Starting your own Internet "store" - anyone done this before?

[MeanLaureen]

I was hoping to get some advice from people who have started their own business with an internet store, selling items they have made.

I have been thinking of starting one of my own and have no idea what to do. All I have so far is the domain name that we have owned for years! LOL

Any advice on what to do or not to do?

Thanks

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

We started an online business 7 years ago. A more business experienced friend told us we needed to be able to take credit cards and he was right for our business. We were able to get an inexpensive merchant credit card account through our bank. I call in the credit cards numbers for processing so didn't have to buy or rent a terminal which can be expensive.
Also, since people won't be able to actually hold what they are buying, there should be lots of pictures and info on the website.
Good luck!

 

[Feralpeg]

I'm in the process of trying to figure all of this out as well. I'll let you know what I find out, although it may take a little while.

 

[DisMN]

I sell online at a place called "Ruby Lane"......it's a collection of stores at one site.

I believe you can sell new/handmade items there now too instead of just antiques or collectibles.
Check it out. I found it far easier to sell when in a group like that than as an independant website.

Good luck and have FUN!!

 

[wdwpluto]

Well I haven't, but here's how I would approach it - GO SHOPPING! Check out a bunch of various internet stores and start a list of things you like and things you hate about them. From things like design to descriptions to the online check out process. That should give you some ideas about what you want (or don't want) to do with your store.

 

[10-7]

I have run my regular website for a couple years now - but last year decided to venture into the "e-commerce" world. The first thing you need to do is to get your website hosted (find a web-hosting company), and figure out what type of shopping cart system you want to use. I did lots of looking before settling on a cart.

Depending on who you host with, there may be several pre-installed cart systems that you can access at no additional charge.

I finally decided on an Oscommerce cart - www.oscommerce.com - which is FREE. If you don't have a host, I recommend that when you search for one, look for one that provides "cpanel", with the "fantastico" module installed. I know that probably makes no sense to you, but you will see that offered on some of the various hosting company sites. What "fantastico" is - is a bunch of free software that is easy to install. If your host has it, then you can install the oscommerce cart in a matter of seconds with little or no computer knowledge.

Now.... the hard part is customizing your cart to make it how you want it. Fortunately, there are lots of places online that will help walk you through the process. You will need to come up with custom colors, themes, and graphics for your cart.

I learned rather quickly that accepting credit cards is a MUST. I personally needed to be able to process cards offline - so I purchased a terminal for my home (cost $350.00). The shopping cart allows the customer to input the card information - which is securely stored in the database, and then I just type in the card number, and other info into the machine. A "merchant account" is the name for your credit card processing account. Mine runs me $9.95/month, plus there are fees per transaction. If you decide to lease a terminal, or do phone transactions - this fee will vary. So will the per-transaction fee.

It is possible to set up your cart to automatically process the credit cards - and this is called a "gateway" account - but you're talking more money. I suggest you look for offline processing (such as your own machine or you phone in the transactions).

I also strongly suggest you accept Paypal. About 1 in 10 of my transactions are paid for using paypal, and with it's recent integration with e-bay.... it is definately a plus to provide another option for payment.

Which reminds me. If you want a simple - very easy solution for selling stuff, look into starting an E-Bay Store . I think it's about $10/month - but they host it, and provide the cart. Everything is very easy to set up, and you can run it with very little computer knowledge. It might be a very easy way for you to "test the market" without investing a huge amount of money in creating your site.

Anyway... if you want to check out my site (which uses the oscommerce cart), it is located here: American Heroes Gifts .

Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them.


(Edited to add.... Here is a hosting company that offers the "Fantistico" software... Lunarpages.com . I don't know anythign about them to recommend them - but you can see about what the cost is - and what you need to look for in a host by checking them out.)