Now you decide to run an online business, but where should you list your product? That seems to be a daunting task because there are so many channels out there. Don't panic as we've selected some of the best places for the world to know your next cool product.
Once you selected the dream product and it's been made, the next important business decision is to think about whether you're going to sell it in house/person, to retailer or wholesaler, or sell online by your self or by a professional vendor. In this article, we focus on what is your options when you decide to sell online, no matter by yourself or hiring a professional agency. We hope you will get some inspiration and really think about your sales strategies after finished reading.
“We often have to make choices. The wise ones are those who chose to lose quantitatively and win qualitatively." – Zin Eddine Dadach
I would classify "selling online" into two main areas and I will list them from a relatively easier one to a relatively more challenging one.
SELLING ON AN ONLINE MARKETPLACE
Here, the marketplace is further divided into a PC-based web marketplace and an APP-based smartphone marketplace.
A PC-based web marketplace not only include those pure online marketplace such as eBay.com, Amazon.com, Wayfair.com, Box.com, Craigslist.com, but also include those retailer backed sites such as Walmart.com, Target.com, Costco.com, Sears.com, Macy's.com, BedBathandBeyond.com, etc.
Sometimse the above channels allow you to sell as an individual, but in most cases, the retailer backed channels request you to be listed as a business and you need to qualify to become one of their vendors first. tgo, Mercari, Poshmark, ThredUP, Nextdoor, etc.
Sometimes the above channels allow you to sell as an individual, but in most cases, the retailer backed channels request you to be listed as a business and you need to qualify to become one of their vendors first.
SELLING ON YOUR OWN CHANNEL
To sell on your own channel, it certainly includes creating your own website. But if you don't have that much level of time, budget and acknowledgment to land your own online store, you can also try to list on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest. On those channels, you need to create your own page first and set up your payment methods before you are able to list the products. If you have a large group of fans, your store on your page may sell well. But if you're a startup and you want to utilize their strength, which is to broadcast on social media channels, it usually requires you to pay their commission as the advertising fees upfront. (It's not like eBay which you can list for free and they charge you based on your sales.) So you need to be prepared that it's possible that you pay a fee and get little or no results.
PROS & CONS COMPARISON
The easiest of all methods would be simply listed on an APP or on eBay, which required the least amount of time to maintain and initial set up. But those marketplaces usually charges a premium of 10% as their commission fee because they provide you a large and active customer base. But they do not allow to list everything due to each platform's own regulation, so you are limited to the product category they allow, and the presentation format and even the shape and the numbers of product pictures. And if customer complaints, they would most like stand on the customers' side and hold your money until an issue is resolved at the customer's favor first. I must point out that it's very competitive in this type of marketplace, so unless you have a truly awesome product at a great margin and a stable inventory, you are most likely to be medium or bottom player and can't grow large in a short period. So listing on the third-party's marketplace is most suitable for single-person business, or small business, or any business that requires an existing large pool of customers (think their commission fee as your advertising fees).
The challenging ones would be selling on the retailer-backed channels and on your own channels, which both require a high level of input in terms of your time and budget. To qualify for a large retailer's vendor, it requires many weeks, if not months hard work to get the final approval if you're lucky and have a really good product. But once you succeed, the retailers, especially those national chain retailer's purchase order may support your business well enough for the future. If your business or product is not retailer ready, you may need to give up this route temporarily until your situation changes. But you can always sell on your own online shop at any time. It's easy to set up one and start running. But what matters the most is the quality- whether it converts or not. It's definitely not easy to build a beautiful, smooth, customer-friendly and complete e-commerce store in a very short period. Even if you did so, it's even harder to drive organic traffic to your new store if you have no previous customer base and experience in the past. Your sales will start very slow unless you spend heavily on marketing and advertising, both require a relatively high budget. If you don't have that budget, you need to have the patience to wait and improve one step at a time.
So you can see it's a balance. No matter which route to go, you always need to carefully plan the output/input efficiency and your capital return rate.
MORE THOUGHTS AT THE END
No matter which online channels you choose, please also do not forget to add your online presence in search engines such as Google Shopping if possible.
One of the most things in common for all platforms is that you need to regularly maintain your account. Not only you need to be responsible for on-time shipping or periodically system upgrade, but also you need to resolve customer's issue whenever there is one rising up, or you may run into trouble. So as the store owner, no matter which one you ultimately to choose to start from or run many ones at the same time, you need to devote your time to every detail of our e-commerce store, or it won't automatically develop itself.
If you meet any difficulties in the beginning or you grow too quickly, we strongly suggest you hire someone to take care of your accounts for you, so you can focus on other important aspects of your business such as developing more great products. At Avero Supplies, we can help you land in any one of the channels mentioned above, except for retailer business unless your business qualify first. And we can also help you grow your accounts strategically to outperform your competitors, and maintain your account regularly and to be in compliance. We look forward to talking with you and see what we can do you grow your online store in the best way that fits your business demand.
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