Many companies start out on eBay, Etsy or other internet auction sites such as eBid. This is certainly a feasible method and many continue to sell on these sites for years. The upside here is almost anyone can easily get started using this method, as you don't need to set up a merchant account (you use Paypal as your payment processor), and you can begin listing items almost right away. The downside is, they do take fees, which cut into your profits.
Your Own Website: Having your own website to sell minerals from is ideal, really, but will require some set up and knowledge of html. You have the benefits of being able to design your site as you like and use whatever shopping cart you like, but you either have to know how to set this all up yourself, or hire it done. (Or be really lucky and have a nice friend or family member do it for free!!). When just starting out, you can use Paypal buttons as your shopping cart. Once you have set up a Paypal account, you can access their merchant services section and create Paypal buttons by simply filling out your product information. You then copy and paste the code they give you into your website code. Add all of your products this way (you can even have a drop-down menu for color options!), you will have a simple, but effective shopping cart. When someone clicks on the BUY NOW button you've created, they will be shown a shopping cart page. They can continue to add items into their cart and when finished, simply checkout using Paypal or their credit card (Paypal no longer requires customers to have a Paypal account to pay), and voila. You have an order!
Once you feel ready, you'll want to set up a professional shopping cart so that you can keep better records and offer more options. Each shopping cart is different, but various features include: customer order history, sales records, various shipping options, coupon codes, search engine optimization, newsletter applications and much, much more. You'll want to do some google searches on shopping carts and find the best one for your needs.
Consider a professional custom design for your online store. SMM Cosmetics website and ecommerce design was created by Crystal Calhoun of Made To Be Unique. We recommend you considering Crystal for your website and ebay store designing needs. If you contact Crystal mention you heard about Made To Be Unique from Barb of SMM Cosmetics and you'll recieve 20% off any website, ebay or ecommerce service package! |