Why this matters
Running your own online shop gives you more control than a marketplace, but also more responsibility. Payment methods, legal texts, shipping, packaging, product information, privacy compliance, and bookkeeping all rest more squarely on your shoulders.
Turn knowledge into a start plan
This guide explains one topic. Whether it is really a priority for you right now depends on your answers in the start plan.
Create start planChoosing a Shop Tool Is Not the First Step
Shopify, WooCommerce, or any other platform does not automatically handle registration, packaging obligations, legal notices, taxes, privacy compliance, or your margins. A shop tool is infrastructure, not a business model.
Start with your product, target audience, pricing, costs, shipping, mandatory disclosures, and bookkeeping structure. After that, you can decide which tool is simple enough for your launch.
Business Registration and Tax Registration
When selling physical goods, registering a Gewerbe (trade business) is usually the appropriate step. Check the Gewerbeanmeldung (business registration), tax registration via ELSTER, the Kleinunternehmerregelung (small business VAT exemption), and whether a USt-IdNr. (VAT identification number) is needed or required by platforms.
For tax registration you will need realistic figures: your activity, expected turnover, projected profit, bank details, and your decision on VAT treatment.
Packaging, Shipping, and Returns
For shipped goods, LUCID (Germany's packaging register) is a key compliance topic to check. You also need clear processes for shipping costs, delivery times, returns, damaged goods, shipment tracking, and customer communication.
Even small shops should factor packaging materials, shipping labels, return risk, and storage into their margin calculations.
Even small shops should factor packaging materials, shipping labels, return risk, and storage into their margin calculations.
Legal Texts, Privacy, and Building Trust
A shop needs a visible identity, reachable contact details, clear mandatory information, and understandable legal texts. This covers the Impressum (legal notice), privacy policy, right of withdrawal, shipping information, and depending on the product, additional disclosures.
This page does not create legal texts. It is intended to show you which areas you need to review before launch and when professional advice or a reputable legal text service may be worthwhile.
Bookkeeping and Payments
Payment providers, platform fees, refunds, vouchers, shipping, purchasing, and advertising all generate many small accounting events. The earlier you keep these separate, the less you will need to reconstruct later.
For the start, a simple system is often enough: a separate account or a clearly defined payment flow, a folder for receipts, exports of shop and payment data, and regular reconciliation.
Quick checklist
- Review product, target audience, pricing, and margins before choosing a tool.
- Prepare your Gewerbeanmeldung (business registration) and ELSTER questionnaire.
- Note the Kleinunternehmerregelung (small business VAT exemption) and USt-IdNr. (VAT ID) as items to check.
- Clarify LUCID registration, packaging obligations, and your shipping process.
- Review your Impressum (legal notice), privacy policy, right of withdrawal, and mandatory product information.
- Plan for payment providers, fees, returns, and receipt management.
- Only then choose your shop system and plan your launch tasks.
Common mistakes
- Buying a shop tool before your product, margins, and legal obligations are clear.
- Underestimating shipping and packaging costs.
- Copying legal texts from other shops.
- Not documenting payment providers, fees, and refunds.
- Launching too many products before a small-scale process has been proven to work.
Frequently asked questions
Should I start with my own shop or a marketplace?
A marketplace can help you test demand; your own shop gives you more control. What matters most is your product, budget, reach, compliance obligations, and how much operational work you can handle alongside your main job.
Do I need LUCID for an online shop?
If you are shipping packaged goods through online retail, you should check LUCID directly. The ZSVR (Central Agency Packaging Register) provides official information and quick-check tools for this.
What should be in place before launch?
Registration and tax basis, packaging compliance, legal texts, payment setup, shipping process, bookkeeping structure, and a realistic margin.
What this guide can and cannot do
This guide helps with
- break your shop launch into mandatory foundations, setup, and later tool selection
- check which guides for selling physical goods fit your situation
- build a launch sequence without tool overload
This guide does not replace
- replace legal texts or a privacy compliance review
- make binding decisions about which tax treatment applies to you
- guarantee shop revenue or profitability