Use this as a template — adjust timing based on your specific supplier lead times and marketplace approval timelines.
Weeks 1-2: Finalize sourcing and business setup
Place your sample or first inventory order; complete business registration if not already done; open a business bank account; begin marketplace application(s) if the platform you've chosen has a review period (see Choosing Where to Sell).
Also confirm your supplier's realistic production and shipping lead time in writing at this stage — this single number drives almost every later week's timing, and an optimistic assumption here is the most common reason a "90-day" plan quietly becomes a 120-day plan.
Weeks 3-6: Production and photography
While inventory is in production or transit, shoot or commission product photography; write your listing content (see Listings & Catalog Management); set up your seller account fully (payment details, shipping settings, tax information).
Use this window productively rather than treating it as dead time waiting for inventory — it's also the right point to draft your launch pricing (see Understanding Landed Cost, Margin, and Markup), plan your first two weeks of customer-service coverage, and decide on your initial advertising approach if applicable.
Weeks 7-9: Listing and pre-launch
Create your live listing; run through the Product Listing Optimization Checklist before publishing; decide on your fulfillment approach (see Fulfillment & Logistics); set your launch pricing using the Product Profitability Calculator.
If your inventory has landed by this point, do a physical spot-check against your original sample and purchase order before listing goes live — catching a QC issue now is far cheaper than catching it after your first customer does.
Weeks 10-12: Launch and first 30 days
Go live; set up basic advertising if applicable (see Marketplace & Retail Media Advertising); monitor your account health dashboard daily for the first two weeks; collect and respond to early reviews (see Reviews & Reputation); review your actual numbers against your validation-stage estimates and adjust.
What to track daily in the first 30 days
Sales velocity, any account health warnings, inventory levels against your reorder point (see Safety Stock & Reorder Point Calculator), and early customer feedback/reviews for signals about product or listing issues.
Adjusting the template for your actual lead times
The 90-day framing assumes a moderate international sourcing lead time. If you're sourcing domestically or using print-on-demand/dropshipping (no inventory lead time), you can compress Weeks 1-6 significantly — a realistic plan might launch by week 3-4 instead. If your supplier's real lead time runs longer (common with a first order to a new factory, or with a category requiring extra compliance testing — see Legal, Compliance & Risk), stretch the plan rather than compressing the listing and QC steps to hit an arbitrary 90-day deadline.
A sample week-by-week table
| Weeks | Focus | Key output |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Sourcing + business setup | Inventory ordered, entity/bank account ready |
| 3-6 | Production + photography + listing content | Photos and listing copy ready before inventory lands |
| 7-9 | Listing + pre-launch QC | Live-ready listing, pricing finalized, fulfillment tested |
| 10-12 | Launch + monitoring | Live sales, daily account health checks, early review collection |
Common ways this plan slips
- Optimistic lead-time assumptions — always pad a supplier's quoted lead time, especially for a first order with a new factory.
- Treating photography and listing content as a "week 9" task — it belongs in the production window (Weeks 3-6) precisely because it doesn't depend on inventory being physically in hand.
- Skipping the pre-launch QC spot-check to hit the 90-day deadline — a rushed launch with a quality issue costs far more time (returns, negative reviews, account health impact) than a short delay to check the product first.