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Things to consider before starting an online business

So you have thought about selling online but want to do some research before taking the plunge? I used to sell online from the age of 19. It started off as my personal belongings and then took off into a business for a few years. It started slowly but in the end after five years I generated over £25,000 in sales which is not bad since throughout that time I had limited resources, finance; was working full time for some of the period; and was learning to do everything by myself; there was no help out there without paying for advice. I am going to write a few articles based on selling online in which I feel could be helpful for those who are not sure on whether to take the plunge or not. First of all; there are a bunch of things you should consider before making the commitment. How much money do I have to start up? Are you using savings or are you budgeting what your monthly income and expenditure is; and setting perhaps £100 a month aside to invest into stock? ...
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Tips for starting up your online shop

You may have read my post on 'things to consider before starting an online business'     This post focuses on the next steps you should consider in order to create a successful brand image & how to advertise your new setup Create a relevant username Any site you use will want you to create a username.  Picking a username is hard nowadays. It can take a long time to come up with something you actually like the sound of; only for you to enter it in and find out that the username has already been taken! You may want to have a username that links to what you are selling . However, be careful not to limit yourself for the future.  For example , if you are starting off selling womens earrings; but intend to branch out into other items of jewellery; jewellery for men, and/or other types of accessories; you do not want to limit yourself with a name like 'Fashion Earrings UK'.  When people read the username, they will most likely assume that you will only be selli...
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How to sell your pokemon cards

How to sell your Pokemon Cards without being an expert There are many articles out there claiming that pokemon cards can be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. The odd few cards can be, but most general peoples collections are not going to be lucky enough to have these cards. I have sold quite a few cards over the past 2 years and have brought in around £800 from ebay. I havn't been active at it; I probably could have sold a lot more cards in this time period if I had listed every card I had and kept the listings active. Things to consider first: Are my cards worth anything? DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST Look up each card individually. How much do other people have it listed for? Is their condition better or worse than yours? There is no point listing a card with loads of imperfections for £20 if there are cards available in near mint condition for £20. It really depends on the card and the collection it is in; so have a look at listings on ebay first to get a general price. Shiny c...
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Earn Money Playing Games: Mistplay

How many apps have you seen claim that you can earn money whilst playing games? How many adverts have you seen on the app stores, on facebook, online in general; where they show people reacting to winning thousands of dollars on a slot game and having it magically transferred into Paypal? I have been looking into ways to earn money online at home and I have had success with Mistplay. What is Mistplay? Mistplay is an app you download onto your phone. Via the app; you download games that are featured on there and play them via the app. You have to reach certain milestones to earn 'units', which you use to redeem vouchers of your choice. Where can I get it? It is available in the Google play store. I have searched the apple store and it is not on there. It is free to download. Will it harm my phone? I have had the app for 2 weeks and my phone is working completely fine.  Samsung and McAfee have partnered up to provide security on Samsung devices, protecting against malware and sus...
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Sourcing your products

Have you thought about where you will source your products? Some people know exactly what they want to sell or at least what category to start in. Some people stick to one particular product; and some try a bit of everything. Sticking to one product can be a shortfall; whereas having a variety of different products could be beneficial as you can reach a wider audience. If you can find a niche in the market; sticking to one product may work out for you! Keeping up to date with current trends is a must! There are a lot of websites out there; and sometimes I found that ones I nearly bought from were actually fake websites where you never actually receieve anything. They just take your money and then shut the site down so they cannot be traced. Only purchase from websites you feel you can trust; and ones who have the little padlock sign up the top in the URL bar. Searching the website on google; reading blogs about the website; and reading the trustpilot reviews (if they are li...
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Best selling platforms

There are a variety of platforms these days where you can sell all sorts of items. More & more apps are being made each year; making it easier to sell items without needing to use a desktop computer.  I have compiled a list of the most trusted selling platforms based on my own opinion, usage and research combined. eBay - you can sell brand new and used items on here; from clothing, to antiques, to handcrafted items. As a private seller you get a limited amount of listings. A private account is generally to sell used items so it is great to use as a test by selling anything unwanted you may have laying around. You can put up 'buy it now' listings for free and pay a final value fee of 10% when the item sells.  You can upgrade to a business account but once you do that; you can never revert back to an individual account. To list under a business account; it costs per listing and the price depends on whether it is auction or a fixed price listing. This means you ...
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Profit calculator

Profit calculator  Sometimes we sell items and only find out when we send it; that we are actually making a loss or breaking even when our goal is to make a profit! I started a spreadsheet to help me in pricing my items.  I especially used it when working out if I should buy new stock; by putting in the price per unit and researching how much it could potentially sell for.  I also used it when marking down prices of items that wouldn't sell.  It helped me work out the lowest price I could sell an item at in order to break even.  Just taking a stab in the dark with pricing is not something I like to do. It is nothing fancy; it is just a simple, easy to understand calculator for those who rarely use spreadsheets and prefer things kept simple. Link to my ebay profit calculator The percentages I have put in the spreadsheet are taken from the ebay and paypal websites on 28/02/2020. Fees can change yearly so always make sure you a...
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