Starting a venue for sales on the internet can be a daunting experience if you're just looking at technical requirements. You need a server, a certificate, a merchant services vendor, tested and trusted securityand on top of that, you need something to sell! Putting all the pieces together can be a lot of work.



There are two my internet business sales options we're going to review - eBay (which you've probably heard of) and Etsy. Both give a venue for you to sell to qualified buyers, and both have their ins and outs, including ways to automate product loading. Understand that we're not endorsing either of them - just providing a conduit of information for you to make an informed decision from.

The easiest one to get into, assuming you have a means of generating graphics, is Caf Press. You upload your artwork, set up the shop, and select what products it'll be on, ranging from tee shirts, to coffee mugs, to calendars - even intimate apparel. (Yes, we have seen "Just Do IT?" thongs) The flip side is that Caf Press charges a pretty premium; they handle all the manufacturing for you, so you don't have to cover inventory. So you're not making much per sale unless you can command a premium. Still, if you're an artist and lazy, they're a good way to make some money off of your artwork.

eBay offers several options, including having your own eCommerce store, or even a custom auction site. You can personalize it to suit your own business, and there's a lot of flexibility in setting the sale price, descriptions and pictures, even shipping options. eBay's primary strength is the user community; everything on eBay has been tested repeatedly, and there's extensive documentation that's very good to work from. Do avoid any service that offers to "list things for you" on eBay. It's easy enough to figure out how to do it on your own.

The all time champion for people selling things online is eBay. It effectively defined (and dominates) the online auction business. eBay is more than auctions, however. You can set up your own eBay shop with a lot of custom options, including setting the price, setting shipping options, and more. Plus, there's always the auctions.

The second option is to buy things locally and resell them at a higher price. Something that might be widely available in your area might be very hard to find other places. Some ideas for this are to collect used items to sell. It is good to find a particular product and make it your trade. One man that lives in my city makes a good living doing this kind of selling. He travels around town finding unique ties. He goes to garage sales and thrift stores. These are the two best places to find a large array of unique items to sell. He also finds out when local churches are having clothing drives so he can pick up some ties. Buying used items is a fun way to sell.

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.

Finally, keep your options open. Never ever sign an exclusive deal, and always be on the lookout for new products you can sell; not all products have to be made of atoms, Informational products are also a natural product for the Internet, and may be the product type that catapults you into doing your own web shop.