How to start in e-commerce

A marketplace (e.g. Allegro, Erli, Empik) already has buyers: you list a product and appear in the marketplace search from day one. You pay a commission on each sale and follow the marketplace’s rules.

Your own store (e.g. WooCommerce, Shopify) gives you your brand, prices and customer contact, but you must bring the traffic yourself — ads, content or social media. At the start it is usually the slower route to a first order.

Many businesses combine both: a marketplace for immediate sales, their own store for the brand.

The four most common routes differ in entry cost, workload and who the seller of record is.

Dropshipping wholesalers in Poland — how to sell with them →

For regular selling usually yes — check the details with an accountant, as they depend on the scale and type of sales. In GAPLI, selling on Allegro, Erli and other marketplaces requires a registered business, because marketplaces require business accounts. Without a business you can run an online store in the GAPLI partner programme — GAPLI then reports the commissions paid on a PIT-11 tax form.

• Your own stock: the first batch of goods, packaging and shipping, plus a store or marketplace account.
• Dropshipping wholesaler with your own store: store subscription or hosting, any wholesaler integration fees, advertising.
• Marketplace: a commission on every sale per the marketplace’s price list, sometimes listing fees.

In GAPLI the account and the Start plan are free. You buy no stock up front: you pay for an order only after the customer has paid for it, and the order profit is split 70% for you, 30% for GAPLI.

GAPLI pricing with a worked example of one order →

1. Create an account. Registration is free and needs no payment card.
2. Connect a sales channel. An account on Allegro, Erli, Aderlo, Kaufland or TikTok Shop, or a WooCommerce or Shopify store.
3. Pick products. From the partner wholesaler catalogue; GAPLI lists them and keeps prices and stock up to date.
4. Top up the Fulfilment Pool. For Allegro and Erli accounts — the Pool pays for orders automatically, because the customer’s money first lands in your marketplace account. For an online store this step does not apply.
5. First order. GAPLI forwards it to the wholesaler, the wholesaler ships to the customer, GAPLI issues the invoice.
6. Commission payout. After delivery and the 14-day customer protection period your commission is available for payout.

How GAPLI works — details →

A ready-made store makes sense when its valuation rests on a verified sales history rather than the seller’s claims. Check several months of revenue and margin, order numbers, traffic sources and exactly what passes to the buyer (domain, accounts, suppliers). On the GAPLI Store Exchange the valuation is calculated automatically from sales data recorded in GAPLI, and the transfer of ownership is secured by escrow; GAPLI charges a 10% commission on the transaction value.

GAPLI Store Exchange →

• You have your own goods and want a branded store → a store platform (e.g. WooCommerce, Shopify, Shoper).
• You have goods or wholesalers and sell across many channels → a multichannel sales system (e.g. Base, Apilo, Sellasist).
• You want your own brand without stock → a store with dropshipping wholesaler integrations (e.g. Sky-Shop, Droplo).
• You want to start without stock, wholesaler contracts or invoicing → a full-dropshipping platform such as GAPLI.

These options compared, with sources and prices →