What is your best tip about selling online?

Hi Everyone,

I love the site and have been doing a lot of research on here to help start my own e-commerce site.  In general though I was wondering what was the biggest thing that you would definitely not do again if you had to start your site from scratch.

TIA and I am looking forward to what this sites members have to say.

My advice (having tried this and paid a s**t load of money for it) is - don't touch 1&1 wiith a barge pole - http://www.1and1.com. They suck - the platform is terrible, slow as dirt, and calling into customer service requires a 45 minute wait to tallk with anyone who has a clue.

I'm not biased, I hoped they would work for me, but unfortunately not.

I'm not familiar with 1&1, but I've been really surprised (disappointed) but the number of hosting companies that have terrible customer service.  I eliminated a bunch that had only 9 to 5 suppport - no evenings, no weekends.  Starting an e-business is tough,  and I can't imagine that anyone is satisfied with "business hours" support.

Have a well thought out plan! That is my biggest tip. Don't jump in head first without considering as many aspects as you can and planning how you will handle them. Think through your marketing plan, your product line, your sales strategy, your design, and your financials.

You can get yourself into some serious headaches if you do not think through the abovementioned elements. Understanding yoru financials is so important but is often overlooked. This involves pricing (and reviewing competitor's prices), quantities, discounts, and even just sales volume you will need to cover your expenses. You have to understand what numbers you will need to hit in order to breakeven or make a profit.

After that it is all about how you are going to reach those number, how you will drive sales, market to your customers, and what your site design and brand will look like.

Another very important consideration - find an ecommerce provider whose product/service makes the above things much easier with built in functionality and service offerings.

Hi Kristin

I agree with 100% about 1&1, they suck!  That was my 1st website choice, and after I bought my website 1 week into it, I know I had made a mistake. I cancelled my website and went with someone else.

Just wanted to add my comments.

Kim Miller

What was it about 1and1 that was so bad? I have heard them recommended before, so I am always interested to hear the other side of the story.

I think it's important when you have an online store that you name your products intuitively.  For example, naming a product "RAM Memory Chips" is a lot more clear than naming the product "U-138384 RAM".  The naming should be inline with what people would search for.  Not only will this help in the navigation of your site, but it will also help with SEO.

 The other thing that i have found--and this is probably specific to my industry--is to indicate upfront any requirements or restrictions.  We provide animal adoption services, and we are clear when the animal appears online, what restrictions, if any, there are for adopters.  That helps focus "shoppers" on the prospective pets that are more appropriate--and saves us from having to redirect them once they come in to meet the animal.

 "It" will always take longer than you think it will. Whatever "it" is will always take much longer. Adding inventory. If you think it will take 5 min. guess again. it will take an hour. Or 2. The learning curve can be STEEP. That said, my tip would to add your most profitable items first. Why make $2, if you can make $100. Sure, small items are important too, but as your speed and expertise grow, then add the small parts.

I would prefer Google Base. Fantastic tool to Promote & sell your products online.