How to sell cosmetic products through an e-commerce website?

 

 

Nowadays, everyone uses the Internet and online stores to buy and sell in wide variety of niches. However, there are certain rules that govern e-commerce operations. One such regulation you may need to abide to is the EU No 1223/2009.  CosmeReg gives you an extensive and useful guide so you can avoid any possible taking down of your website by the authorities for non-adherence to the laws.

 

No 1: Decide the market you wish to sell

 

No 2: In case you are distributor, make sure that the products comply with the national regulations of that market (the market the product will be delivered).

 

No 3: As a cosmetic brand selling your own cosmetics you must ensure that you abide to all the regulations and laws.

 

No 4: Every e-store is governed by legal conditions. Make sure you follow them!

 

No 5: See your business grow!

 

 

 

Choose the market to sell your cosmetics

 

First thing to do is to decide the market you are going to sell your cosmetics. Today, it’s not very wise to limit your business to only a single market/location when the WWW is global and worldwide shipping is now easy and doesn’t cost much.

 

Still, if you wish to launch a worldwide e-shop, you will have to abide by all national regulations and ensure you deliver a lawful product and service. Of course, choosing to go worldwide comes with extra obligations.

 

One of the easiest methods to do this is by choosing certain locations in the world to deliver your products. If you decide to sell and ship your products for example to UK and European markets, you will have to abide to the respective regulations.

 

Also, note that selecting to sell in the European Market will not be a hassle to your company as there is one single EU cosmetic regulations that covers all member states. That means you will be able to sell your products to France, Spain, Greece or Bulgaria though a single legislation and nothing else.

 

 

Check legal requirements for cosmetics

 

 

If you are launching an e-shop for your cosmetic product whether you have an offline real shop or not doesn’t really matter. The rules will be the same.  Note that a E-store opening is similar to opening a real shop in each nation where you will deliver your product. So if you are opening a real shop in that country, you will always make sure you abide to the local legislations, right?  The same goes for an online based store.

 

First of all, you’ll have to evaluate the data gap with your manufacturer. This legal compliance procedure does need a lot of paperwork like for example formula reports, raw material data used, a report that shows adherence with the Good Manufacturing Practices, and so on. If you trust that your manufacturer will disclose all these important specifics, you can decide which products you want to bring to compliance.

 

It’s enticing to offer a large selection of products online but there is a cost with it. Your decisions and selections depend on the budget you wish to spend as well. Therefore, it’s good to go through your collection asking yourself 3 questions:

 

• How many products do you wish to add for sell?
• What is the number of shades for each product (if applicable)?
• What kind of products do you wish to sell? e.g make-up, skincare, etc.

 

 

The above questions will enable you to estimate the timeframe and the cost of your compliance.

 

Then you’ll have to begin with the compliance procedure which can take around 90 days, after you collect the necessary data and tests. Things can take more time if you are just beginning. The procedure with compliance consists of numerous tests like stability, preservative challenge, and clinical trials. All the above tests can take more time to complete your compliance unless they are done when you begin.

 

 

Legal Requirements for the E-commerce website

 

 

For the protection of consumers, you’ll have to include national taxes and the legal framework for an e-shop is broad. You are the only one responsible for putting the rules into action. It depends on your location, the type of business you want to launch, if you are a brand or a retailer, your chain supply methods, etc. We suggest that you safeguard your business by hiring a legal experts that knows how to help you fulfill your compliance.

 

The Terms and Conditions should be clearly stated in your e-shop and should cover all parts of your operations e.g handling, delivery etc. Here are some main aspects you can include:

 

• Delivery info and terms
• Legislation
• Liability/Waiver
• Refund policy
• Data security procedures

 

We emphasise the need to collect and create all the necessary documents before you open your e-shop.

 

If you need any advice on how to correctly set up an e-commerce website to sell your cosmetic products internationally just contact us at info(at)cosmereg.com or fill the contact form here and we will be glad to support you.