Want to sell on eBay, Amazon, or your own, but don’t know where to start? You’re in the right place! This guide will show you where to start, and how to do it right.

Perhaps you have dreams of quitting the rat-race to start your own online, eBay, or Amazon business, Or maybe you just want a little something extra in your pocket. Whatever your reason for wanting to sell online, eCommerce offers enormous opportunities for anyone with an internet connection. Of all the ways of making money online, it’s perhaps one of the easiest to understand and get started with.

What You Need to Know Before You Begin

Before you get started investing time and money into an online business, you want to be sure that selling online is right for you. So let’s look at the pros and cons of selling online so you can weigh them up and make an informed decision.

The Pros of Selling Online

While working from home in your pajamas is a plus, there are plenty of other amazing reasons to work from home while building your own eCommerce business:

• You can work from home, make your hours, and choose how far you want to take it. The possibilities are endless.

• You can follow your interests. When you sell online, you can often turn your hobbies and passions into a profitable business.

• It’s not as difficult or risky as starting a normal business. You don’t have to invest a lot of money when you’re first getting started.

• You don’t have to worry about storing inventory if you don’t want to.

The Cons of Selling Online

Like anything in life, selling online comes with a few downsides. You must know these before you begin, so you set yourself realistic expectations.

• It takes time. It may take you a month or two to see consistent results. The chances of you accumulating over $100 worth of sales on your first day is, well, highly unlikely.

• There’s a learning curve. If you’ve sold a few things online before, you’re already one step ahead of your competitors.

• You wear all the hats. As a business owner, you’re a team of one. You’ll take on the roles of accountant, marketer, web designer, and everything else. This also means that you shoulder all the responsibility.

Step 1 Choosing an eCommerce Business Model

There are several business models to consider before you sell online, each with its own set of pros and cons. You will want to think carefully about which business model is best for you. They all require different levels of financial investment and will determine how you structure your business.

Sourcing from wholesalers

Sourcing products from wholesalers is a more traditional retail business model. It’s used by stores and eCommerce stores alike. Once you’ve decided on what product/s you’re going to sell, you find a reliable wholesaler and buy the product/s in bulk. Getting the best price usually requires some negotiation.

Buying in bulk requires that you have significant cash to spend upfront. The upside is that you’ll usually get your products at a cheaper price than you would with dropshipping. That means higher profit margins for you every time you make a sale.

Sourcing from manufacturers

Sourcing a product from the manufacturer is a similar process to sourcing from a wholesaler. The major difference is that you can work with a manufacturer to create your product or a private label product.

There is a lot more to do in terms of product development, design, testing, packaging, and legal obligations, but if you’re ready to set in for the long haul and build a business that you can differentiate from most online sellers, sourcing directly from manufacturers is a good option.

Making and selling your own products

If you’re creative, artistic, or have a unique skill, by all means, you can make your products and sell them online. Whether you crochet beanies, build wooden chopping boards, or engineer new technologies in your bedroom, there’s bound to be a market for your creations.

Step 1. Choosing What to Sell You’ve probably thought about this step already. Most people start by thinking of products they can sell online and go from there. What starts as a daydream at the office often flourishes into a successful business.

Choosing what to sell is probably the most important decision you will make as it will determine the demand for your product, price and profitability, market competition, sales, and marketing. It’s also one of the hardest decisions you will make.

But you’re looking for a product that meets these requirements:

• You can make a profit on it. Don’t forget to factor in things like shipping, packaging, and marketplace fees.

• There’s a reasonable demand for it. One of the common mistakes new sellers make is diving into selling a particular product without checking demand.

• The competition is not too intense. Competition can drive down your profits, particularly when there isn’t enough demand to meet it.

What Can You Sell Online?

The answer to that is almost anything. [However, if you want to be successful at selling online, choose products that meet the criteria below.]

Products related to your interests The first thing you should do to get ideas for what to sell is to brainstorm your hobbies, things you’re interested in. The reason this can be a good idea is that you’re more invested in selling products you’re interested in.

Products that you discover online Try to become intimately familiar with products that are selling well on the most popular online marketplaces you don’t want to sell products that are already doing well in highly competitive markets, but often those hot products can give you ideas for complementary, and less competitive options.

Products backed by market research You can do your market research, or use tools to do the heavy lifting for you. You can browse by product category and set specific filters to identify products that you can be confident will sell online.

What Products are Selling Best Online? As you will know from your market research, there’s a wide range of products that are selling well online. The thing is, that once a product becomes a best seller, it’s probably too late to sell it as the market quickly becomes saturated. You need to learn to expect trends or identify ways to sell items complementary to best-selling products.

Step 2: Finding Suppliers

Once you’ve decided on a product to sell online, you need to find a reliable supplier for that product. Finding a supplier is probably the second most time-consuming part of selling online and also comes with a raft of booby-traps to avoid, so be careful!

A supplier is one of your most important business partners so you want to make sure you choose the right one.

Step 3: Setting Up Your Business

So you’ve got all the ingredients to launch your online business, now you just need to make everything official. Every country has different requirements for setting up a business, so it’s always a good idea to speak to an accountant or lawyer to get professional advice. However, to make sure you’re getting started on the right foot, here are the four fundamental things you need to consider when setting up your business.

Choosing a business name Make sure it’s something you feel comfortable broadcasting via your social channels and in person. Make sure your business name is on-brand.

Registering your business Business regulations are different across countries, A simple Google search of your country and city will tell you whether you need to register your business to operate legally.

Setting up payment options for your store When you launch your online store, you want to be ready to accept money. That means you need to offer a range of payment options for your customers, the more flexible you are, the more sales you will make.

Step 4. Choosing What Platforms to Sell On

Now that you know what you’re selling and your business is up legally, it’s time to choose where you want to sell. There are a lot of options, but how do you know which is best for you?

What Is The Best Platform to Sell Online For You?

I wish I could tell you that a specific online marketplace is the best one for you, but it depends on what you’re selling and what you’re hoping to achieve with your business.

Each platform has its pros and cons, so it pays to do a bit of research into a few different platforms before deciding which one you will use to sell online. You should also use a platform like Shopify or Sellox, you don’t have to compete in a crowded marketplace like Amazon or eBay.

What to Look For in an Online Store Solution?

• How many users does that platform have? The more users, the more potential customers for your business.
• How many sellers does the platform have? The more sellers the more competition you’ll have. It’s a good idea to weigh up the number of sellers against the number of potential customers.
• What seller’s fees do you have to pay? Every fee eats into your profit margins. Do the calculations to see what the platform will cost you.
• What type of goods are you selling? Some platforms are more suited to specific types of products.
• How reliable is the platform? Are you confident the platform will exist 10 years from now?

Where Can I Sell My Products Online?

There are a lot of platforms where you can sell your products, but the two biggest players are eBay and Amazon. However, there are plenty of alternatives, including setting up your website with the help of Sellox, Shopify, or WooCommerce. Let’s look at some of the best online marketplace options for your new business.

• eBay - You’re probably already familiar with eBay. It is great for selling all kinds of products, such as used goods, and one-off items you’ve purchased from sales.

• Amazon - Amazon is more top end than eBay, mainly because they have a rigorous screening process you have to go through just to sell on their platform. That said, you can sell products at a much higher price than eBay.

• Your website - Having your store gives you greater freedom, less competition, and no seller fees, but it’s a little trickier to set up. You can use platforms like Shopify to set up an online store or integrate a plugin like WooCommerce with your WordPress site.

• Other alternatives - Other online platforms such as Etsy and Bonanza can also build successful eCommerce businesses.

Step 5: Marketing Strategies for Your Online Store (Make Your First Sale)

Congratulations! Your online store is up and running. Now you need to attract customers to your listings or website. This is where your marketing strategy comes in. You can’t just sit back and expect the money to roll in. It’s time to get to work.

How Do I Start a Successful Online Store?

You’ve already got the first ingredient to running a successful online store, but there are several other factors you need to get right from the beginning to ensure long-term success.

Good quality photos: You know how many people buy something based on a photo. Make sure your photos are of high quality and show the product at all angles.

A marketing strategy: have a plan for how to promote your business outside of your chosen platform so you can attract more customers to your listings and make more sales.

Ask customers for reviews: Positive reviews tell potential customers that you’re a trustworthy seller with an excellent product.

How Do I Become a Good Seller?

Provide excellent customer service: Treat every interaction with a customer as though they’re your first and last customer. Be polite, honest, and provide all the information they ask for. Your customers are your business’ lifeblood. Without them, you don’t have a business at all.

Fast shipping: Customers expect to receive their products quickly Always be improving: Immerse yourself in the world of eCommerce. Try to pick up on trends before your competition.

Enjoy the ride: Starting your own business is exciting and fun and, potentially, provide you with the freedom to work for yourself full-time.

How Can I Market My Product Online for Free?

When you’re starting out selling online, you probably won’t have a big marketing budget like major retail brands, You might not have any money put aside for marketing. Thankfully, there are a lot of ways you can market your products online for free.

Social media marketing: Every business worth its weight in salt should have a social media presence. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter

Start a blog: Blogging is still one of the most popular content marketing methods. If you’re selling outdoor/hiking equipment, why not start a blog on your website that your audience will enjoy?

Start a YouTube channel: Vlogging is another option.

Competitions: Try giving some of your products away via competitions that you can run on whatever social media or website channels you’re using