[Last Updated July 16th 2009]
If you have followed all the preceding articles carefully and have reached Articles 7, Congratulations. You probably have what it takes to be successful in business. Although there are more things you need to know from our up coming articles, you should start getting acquainted with the more popular was to sell online. Consider which is most suitable for you. Here we give a brief description of each one and how they work.
This article will provide a summary of the most popular methods of selling online and in the next few articles, we will delve deeper into each method.
There are many ways to sell online. You can setup your own online store, or you can an use existing online service to your advantage.
The popular ways to sell online are:
1. Online store
2. EBay
3. Yahoo
4. Amazon
5. Craigslist
6. Social Networking
7. Twitter
8. Mobile Phones
9. Selling through industry websites (like Etsy)
10. Email
In part 1 of this Article, we will explore the first 5 methods of online sales.
1. Online Store:
An online store is like a great hybrid of a physical store and a mail order catalog. It has the advantages of both. Like a physical store, Customers can browse your goods in a pleasing interactive environment and are able to place items in their shopping cart as they shop. It also has the advantages of a Mail order catalog. (please note that the online store has made the mail order catalog obsolete. only few establishments now use the mail order catalog{and doing it successfully}) Although, the online store concept has made the mail order catalog obsolete, it retains all the advantages. Customers are able to shop in the comfort of their own homes without the need of travel. Items can then be delivered conveniently to the customer’s homes or offices.
One major advantage of an online store, there is no physical limit of how many customers you can serve. A successful online store can serve hundreds or thousands of customers and even millions, operating 24/7. The online store can run by itself and you can focus on other important aspects of your business! Although your store is operating 24 hrs a day You don’t need to have alot of staff to man the online store (unlike a physical store), because the software takes care of all the functions.
Follow the articles in this blog and you will be on your way to setting up your very own successful Online Store!
2. EBay:
Launched in 1995, EBay has become the world’s largest online auction site. Millions of users buy and sell on EBay. EBay allows a large audience to view your goods and allows them to bid on your goods. The highest bidder will be allowed to pay for your item.
Recently, EBay has established fixed pricing service.
3. Yahoo Stores:
Yahoo was one of the first search engines and has grown to a massive online portal. Millions of people goto yahoo for their news, email, entertainment and much more. Yahoo utilized this large amount of visitors to launch Yahoo stores.
Yahoo stores allows users to setup a simple online cart and potentially reach a large number of Yahoo visitors.
4. Amazon
Amazon gained fame and success by being the world’s largest online bookstore. Millions of customers purchase their books with this online retailer. Amazon has recently allowed others to start selling some items on their website and tap into their large customer base.
5. Craigslist:
It is the world’s largest list of online free classifieds. Because placing a classified ad on Craigslist is free, it has drawn many posters and thus draws many customers.
It is also a very localized service where you can target customers from specific geographical regions.
For the rest of the Most popular ways to Sell Online, please stay tuned for Part 2 of this Article coming soon.
Good luck with your Venture!
From Sell Online and Profit.com
[Last Updated July 16th 2009]