Products for a Successful Web Business

In this article we discuss choosing products for the purpose of selling them on the web.

Products that get used up and need replacing create repeat business. e.g:
Razors cost little but the blades wear out and need replacing.
Printers are often sold at a low price, but their cartridges always need replacing.

Good service in delivering consumables generates repeat business.

This applies to compatibles as well as brand-name products.

The most successful among our websites in this group sell printer inks and toners.

If people know the item and it's authors / producers, they won't mind buying it on the internet, if price and delivery is competitive.

If the item is a self-published book, CD / DVD, then people need to be able to inspect it before deciding to order it.

The most successful among our websites in this group sell known text-books.

The least successful offered home produced CDs

Prints or reproductions of known artworks can sell on the internet, provided there is a money-back guarantee if the customer is not happy with the quality.

If the item is an original by an unknown artist, then it's very difficult to display its quality on the web to the point of persuading a customer to order it. Most people would want to personally see the actual artwork.

The least successful in this group offered original oil paintings.

If they are brand-name items with a manufacturer's guarantee, then provided price and delivery is competitive, these are the basis for most successful businesses on the web, regardless what product.

People know exactly what they are getting, and receive a guarantee.

The most successful among our websites in this group sell computers, parts and accessories, followed by perfumes.

Breaking into a service market is very difficult. Exact details of the service offered must be provided on the website.

A service business often needs to get established and get the first few customers to provide testimonials, before business from strangers flow in.

The usual rules of competitiveness and reliability count very much towards success in the service industry.

The most successful of our service website clients provide wedding cars, followed by landscaping, then financial services.

Supply:

Get a binding agreement with a reliable supplier, and ensure the supplier also benefits from selling through your business. We know one business which closed down after their overseas supplier started selling direct to their customers.

Conclusion:

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, other factors must also be present to ensure a successful business, but choosing the product is the first make or break factor in starting a business.

More information for small businesses can be found at platypus websites - www.platywebs.com.au

Ken McKay designed his first website in 1997 and, through Platypus Websites, has been building commercial websites since 1999.

More Ecommerce Articles

7 Suggestions for an i-Mom Friendly Web Site (e-commerce news and statistics)
The Internet began as a male dominated medium, but those days are long gone and merchants are advised to make sure their websites are female friendly to faciliate the rising surge of busy i-Moms shopping online for their family and friends.Women now account for 51.

How E-commerce Web Site Design Differs From Normal Web Design
When it comes to e-commerce everything is a little bit different, even the web site design for an e-commerce site as compared to a normal web design. If you are interested in developing an e-commerce site, then it is important to learn about the differences between the two types of website designs and how you can design the best e-commerce website with your resources.

Credit Card Processing - 7 Things You Need to Know Before Opening an Online Merchant Account
When considering opening an online merchant account to accept credit card orders, there are a lot of things you need to keep in mind. The best thing to do is learn all about credit card processing before you open your online merchant account so you can handle everything from the beginning rather than having to go back and make many changes.

7 Must Have Scripts to Look for When Shopping for E-commerce Hosting
When shopping for e-commerce hosting there are a lot of things you need to keep and mind. When you know what to look for it is a lot easier to ensure you get exactly what you need and not leave any important information out.

E-commerce Software That Will Safeguard Your Business against Fraud
Fraud is a huge issue when it comes to the Internet, and if you operate an e-commerce website then it should be one of your main concerns. Your potential customers will not want to buy from you unless they feel 100% certain that their information is encrypted and secure and that their credit card numbers will not be stolen in the order process.

Shop: Is Shopping Online Secure?
Is shopping online becoming popular and safe enough for you and I to do the vast majority of our shopping on the Internet?As I contemplated, when I initially set up my website: www.shopshopshop.

12 Powerful Ways To Use Autoresponders That Will Take YOU To The Top
If only I had known that autoresponders are a necessity to your online business when I first ventured online, I would have saved a lot of time and money. You have to automate in as many areas as possible and if used responsibly, autoresponders can be your best friend.

5 Powerful Ways to Make Money Online with a Website
There are many ways to make money online and the best way for you is to simply be creative with your skills, knowledge, and abilities. However, the following five options are powerful ways to make money online with a website and definite something you should consider.

The Origins of E-Commerce
What is the Internet?In order to provide a discussion on the Internet it is essential to provide a short description on what the Internet actually is. Put in the most basic of terms the Internet can be described of as a massive collection of computers that are sited around the world and that are connected together in order to create a huge network that allows information to be collated and shared by millions of people.

Cyber Banking
The use of electronic cash as a means of transacting internet business may prove to be an acceptable alternative to credit card payments. It is reported that the withdrawal of major players from the attempt to develop e-cash is a significant setback.