How to Start Selling Online in Bangladesh in 2026: From a Facebook Page to Your Own Store

Short answer: you can start selling online in Bangladesh this week with a Facebook page, a bKash number and a courier account; you'll need a trade licence, TIN and e-commerce registration as the business grows. The order of work that saves the most money is: pick one product category, test it with 20–30 orders through chat, learn your return rate, then move the shop onto a marketplace or your own store so orders, stock and couriers stop living in Messenger.

Step 1 — Pick one thing to sell, and one buyer

Most new Bangladeshi online shops fail from selling ten unrelated things to nobody in particular. Pick one category (women's clothing, phone accessories, home kitchen items, baby products, skincare) and one buyer you can describe in a sentence. Check three things before buying stock: can you source it reliably in Dhaka (Nawabpur, Gulistan, New Market, Islampur or a wholesaler app), can you sell it for at least 1.8–2.5× your landed cost after delivery, and does it survive a courier trip.

Step 2 — The minimum setup (one day)

• A Facebook page with a clear name, a logo, a cover photo that says what you sell, a pinned post with prices, and the Messenger auto-reply on.
• A bKash or Nagad number for advances and prepaid orders. Start with a personal number; move to a merchant account once volume justifies it (lower cash-out cost, your shop name on the receipt).
• A courier account with Steadfast, Pathao or RedX. Registration is online; you'll get a merchant panel, pickup from your address, and COD collection paid to you on a schedule.
• A price list that includes delivery: inside Dhaka and outside, as two numbers buyers see before they order.

Step 3 — Run 20–30 orders through chat and write down everything

For the first month, every order teaches you something. Record: product, buyer area, delivery charge, courier, days to deliver, delivered or returned, and the reason if returned. By order 30 you'll know your real return rate, your real delivery cost, and which two or three products carry the shop. This is also when you learn to confirm before you ship — the single habit that decides whether a COD business makes money (see How to reduce returns).

Step 4 — Decide where the shop lives

A Facebook page alone works until about 10–15 orders a day. After that, orders get lost in Messenger, stock goes wrong, and the person packing can't see what the person replying promised. Three options:

PrimeHat's approach is the third row: a seller lists on the marketplace, and PrimeCommerce (the seller platform) runs orders, stock, couriers and returns — with an own-domain store as an add-on when you want your brand on its own address. See Sell on PrimeHat.

Step 5 — Price for cash on delivery, not for a shop counter

COD means some parcels come back. If one in five returns, every delivered parcel has to carry the cost of the one that didn't. Work the numbers once: landed cost + packaging + (delivery charge both ways × return rate) + your margin. Then decide whether to charge a small advance on expensive or out-of-Dhaka orders — many sellers do, and it changes the return rate more than any other single step.

Step 6 — Photos, descriptions and the two languages

Buyers search and read in Bangla and in English, often mixed. Write the product name in both ("স্মার্ট ওয়াচ / Smart Watch — T900 Ultra"), one honest paragraph of what it is and isn't, the real size or dimensions, and what's in the box. Phone photos on a plain background, daylight, three angles, one in use. No borrowed photos from other shops — buyers in the groups recognise them, and it's a quick way to lose trust.

Step 7 — The paperwork, in the order you'll need it

You can trade from a page without any of this; you cannot grow without it. Current rules change, so confirm with the city corporation / DNCC-DSCC office, the NBR and the Ministry of Commerce portal before filing:

1. Trade licence from your city corporation, union parishad or pourashava — needed for a merchant bKash/Nagad account and for most courier corporate accounts.
2. TIN (tax identification number) from NBR — needed with the trade licence for a business bank account and for some marketplaces' payouts.
3. DBID (Digital Business ID) under the Digital Commerce Operation Guidelines — the Ministry of Commerce's registration for online businesses; marketplaces and payment providers increasingly ask for it.
4. A business bank account once your monthly volume justifies it; it also makes merchant payment accounts and courier settlements cleaner.
5. VAT registration only when turnover crosses the threshold; take advice at that point.

Keep copies of all of it in one folder — marketplaces will ask for the trade licence and NID at seller verification.

Step 8 — The weekly numbers

Five numbers, every week: orders, delivered rate, return rate, average order value, and stock on hand of your top five products. A shop that watches these for three months usually knows exactly what to do next; a shop that doesn't is guessing.

Related: Payment methods · Delivery & charges · PrimeCommerce

Last updated 15 October 2026. Regulatory steps are a summary, not legal advice; confirm current requirements with the relevant office.