Starting to sell online
If you have a brick and mortar shop it has never been more important to also have a selling platform, it’s a big step but worth the time and effort.This is a basic guide to starting to sell online.
Anyone that owns a retail shop will understand that the High Street isn’t what it once was, the footfall has dropped. This is all before recent restrictions placed with Covid-19. Even the most positive of reports think this downturn will last for months and possibly years rather than weeks. This has meant that online shopping especially on Amazon has skyrocketed and if you’re an independent retailer who doesn’t sell online then you are massively harming your business.
One of the companies I’ve been working for was in exactly this position, a retail shop with years of knowledge and loyal customers but they had never embraced online. That is where I came in, the plan was set up before lockdown begun and then it hit and we had to really work hard to get everything set up quickly so they could make money.
If only it was as simple as building a website and then adding your products as you sit back and watch the orders roll in. There are so many different things to consider and set up before you get selling, and failure to plan for these events is going to harm your business before you’ve even started.
My checklist to begin with would be.
How will you send items?
When you get that first order, how will you send it? Is the packaging suitable to simply put in a polybag? Will you need boxes? Have you a printer to print invoices? Which courier will you use?
Ok, it all sounds a lot but break each step down. The item you wish to sell online does it come in a presentable package? If you received it in the post would you be happy? This is important and my rule would be never send an item that you yourself aren’t pleased with. If you have a soft item then either a padded envelope or polybag will normally be fine. For larger items then a cardboard box will be better. These are easier to get hold of, even eBay sell them. Just make sure you have these items handy before you make that first sale.
When it comes to sending that item will you put an invoice in the package? or not? These days adding an invoice isn’t always needed, me personally I keep the email that you receive when ordering online. You will, however, require a way of printing the packaging labels unless you plan on queuing at the Post Office…I strongly recommend you don’t go down this route, it’s too time-consuming. eBay and Amazon allow you to purchase postage directly when you sell an item, I’d urge you to sign up for a Royal Mail account so you can buy postage from them and then you just need to drop it off at a local Post Office or Delivery Office. A great website for International postage is Parcel2Go, they compare all the main carriers and give you a good breakdown of services, some of which will collect from your premises.
Getting this sorted before any orders takes away a lot of the stress when you do get an order.
Which Platform will you sell on?
There will be a follow-up post all about the benefits of each marketplace, but to begin with which platform depends on the products you sell. Amazon Marketplace is great for branded items, things like clothes from well-known brands are popular. It’s worth noting than Amazon are also the hardest to deal with. On average the fees for selling at 15%, you will also need a monthly membership which is £25, make sure whatever you sell covers the costs. I’ll cover the fees and cost to consider later.
Like all platforms you’ll need to provide certain things like business details, bank and personal identify and Amazon is no different.
With listening on Amazon there are very strict on certain things, the photos that you use for the product has to be perfect, a certain size, no background, no wording, no labels, it really just needs to be of the item on a pure white background. Even slightly off-white and they will refuse it. Depending on the product they will also demand what it is made from, brand, description, size, colour. The hurdles for Amazon are ongoing but it can certainly be worth it. When adding a product you will also need a barcode, this allows them to link your stock to other peoples. So if someone searches a particular item in a colour it comes up with one listening but with everyone selling it listed. If allows the buyer a much easier way to compare the pricing.
eBay on the other hand, it’s really simple, the photos don’t need to be special. Obviously the better the photos the more chance you have of selling it. There are different ways to pay for items on eBay including PayPal, and they have also started to roll out their managed payments system which gives more options to the customer. With all payment methods, you’ll have a processing fee, this varies but it’s around 2%. Selling on eBay also has a fee from eBay, it’s billed monthly and varies from department to department, it’s worth keeping this in mind.
eBay has a shop feature which if you list a lot or sell a lot is worth doing. It starts at £25 and then £69 and then £399. Each level gives you different things, the level can be changed monthly so start off on the basic one and then build up. For shops with around 1000 items, the Featured shop at £69 works really well. This package gives free listings up to 1,500 and lots of other perks.
With your own website you have freedom!
It’s true having your own website gives you creative freedom, charge what you like, ship it how you like, receive payments in a way that suits you. However, there are downsides. Who will work on your SEO, promote the products? The advantage of both Amazon and eBay is that everyone in the world has heard of them and most I would fancy having used them. Whereas most of the World hasn’t heard of your website. If only it was as easier as building and site and watching the orders come in.
You still need to consider the fees involved, the payment fees will still be the same from PayPal or SagePay, you’ll also have a web package to pay for from someone like Shopify, EKM, or one of the many others.
The hardest part is the initial set-up.
It might all seem daunting but the worst part is the set-up, once you have the basic parts finalised then it’s just a case of adding new products as an when they arrive.
The products you see will determine what platform is best for you. Personally, I’d look to start eBay as it’s super quick, work on getting that running and making money and then in the background design you own site. You can then have the two running together and hopefully, it’ll allow the business to make some money and grow.
One final point to make is to keep an eye on your stock if you sell on one platform or in your shop you need to make sure you change the stock quantity. To start you can do this manually but as you get busier you’ll need a way to automate this. This is a whole other topic for next time.
If you have any questions about starting to sell online then please drop me an email.
