Practical tips for e-commerce in France

By Valérie Aston on 22 July 2009 · Viewed 5165 times · Questions

If you are about to start an e-commerce in France, selling and shipping goods in France and abroad, you might have already realized that packaging and posting costs are more expensive than in the UK. You will have a small disadvantage compared to your competitors shipping from England for instance.

Looking at La Poste prepaid offers such as Lettre Max, you are looking at a minimum of 5 euros and at least 9 euros for Colissimos. French customers are used to pay at least 6 euros for postage and packing, but English customers are not so keen. So are there some cheaper options for small parcels?

Your best option is to buy your packaging and stamp your parcels from home. Cheap packaging can be bought online from Cenpac or Raja Group. Delivery costs are quite expensive, so my tip is to register with them in order to receive special offers. You should receive free delivery offers within days.

Sending parcels via colissimos and having to queue at La Poste to weight parcels could easily waist an hour of your time every day. The best option is to print your Colissimos papers and stamps from home.


Valerie Lemiere: Start Business in France

About the author: Valérie Aston

I've been helping people who want to start or already have a small business set up in France since 2009. After graduating from a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, I worked as a senior marketing consultant in the UK and France for various International companies. I worked as a conseillère en création d'entreprises (senior business advisor) for BGE here in France and run this independent business on a daily basis.