E-commerce is becoming big business these days. Once upon a time, it was only possible for the big companies such as Walmart to make money with the cost of inventory and competition. As more people started to look online for products, and as eBay’s popularity grew, the possibilities for small businesses to get in on the action started to become a reality for many companies.
Whether you choose to get your feet wet by buying and selling on eBay before you decide to set up and ecommerce shop on your own site, or just jump right into an online shopping cart system from the get go, there are a few things you may need to know.
With internet sales hitting over $62 billion in 2007 with projected forecasts of 26-50% increase in the following few years, the time to get involved in running your own online store is now. Most hosting companies offer free install of shopping cart systems like Cube Cart, Oscommerce, and Zencart. These can all be modified by adding your own unique logos/headers, banners, opt-in forms, or almost anything if you have a little bit of html or php knowledge. Most of these programs offer an affiliate system as well so you can start getting others to promote your products for increased sales. Hosting can cost on average as little as $10 a month.
Registering a suitable domain name for your store may require some careful thought. If you are choosing to rent an eBay storefront, you will have a subdomain on the eBay server. You may register your own.com name and forward it to the eBay store URL if you choose. A domain name can cost anywhere from $6.95 up to $15.00 a year depending on where you purchase from.
Finding inventory is now an easier task as well. A lot of wholesalers or manufacturers will dropship orders to your customers for you so you do not have to even store any inventory of your own. You add the products you want to sell from these companies, when someone buys on your site for your retail cost, you then go to the wholesaler, place the order for the wholesale price and the difference is your profit. The product is then shipped to the customer with your company information and the customer is none the wiser. This is a great option for many small businesses with limited storage or finances.
Selling digital products such as software and e-books is another easy way to get inventory that does not require paying for storage space. You upload your products to your server and when people purchase from your store, they receive a link immediately from the shopping cart system.
Setting up and running an online e-commerce shop can be a rewarding business if done right and with consistent marketing. With a fraction of the cost to set up an offline store, new business owners can be up and running in no time. With some research on what types of products sell well, what other companies are selling them for, shipping costs to different locations around the world, or just opting to ship within your own country, and customs or tax laws, you should be ready to start bringing in the orders.
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