How To Work In the Internet - Part 2

Just because you don't have a brick and mortar store front doesn't mean opening an on-line store is any easier!

Well, it's time for part 2 in the series about how to live and, more importantly, work IN the Internet. Last time we talked about getting the basics covered, email, website, etc (see How To Work In the Internet - Part 1). And as promised, this time we're going to go over eCommerce and making a little scratch with an on-line store!

Getting Started...the EASY way!

Without a doubt, the easiest way to get involved in eCommerce, or selling stuff on-line, is eBay! You can sell anything there, honestly! You can even sell your car online at eBay! Now I know many of you don't want to sell that out of your garage, but I bet there is something in there you can let go of...isn't there. Whether its your garage, closet, storage unit, where ever - go take a look around, pick something out, and sell it! Before you know it, your on-line, ecommerce empire is up and running!

The up-side to using eBay to get started is that you don't have to build anything. The website, bidding engine, buy it now engine, PayPal (see below), they are already there and working. It's easy. Oh, and most importantly, they have the traffic! No real need for you to try to drive potential shoppers to your site, eBay does plenty of that for you!

There are two downsides to eBay. First, there may be some "stigma" to "only selling on eBay" kind of like, "oh, you don't have a store, you just do garage sales?" If that kind of thing bothers you then you should look elsewhere as soon as possible. Me, I don't care. I've know plenty of wealthy folks who got that way selling junk at garage sales. This is no different except we're doing it on-line.

The second downside to eBay is that they have to make their money too, and they do that off the seller. eBay charges a variety of fees when you list your product for sale, whether it sells or not. The charges are usually small but they obviously cut into your profit. For that reason you might want to upgrade to your own store.

Click & Mortar, sans Mortar

After you've sold a few items on eBay, you may want to consider upgrading to an Internet Storefront. There are several options to do this and again we'll start with the easy one. Again, eBay has an offering for you, from beginner to expert, they've got you covered. You can use this link to find out just how easy it is to open a storefront on eBay.com . The type of store you choose will be dictated by how big a part of your income you want this to be.

As with regular eBay auctions, a regular eBay store is an easy way to get all your products on-line and up for sale. If you don't have or don't want to spend a lot of time on your Internet Storefront, this would be a good option for you. If you're ready to go up against Wal-Mart and Target, then you will want your Own Web Store at Your Own Web Address!. ProStores - yet another eBay company - has what you need.

If the eBay store doesn't sound appealing to you, how about another giant of the Internet, Yahoo!? They have several options to choose from and you can use this link to compare web hosting packages from Yahoo! (BTW, you may want to find out What the Crap is Microsoft Thinking? if you're leaning toward the Yahoo! option. Still a good option, you just need to know.)

Show Me the Money!

No matter which method you choose the most important part of having an on-line store is getting paid! Most options offer you a variety of choices but two are leading the pack, PayPal and Google Checkout.

If you go the eBay route its almost a no brainer, go with PayPal! After all, it is an eBay company and integration is tight and secure. After you get your PayPal account setup, you can even get a PayPal Debit Card to have quick access to your proceeds!

If PayPal isn't for you then there is always the monster of the Internet, Google. You can use this link to .

Both options here will require a little setup and they both exercise a great deal of security in dealing with handling your money. It will be a hassle but VERY MUCH worth it in the end. So suck it up and drive on!

And That's About It

All that's left is to choose your weapon, find something to sell, and get after it. Good Luck!

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Do you have an online store? Leave a link in the comments below and we'll come check it out (i.e. FREE ADVERTISING!) Have questions? Comment below and if I don't have the answer, the community here will. Oh, and don't forget to subscribe to the feed to keep on top of whats going on here on jtrigsby.com!