eCommerce
virtual assistants
eCommerce virtual assistants for stores on Shopify, Amazon and WooCommerce — orders, service, listings and email — from $14/hr + GST.
Virtual assistants for ecommerce
An online store is a full-time operation. Dedicated eCommerce VAs run catalog, orders, customer service and email marketing so you focus on brand and growth.
Every placement is recruited, hired and managed by us and backed by our zero-risk promise: no placement fee, money-back first week, free replacement.
The work that comes off your desk
In online retail the work piles up behind the storefront. Every SKU needs images, specs, variants, tags and a category before it can sell. Every order that goes wrong — wrong size, courier delay, damaged carton — becomes a thread of emails. Peak trading multiplies both at once. The listing backlog and the ticket queue are where the week disappears.
Builds the product record from the supplier spec sheet: title, variants by size and colour, SKU and barcode, weight so shipping rates calculate, cost per item, and metafields for material, fit and care. Assigns it to the right automated collection and checks the tag rules pick it up.
Works through the catalogue fixing what breaks filters: inconsistent tags, missing product type, blank vendor fields, duplicate handles left by old imports. Corrects in batches through the Shopify bulk editor or a CSV export, then re-checks collection membership and the filters on the live storefront.
Prepares category flat files for Amazon Seller Central — parent SKU with the variation theme, child rows carrying size, colour and price — uploads them and reads the processing report. Fixes rejected rows, clears suppressed listings, and matches eBay listings through Seller Hub bulk edit.
Writes descriptions into the store's set format from supplier material, resizes and renames images to the naming convention, strips backgrounds where the template requires it, adds alt text, and loads lifestyle shots in the right order against each variant. Any claim that goes further than the supplier's material supports is referred up rather than written in.
Works the orders that did not flow through: failed address validation, held payments, split shipments, click-and-collect left unpicked. Re-cuts the fulfilment in Shopify or the 3PL portal, re-issues labels, and leaves a note on the order so the next person sees the history.
Watches consignments stalled in the Australia Post or courier portal, lodges enquiries against the consignment number, and updates the customer before they ask. Logs lost-in-transit claims and reconciles the credit against the replacement order once it is paid.
Receives the return request, checks it against the published policy and the order date, issues the return label, and once the warehouse confirms receipt processes the refund or exchange the business has authorised and restocks or writes off the unit. Anything that reads as a consumer guarantee claim goes to the owner before an outcome is offered.
Handles sizing and stock questions, order status and where-is-my-order tickets in Gorgias or Zendesk using approved macros. Tags every ticket by reason so repeat causes surface, and flags anything involving injury, safety or a disputed refund for the owner.
Builds and maintains flows in Klaviyo — welcome, browse abandonment, abandoned checkout, post-purchase, winback. Sets triggers and flow filters, loads product blocks and dynamic coupons, builds the segment, then schedules the campaign for the owner to review and approve before it sends.
Reconciles counts between the platform, the 3PL and the stocktake sheet, investigates negative on-hand figures, and updates incoming dates on pre-order products. Drafts purchase orders against the reorder point sheet and chases suppliers for revised ETAs.
Chases commercial invoices, packing lists and packing declarations from overseas suppliers, assembles the pack and passes it to the licensed customs broker, and tracks containers against the arrival schedule. Files entry and freight invoices so landed cost can be worked back to each SKU.
Loads price and RRP changes across Shopify, WooCommerce and marketplace listings, builds the sale by tagging eligible SKUs, sets discount codes with their usage limits and dates, and checks the promotion renders correctly on desktop and mobile before it starts. Was/now and RRP comparisons are loaded only in the form the owner has approved.
Monitors Seller Central and eBay account health — late dispatch rate, defects, A-to-z claims, policy notices. Answers buyer messages inside the required response window, drafts appeals for the owner to submit, and keeps handling times and stock feeds accurate.
Pulls sales by channel, product and margin from Shopify Analytics, Seller Central and the ad platforms into the standing spreadsheet, flags SKUs that have stopped selling and stock that will run out, and circulates it before the Monday trading meeting.
What stays with you
We are a staffing company, so this list argues against our own interest. It is also the part that matters: the work below is reserved, and no amount of supervision moves it. Get the line written down before anyone starts in an online store.
- Consumer guarantee remedy decisionsWhether a fault is a major failure is measured against the statutory test in the Australian Consumer Law, not against store policy. The Australian business makes that assessment — and where the failure is major it is the consumer, not the supplier, who chooses between a refund, a replacement, or keeping the goods and claiming compensation. Staff gather the evidence and process the outcome once it has been decided.Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2, Competition and Consumer Act 2010), enforced by the ACCC and each state and territory fair trading agency
- Mandatory safety reporting and import lodgementsOnce any person in the business becomes aware of a death, serious injury or illness associated with a consumer good or a product-related service, a report must be lodged within two days — made to the Commonwealth Minister, in practice through the ACCC's mandatory reporting form. That report, and any decision to recall, is made by the Australian entity. Separately, lodging an import declaration or acting as a customs broker is a licensed act: staff assemble and chase the documents and hand them to the licensed broker, who lodges.Section 131, Australian Consumer Law (ACCC); Customs Act 1901 section 183C, Australian Border Force
- Advertising, pricing and promotion claimsWas/now comparisons, RRP savings, lowest-price wording and any statement about performance, materials or origin must be substantiated before it goes on the site. The Australian business signs the claim off and holds the evidence behind it; staff build the sale, load the price change and lay out the copy as approved.Australian Consumer Law sections 18 and 29, enforced by the ACCC and each state and territory fair trading agency
- Consent and sending authorityStaff can build the Klaviyo flow and load the segment. The business remains the authorising sender: it owns the consent basis behind every address on the list and approves the send before it goes live.Spam Act 2003, enforced by ACMA
- Customer data and breach notificationAssessing whether an incident is an eligible data breach, and notifying the OAIC and affected customers, sits with the Australian entity. Offshore system access is scoped to what the role needs and no wider.Privacy Act 1988 and the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme (OAIC)
- Card data and refund authorityRaw card numbers are never handled, entered or stored by the staff member. Refunds are processed inside the platform against an existing order, within limits the owner sets — never by moving funds from a bank account. PCI DSS sits behind this as a card scheme contract term rather than Australian law; the legal obligations that bite are the ePayments Code for consumer electronic payments and the Privacy Act for the cardholder data itself.ePayments Code (ASIC) and Privacy Act 1988 (OAIC); PCI DSS applies contractually through the acquirer and card schemes
Roles for eCommerce
Specialist roles for online stores
Five dedicated roles covering store operations end to end.
Store manager
Listings, merchandising, promotions and inventory hygiene.
Explore →Product lister
Bulk listings, attributes, images and marketplace feeds.
Explore →Customer service
Tickets, returns, chargebacks and review responses.
Explore →Order & fulfilment
Dispatch, couriers, lost parcel claims and 3PL.
Explore →Email & lifecycle marketing
Flows finished, campaigns shipped, segments maintained.
Explore →What an ecommerce virtual assistant actually does
An ecommerce virtual assistant is a dedicated remote team member who runs the day-to-day operations of an online store — the work that has to happen every day and rarely needs the owner. They are not a marketplace freelancer picking up tasks between other clients; they work your hours, in your systems, on your account only.
Most stores hand over the same first four things: order processing and fulfilment follow-up, customer service across email and chat, product listing and catalogue upkeep, and returns. Once that is running cleanly, the scope usually widens into supplier chasing, inventory reconciliation, review management and campaign support.
A sample ecommerce VA job description
If you are writing the role up — for us or for anyone — this is the shape that works. Keep it to outcomes and systems rather than a task list; it is what tells a good candidate whether they can actually do the job.
- PurposeKeep the store running day to day so the owner is not in the inbox — orders out, customers answered, listings accurate.
- DailyProcess and track orders, answer customer email and chat within your response window, flag anything needing a decision.
- WeeklyAdd and update listings, reconcile stock against the platform, process returns and refunds, chase supplier ETAs.
- SystemsName them explicitly — Shopify, Amazon Seller Central, WooCommerce, your helpdesk, your 3PL portal. Vague system lists are the main reason offshore ecommerce hires stall in week one.
- Stays with youPricing, discounting, supplier negotiation and anything that commits money. The VA prepares and recommends; you decide.
- HoursState the timezone overlap you need. Manila is two hours behind AEST and covers US business hours on a night roster.