How much does it really cost to start an online shop? What you can do with 0, 3,000 and 10,000 baht

This question tends to pop up late at night after the kids are asleep, while you’re scrolling on your phone: “If I really tried opening a shop, how much money would I need?” Then comes the fear that you’ll put money in, nothing will sell, and your small savings will just disappear. That fear is completely normal, because for a lot of moms, that first bit of money is the money set aside for the kids.

The good news is that opening an online shop today doesn’t take tens of thousands of baht. We’ll break it down budget by budget, 0 baht, 3,000 and 10,000, showing what each can do, what you really need, and what can wait. Near the end there’s a table you can adapt to whatever you plan to sell.

What do you pay for when opening an online shop?

Quick Answer: Opening a shop on the platforms is free, but there are 5 main costs: stock, packaging, shipping, platform fees when you make a sale, and ads if you choose to use them.

Here’s a simple breakdown:

Cost	When you pay	Notes
Stock	Before selling	The biggest cost, unless you sell on pre-order or sell handmade work
Packaging	Before selling	Boxes, mailers, bubble wrap, tape, stickers
Shipping	Every order	The customer pays, or the shop pays if you run free shipping promotions
Platform fees	Deducted when you sell	Sales commission by category + payment transaction fee
Ads	Your choice	Not needed in the first month
Commercial registration fee	Within 30 days of starting to sell	File at the district office, municipality or sub-district administrative organization (อบต.). The fee is just tens of baht

The one beginners often forget is platform fees, which you don’t pay when opening the shop but which are deducted from the sales amount of every order. FlowAccount’s 2026 summary shows sales commissions for regular shops on Shopee at around 7.49 to 17.12%, and on Lazada around 6.96 to 17.12%, depending on the category, plus a payment transaction fee of around 3.21% (including VAT). These numbers change several times a year, so check each platform’s Seller Center every time before you set prices.

Can you really start with a 0 baht budget?

Quick Answer: Yes, if you don’t need to buy stock in advance, for example selling on pre-order, selling secondhand things from your home, or selling handmade items and services.

A zero budget doesn’t mean zero costs. It means you don’t pay out money before someone pays you.

• Sell on pre-order. Take payment or a deposit first, then order the goods. Be clear about the delivery date and stick to it.
• Sell your kids’ secondhand things. Clothes they outgrew before wearing much, toys, storybooks. This is a great practice ground for taking photos, answering chats and packing real orders before you spend a single baht.
• Sell handmade work or services, like baking, sewing or design, buying materials per order.
• Take photos on your phone by a window in the late morning, using white paper or a plain cloth as the backdrop.
• Use clean old boxes at first, as long as they’re sturdy enough.

One caution, though: if you sell on pre-order and the factory ships late, you’re the one customers will chase. If you’re still deciding between pre-order, dropshipping and holding your own stock, also read Dropshipping or your own stock: which suits moms?

How should I split a 3,000 baht budget?

Quick Answer: Spend about half to two thirds on a small batch of stock, and the rest on packaging, a simple photo backdrop, registration and a little money to test ads, while keeping some in reserve.

Think of this budget as money to test whether your product really sells, not money to set up a complete shop. The key is buying only enough stock to sell out in 1 to 2 months. If it really doesn’t sell, not much money gets stuck.

If a supplier’s minimum order is too high, ask for a trial batch, or team up with a seller friend who sells something different and split an order together.

What extra do you get with 10,000 baht?

Quick Answer: More product styles or sizes in stock, time-saving equipment such as a scale and a shipping label printer, and money to test ads more systematically.

Having ten thousand doesn’t mean you have to spend it all. Keep about 10% aside for surprises, like defects in your first batch or shipping price increases (for example, Flash Express announced a temporary 3 baht per parcel increase from 1 April 2026).

If it were us, we’d spend in this order, best value first:

1. Stock of items that already sell well, not new items you’ve never tried
2. A scale. Weigh parcels properly so your shipping costs don’t come out wrong
3. A shipping label printer. If you send several boxes a day, it saves a lot of handwriting time
4. Branded-looking packaging: logo stickers, thank-you cards
5. Testing ads, split into small amounts, trying one approach at a time

Sample cost table for the 3 budgets

Quick Answer: This table is a sample estimate for small, lightweight products. Your real numbers need to come from your wholesaler, packaging shop and local couriers.

Item	0 baht budget	3,000 baht budget	10,000 baht budget
Stock	0 (pre-order / secondhand / made to order)	1,600	5,000
Packaging (boxes, mailers, bubble wrap, tape)	Use old boxes	350	800
Stickers, thank-you cards	0	150	300
Photo backdrop and lighting	Window light	150	400
Scale / shipping label printer	0	0	1,500 (estimate, check prices before buying)
Commercial registration fee	Should register when you start selling	50	50
Ad testing	0	300	1,000
Reserve	0	400	950
Platform fees	Deducted when you sell	Deducted when you sell	Deducted when you sell

Notice that platform fees aren’t in the starting budget, but they need to be hidden in the selling price of every item. If you’re not sure how to add them in, continue to Product pricing formula for real profit

One more tip: platforms often have welcome offers for new shops. Lazada’s shop opening page, for example, mentions perks for new sellers, including 0% fees for the first 30 days on some items. But the conditions change often, so read them carefully when you actually sign up.

Do I need to spend on ads from the start?

Quick Answer: No. In the first month, get real customers and a set of real reviews first, then test with a small amount you can afford to lose.

For a small shop, try going in this order:

• Tell the people around you first: friends, moms in your neighborhood group, your child’s school LINE group (LINE is the main messaging app in Thailand)
• Make free content: short clips of packing orders, real-use reviews
• Test ads once you have reviews. Start small, set a budget you’re willing to lose in advance, and note how much you spent and how many orders you got

Just remember one thing: if your ad cost per order is higher than your profit per item, the more you sell, the more you lose. Stop first, then adjust.

If my savings aren’t enough, should I borrow to open a shop?

Quick Answer: For your first shop, start with a budget you can lose without affecting your kids’ expenses. Once you know the product sells, then look at more funding.

Personally, we’d start with 0 or 3,000 baht and let the shop prove itself for 2 to 3 months. If sales are really moving and you want to expand, read Startup funding for small businesses: where to find it, which covers everything from savings and pre-orders to state bank loans, and how to tell which kinds of loans to avoid.

For the actual steps of opening a shop on a platform, start with Opening your Shopee shop: day one

Your first shop doesn’t have to be big. It just shouldn’t leave you broke. Start small, learn from real customers, and grow little by little along with your kids. We’re cheering you on.