What do you need before you start, and what do you sell first?
You need six things: a phone with an Iraqi number, product photos, prices, quantities, a delivery plan and a store name. Sell first what your customers already ask you for. If you are asking how to start selling online in Iraq, begin with this checklist: you do not need a developer or a designer.
| What you need | What ready looks like |
|---|---|
| A phone with an Iraqi number | It receives the verification code |
| Product photos | At least one clear photo per product |
| Prices | The selling price in dinars, and your purchase cost so you know your profit |
| Quantities | The pieces you actually have, per colour and size |
| A delivery plan | The companies you use, the governorates they reach, and a price for each |
| A store name | A short name, and a link in lowercase English letters |
To choose what to sell first, check your Instagram and WhatsApp chats for the products people ask about most, and pick one or two categories. A small store with clear photos, correct prices and accurate quantities beats a large one with gaps. Begin with customers you know: they will try the link and tell you what is missing.
Starting from zero? Pick a product you can keep in supply, and work out your profit after delivery fees before you set the price.
How do you prepare your products before adding them?
Prepare four things for each product: a clear photo, a name your customer understands, a price in dinars and an available quantity. A name, a price and a photo are enough to start, and the product management and options page covers the rest.
Photos. Shoot in daylight against a plain background and let the product fill the frame. The first photo is the cover customers see first, so make it the clearest, and photograph each colour.
Names. Write the name the way a customer searches: product type, main feature, then size or volume. Your store's search matches spelling variants such as أ, إ and آ, ة and ه, or ى and ي.
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| "New arrival" | "Women's black handbag" |
| "Perfume" | "Men's perfume 100 ml" |
| "Special offer" | "Glass tumbler set, 6 pieces" |
Prices. Type the price in thousands of dinars: for example, 25 becomes IQD 25,000. Check the result before you save, because one extra zero multiplies the price by ten.
Options and quantities. For colours or sizes, add options, and each combination gets its own price and quantity. Then enter the pieces you really have, never more. Madar alerts you when a quantity runs low.
How do you choose your store name and link?
Choose a short name that is easy to say and type, and a link of lowercase English letters, numbers and hyphens. Your store address then looks like this: yourstore.madar.iq.
Customers see the store name at the top of your store, and you can change it later. The link is different: choose it with care before you put it in your bio or share it with customers, because they will save it and pass it on.
If your store name is in Arabic, write it in English letters as it sounds, and keep it short and close to your Instagram handle, for example ali-shop. If the link is taken, the form says so and suggests alternatives.
You do not need a custom domain to start. An address under your own name, such as yourstore.com, is available on the Pro plan (see custom domain), and the free trial does not include a custom domain.
How do you set up payment and delivery?
In Madar your customer pays cash on delivery, you set a delivery fee for each governorate and even each area, and you hand the order to the delivery company you work with.
Payment. Customers see the total, delivery fee included, before they confirm, and pay in cash when the order arrives. Online payment is not available yet. Details: cash on delivery and the guide to cash on delivery in Iraq.
Delivery fees. The dashboard covers 19 governorates and 683 areas. Enter a fee for each governorate, adjust it for any area that costs more or less, and switch off the governorates you do not serve. The guide to delivery pricing in Iraq shows how to price fees, and the delivery page covers the setup.
Example arithmetic: a product costs IQD 25,000 and the delivery fee to the customer's governorate is IQD 5,000. The customer sees a total of 25,000 + 5,000 = IQD 30,000 and pays it on delivery.
Delivery company. Madar does not deliver your orders. You record the companies you work with, hand each order over yourself, then set its status to Out for delivery. On Pro and in the free trial you can instead link your account with Al-Waseet, Modon Express or Hi Express, send the order with one tap, and let its status follow the shipment. Ask each company for its price per governorate, and what happens if a customer does not collect.
How do you create your store in Madar, step by step?
You create your online store from the sign-up page with your Iraqi phone number and a one-time verification code. It gets a working link within minutes, and a 10-day free trial with every Pro feature except the custom domain starts, no card needed.
- Sign up. Enter an Iraqi number to receive the verification code.
- Enter your store details. Type the code, then your name, the store name and link, and a password.
- Add a product. In Products, add a photo, a name and a price. That is enough to start.
- Set delivery fees. In Delivery, enter a fee for each governorate you deliver to, and record your delivery companies. An area with its own fee uses that fee instead of its governorate's.
- Pick a theme. In Store design, choose one of the 6 themes (Riwaq, Lawha, Hala, Souq, Trend and Layl), adjust colours and section order, preview, save a draft and publish. Customers see your changes only after you publish.
- Open your store as a customer would. Check on your phone that products and prices look right.
The design studio describes each theme in a short sentence, and switching themes later keeps your texts and photos.
Does opening a store cost anything? Sign-up and the trial are free for 10 days, with no card. After that you choose a paid plan: Basic at IQD 50,500 a month with up to 500 products, or Pro at IQD 75,750 a month with up to 5,000 products. The subscription is paid with a Visa or Mastercard card from any bank. Compare them on the plans and prices page.
How do you test your store before you announce it?
Place a test order from your own phone, the way a customer would, then follow it in the dashboard, so you find mistakes before a real customer does.
- Search and choose. Open your store link, search for a product by the name a customer would type, and add it to the cart.
- Check the total. Pick your governorate and area, and confirm the total is the price plus your delivery fee, which is what your customer sees before confirming the order. Try a second governorate and an area with its own fee to see how the total changes.
- Confirm with your number. The order appears under Orders as New, and you get an instant alert. If WhatsApp messages to customers are on, you also see the confirmation your customer receives.
- Move it through the statuses. Set it to Preparing, then Ready. Stock is deducted at Ready, so check that quantities drop as expected.
- Print the invoice. Print it in A4 and in thermal size, and check it suits the parcel.
- Cancel the test order. Choose a reason and write that it was a test, and the pieces return to your stock.
How do you share your store link and keep taking chat orders?
Put your store link where customers already find you: your Instagram bio, WhatsApp status, Facebook page and TikTok profile, wherever the platform allows a link. Send it to anyone who asks about a product or price, and keep recording the orders that still arrive in chat.
Instead of typing a price list, send the store link or the link of the product they asked about, so they see photos, price and options and order on their own.
When a customer agrees an order with you in chat or on the phone, record it under Orders with Manual order. Ask for their name, Iraqi phone number, governorate, area and nearest landmark, then choose the products. It appears in the orders list next to store orders and goes through the same nine statuses, so it does not get lost among messages. You can edit it afterwards. For more on selling through chat, see Madar for social sellers.
What should you watch in the first two weeks, and what mistakes are common?
Watch three things: whether every order arrives with the details you need, whether prices and fees are correct, and whether quantities match your stock.
Open the orders list every day and update each status as soon as it changes. Customers follow their order from a tracking link and, if WhatsApp messages are on, get a message when it is confirmed, goes out for delivery, is delivered or fails delivery. If a customer does not collect, set Delivery failed, then try again or set Returned or Cancelled. Each week, check the home summary: sales, orders and top products.
Do not judge the first days by the number of orders: customers arrive through the link you share, and the goal of these two weeks is that every order moves smoothly. The free trial lasts 10 days, so choose your plan before it ends. After that the store locks until you pick a plan, and your data is kept.
| Common mistake | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| Sharing the link before setting delivery fees | Set a fee for each governorate you deliver to, then try an order from one |
| A quantity in the store larger than what you have | Count your pieces and watch the low-stock alert |
| Leaving chat orders outside the store | Record them as manual orders when you agree with the customer |
| Promising a delivery time you do not control | Agree with the delivery company first, and promise only what you know |
| Answering the same chat question again and again | Write the answer in the product description once |
What does Madar do, and what does it not do?
Madar gives you a ready store and a dashboard to manage orders. It does not photograph, deliver or find customers for you. Here is the split:
| What Madar does | What stays with you |
|---|---|
| A store at yourstore.madar.iq within minutes, with 6 themes you can edit | Photographing products and writing their names and prices |
| Cash on delivery, and a delivery fee for each governorate and area | Setting the fees and handing each order to a delivery company |
| An instant alert for every new order, nine order statuses and printable invoices | Preparing the order and updating its status |
| Manual orders for what reaches you in chat | Confirming the order with the customer and recording it |
| No commission or hidden fees; the subscription is paid with a Visa or Mastercard card from any bank | Choosing a plan after the trial |
These are the limits, stated up front:
- Madar does not deliver your orders, but on Pro it links your account with Al-Waseet, Modon Express or Hi Express.
- Customers pay on delivery only, and online payment is not available yet.
- Stores are in Arabic and English only.
- The merchant app is coming soon, so you manage your store from the dashboard today.
- Madar does not bring customers or promise sales: customers arrive from the link you share.
The next step is simple: create your store from the sign-up button on this site, try it for 10 days with no card, then compare the plans.