Two ways to sell inside Telegram
In the first, the bot is the shop assistant. A buyer types a command such as /catalog, or taps a button under a message, and the bot answers in the chat. In BotLaunch this is a set of e-commerce modules you turn on from the dashboard: product catalog, shopping cart, order tracking, digital delivery and reviews.
In the second, the bot opens a shop. A Mini App is a storefront that opens inside the chat. The buyer browses a product grid, adds to cart and orders without leaving Telegram, and there is nothing to install.
Neither route needs a website or any code. The difference is what the buyer does: read and tap replies in a conversation, or scroll through a shop.
Where commands and buttons fit
Commands are at their best when the buyer already knows what they want.
- A short list of products that people know by name. A regular who reorders the same coffee does not need a gallery.
- Selling inside a community. The catalogue is one command away, in the chat people are already reading.
- Questions with one answer. Where is my order is a command and a reply.
- Digital items, which the digital delivery module exists for.
The limits come from the chat itself. A chat is a list of messages. Twenty products make a long scroll, and comparing two of them means scrolling back up. In a busy group the bot's reply is pushed out of view by the conversation. And the buyer has to know the command, or find the button, before anything happens.
Where a Mini App fits
A Mini App is built for looking around. The BotLaunch builder works with content blocks, 88 types of them, including a hero banner, product grid, categories, search, cart, reviews, FAQ and gallery. A theme sets the palette, fonts and layout, and there are more than 100 ready-made designs to start from.
- Products chosen by eye: clothes, flowers, cakes, home decor.
- A catalogue too long to read as messages.
- First-time buyers, who need to see the range before they trust the shop.
- Bookings and property listings, which have their own blocks.
It has costs of its own. A storefront is a second thing to maintain: it wants photos, descriptions and a design, and for three products that is more shop than you need. The buyer also steps out of the message flow to use it, so questions still need a chat nearby. Keep one.
Payment and fulfilment
Be exact about this before you launch, because it is where buyers get confused.
Mini App orders are seller-fulfilled by default. The order is placed in the storefront, BotLaunch does not process a payment, and you arrange payment and delivery with the buyer. On a paid Mini App plan, a shop running on your own bot can accept card payments inside Telegram, and the money goes to your own Stripe account.
Digital products can also be sold for Telegram Stars, on a paid plan with your own bot. The Stars land on your bot's balance and BotLaunch takes no cut.
For the command route, open each e-commerce module's settings in the dashboard and place a test order yourself before you tell buyers how they can pay. Do not promise a payment method you have not seen work end to end.
In both cases delivery is your job. Say how and when in plain words, wherever the buyer orders.
What each one costs
BotLaunch has two plan tables, one for each side of the product. The channel and group manager, where modules live, costs $0 on Free, $15 on Starter, $39 on Pro or $99 on Business per month. The free plan covers one channel and never limits members or messages.
The Mini App plans cost $0 on Free, $19 on Starter, $49 on Growth or $99 on Business per month. Free covers up to 10 products and 150 orders a month on one storefront. Check the pricing page for what each plan includes before you commit to a route.
How to decide this week
- Count your products. A few that buyers know by name: start with commands. More than that, or anything people choose by looking: start with the Mini App.
- Look at where your buyers are. An active group suits commands, because the selling stays in the conversation. A channel audience that reads and rarely writes needs a shop to open.
- Check what you have ready. Good photos point to a Mini App. No photos yet means commands now and a storefront later.
- Decide how people will pay, and test it with one real order of your own.
The choice is not permanent. You can run the group with a few commands and put the full catalogue in a Mini App, and many questions will still arrive as plain messages. Start with the route you can finish this week, then add the other when buyers ask for it.