Starting an Online Shop

iamharibo · 2012-05-13T22:13:15+02:00

Discover essential steps for starting your online jewellery shop in Malta, including registration tips, legal advice, and useful resources for beginners.

iamharibo Contributor

Member since 30 August 2010

iamhariboContributor13 May 2012 20:13:15

189

So... I should probably meet with a lawyer or someone to sort this out but thought I would give this place a go- if anyone can help at all I would really appreciate it!

I want to set up a little online jewellery shop. I make jewellery and was thinking of setting up a shop on bigcartel.com which is a free website that can host my shop for me.

This is just an 'on the side' type thing and I have a full time job which is registered with ETC and I pay NI and tax etc.

I've tried googling what I need to do but nothing is very clear.

* Do I need to register the name of my shop in an official way? Any idea how/who I would go to?

I don't expect to make much money from this although of course it'd be nice if it was a success but do I need to register this extra income?

I suppose I'll have to 'set up a company'. I'm totally clueless about company structures etc. It'll just me be- I'll finance myself, buy the bits, make and sell the items. Are there any websites you guys know of that explain all this kinda stuff in very simple format?

I know I sound like a total idiot but I'd just like to get a little idea of what would need to be done before I go and pay for a lawyer or something!

iamharibo Contributor

Member since 30 August 2010

iamhariboContributor13 May 2012 20:41:51

189

Or maybe you know someone who is educated in this matter who could assist me? I understand I'd probably have to pay for this kind of information, any recommendations on helpful and affordable people?

Thanks!

Designs Guest

DesignsGuest28 September 2012 04:39:48

good topic,
hope they'll answer you

ricky ViP

Member since 06 September 2009

rickyViP28 September 2012 07:03:36

3522

Hi haribo,

the side you certainly have to look into is the VAT question. Check out this info for details :

As a small business entity you will probably be under the threshold for charging VAT but you should register and get a VAT number.

You would need to declare taxes on any profits made if you want to be correct so you would need to keep books.

It might be worthwhile to think about using a free shop hosting site or paying for your hosting. It doesn't cost that much and might be better in the end. I'm not saying anything against bigcartel , it is just something I would consider if I was thinking of starting an online shop.

Cheers
Ricky

Eagle Contributor

Member since 13 October 2009

EagleContributor28 September 2012 17:05:02

131

I wouldnt register a company. Minimum you'd be paying for setup would be about 3000 Euros or more depending on who you choose. YOu would also need to register for VAT, etc if you are a company and comply with filing returns. Firms charge about 250 per return for a small firm. you would need 4 of these per annum, plus filings for salary payroll etc if you want to pull a salary. plus audit. Annual running fees for a small concern would be about 3000-4000 euros per annum exc VAT.

Heres my 2 cents but dont hold me to the advice.
Setup your domain in another jurisdiction US, UK wherever.
Any funds which are transmitted to a non Malta account are tax free essentially.
So record revenue in Non Malta based account.
If your product is shipped out of Malta, you ship it out at zero value for customs or nominal 1 euro.
You collect revenue on your website via paypal or some other billing firm connected to a non Malta account.

Technically you havent sold from Malta

good luck