Selling online in Nepal is no longer reserved for big brands with deep pockets. With a smartphone, a Facebook or Instagram following, and a way to accept eSewa or Khalti, a small shop in Pokhara or a home baker in Lalitpur can take orders from across the country. The hard part is knowing the steps in the right order so you don't waste weeks. This guide walks you from zero to your first sale, with everything tailored to how business actually works in Nepal.
Step 1: Decide What You'll Sell and Who Buys It
Before touching any technology, get specific. "I sell clothes" is too broad. "I sell handmade dhaka topi and pashmina shawls to customers in Kathmandu Valley and the diaspora" tells you your pricing, packaging, and delivery needs.
Ask yourself three quick questions:
- Where are my buyers? Valley-only is easy to deliver. Nationwide means you'll lean on courier partners.
- What's my margin? After product cost, packaging, courier, and payment-gateway fees, is there profit left in NPR terms?
- Can I restock? Don't launch a hero product you can only make ten of.
Step 2: Register Your Business and Get a PAN
You can start small and informal, but the moment you want a business bank account, eSewa/Khalti merchant access, or to issue proper bills, you'll need paperwork. At minimum, register your firm at the Office of the Company Registrar or your local ward, and obtain a PAN from the Inland Revenue Department.
If your annual turnover crosses the threshold for goods (commonly cited at NPR 50 lakh) or services (NPR 20 lakh), you must register for VAT and charge 13% on applicable sales. Many beginners operate on a PAN-only basis first and register for VAT once they grow. When in doubt, talk to a local accountant for an hour — it's cheaper than fixing tax problems later.
Step 3: Get a Domain and Set Up Your Store
A Facebook page alone isn't a store — you can't show a clean catalogue, take structured orders, or look credible to a first-time buyer. You want your own storefront and ideally your own domain.
Choose a short, memorable name. A .com works everywhere; a .com.np signals you're a Nepali business and is available free through Mercantile for registered entities. Keep it easy to spell over the phone, because customers will.
For the store itself, you have three realistic options:
- Build from scratch — powerful but slow and expensive unless you're a developer.
- Global platforms — capable, but payment gateways, COD, and courier integrations rarely fit Nepal cleanly.
- A Nepal-focused platform — the fastest path for most beginners.
This is where a localized tool earns its place. Saauzi, for example, lets you spin up an online store, connect eSewa, Khalti, and bank payments, run a POS for your physical counter, and manage delivery — all from one dashboard built for Nepali businesses, so you skip the patchwork of plugins that global platforms need.
Step 4: Add Products the Right Way
Your product pages do the selling when you're asleep. For each item, include:
- Clear photos — natural daylight and a plain background beat an expensive camera. Show scale and detail.
- An honest title and description — material, size, what's included.
- Price in NPR, and state whether VAT and delivery are included.
- Stock count, so you don't oversell.
Write descriptions the way you'd explain the product to a customer in your shop. Mention fabric, dimensions, care, and warranty if any. Group items into simple categories so people can browse.
Step 5: Set Up Payments — eSewa, Khalti, and Bank
This is the step that makes you a real online business. Most Nepali shoppers expect a mix of:
- eSewa and Khalti — apply for a merchant account with each. You'll typically submit your PAN/registration, bank details, and ID. Once approved, you get keys to connect to your store and receive payments directly.
- Bank transfer / QR — useful for larger orders; share your account or a fonepay QR.
- Cash on Delivery (COD) — still the default for a huge share of Nepali buyers, especially outside the Valley and for first-time customers who don't trust prepaying.
Offer COD, but protect yourself: confirm orders by phone or message before dispatch to cut down on fake or abandoned deliveries, which are a real cost in Nepal.
Step 6: Sort Out Delivery and Packaging
Inside Kathmandu Valley, you can use your own rider or a same-day delivery service. For the rest of the country, partner with a courier such as Pathao, NepCargo, Aramex, or Nepal Can Move, and understand their COD remittance cycle — how many days until they pay you back the cash they collected.
Set delivery charges honestly on your store (for example, a flat Valley rate and a higher outside-Valley rate). Pack items so they survive a bumpy ride: bubble wrap fragile goods, and seal against rain during monsoon.
Step 7: Launch and Get Your First Sale
Don't wait for perfection. Once you have a few products, working payments, and a delivery plan, go live and tell people.
- Announce on your Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok with a clear link to your store.
- Message existing customers and your contacts directly — your first sale almost always comes from someone who already knows you.
- Run a small launch offer, like free Valley delivery for the first week.
Then reply fast. In Nepal, speed of response on Messenger, WhatsApp, or Viber often decides whether the sale happens.
Plan Around Dashain and Tihar
The festival season from Dashain through Tihar is the biggest spending window of the year. Stock up early, prepare festive bundles, and warn customers about courier delays during the rush. A single well-run Dashain campaign can do more than months of ordinary selling — but only if your store, payments, and delivery are ready before the orders flood in.
Your First-Week Takeaway
You don't need everything at once. This week, do four things: pick one product line you can restock, secure your PAN and a domain, set up eSewa/Khalti plus COD, and publish at least five products. Then share the link with ten people you know and ask them to buy or pass it on. That single push — real products, working payments, real outreach — is how almost every successful Nepali online store gets its first sale. Start small, ship orders well, and grow from there.
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