Get your online shop out of the spare room

Why sellers move into a unit

Selling online usually starts at home, and for a while that works. Then the stock spreads from one shelf to a room, the hallway fills with flattened boxes, and finding the right item for an order takes longer than packing it. A small unit fixes that by giving every item a place and keeping work and home apart.

It also changes how you work. When stock lives on labelled shelves, you can list faster, count stock properly and see what is selling. Packing in one spot, with tape, mailers and the printer within reach, makes every parcel quicker.

What fits in a 150 sq ft unit

Our smallest unit is 150 sq ft, and for most small online shops it is plenty. A typical layout is:

• Boltless steel shelving down both long walls for stock in clear, labelled boxes.
• A packing bench across the back with a roll holder, tape gun and mailers.
• A thermal label printer and parcel scale, both running off the free Wi-Fi and the power sockets already fitted.
• A clear lane from the shutter to the bench so parcels go out the same way stock comes in.

If you sell bulkier items such as furniture, homeware or reclaimed goods, the 180 sq ft roller-shutter unit gives more room to manoeuvre. If you photograph your own products, the two-storey unit has an upstairs office or storage area with a window, useful for daylight shots and admin.

Built for the way online selling works

Any hour. Access is 24 hours a day, so you can pack after a day job, restock late at night or prepare a big batch before a sale goes live.

Deliveries and couriers. The site can receive business deliveries and post. That means supplier orders can come straight to the unit rather than to your house.

Connected from day one. Free Wi-Fi is available as soon as you arrive. You do not need to wait for a broadband line before you can print labels or update listings.

Costs you can plan. Rent is a fixed weekly price paid monthly. Electricity is metered and charged at the supplier's rate without any markup. A label printer, laptop and lights use very little.

Keeping stock safe

Units are windowless, so nobody can see what is inside. CCTV covers the entrance and the area outside the units, and you can check the cameras free on your phone through the tenant app. Most sellers also add their own contents insurance for stock; it is worth checking what your current business policy covers.

Using the address for your shop

Marketplaces and couriers often ask for a business or returns address. Tenants can use the site's address for the business, which keeps your home address off packing slips, invoices and your public profile. Read more about using the address on Google and for post.