The seller who lists the same items on eBay, Amazon, and Sears websites has to keep track of the listings, and cancel or update them whenever such items are sold. This is a truly labor intense way to handle business, but for many it has been the "norm" for far too long. As an example, take the reseller of refurbished cell phones. This person obtains their products, houses them at a facility near their home, and then lists them on several popular sites, such as those listed above. Each time an … [Read more...]

Retail is a two-way street. There are purchases and sometimes there are returns. There is the exchange of money for goods. There is also the exchange of faith from the buyer to the seller. The buyer gives over the money and expects the item to be sent and/or to perform as described. Whether it is a scarf that is supposed to be soft and warm or an electronic device rebuilt to factor specifications, the buyer hands over the money with good faith and with reasonable expectations. Those … [Read more...]

Have you heard the phrase that "dropshippers are invisible"? This is something that an online entrepreneur might understand. After all, many use dropshipping as a key component of their business. Though there are some risks in this way of doing business (wrong items sent, inventory glitches, and lower profit margins for the seller), it can help you to begin building a very successful, multichannel retail business. This is even more the case when you use integrated solutions to streamline and … [Read more...]

You know that you should use eBay as one of your retail channels and yet the time it takes to upload good photos and create unique and appealing listings is just too much. After all, if you sell something that has to be listed in a few ways, you might easily burn through an entire work day just creating, proofreading and activating listings. Then you still have to go back into eBay when inventory sells and adjust the number available, and so on. Just reading that brief description of a slim … [Read more...]

Multichannel retailers know that their work is never easy. Sure, it is described as the ultimate "work for yourself" arrangement, and a business structure that can be as simple or as hands on as you want. Regardless of the many promises made about this sort of business structure, however, it is undeniable that it does take a lot of time and effort to sell across several channels. Just the inventory management alone can become a full time gig. You have to enter the products into each system … [Read more...]

It is impossible to think of someone who has yet to shop online, and yet there are still many millions of consumers hesitant to begin using even the very best ecommerce website. Reading the headlines might provide an explanation for their desire to stay out of the world of online shopping - from the high rates of identity theft to the many instances of fraud or less reputable advertising, there are just a lot of risks associated with online shopping. Obviously, as the owner of an ecommerce … [Read more...]