My Internet Business Review: Where To Sell On The Internet
Trisha Frauenhofer
Before you launch your own webpage, there are a few options that you could try first. These options will give you a better feel for the internet in regards to buying and selling. These are a few of the website options and assistance with how to decide what to sell such as eBay and Etsy.
My internet business recommends that you start out small. There are three major venues for selling things on the internet before you take the plunge on your own web shop: eBay, Amazon Shops and Caf Press. We're going to explore all three to give you a baseline for comparison.
EBay offers options to having your own store or just your own auction site. You can personalize it however you want. You decide the price, shipping price, descriptions, and pictures. It is relatively simple to figure out and there is already a customer base. People from all over the globe recognize and use eBay. If you are going to venture here, avoid the places that will help you sell your things on eBay. They charge up to 30% of the purchase price. Doing this also will not help you reach your goal of launching your own webpage.
The next step up from Caf Press is Amazon Shops. Amazon Shops lets you print books on their Booksurge service, or just sell used books online. My internet business is not limited solely to books - we've sold tee shirts, cookwear and electronics on ours. Amazon Shops charges $40 per month as a listing fee and takes anywhere from 10% to 25% of the sale price of the item. The advantage is that it's a natural destination for selling things online. Millions of customers go to Amazon every day. The setup is more involved than Caf Press is, but the reduced fees probably make it worthwhile once your business grows.
My internet business reviews Etsy as a similar site to eBay, but it focuses on handmade things. Etsy charges smaller listing fees than eBay does, but has a smaller clientele. That said, Etsy's clientele is looking for handmade things, and it has a comparable set of options for setting your own custom web shop. Etsy has a few more search options than eBay does, like a color search wheel, even a geolocator. The aim for Etsy is to be the online equivalent of a crafts fair.
eBay is more labor intensive than Amazon, but the percentages that they take out are less. eBay has moderately high listing fees, so keep that in mind when planning your sales patterns. eBay is the ideal forum for selling things you buy locally, or retailing something you buy at wholesale. By the time you've outgrown an eBay shop, you'll be well set on setting up your own eCommerce site.
Deciding what to sell is the next step - you'll want something that's distinctive, and that you can get at a reasonable price, and can sell for a reasonable markup. Again, Amazon and eBay are good places to do the research. Any time you think of something you might sell, do a search for it on eBay or Amazon and see how many other people are selling it. Also look at how they're selling it; the mistakes of your competition are how you propel yourself in this business.
Another website option to consider is called Etsy. It is very similar to an eBay store except it is for handmade items. There are also more personalization options. Etsy also charges much less for listings than eBay. If you have things you are making, Etsy is for sure the place. There are over 5,000 people with stores and even more who just shop. Etsy has wonderful options for people to find your products. Amongst other cool features, Etsy has a color search wheel, a new shop highlight, and a geolocator. They also allow you to put several tags on your items so people can find them better. Once you have pictures and descriptions written out you should save them in a word type program on your computer. That way when you run out of products, you can list more later with ease. Etsy is a fun and popular place to be for handmade items.
About the Author:
Come visit My Internet Business to learn more methods to increase traffic to your sites. Trisha Frauenhofer is an online marketing expert who enjoys sharing her most powerful online secrets.
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