Selling Stuff Online, But How?

Posted on March 6, 2013 by matt bredel

I feel that I keep diverting the question I keep asking which is:

“How am I going to sell stuff online?”

I’ve already kind of poo-pooed the idea of selling stuff with auctions. That being said, don’t completely ignore it. eBay, for example, does offer something called eBay Stores. There are a few great things about this:

It is a real online store…not just an eBay Auction
You inherently get traffic from the eBay auctions (this is awesome!)
The framework is already set-up for you.

Those are all really good reasons to consider an eBay store as a starting point to selling products online. It is very low cost and low risk to begin with (you can start as low as $15.95/month with a 20 cent insertion fee). Now I’m not saying that this is ideal for the long run. Those insertion fees can add up and you really don’t get much flexibility in how you want your store to be. Still, it is not a bad starting option.

Another similar idea (and one that I have personally used to start an eCommerce store in the past) is Yahoo Stores. This is a little bit more pricey per month (starting at $29.96/month) and they do have a 1.5% transaction fee. Still, this has a lot more options than the eBay store and it will look like a true eCommerce solutions online. It integrates shopping carts, merchanting, product placement, etc. Plus you have more flexibility with design (they have some HTML functionality…but it “ain’t” perfect…a lot of the structure of their site is RTML-based which a few select designers really know how to program). I did like this option a lot!

The next step is do it yourself (well, sort of). For the eBay Store and Yahoo Store, they host your website (i.e., you don’t need a hosting company). If you want to manage the entire store yourself and avoid some of those larger monthly fees and transaction costs, you can host a store yourself. There are companies that can sell you the entire template of a store which you (or even them) can install on a server that you rent (you know, through something like HostGator for $10/month).

ShopFactory is a company I’ve used in the past as well. I’m kind of a tech geek so setting it up myself wasn’t a big deal. Still, they offer set-up services to do it for you. For products like this, you pay a one-time cost up-front and then you are done! No recurring fees (other than hosting), no transaction fees. These types of shops you typically have a lot more options with customization, too. That is good.

So there are three good options to start looking at. I’ve used the last two, but I know a lot of people who use eBay Stores, especially for the internet traffic. Just remember that setting up the store does not have to be technical and expensive. This is the easy part! Wait until we start talking about marketing!

cheers…matt

Selling Stuff Online – What to Avoid Doing!

Posted on February 28, 2013 by matt bredel

Last time, we talked a bit about auctions and eBay. For creating a real ecommerce business online, auctions can be quite useful but the days of Making Millions on eBay are long gone.

I hate to tell everyone this, but easy online money is really not around anymore. Sure, there are a few quick shot strategies that may work temporarily, but they catch on quickly these days and make them obsolete quickly.

If you are going to sell stuff online, it should be a business. There is a lot more to making money online than creating a website and sourcing some products (that is actually the easy stuff). Its finding customers and getting them to buy that’s the difficult part. We’ll talk about that another day, but right now we still need to figure out the website and philosophy of your website.

Now my first MAJOR tip is simple:

SELLING PRODUCTS CHEAP USUALLY ENDS IN FAILURE.

If you are like me, I scour the internet for one thing: cheap stuff. And therefore, you probably assume that offering products the cheapest will make you a winner. This is false! Little to no margin is NOT going to make you money, it is going to make you busy working for nothing.

Do you really think you are going to beat out Walmart or Amazon? I have my Prime membership with Amazon and when I want something, I usually go there first, get a product that is typically as cheap or cheaper than everyone else and it will be shipped to my house in 2 days. I just bought a 60 pound barbell set with Amazon Prime and it cost me $20. (The shipping alone probably would cost you more than that!).

Don’t go into a price war! You won’t win. You can’t (unless you create an Uber-mall like Amazon).

Speaking of malls, this brings up my next point:

STAY AWAY FROM MAKING A MALL ONLINE!

I know it sounds like a great idea at first. When I first created “TheWebReviewer” I kept it a generic name because I was going to review EVERYTHING. That was a mistake. From a marketing point of view, it is really hard to promote a mall unless you have some serious resources behind you. In this case, it is about a brand rather than a product. I know, there are some nifty product feeds that will give you everything you need to set up the mall on a website, but promoting it is going to be nearly impossible. Plus, what can YOU offer these shoppers that Amazon cannot? Not much.

Finally, one more big thing to think about:

SELL WHAT IS SELLING

I know, kind of a “Yoda” saying here. But it makes a really good point. In my career, I have come across some rather cool gadgets and toys. You know, some of the weird stuff you may find in SkyMall on your next flight. Now with SkyMall, it works because of its distribution. But for you, you are going to find these “inventions” tough to promote.

IF NO ONE IS LOOKING FOR IT, WILL IT BE BOUGHT?

Maybe, but the marketing strategy is very different and can be very difficult. Now, exploring niches can be good. Let’s say diamond-encrusted dog collars. People are looking for dog collars and some even be interested in high end dog collars. It is probably a small niche that has some demand.

But what about a self-cleaning fork. Might sound cool. Does anyone know about it? Probably not. Who would be looking for it? I don’t know. See the problem here?

Market research must be a part of your product selection. And don’t be afraid of entering into markets that are already doing well (that just means people are making money in it…that is a good thing!).

So next time, we’ll talk a little bit more about how we are going to sell stuff and how we are going to structure our website to do so.

cheers…matt

I’m Gonna Make Money On eBay…NOT!

Posted on February 21, 2013 by matt bredel

Last entry, we talked about product sourcing and finding stuff to sell. That is a good starting point! But the key to this all is:

“Where am I going to sell this stuff?”

Of course, this question probably came before you started to look for products to buy wholesale. But it is an interesting question and one that requires a bit more thought than probably you have been told.

Auctions

Gosh, the whole “Make Money on eBay” niche seems so 2005 to me. Yet, you still see plenty of people hyping about the millions that you can make selling products on auction. Let’s get something really clear here:

Selling on auction-sites as a business is tough.

This is one of the most over-saturated markets to sell anything in. This works well for three different types of people:

Selling used stuff
Selling liquidated and extreme wholesale products
Lead generation

The first one is really the intention of eBay…sell your old stuff for money. Kind of like a domestic Craigslist. Profits are good but typically stock is low. Unless you run a consignment-type business or a pawn shop, your inventory is going to be tough to keep up.

The second one is buying extremely low cost products. There are still some niches out there that you can make a profit on wholesale-sourced products. Usually this is few and far between and if competition rears its ugly head, you might be in for a price war (usually resulting in you losing!). Other people have exclusive rights to sell specific products at lower rates than the public. Again, no competion results in huge gains.

Last is lead generation. This is the game I have played over the years and it works well. The problem here is that you really aren’t selling anything for profit! Yes, you heard me…you typically LOSE money this way on auctions…but gain business elsewhere. Personally, I see this as the only real fundamental and sustainable way to use auctions to make money.

For example, let’s say that I sell fishing equipment somewhere else on the internet and I am looking for customers. Why not buy a bunch of fishing tackles wholesale and sell them LESS than what you paid online? People like it because they want a deal (exactly why they are on the auction site in the first place) and you will like it because you know they are great fishing leads. At this point, you make sure you deliver promptly, throw in a coupon and thank them for their purchase. You can also get them to opt-in to your sales funnel, too.

This works.

And frankly, I see it as the only way to run a business on auction sites these days. I’m open to hear your thoughts (and I assume there will be stories to contradict this, but there are not many any more).

Is this your path to selling stuff online, maybe…but it isn’t a direct way to do it! I have more ideas up my sleave…just wait!

cheers…matt

Reseller Licenses – Do I need one?

Posted on February 14, 2013 by matt bredel

Being in the internet marketing business for a number of years, I’ve spent some time in the buying and selling of goods. How does this work? Simple, you first need to find the products to sell (the lower the cost, the better!), sell the products on your website or auction, and then deliver the products.

All three parts have their problems associated with them. Today, we talk about the first problem and that is product souring!

Where do you find products to sell?

Over the years, I tried all kinds of services and sites to help me find wholesale products. Worldwide Brands and Doba have been two of the most successful ones for me. There are other places to look, too, like Alibaba and Thomas Register online. These two are quite large, but a bit less reliable. You could always do some Google searching, but the results usually get cluttered with “middlemen” (companies claiming to sell you items wholesale, but really they are just reselling you THEIR wholesale products at a marked up price.)

I’m not totally against middlemen vendors for some ventures (something for another post), but realize that not only do they mark up the price, but legally they should be charging you sales tax on those products, assuming they sell from a state that collects sales tax.

The Reseller (or Resale) License

Companies that ask you for your resale license are usually true wholesalers. They might also be authorized distributors, but typically this is the bottom of the barrel (unless you are planning on buying massive quantities). If they don’t ask for a reseller license, then technically, they should be charging you sales tax and usually they are marking up the price.

Wholesale directories like Worldwide Brands typically require you to have a license before you can communicate with many of their vendors. This is a good sign that you have reached some good suppliers (plus, Worldwide Brands does an excellent job researching and validating the vendors in their directory as legitimate).

OK, So How do I Get a Reseller License?

The good news that it is pretty darn simple and it typically costs no money to get this resale license. The bad news is that every state has different laws and processes on getting these licenses.

Remember, the major point of getting a reseller license is for sales tax purposes! Having a license (aka, a Sales Tax ID) exempts you from paying tax when you buy the wholesale products BUT now you are responsible for collecting sales tax when you sell your product.

Bummer dude!

In my example, I got my license in a day. I had to go to the San Diego county tax office, fill out a few forms, then viola! In California, the State Tax IDs are issued by the counties. Also remember that some states don’t collect sales tax and you need to look into their guidelines and responsibilities to obtaining a license.

One more thing about your license: it is based on where you do business NOT where you are incorporated.

So where can you figure out how to get your license? Simple: There is a pretty good website that will direct you to resources to obtaining a reseller license for all states at:

The Sales Tax Clearinghouse Website

Check that out first! Again, I am no expert at this, but I do know that when I did it is was rather simple and once I had my State Tax ID, communicating with real wholesale companies became really easy!

Good luck! cheers…matt

Why is ShopFactory a Contender Among E-Commerce Solutions?

Posted on April 6, 2012 by matt bredel

E-commerce is big business these days and growing leaps and
bounds with every fiscal quarter. More and more people are turning to the far
reaches of the World Wide Web to take care of their business. This means that
small businesses around the world are being forced to do more than “show
up” in order to make the sales that keep them going. As the Internet
marketing mine-field becomes more and more crowded the importance of finding an
e-commerce solution that puts the name of your business on the map is more
critical than ever before.

But, what\’s a small business owner to look for when
selecting this oh-so-important tool for business? Here are just a few of the
questions you need to ask when sifting through the many options available to
you.

How Secure is the
System?

Security is important for the sake of your business. It\’s
even more important in the eyes of \’net savvy customers who might be interested
in what you have to offer. Doing business online is safer than it has been in
the past but their remains a certain amount of risk involved. Customers want to
know that you\’re doing everything in your power to protect their interests as
well as your own. Providing a secure option for payment processing is a
positive first step in the right direction.

What Skills do You
need to Make the System Work?

This is another area that\’s more important than you might
realize at first glance. It might seem like it\’s not such a big deal until
you\’re elbow deep in complicated code and have suddenly erased about four hours
of work with no clue about how to get it back. The easier a system is to
actually operate the better it will be for the sake of your business and your
sanity.

What are the
Limitations of the System?

You want to know that it\’s not going to go dark every night
at midnight (in your time zone) and remain that way for the next three or four
hours. You also need to be confident that it can handle the amount of traffic
you intend to send its way at any hour of the day or night. The great thing
about the Internet is that it\’s open even when the doors to your brick and
mortar business are closed. You want to build your business with confidence
that if problems arise they will be dealt with quickly and effectively.

How much Customer
Support is Available?

This is yet another important point that you\’ll never
realize how important it is until you find yourself in need of it. Some systems
have customer service that will get back to you at their earliest convenience
which could be several days later. Your business probably can\’t afford several
days of downtime in the event of an emergency so see what kind of assistance is
available after hours before you decide to buy.

Sometimes it can be great to be the one in charge of
decisions such as these. At other times, when everything you read sounds like
it\’s written in some foreign language or code program, it can be a huge
challenge. Making the right choice is important. That\’s where free and low-cost
trials can come in really handy because they give you an opportunity to sort of
try the product out to see how you like it before you make the decision to buy.
It\’s also why ShopFactory is such a winner in the rink and a major contender
for business owners of all levels of Internet experience looking to take their
online business to new heights.

If you\’re serious about finding competitive e-commerce
solutions that are sure to help your business knock one out of the park, be
sure to check out my ShopFactory Reviewto see what this exciting e-commerce system has to offer your business.

What Makes Yahoo Merchant Solutions Shine?

Posted on March 27, 2012 by matt bredel

The Internet is filled with all sorts of e-commerce
solutions. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some offer few, if any frills.
Others, come fully loaded with enough bells and whistles to make an astronaut
drool. Yahoo Merchant Solutions falls decidedly on the side of the fully-loaded
storefront solutions. There aren’t many features you\’ll find yourself wanting
if you choose this service for your online business needs. But, you\’re the only
one who can decide whether it\’s right for you. Here are a few of the areas
where this product truly shines.

Ease of Use

While there is a lot of information to digest and it may
seem a bit overwhelming at first, the instructions provided are easy to follow
even for people who struggle with technology. Yahoo answers the call for a
truly “user friendly” online shopping cart for business owners. Part
of that friendliness involves a back office area that doesn\’t leave you wanting
to bang your head against the desk or throw your computer through the window.

Customization

The ability to customize the shopping cart to a very large
degree is another major benefit over other online shopping carts and/or
e-commerce solutions. For some business owners, it\’s just another feature. For other
business owners it\’s an important tool to help solidify your brand on the Web.
The most important thing about this though is that it will help you enjoy a
greater sense of pride over your accomplishment if you believe your site looks
good too.

Search Engine Optimization

There aren\’t enough good things that can be said about this
particular benefit of using Yahoo Merchant Solutions. The shopping cart for
Yahoo Merchant Solutions is already optimized for search engines. This means
that you don\’t have to struggle through months of building it up in order to
start seeing a tiny glimmer of results.

Payment Processing

Yahoo does the heavy lifting for you when it comes to
payment processing too. It really is a full-service solution for your
e-commerce needs. Not only do they handle the financial side of things but also
help with record keeping. Really, who could ask for more?

Unfortunately, no e-commerce site; no matter how pretty the
package appears to be; is perfect. Yahoo Merchant solutions has a few flaws of
its own that you must pay attention to before you decide whether or not this is
the product for you.

The cost for the full-blown professional package can be
somewhat prohibitive for small businesses. If you are going to begin using this
storefront solution, it\’s better to start small and work your way up to the
larger, more feature-rich packages. The good news is that the smaller packages
are quite affordable and still pack a pretty powerful punch when it comes to
features in their own rights.

Second, Yahoo wants to keep your business. For that reason,
they don\’t make it easy for you to leave. They have their own proprietary
software that other e-commerce sites simply can\’t compete with. You must leave
all that behind if you decide to switch to another company and may take a
bigger hit than you realize in search engines for doing so. It\’s not that they
try to force you to stay. It\’s just that they make the benefits of staying so
great that leaving isn\’t an attractive option when all factors are considered.

If you\’re in the market for a top of the line e-commerce
system for your online business needs you\’ll have a hard time finding one that
has more to offer – for the price – than Yahoo Merchant Solutions. That\’s what
makes it shine brighter than so much of its competition.

Should You Create an Online Store for Your Home Business?

Posted on October 22, 2011 by matt bredel

An online store could be a great home based business for you. There are many potential benefits to this type of online business. And whether you\’re a computer expert or a computer novice, believe it or not: you can build your own online store fairly easily. Whether you\’ve already got a bricks and mortar store and want an online store to supplement it or are starting an online store with a virtual store front that will facilitate orders for a dropshipping business, you\’ll find plenty of options to help you get your store online.

More People Shop Online than Ever

The internet is a global marketplace. If you create an online store, you could profit from it. But there are more internet stores than ever. Can you really compete with all the other retailers online?

Use Ecommerce Tools

Ecommerce tools that help you set up an online store can help you not only set up the store but set yourself apart from other online stores. Ecommerce tools can help you develop your site, optimize it for search engines, and it can include some relationship development tools as well.

When shopping around for an online store creator, look for some of the following qualities:
-Easy to use. If you’re not very technical, you will want a tool that’s within your scope of ability.
-Product support. There are tools, such as Volusion, that boast great customer support. While many ecommerce tools are designed to be easy to use, it’s always helpful to know you’ve got support.
-Scalability. You might be interested in selling just 25 products or lower on your website right now. But what if your catalog expands to 2500 products? Will the software work? Finding the right ecommerce solution is important. Something you can grow with is important.
-Customer centric tools. Some tools offer you straight website development. But some ecommerce tools also work from a marketing perspective. If your tool does both, this can help you achieve success from a single source. Look at the marketing capabilities of the online store software you’re considering.

Starting an online business or expanding an offline business so that it exists online as well is a major undertaking. Finding the right tools to assist you is important. The right tool can help you get up and running quickly and DIY ecommerce tools can help you save money versus hiring a web designer to do it for you.

Are Ebay Stores an Ecommerce Solution?

Posted on November 30, 2007 by matt bredel

Should you invest your time and money in building an eCommerce store on eBay? Is it too late to capitalize on the success of auction sites? This article can help you figure out whether or not eBay selling is something that\’s suited for you.

If you\’ve ever clicked onto the eBay website, it\’s like the biggest online shopping mall you\’ve ever seen. It can feel a bit overwhelming when you first delve into selling on eBay. This can be the case whether you are a novice or a computer expert.

eBay, A household name

EBay has become a household name and many people talk about making money on eBay. These are people from all walks of life and all ages. You can buy and sell just about anything on this site and one of the greatest things about eBay is that you don\’t have to be a marketing guru or a technical wizard to set up your own eCommerce solution.

It\’s a given that you can easily be found if you list something on eBay. It may take time to get the hang of things but the beauty of this site is the fact that the community is very helpful and the whole things is a big collaboration. Take a look at the eBay forums and see how helpful other powersellers are!

Building an eCommerce store is not just for technical people. There are abundantly available resources out there to help just about anyone find their way to success by selling on eBay. There are free resources on the eBay website to help you get started and once you get going, you can decide if you want to purchase something to help you get to the eBay powerselling level.

Not only are teenagers selling on eBay, major companies are as well. You can open your own online store anywhere on the internet but the great thing about an eBay eCommerce solution is that more people will find you without major effort on your part. You don\’t need to worry about website optimization or SEO or figuring out how to obtain traffic with ebay. You can become an ebay powerseller over time and build your store as slowly or quickly as you want to.
store
If you want to become successful on ebay, you can find a wealth of free information and you can utilize information from such experts on the subject as Janelle Elms. Janelle can help you figure out how to get your ebay powerseller status. May all your bids be well above your reserve price!