApp and Instagram are the bridge between marketplace buyers and your own store.

What each option is good for

Amazon India

The biggest reach and the most trusted checkout in the country. Buyers already have the app, a saved address and Prime delivery expectations. Amazon handles payment, and with Easy Ship or Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) it handles shipping too. The price is the highest fee stack, tight rules on returns and customer contact, and a crowded listing page where you compete on price and reviews with hundreds of sellers.

Flipkart

Similar in shape to Amazon, with a strong base in smaller cities and during its festive sales. Flipkart Seller Hub works much like Seller Central, fees are in the same range, and some categories such as fashion and home do well. The same downsides apply: fees, returns, and no direct relationship with the buyer.

Meesho

Built around low-price products and resellers who share listings on WhatsApp. At the time of writing Meesho charges no commission; you pay shipping and any return costs, and you compete almost entirely on price. It is the easiest place to start, allows some sellers to begin without GST, and can move volume fast, but margins per piece are thin and return rates on low-price fashion can be painful.

Your own website

The only option where you set the rules, keep the whole margin apart from about 2% to the payment gateway, own the customer’s phone number and email, and build a brand rather than a listing. The catch is simple: nobody visits by default. You bring the traffic through Instagram, WhatsApp, Google, ads and word of mouth, and that is work and money.

Marketplace versus own website: the comparison

All fees are typical ranges at the time of writing. Every marketplace publishes a fee schedule that changes several times a year, so check the current one for your category before you decide anything.

How to start on each

Amazon Seller Central

1. Go to Amazon Seller Central India and register with a phone number and email.
2. Enter your business details: PAN, GST number, bank account, and a pickup address.
3. Choose shipping: Easy Ship (Amazon collects from you), FBA (you send stock to Amazon’s warehouse) or self-ship.
4. Create listings with clear photos on a white background, a title with the product type and key details, bullet points and variants.
5. Set a price after running the fee calculator (below), then go live and watch your first orders and reviews closely.

Flipkart Seller Hub

1. Register on the Flipkart Seller Hub with your mobile number, email, GST number, PAN and bank account.
2. Add a pickup address; Flipkart’s logistics partners collect from it.
3. List products by category, matching Flipkart’s photo rules.
4. Decide on fulfilment: your own packing, or Flipkart’s warehouse programme if your volumes justify it.
5. Enrol in the big sale events early; that is when Flipkart’s traffic peaks.

Meesho Supplier Panel

1. Register on the Meesho supplier site with your mobile number, GST number or an enrolment ID for permitted categories at the time of writing, plus a bank account and pickup address.
2. Upload products in catalogues, usually several related items together, with plain photos.
3. Price low; Meesho’s browsing is sorted by price and buyers compare instantly.
4. Ship through Meesho’s courier partners when orders come in, and track return rates from week one.

Your own website

1. Decide the platform: a WhatsApp catalogue for under about 30 products, or Shopify or WooCommerce for a real store. Our ecommerce website cost guide gives price bands.
2. Open a payment gateway account; our post on a payment gateway for a website covers fees and documents.
3. Set up a courier account (Shiprocket, Delhivery or similar) for pickups and tracking.
4. Write the policy pages: shipping, returns, contact, terms.
5. Bring traffic: Instagram, WhatsApp broadcasts, Google Business Profile, and ads once the store is proven.

The GST question

At the time of writing:

• Amazon and Flipkart generally require a GST number to sell taxable goods. A few GST-exempt categories, such as some books, can be listed without one.
• Meesho allows sellers of certain categories to register with an enrolment ID instead of GST, typically limited to selling within their own state, following a change in GST rules for small online sellers.
• Your own website follows the normal GST rules for your turnover and whether you sell across state lines.

These rules change and are applied differently by category. Confirm with your accountant before you register, because unpicking a wrong setup later costs more than the GST filing itself.

Do the seller calculator before you list

Every marketplace has a fee calculator (search "amazon seller calculator india" or find it inside Seller Central). Use it, or a sheet, and work out profit after fees and returns for one unit. An example with made-up numbers to show the method, not your real fees:

Replace every row with the real numbers for your category, weight and price band; the point is that ₹550 of headline margin can end up nearer ₹280, and a ₹299 item in a high-return category can lose money. Do this before you buy stock.

Why most sellers end up with both

In our experience the sellers who last do not pick one side. They use a marketplace for what it does well, finding buyers who have never heard of them, and their own website plus WhatsApp for what marketplaces refuse to give: the repeat order, the customer’s number, and the full margin. The marketplace pays for discovery; the website keeps the profit on the second and third order. Start on the marketplace if you have no audience, start on your own site if you already have an Instagram or WhatsApp following, and add the other within a year.

Using WhatsApp and Instagram to bring buyers to your own store

• Instagram bio link to your website, with the same products at the same or slightly better price and a small first-order code.
• A WhatsApp click-to-chat link on the website and in Instagram posts so a question turns into a saved contact you can broadcast to later. Our Instagram ads cost guide covers what it costs to reach new buyers there.
• Packaging inserts, carefully. Marketplaces restrict inserts that push buyers off their platform, and Amazon in particular has rules on this, so limit inserts to a thank-you note, care instructions and a support contact, and check the current policy.
• Broadcasts to opted-in customers for restocks and festive offers, sent from the official WhatsApp Business app or API, never from a bulk-sender tool.
• Reviews on your own site collected by WhatsApp after delivery, since marketplace reviews stay on the marketplace.

Common mistakes

• Listing before doing the fee maths. The most expensive mistake, and the easiest to avoid.
• Copying the marketplace price onto your own site with nothing extra. Give direct buyers a reason: a bundle, faster dispatch, a small discount.
• Ignoring returns as a cost line. A return costs the shipping both ways plus a used product.
• Selling in a category with lots of returns at the lowest price. Volume without margin is just work.
• Registering on a personal name and bank account for a business that needs GST; the fix later is painful.

What we charge

If you decide to add your own store, our Growth package under Business Websites is the starting point at ₹49,999 one-time: up to 12 pages, a blog section, full SEO setup, speed tuning and three months of free small changes, suitable for a catalogue with payment links and WhatsApp ordering. A full online store with cart, checkout, stock and courier integration is quoted per project once we know your products and variants. For sellers who just need a proper catalogue to share with buyers, WhatsApp Basics is ₹4,999 one-time with no monthly charges: profile, catalogue, quick replies, labels and a click-to-chat link and QR. All prices are on the pricing page, everything stays in your name, and if a WhatsApp catalogue is enough for now we will say so.

The short version

Amazon and Flipkart give you buyers and trust in exchange for a referral fee by category, commonly single digits to mid-teens percent plus closing and shipping fees, and they generally require GST. Meesho charges no commission at the time of writing and lets some sellers start without GST, but suits low-price products and carries return costs. Your own website keeps the margin and the customer, at the price of bringing the traffic yourself. Run the fee calculator for one unit before you list anything, start where your buyers already are, and use WhatsApp and Instagram to turn marketplace buyers into direct repeat customers.