Low Investment Products to Sell Online: 8 Ideas and the Real Costs
Good low investment products to sell online are light, cheap to buy in small lots, hard to damage, free of sizes and free of special licences. Steel kitchen tools, wooden kitchenware, candles, hair accessories, cotton tote bags and notebooks all fit. Most carry 5% GST or less from 22 September 2025. Budget for returns and packing, not just stock.
- Low investment means a small first lot, low shipping cost and few returns, not just a cheap unit price.
- Many small household goods moved to 5% GST from 22 September 2025. Notebooks and pencils are now nil.
- Keep about a third of your starting money for packing, returns and ads.
- Toys need the ISI mark, and food needs FSSAI. Leave regulated goods for later.
- Within your own State, you can start on some marketplaces with a GST enrolment number instead of full registration.
In this guide
What makes a product "low investment"?
Most lists stop at "cheap to buy". That is only the first test. A Rs 50 item that breaks in transit, or comes back in the wrong size, costs far more than its price. Ask five questions of every idea:
- Can I buy a first lot of 30 to 60 pieces for under Rs 15,000?
- Does it weigh under about half a kilo when packed, so shipping stays low?
- Can it survive a courier without special packing?
- Does it come in one size, so buyers cannot order the wrong one?
- Can I sell it without a licence, a quality mark or an expiry date?
Five yes answers make a strong starter product. Two or more no answers mean the idea needs more money or more experience than you have today.
Eight ideas that pass most tests
The GST rates below are from the GST Council's list of changes in force from 22 September 2025. The starting lot sizes are rough illustrations, not supplier quotes.
| Idea | Why it suits a small start | Main risk | GST from 22 Sep 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steel or aluminium kitchen tools and utensils | Durable, one size, steady need | Many similar listings | 5% |
| Wooden kitchenware and serving boards | Light, good photos, gifting | Cracks if wood is poorly dried | 5% |
| Candles, including handmade | Can be made at home in small batches | Melting in summer transit | 5% |
| Combs, hair clips and hair-slides | Very light, low cost per piece | Finish complaints | 5% |
| Cotton or jute shopping bags | Flat, light, can be printed with designs | Stitching quality | 5% |
| Notebooks, exercise books, pencils and crayons | School demand every year | Low price per piece, so margin is thin | Nil |
| Umbrellas | Strong season before and during the rains | Stock left over after the season | 5% |
| Handicraft brass or wooden decor | Higher price, festive gifting | Higher cost per piece | 5% for the handicraft entries listed |
Clothes up to Rs 2,500 a piece also carry 5%, but sizes mean returns. If you want to start with clothes, read HSN codes and GST rates for clothes and keep your first lot very small.
What does a nil rate mean for you? No GST is charged on that sale. You still report it in your GST return if you are registered. Whether you can claim back GST paid on purchases used for nil-rated sales is a question for your CA, because the credit rules restrict it.
How to start with a small budget, step by step
- Shortlist three ideas from the table, or from what you can source locally.
- Order samples from two suppliers for each. Check finish, weight and packing.
- Check the HSN code and rate for each sample. Our guide on finding the HSN code shows how.
- Work out the price after fees, shipping, returns and GST, using this pricing formula.
- Decide your GST route. Selling only within your State on a marketplace that allows it? An enrolment number may do. Selling to other States? You need a GSTIN.
- Buy one small lot of the best idea only, list it well, and track orders, returns and payout for four weeks.
A worked example with Rs 20,000
Arjun in Pune starts with Rs 20,000 and chooses a set of four steel serving spoons. All costs and fees below are assumptions to show the sums.
| Use of money | Amount |
|---|---|
| Samples from two suppliers | Rs 1,000 |
| First lot: 60 sets at Rs 190 with GST | Rs 11,400 |
| Boxes, tape and labels for 60 orders | Rs 1,200 |
| Ads for the first month | Rs 2,400 |
| Kept aside for returns and shipping before payouts arrive | Rs 4,000 |
| Total | Rs 20,000 |
He prices a set at Rs 399 with 5% GST, so Rs 380 before GST. After an assumed Rs 110 of marketplace fees and shipping, Rs 181 of stock cost before GST and Rs 20 of packing, he keeps Rs 69 on a delivered order. If 54 of 60 sets sell and stay sold, that is Rs 3,726. The 6 returns at Rs 90 each cost Rs 540, so the lot earns about Rs 3,186 before ads. After Rs 2,400 of ads he is up about Rs 786, plus he now knows his real return rate and ad cost. That knowledge is what the first lot is for.
The Rs 9 of GST he paid on each set (Rs 190 includes Rs 9 of tax) comes back as input tax credit if he is a regular GST seller. It is not a cost.
The mistake people usually make
The usual mistake is spending the whole budget on stock. Payouts from marketplaces arrive days or weeks after delivery, while packing, ads and return shipping need cash now. A seller with 100% of the money in stock often stops advertising just when the listing starts to work.
The second mistake is choosing cheap goods with rules attached. Toys for children of 14 or younger must carry the ISI mark under a BIS licence. Packaged food needs FSSAI registration. These are good businesses, just not for a Rs 20,000 test.
Do you need GST registration from the start?
It depends on where you sell. Notification 34/2023-Central Tax lets a person without GST registration sell goods through a marketplace from 1 October 2023, but only within their own State, with a PAN and an enrolment number, and while turnover stays within the registration limit. Selling across States needs a GSTIN from the first sale. If your margins are thin and buyers are local, the composition scheme for marketplace sellers is another option to weigh with your CA.
Sources
- PIB: recommendations of the 56th GST Council meeting, rate changes from 22 September 2025 (checked 13 Nov 2026)
- Notification 34/2023-Central Tax: unregistered sellers on marketplaces (GST Council) (checked 13 Nov 2026)
- Bureau of Indian Standards: Toys (Quality Control) Order (checked 13 Nov 2026)
- CBIC: section 16 of the CGST Act, conditions for input tax credit (checked 13 Nov 2026)
How AprilTax can help
When the first lot starts selling, your GST return follows. AprilTax has a free GSTR-1 tool for online sellers: upload the sales reports you download from Amazon, Flipkart or Meesho, and it prepares your GSTR-1, runs about 30 checks and matches the TCS your marketplaces reported. You upload the JSON file on the GST portal yourself.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best low investment product to sell online in India?
How much money do I need to start selling online?
What GST rate applies to steel kitchen utensils?
Are notebooks and pencils taxed under GST?
Can I sell online without GST registration?
Why should I avoid toys as a first product?
Is the GST I pay on stock a cost?
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