E-commerce Store – Build Your Own
If you're like most people, you don't want to spend precious time waiting in line at retail stores. You want to purchase your favorite items online and have them delivered right to your door, so that when the holiday comes around this year you won't have a long drive home for party supplies. With many e-commerce stores offering free shipping on products and discounts on larger ticket items, it's easier than ever for consumers to fulfill their holiday shopping needs from the comfort of their own couch.
Enterprising individuals who want to take advantage of this opportunity can create their own e-commerce store. With a few hours of free time and a few hundred dollars, creating your own e-commerce store is relatively easy and can save you a significant amount of money over the course of the next year.
The Benefits of an E-Commerce Store
There are several benefits associated with creating your own website or using eBay, Amazon or another online shopping service instead of buying from a brick and mortar store. The most important benefit is that you'll have the ability to sell merchandise that you don't have room for in your house or that no one wants. You can also charge less or more than a store would charge for the same item, creating strong revenue streams and opportunities for profit. Creating your own e-commerce store will also give you the ability to purchase items in bulk at a discounted rate, which will free up more of your personal time.
All it takes to get started on a website or create an e-commerce store is an Internet connection, a few hours of free time and a little bit of money. The rest is up to you!
How to Build Your Own E-Commerce Website in 6 Easy Steps
1. Set up a business name and decide on what type of products you're going to sell.
Your business name will be the name that appears on all of your invoices, receipts and shipments. It should be a short, one or two word name that's easy to remember and spelled correctly. For example, you might want to start out as "Auntie Anne's Cookie Shop" or "Nasty Shoe Store." Then decide which type of products that you're going to sell. Are you going to sell books? Candy? Clothing? Jewelry? You can use Google Trends to find out what products people are buying, so that you can meet their needs and save yourself some time.
2. Decide what items you're going to sell.
You might be surprised at how quickly you can get a product for your store. Amazon and eBay have their own search engines that will show you suggestions based on your search keywords. Use the Amazon "Search" button or the Etsy Shops search tool to find appropriate items that people are searching for. Keep in mind that e-commerce websites usually have a minimum order requirement where they'll charge you less for orders less than the minimum amount required, so it's important to establish a fair price point for items that you're going to sell.
3. Decide whether or not you want to sell bulk products and how much of each item to order.
You can order as many products as you need and then sell them all at once on your website for a discounted price. Alternatively, you can sell items in bulk, then deliver each item to your customers. It's usually best to shop around to see what the best pricing is for whatever you're selling. Keep in mind that if you're going to purchase a large amount of products at once, it will save time to do so online instead of going through the process of ordering one item at a time and waiting for the product to arrive in the mail or by a store employee.
4. Buy the items that you're going to sell.
There are several ways to purchase items from other stores. If you have a PayPal account, then you can use it when purchasing or selling online. You can also purchase items from eBay or Amazon. eBay and Amazon have search engines that will show you products that other people are selling for the best possible prices so that you can get the best deal on the product. If you're going to sell products in bulk, then your best bet is probably to work with someone who's already set up an e-commerce store.
5. Set up your online store.
There are several e-commerce platforms to choose from. For Amazon stores, Amazon uses a platform called "Storefront." It's a drag and drop page creation tool that will allow you to create as many storefronts as you want for free or at a relatively small monthly fee. There are also other website hosting companies that will allow you to have your own Amazon storefront for free or at a low monthly fee.
For eBay stores, eBay offers Seller Central which is an eBay-owned website with storefront options that allow users to create their own website for free or at a very low monthly fee. Seller Central also allows users the ability to input items and this is a great way to find items that other people are selling.
6. Test drive your store.
Once you have a website, be sure to test it out by ordering yourself a few products from the website for fun and then using them as samples you can send to prospective customers for sale. Also, dispose of anything that doesn't sell, so that you don't waste any more money on it! Blog frequently about how well your store is doing and what new offers or products you might have available. If you're going to sell products in bulk, then you might want to work on getting a few testimonials from past customers. Be sure to get their permission before doing so, though!
Now that you're all set up and ready to go, be sure to keep an eye on the way things are going. That way, if it seems like one of your products isn't selling well, you can figure out why and make changes for the future. Or if it seems like another product is bringing in more revenue, then make sure that it's in stock and not out of stock as much as possible.
Conclusion
Anybody can start an e-commerce store and anyone can sell products online. It's a great way to make money and a great way to use your free time. Once you've started up your store and are running smoothly, you'll notice that there really isn't much work involved in owning a shop online, which leaves you open to do other things with your time. That's when the real money comes in!
If you have any questions about how to get started on creating an e-commerce website or selling items online, please feel free to post them in the comments section of this blog post or send me an e-mail at: spintherabbit@gmail.com .