Online perfume shop with sample sets

Fragrance fans, gift buyers and people who want to try scents before paying for a full bottle.

Profit on each bottle sold, plus sample sets and gift bundles. Shipping charges and free-shipping thresholds help cover delivery costs.

• Knowing fragrance families and notes
• Online selling and product photos
• Customer service and clear writing

• Buy only from authorized suppliers, as fake or grey-market stock is a real risk
• Check Health Canada and Canadian labelling rules for cosmetics, including bilingual labels on anything you repackage or relabel
• Decanting or relabelling brand perfumes may raise trademark and safety questions, so check the rules before selling samples
• Shipping perfume (flammable liquid) may have carrier restrictions, so check with Canada Post and couriers
• Register for GST/HST once you pass the small supplier threshold, and check provincial sales tax rules
• Check whether your municipality requires a home-based business licence

Estimates suggest startup costs of typically around $2,000 to $10,000, depending on your opening stock, website and sample packaging. Buy only from authorized suppliers, as fake or grey-market stock is a real risk.

Estimated monthly revenue is typically around $500 to $5,000, depending on your range, pricing and how many customers you attract. This is revenue before stock, shipping and other costs.

Check Health Canada and Canadian labelling rules for cosmetics, including bilingual labels on anything you repackage. Also check trademark and safety questions around decanting, carrier restrictions on shipping flammable liquid, GST/HST and provincial sales tax, and home-based licence rules.