10 Places to Sell Online
Selling online is a huge cash generator. There are many places to sell online and 'what;' to sell is usually the point where people give up.
As we always advise, it is best to stick to a niche. A niche is a category and can be wide - Electronics is a big category. If you feel like starting in the phone accessories section and branching out as your shop grows, then your niche may be electronics, as everything you sell will always fall under that umbrella.
Google Keyword tool is great for searching through different niches!
Places to sell
The following sites are places we have sold on, tested and still use today.
The worlds biggest marketplace is a great place to sell online. It is simple to register and set up. If you want to be a pro seller it is wise to have a business address, tel number and seller account.
When selling to anyone, it is best to have a professional looking profile page. Instead of having your home address and personal telephone number, when possible, invest in these two things as it will make your business appear more professional.
Ask yourself this, 'when you buy online would you rather buy from Mr Joe Blogs at Number 1 so and so street or Electronics R US Office 44 business street?
Once you're all set up, you need to register for a PayPal account and link them together (you can do this via your account on eBay - there are step by step instructions).
PayPal is a fantastic merchant because it looks after both buyer and seller and deals with disputes on your behalf.
Make sure you are organised!
It is encouraged to get some drawers ready for invoices, receipts and tracking information.
You will need to keep all these at the ready, because at any point you may need to prove you sent an item or have it in your possession. PayPal are known for limiting accounts when your on a good run, it's just to make sure you are a legitimate seller. They may ask for invoices of goods that are being sold, your supplier contact information and receipts for recent items you have posted.
When you are organised these items are easily located and can cause less disruption to your business if you submit them fast.
Templates can make your listings more professional, as well as newsletter ideas and advertising format. Check out our eBay section for more information.
Amazon is still our favourite market place. Most items that you wish to sell are already listed on the platform, so you do not need to create any adverts, you simply add your price and wait for your sales. The only difference here, is that the buyer scrolls through the different prices and sellers on offer, so having good feedback as well as a competitive price is a must.
If you have an item that is not already listed, you can create it from scratch. You will need a barcode to add to their database. If your item does not have one or is hand made you can buy barcodes from UPC cheap barcodes. Prices start from just $1.99 each and can be bought in quantities of 10. The barcodes are instantly available after purchase and are sent to your email through an attachment. If you wish to make and sell your own products or design a label you will now have each barcode at the ready.
Amazon also offer a dispatch service called Amazon fulfilment. Once you get to a stage where you have plenty of orders and feel it is getting a bit much we would advise using these guys.
This service is brilliant and can be used by all sellers, not just for selling on Amazon.
How does it work?
Register for an account and your ready to go.
Amazon provide you with a template to print stickers to add on to your items (there are full instructions on the site).
Once you have attached each sticker to your items you simply package it up and send it to their fulfilment centre where they house the items for you until you are ready to dispatch.
(These stickers -labels- have a code and can be bought from Amazon or Stationary site, simply copy the label size and browse the different prices.)
If you already sell these items through Amazon every time you get a sale, Amazon will immediately dispatch the item to your customer on your behalf. All you have to do is wait for your feedback from each sale, keep an eye out for the quantity left (although they do send you a notification once this gets too low) and replenish the stock every week or month depending how much you sell.
Another great thing about this service is that you can use it even if you do not sell on Amazon. If you have your own website, sell or eBay or through another platform you can log into your fulfilment account and select the item you wish to dispatch, add your customers name and address and click send.
We have found that the fees are very competitive if not cheaper than Royal Mail and your package arrives to the customer in a Amazon or brown box, packaged professionally with an invoice and label.
You have to ask your self how much is your time worth with regards to printing invoices, package items, travelling to the post office queuing up and paying?
Pros:
* Professional and fast dispatch service
* Amazon provide compensation of your item if it is not delivered or lost.
* Professional and neatly packaged parcels
* Competitively price.
Cons
* If your items are fragile or prone to spillage you may have a broken item en route to Amazon or in their warehouse. (They will reimburse you the cost if it is their fault.)
* Charges for packaging and dispatch.
This is a very unique place to sell and has a great customer base, if your items are hand made.
Etsy host a very stylish platform the offers users bespoke, one of a kind and hand made products for sale.
This includes items you manufacture yourself even on a large scale.
eBid is a market place like eBay but with less customers, sellers and fees. Established in 1999 eBid has created a fantastic market place for both buyers and sellers alike!
You can get a lifetime membership with no fees for just £49.99!
Bonanza is fast becoming a well known brand in the selling online category. In fact in 2016 Bonanza was voted 'Most Recommended Marketplace' over Amazon, eBay and Etsy! They even beat Amazon, eBay and Etsy for best customer services. Bonanza has also been featured on CNN, Bloomberg Businessweek, Mashable and TIME.
With Bonanza, setting up your web store (Booth) couldn't be simpler. With step by step instructions and fantastic tools to use, you could be up and selling today! They even offer the option to import your items if you already sell on eBay, Amazon, Etsy or Shopify.
Bonanza currently have a free trial, so you can test the waters.
Sign up to our newsletter below to receive step by step video tutorials on how to skyrocket your Bonanza Booth and create a substantial income online.
Websites
Check out our website page for more in depth info.
Having your own website is very helpful when selling online. There are no fees to pay and all customers come directly to you and it is easy to monitor. Have a look at our website section here or our shop has some buy now options.
Having your own website may seem daunting if you have never tried to build one before but do not be put off! You do not need to know anything regarding HTML or code. Making a website is very simple. No our shop we have a free ebook for all our customers, this book shows you how to set up a WordPress site very easily but following step by step instructions. You can get it here.
This site offers elegantly designed templates that are easy to install and change if need be. Their site is very easy to use but they do not have the function to edit using your phone or iPad.
For personal websites they offer 2 packages starting from $12. Check out our Square space blog review.
Square space accepts stripe payments which are re posted to your bank weekly and PayPal buy now buttons.
We have a few websites with Wix 1 of them is yourmoneysite.co.uk, and Wix are very simple to use.
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100s of stunning templates
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Drag n’ drop online store builder
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Mobile - eCommerce website
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Secure checkout
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Multiple payment solutions
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Beautiful product galleries
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Professional store manager
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Global tax and shipping
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Coupons and discounts
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24/7 support
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Accepts PayPal
Is vast becoming very popular. You may have seen one of their many sponsored adverts on Facebook.
Shoplift offer its users a 14 day free trail with no card input required.
They offer 3 membership rates -
Basic at $29 a month, middle at $79 a month and advanced at $299 a month.
What can I sell online?
Alibaba
Alibaba is a great place to list your items for sale online. Alibaba is the largest eCommerce in the world and if you set up an account with them and list your items (starting from free) it will only do good things for your business. Buying and selling online, requires you to meet and compare new manufactures, wholesalers, distributors and sellers and this site has all four from around the world.
Setting up a profile and listing are simple enough, just expect to start getting calls from their sales agents every now and again asking if you would like to upgrade to their gold supplier membership package, which differs in price dependant on your country.
For buyers, Alibaba is completely free.
Gold membership has some good benefits including maximum online exposure, exclusive access to buyers and you will also receive a company verified seal, earning trust from more buyers.
Things to look out for -
Always check the company is verified and has feedback. Business that have been verified and on Alibaba more than a year are always safer to approach than those that have not.
If a deal seems to good to be true it usually is!
Only deal with verified payment options so you can try and re claim your money back if you become the victim on fraud.
Do not use western union at all as you are not covered if you do not receive your order.
This is a UK suppliers directory (they now have an international section) that offers great deals on
thousands of product from different wholesalers.
They offer an initial free account but you do have to pay for extras. Listing on wholesale pages is great for UK exposure. You can create Sale items, offers and coupon deals for more exposure to your site.
Wholesale pages have a special offer section (which we find very useful) that shows you the cost and
profit of goods.
