E-commerce · Skincare
A serum costs more than the rest of my routine, so I want to know exactly what I am paying for.
Serum buyers shop by ingredient. They arrive with a name from a video or a friend, search for it and then compare six bottles on the strength printed on the label, the base, the size and the price. A serum that does not name its active in the title is invisible to them.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
Serums are concentrated liquids and gels with a named active ingredient, such as vitamin C, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid or retinol, used under a moisturiser in small amounts. GullySales works on how the active, its strength and the order of use are shown, on the trust a high-priced small bottle needs, and on the way a serum is introduced to a buyer who has not used one.
The product is small, costly and slow to show anything. A buyer who stops using it after a week was never told what to expect or how to introduce it.
Last updated 7 Oct 2026. Product, labelling and advertising rules for skincare differ by product and change. We describe them in general terms, so check the current position with your own adviser or the regulator before you publish a claim.
Who it is for
This is written for you if you sell serums online.
- Brands with an active-ingredient serum range such as vitamin C, niacinamide or hyaluronic acid
- Sellers of a first serum aimed at buyers who have only used a cleanser and a cream
- Brands that sell night serums with retinol or a similar active and need to explain care
- Imported serum sellers who need to prove a bottle is genuine and recent
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- A seller who wants to state what a serum will do to a skin condition or how quickly
- A brand that cannot print the active and its strength on the label
- Anyone selling serums without batch and expiry information on the page
How buyers choose
What decides the sale of serums.
The active and its strength
Buyers search for the ingredient by name, then look for the strength on the label. A product that says 'with vitamin C' and nothing else is read with suspicion.
Order of use and what not to mix
Morning or night, before moisturiser, with which other products. Buyers ask what can and cannot be layered, and look for a clear line from the brand.
Dropper, pump and shelf life
Dark glass for light-sensitive actives, a dropper or a pump, and how long the bottle lasts once opened. A vitamin C serum that has turned orange is a common complaint.
Price per millilitre and the first-use plan
A small bottle at a premium price makes buyers count drops. They want to know how long it will last at a few drops a day.
Where sales are lost
What usually goes wrong when you sell serums online.
In the words sellers use on the first call.
“Buyers stopped after a week and said it did nothing”
A serum is used for weeks before any judgement. Nobody told the buyer how to start, how often and when to expect a difference.
“Our vitamin C serum turned dark in the bottle”
The buyer thinks it is spoiled, and a photograph of the bottle goes in the review. Storage and shelf-life information was missing.
“Counterfeit bottles are being sold under our name”
A buyer gets a fake from a marketplace seller and blames you. The page does not say who the authorised sellers are.
The scope
The work we would propose for serums.
Measured on purchases, conversion rate, cost to win a customer, average order value and repeat purchases. Anything here that needs a platform or tool we have not used with you is confirmed with you before it goes in the scope.
- Ingredient-first listingsTitles that name the active and its strength as printed on the label, the base, the size and how long the bottle lasts, with claims reviewed first.
- Introduction guidesA first-fortnight plan that says how often to use it, what to avoid layering and what a normal early reaction is, delivered by WhatsApp or email.
- Searches by ingredientPages for how people search: niacinamide serum for oily skin, vitamin C serum that does not stain, hyaluronic acid serum for dry skin.
- Authorised-seller pageA page that lists where your serums are sold, how to check a batch and what to do if a bottle seems wrong.
- Creator use over weeksCreators who use one serum over a month and show the routine, the reaction and the dull days, with a brief on what they may say.
What we do
What you get for serums.
Each deliverable and what it is there to change.
An ingredient and strength block
A fixed section on every serum page: the active, the strength on the label, the base, the size, the batch and expiry practice.
A layering chart
A table of which of your products go together and which are kept apart, for morning and night.
A first-fortnight plan
A day-by-day schedule for starting a new serum with a patch test, written without promises.
A genuine-product page
How to read the batch code, where it is sold and how to report a doubtful bottle.
How the result is measured
- Purchases
- Conversion rate
- Customer acquisition cost
- Average order value
- Repeat purchase rate
- Counterfeit and authenticity complaints
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
How it works
From your first message to the first piece of work.
No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.
First
Your brief
You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.
After the brief
A conversation and a written scope
We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.
Before work starts
Baseline recorded
The numbers this work is meant to move, such as enquiries, quotations, orders, visits or renewals, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.
After the baseline
The first fix goes live
The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is a reply, a follow-up, a page, a listing or the handover between marketing and sales.
As agreed
Report against the baseline
What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.
At renewal
Renew on the numbers
The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.
What we need from you
What to have ready before we talk.
None of it has to be tidy. We read what you have.
- Your serum range with the active and strength of each
- Reviews mentioning colour change, breakouts or no result
- Marketplace sellers using your name
- Batch, storage and expiry practice
- Reorder data for each serum
Selling in India and abroad
Selling serums beyond your own market.
Where you sell decides sizes, units, seasons and returns. We work from Bengaluru and have no overseas office, so for a new country we start from your own sales and the platforms you already use.
Active ingredients are restricted differently
The strength of an active allowed in a cosmetic, and which claims can go with it, vary by country. Your adviser confirms what each market allows before you sell a serum there.
Storage in transit
Vitamin C and retinol serums are sensitive to heat and light, and a long parcel journey in summer can spoil a bottle. Packaging and the choice of carrier come into it.
FAQ
Questions about selling serums online.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
How do I explain a serum to someone who has never used one?
Should I show the percentage of the active on the page?
How do I deal with fake bottles on marketplaces?
How much does it cost?
How long is the contract?
How soon will we see results?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
What if we are not happy with the work?
More in Skincare
Sellers of serums also need
Also selling from a shop, a workshop or a warehouse? See the page for personal care brands.
This page is part of the e-commerce section. The D2C brands page covers the arithmetic of acquisition cost and the second order for any brand.
Why us
Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.
Marketing and sales, as one job
Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.
The person on the first call does the work
No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.
A baseline before anything starts
Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.
The fee in writing, split three ways
Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.
No guarantees we cannot keep
The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.
One office, and we say so
Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.
#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.
Engagement options
Ways to work with us.
Pick the size of commitment that fits. Every option starts with your brief and a conversation.
Option 1
The conversation on its own
A call after you send your brief. It says honestly whether you need outside help, and many fixes are ones your own team can make.
Option 2
One fix, scoped
Start with the fix that matters most, such as reply time or follow-up. The fee is in writing before anything starts.
Option 3
An ongoing programme
We run the work, report against the baseline, and you renew on the numbers. The term and the reporting are agreed in writing first.
Option 4
Guidance for your own team or agency
We plan, brief and check the work of your in-house team or current agency, instead of replacing them.
Your brief
Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.
Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.