The popularity of online shopping provides many business opportunities for the entrepreneur.

Online shopping is becoming the most popular way to shop.  Christmas retailer numbers show that many people are now buying most of their Christmas presents online, so it’s safe to assume that the same is true for the rest of the year, too.

Online stores therefore offer a lot of opportunities for entrepreneurs.  Depending on where you sell and what kind of online store you set up, your business venture could range from selling on the side, to launching a full-scale online store.  Here are a few options to consider.

1. Sell on eBay.  There are other platforms on which a person can start a part-time selling business, but none quite like eBay, as we’ll see in a minute.  eBay allows you to list items for sale in both fixed price and auction format.  They do limit how you can receive payment, however: Only online payment options are allowed, with a strong emphasis on PayPal, though you can still receive payments through a business merchant account – an option for high volume sellers.
2. Sell on another platform such as Amazon.com.  Amazon sells everything from books to electronics, and allows third-party sellers to do the same.  Other blockbuster online stores, such as BarnesandNoble.com, have followed suit.
3. Launch your own online store.  There’s no reason you have to be dependent on these companies in order to sell online, if you have the time and determination to do more of it yourself.  Setting up your own website and online store, finding a service to handle online payment processing for you, and paying the fees associated with website hosting, designers, and retail merchant accounts are all necessary if you choose to go this route — but you will much more potential for success when you are not paying a parent company to handle these things for you.

I didn’t list online community boards such as Craigslist because I feel these are not really online sales, since ultimately the transaction is not completed on this website.  However, these boards do offer good opportunities for advertising online businesses as well as cash/pickup only purchases.

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