How to Start Selling on Wildberries from Scratch in 2026: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Wildberries is the largest marketplace in Russia, and you really can enter it with a single product: registration takes less than an hour, and the platform handles warehousing and delivery. The hard part is not the launch, it is the economics: commission, logistics, storage, inbound handling and returns are deducted from every sale, and a beginner usually learns their size only after the first shipment.

Here is the whole path with no filler: who is allowed to trade, what the launch actually costs, how to get through registration, which model to choose, how to build the product card and how to calculate unit economics before you buy stock. Short answers to narrower questions are split out into separate guides — links throughout the text.

Three categories of sellers are allowed to trade:

• Self-employed (NPD tax regime). Only goods of your own production — resale does not fit this regime. An option for handmade goods and a small launch with no employees.
• Individual entrepreneur (IP). The most common beginner choice: resale is allowed, reporting is simple, you can hire people.
• LLC (OOO). For teams, several founders and large turnover.

A private individual with no legal status cannot enter — you need at least self-employed status. Which one fits your model is covered in the guide IP, OOO or self-employed status, the tax side in the guide seller taxes, and the step-by-step seller status in how to become a Wildberries seller.

Most categories are open, but some require documents and some are closed entirely:

• Certification or a declaration is required — children's goods, cosmetics, electronics, dietary supplements, part of the textile range. Without the documents the card gets pulled: certification for a marketplace and documents for selling.
• Chestny Znak labeling is required — footwear, apparel, perfume, tires and other categories on the list: Chestny Znak.
• Prohibited — alcohol, tobacco, weapons, prescription medicines and other items from the list of prohibited goods.

Pick your niche by turnover and margin, not by personal taste: what to sell on Wildberries and how to validate a niche before buying stock. A boring fast-turning product is almost always more profitable than a beautiful dead one — the mechanics are in the guide turnover and liquidity.

Registration is the cheapest part of the journey. The real costs come from five blocks:

1. 1Sales commission. Set per product subject and fulfillment model, usually from a few percent up to roughly 25% of the price: Wildberries commission for sellers.
2. 2Logistics. Calculated from packaging volume with a warehouse coefficient, plus the return trip for uncollected orders: WB logistics cost.
3. 3Storage and inbound handling. Separate deduction line items, dependent on the warehouse and the shipment date: storage cost and inbound handling coefficient.
4. 4The product. The first batch plus a reserve for restocking in line with turnover.
5. 5Content and promotion. Photos, infographics, semantics and advertising at launch.

The process takes less than an hour, data verification usually a few hours:

1. 1Create a seller account using your phone number.
2. 2Enter your tax ID (INN) — the system will pull the details of the IP, OOO or self-employed seller.
3. 3Fill in the store profile: brand name, category, bank details.
4. 4Accept the offer agreement and submit the data for verification.

What to do next inside the account and where everything sits — in the guide WB Seller and Ozon Seller accounts. Rule changes are worth tracking from day one: changes to the WB and Ozon offer agreements.

The model determines who stores and ships the product:

• FBO — you ship a batch to the platform's warehouse, and it stores, picks and delivers. The simplest at launch, but storage is added along with dependence on limits and inbound handling coefficients.
• FBS — the stock sits with you, you pick the order, the platform collects and delivers it. More control over inventory, but you need your own picking and a run to the drop-off point.
• DBS — you store and deliver yourself, using the platform as a storefront: what DBS is.

A beginner usually finds it easier to start with FBO. A comparison with the costs of each model is in the guide FBO vs FBS, and the first shipment is covered in how to make a shipment to Wildberries. Do not skip box preparation: packaging requirements and barcodes and box labeling.

On Wildberries a card starts with the right subject — it determines the category, the commission and which queries the product can even appear for: subject ID and product subject. Then the minimum you need at launch:

• A title built on the platform's formula — no spam, no filler words: card title.
• Photos and infographics. The first photo decides the click, infographics remove objections: photo dimensions and infographics for cards.
• Fully filled attributes. They feed the filters and the ranking: attributes and filters.
• Semantics and description built around real queries: the card's semantic core and Wildberries SEO.

Building your first card step by step is covered in the guide how to create a Wildberries card. If the card is not visible in search after publishing, the diagnostics are here: the card does not appear in search.

The main beginner illusion is "I will publish the card and switch on the ads". A new card has no order history, so organic search barely shows it, and advertising with no organic base simply burns budget with a rising ad spend share (DRR): how to reduce DRR on Wildberries.

A card grows when the loop closes: it gets seen, then bought, the algorithm rates it as strong, and shows it more often. How that loop works from the inside is in how Wildberries search works and in the article how to increase product visibility. At launch you do not pull one lever, you combine several: content, first reviews (how to get your first reviews), advertising (types of WB advertising) and behavioral signals. As a done-for-you service this is covered by marketplace promotion.

Payouts follow settlement periods, and the sales report brings every deduction together at once — commission, logistics, storage, inbound handling and penalties. How to read the report and what to do about discrepancies:

• Wildberries payouts: how to get your money;
• Reconciliation with the marketplace — this is also where you find underpayments;
• Hidden deductions — what eats your margin unnoticed;
• Cash gaps — why the money exists "on paper" but there is nothing to pay the supplier with.

Keep SPP in mind separately: the loyal customer discount changes the price for the buyer and your revenue per unit, and together with the economics of joining promotions these are the two most common reasons for "we have sales but no profit".

• Counting only the commission. Logistics, storage, inbound handling and returns stay off the radar — and the first batch goes into the red.
• Buying a large batch blind. Demand is unverified and the money sits in dead stock: testing demand with a small batch.
• Cutting corners on the card. A weak first photo and empty attributes kill conversion before any advertising.
• Launching ads on a raw card. DRR grows, sales do not stick.
• Ignoring returns and uncollected orders. Every uncollected order means two shipping legs at your expense: returns on Wildberries and buyout rate.
• Not reading rule changes. Rates and the offer agreement change, and costs are calculated by the current version.

The full list of typical misses with commentary is in beginner mistakes on marketplaces.

"How much does it cost to start selling on Wildberries?" Registration is free. The real costs are the product, the commission for your subject (usually from a few percent up to about 25%), logistics based on packaging volume, storage, inbound handling, returns and promotion. The exact sum can only be calculated for a specific SKU through unit economics.

"Can you sell on Wildberries without registering as an entrepreneur?" You can as a self-employed seller, but only with goods of your own production. Resale requires an IP or an OOO.

"Which model should a beginner choose — FBO or FBS?" FBO is simpler: storage and delivery sit on the platform's side. FBS gives control over inventory but requires your own picking and drop-off runs. The choice depends on dimensions, turnover and whether you have a warehouse.

"How long does it take to launch on a marketplace?" Registration takes less than an hour, data verification usually a few hours. Before the first sale, budget time for the card, the shipment and inbound handling — in practice that is days, not minutes.

"How much does Wildberries take from a sale?" The commission is set by product subject and fulfillment model. On top of it, logistics, storage, inbound handling and penalties are deducted, so you have to count the full cost of the sale, not the commission alone.

"Can you launch on Wildberries with no experience?" Yes. It is enough to calculate the economics before buying stock, register your legal status, build the card according to the platform's rules and make a first shipment with a small batch. Experience comes with the first SKUs — the main thing is not to buy volume blind.