Pros & Cons of having online store?
353283
My cousin has been running an online ebay store for several months now and he loves it !\n\nHe has the freedom to spend all day in his house clothes,  adding stuff to the store, editing his pages. When people buy something he gets a pop up that tells him what just sold !\n\nHe might go out several times a day to mail out packages, sometimes he'll go out just once.\n\nHe loves having his own business and making his own hours.\n\nMy only suggestion is to start out small and build your way up gradually.\n\nThere are plenty of mistakes to be made and you want to make them when your small and have small amounts of money and time invested.\n\nAlso buy some of those books from those ebay Power Sellers, it's not easy to become and stay a power seller, got to realy know what your doin, those people realy know how to make an ebay business work well and will have tons of sound advice.\n\nI realy can't think of any cons, just do alot of research before and during, thats Key !
849526
Hello I have run my own small business in the past so I can sympathise with you. My guess is the one thing your NOT looking closely enough at is your competitors? do you know who your competitors are? where are they? who is taking your previous customers away from you? what are your competitors doing that your NOT? Ask yourself what you can do inorder to match or atleast challenge your compeitors?\n\n**Do you know what your competitors are charging for a standard item you, yourselves might sell :- for example take something simple like a gold ring or chain?\n\n**Dont be shy go into your competitors shops/premises have a good look around see how they operate, see what they offer that you dont?\n\n**Do you have an online shop/store. If you dont then you need a good kick because you cannot afford NOT to offer online sales. Even if its only a web presence, you must offer an online sales channel it could make all the difference to your cash flow. Try it you wont know until you do it.\n\nBest Regards to you.
112158
Sure, many online stores make a lot of money. But you need to consider that:\n\n1. An online store needs traffic, lots of targeted traffic interested to buy. Traffic is something you cannot build overnight. So if you are looking for an online store to make money quick, then you might find yourself waiting for a single order in 6 months.\n\n2. Online store requires inventory. In order to sell something, you need to have something to sell. Where are you going to get your products? Do you have the capital to buy your inventory?\n\n3. An online store requires investment. You will need to create a website (if you don't know how, then you will have to buy a template or pay someone to build you one) -- all of which requires money. You will need to get a merchant account to be able to process credit card payments; if not, you can use online payment processors such as Paypal or 2CheckOut. You need to either buy or license a shopping cart system, SSL for secured ordering, etc. You need to have a good camera and photographic know-how as jewelry is very hard to capture well on film -- in ecommerce, product presentation is extremely important (visitors must be able to see your products well and judge its quality from their computer screens)\n\n4. You must have a product that consumers want. Opening an online store is not a guarantee that you will make money if you do not have any products that people would actually want. What makes your jewelry so special that people will buy from you, and not from the more established online jewelry stores? Jewelry is a product that entails a lot of trust and you need to overcome this type of thinking of most people -- "I can buy a book from anywhere because I know I will be getting a book; but if I buy jewelry from a less trusted source who knows if I will get a fake?"\n\nIf you want to start selling online, eBay can be a test market for you so you can start understanding the process (from creating product presentation that sells, to processing payments, to shipping and fulfillment).
1018051
24/7 seems to work.  You would be surprised if you checked the stats for agents such as WALMART in the USA, that because people work around the clock, they want to shop when they get off work.  I guess it really depends on what kind of store your talking about.  The downside is the higher cost of operation.  There has to be a demand for your products.  Check out an economics 101 book.
966377
We'll take these apart one by one.\n1) Informational:\n    Sites that contain a lot of information are great as long as you remember that just because you found it on the internet does not make it true.  There are all kinds of pictures and stuff that is made up just to see how gullible people really are.  The advantage is that there are so many of these that you can filter rather quickly the information as it is posted.\n2) Transactional:\n    The advantages here are that you can buy stuff online without ever having to leave home.  You can also sell your unwanted stuff on sites like eBay.  The down side is that not everyone is reputable.  I have purchased from sites that disappeared overnight.  I have also purchased from eBay and gotten items that are nothing compared to their descriptions.  The truth is, you only want to do business with the sites you feel most comfortable with, that have a history of good faith.\n3) Interactive:\n    Ah but if it weren't for http://www.blizzard.com http://www.secondlife.com and http://www.kewlbox.com we wouldn't have anything else to do with all of our free time.  We can sit back and watch movies, play games, and even create a new life.  The drawback to these sites is that the servers have so many executions running for each person that they are slow and even annoying at times.\n\nHope this helps
705863
In Singapore, always assume that the Government will do something like that. You can host your online store anywhere in the world to go around this. Its also faster and cheaper. It is just a simple matter of declaring your income of your online business.
632882
advantage is size and one-stop shopping... disadvantage is competivity pricing on some of thier products
472905
I just did, not a pro store but an ebay store and its great.  The listing fees are by far less expensive though your items are not auctions people see them whenever they search on important key words.  I like the ebay store...very affordable...good service.
311999
No, if ...\n1. their coupons face value is low, \n2. you don't have to buy a lot\n3. you don't have to give out personal info\n4. no fine prints
1053316
Will you be selling online or will you be selling from a shop? \nDo you need a list of wholesale suppliers or will you be selling your own stuff? You need to be a bit more specific. Good luck.
244964
Internet Promotion - Advantages and Disadvantages\n\n\n\nThe emergence of globalise trade, increase in foreign investment and cross-border transactions have put many small businesses under pressure to find innovative ways to continue to market their products and services. This is especially difficult given that they often operate on tight marketing budgets.\n\nIn the quest for cheap marketing alternatives, these small businesses continue to use conventional marketing tools such as newspaper, magazine, radio and television advertisements, unaware of the advantages that Internet Promotion offers. All too often, these entrepreneurs focus on the disadvantages of Internet Promotion and fail to adequately take advantage of the opportunities that it presents. Moreover, their preoccupation with conventional marketing strategies is driven by a misconception that these are cheaper than Internet Promotion.\n\nTo most small business entrepreneurs, marketing or promoting their products or services via the Internet can be a daunting task. However, with adequate information small businesses can benefit significantly from Internet Promotion while minimising the disadvantages that it presents. In fact, it may prove to be the marketing strategy that generates the highest return on investment.\n\nThe Advantages\n\nCost Effective and Enduring Marketing Strategies\n\nThe Internet has become the information superhighway for the buying public. Most persons prefer the hassle free transactions that Internet shopping can offer. As a result, the Internet has become the most powerful selling tool. Internet Promotion offers cost effective ways for small businesses to enhance their product or service distribution networks. For example, the use of portals can help create new marketing channels and logistics, or provide better or faster product access for customers.\n\nIn comparison to other forms of marketing, Internet Promotion presents the advantage of reduced budget and storage costs, when compared with printing brochures, producing television or radio advertisements or managing a call centre. It presents a fast and cost effective option for penetrating new markets.\n\nMarket Penetration\n\nWith millions of person using the Internet to search for products and services, small businesses can penetrate other markets at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing methods.\n\nWebsites act as virtual storefronts, allowing businesses to stay open 24/7. Internet Promotion gives a business greater visibility, thereby creating more opportunities for increasing its customers at relatively low cost. Never before has it been easier for an upstart business to be able to reach out to literally millions of potential customers and to position themselves for success, without the need for costly infrastructure and overwhelming marketing costs. Thanks to the Internet, new businesses can become popular almost overnight.\n\nLow Cost, Instant Communication\n\nEmail makes business communications instant, whether the customer or business affiliate is across the street or across the globe. It makes it easier for customers to maintain contact and readily facilitates repeat purchasing. An effective online strategy can therefore turn a small web business into a virtual cost saver and income-generating machine. The net result is that the small business can gain significant competitive advantage in a given market.\n\nMany online businesses have therefore resorted to the use of ezines, blogs, pop-up ads and other online marketing tools to let customers know about new products or services as well as provide information relevant to their respective industry. The benefits of this strategy are two fold. Marketers can effectively heighten brand awareness for relatively new products on the market whilst strengthening customer relationships, with shorter time frames.\n\nContent is Timeless\n\nInternet Promotion also provides the advantage of being enduring. Whereas participation at a trad
814185
Depends what the online store would be selling as to it's usefulness!
836609
I found a company that I am very happy with.  I'm with Stayin Home and Lovin It! and they are the support team that is partnered with a wellness company that is 21 years old and a member of the Better Business Buerau.  They have a lot of products that cover all the basic needs of people and are safer for you and the environment and the prices are reasonable too.  I found many of them to be cheaper than what I was buying before joining this company.  You can do the whole in home party thing if you like but it is not necessary in order to build this business (but I am told ones that do do even better).  You do not do any order taking or delivering of products.  All your customers shop direct and you recieve a commission on everything that person you enroll buys and long as they buy.  They give great support and free tips to succeed and there is no big investment or stocking products.  There is no risk involved in trying to see if it is right for you.  There is so much information, if you are interested in learning more go to http://healthybetterme.com/ and fill in the get more information part.   I hope you find what you are looking for.
459545
It depends on what you're trying to do.  Will you be selling e-goods or hard goods?  Are you looking for a quick buck or are you trying to build a business that will last.  With any business, it takes planning and a lot of work.  If you're interested in building a business then try http://buildit.sitesell.com/marketing101216.html
264332
Online store doesnt have to hire ppl as salesperson, their inventory is for shipping to around the world, and dont have to pay rent for their store.\nHence, they can give you deals on the prices. Also, the best thing is if the store is not in ur state, you dont pay sales tax!
300786
Well, depends on what kind of audience you want to target and what locations you are targeting. If you're opening a brick and mortar store, a website might not benefit you much, other than serving as a basic ad telling local people where you are located. Unless you're thinking shipping nationwide, then a website would be a good idea.
219354
There are several ways to go about it:\n\n1. Create your own ecommerce store = you need a domain name, a website created, you need to choose your shopping cart system, get SSL certification (for your https - secured ordering pages), payment gateway, merchant account. It can be difficult and expensive, especially if you do not know how to install various components. But you will not pay any fees for listing and selling a product unlike eBay, and it can grow with your business\nhttp://www.powerhomebiz.com/internet/ecommerce.htm \n\n2. Use a turnkey solution = if you do not know how to install each component but still wants the flexibility and autonomy of having your own website, you can go to Yahoo Stores for example that will basically supply you every component you need. The downside is little room for configuration and flexibility\n\n3. Sell through marketplaces such as eBay = You can open an eBay store and list your products there. The downside is that you pay fees for EVERY product you sell. Plus, you have no flexibility in terms of product presentation and you are looked upon as "small time" (even if you do big business)