Free Products To Sell Online
For self-hosting, on platforms such as WooCommerce and Magento , you would run the software from your own platform or machine for example, within WordPress. This gives you far more scope for customisation — where you, or someone you hire, can make changes to the look and feel of your online shop front. Perhaps one of the most well-known ecommerce platforms, Shopify is a Canadian commerce company, that reportedly has over , merchants and traders who use its hosted ecommerce platform.
The Shopify platform makes setting up a professional online shop fairly simple, with a great range of designs to choose from and a strong technical infrastructure to build upon. Some of its unique benefits to consider include:. Example of a stationary and craft shopfront created in Shopify via Pop Chart Lab. Shopify makes it easy to select and install a theme that will determine what your online shop looks like.
This ensures that they have a great experience with your shop and can purchase products regardless of which device they use to view them on.
This allows you to get a full store up and running with unlimited support, however many of the basic features you may need to run your store are then charged as add-ons to the cost. Most Shopify sites are also optimised for SEO, helping to increase traffic to your storefront. This includes having rich snippets the text that comes under the website when you search in Google and optimisation for speed and responsiveness both aspects that Google takes into account when deciding whether or not to surface your page.
Shopify processes all transactions and customer credit card details with bit SSL encryption and is also level-1 PCI compliant. This means that customers can shop with you securely without having to worry about who is gaining access to their details. It also backs-up your website automatically, ensuring that nothing is lost in the event of a technical glitch. As well as a strong online product hold, Shopify also offers an offline version with a point-of-sale credit card reader that plugs into your phone, allowing you to make sales on the go. This can be paired with a barcode scanner and receipt printer where needed.
Try Shopify for Free Today. BigCommerce is an extremely popular online shopping platform for small to medium-sized businesses. This started out as software for self-hosted ecommerce but has since evolved into a hosted shopping platform. Some of its benefits include:. Example of an organic beauty brand shopfront created in BigCommerce via Glam Nation. There are over themes available, some of which are free in a similar model to Shopify and mobile responsive.
The benefit of using BigCommerce is that it offers far more features for free in its basic package than other sites such as Shopify. With other ecommerce platforms, the additional tools and upgrades are there but they have to be paid for, which can all add up to a higher monthly fee.
The additional features BigCommerce offers includes built-in shipping dates, gift vouchers and 24 hour support as well as some email marketing tools. Bigcommerce has a strong SEO selling point, with fast page loading speed which is vital for customers and search engine optimisation. BigCommerce also allows you to integrate with Google Shopping to bring shoppers in, as well as using your product reviews to help increase ranking. The platform also integrates various marketing channels you might need for email, social media and multi-channel, and gives you access to apps to third-party platforms such as MailChimp.
BigCommerce offers a handful of options that allow users to manipulate their stores and stock, that Shopify does not. BigCommerce also has its own app programme, where storeowners can add additional features. In a nutshell, if you have big realistic plans for your online shop — BigCommerce may be the way to go. BigCommerce also has a much larger international presence than Shopify, therefore if you are based in Europe or Australia, or eventually want to expand your presence that way, BigCommerce already offers a wider set of shipping options.
The BigCommerce fee does go when you upgrade to a higher-level plan but this still puts BigCommerce on a level-playing field with other ecommerce platforms who also charge a basic transaction fee. BigCommerce also has a much lower selection of responsive theme templates only 2 out of 16 of the free themes are responsive than sites such as Shopify which is where it really falls down, considering the importance of responsiveness to Google and general user experience. A few other examples of hosted platforms include Squarespace , Volusion and Wix.
WooCommerce is fairly new to the marketplace in ecommerce years and is popular due to its easy integration with blog content management system WordPress, which you may already be familiar with. Porter and York , a website built using WooCommerce.
The 5 Most Profitable Digital Products To Sell Online
Those who are already familiar with WordPress, or wish to use it to build their website and online store. A low-cost option for small to medium businesses, but not those looking to grow to huge scale. Magneto is undoubtedly the leading platform for self-hosted ecommerce solutions and was acquired by eBay in , which goes to show what a success it has had in the online world. Mothercare IE , built in Magento. This is a well-established platform for those looking to invest in their online shop for a long time or to eventually expand into the next Amazon. With everything you need to scale and modify, it can create a unique, well-oiled place to sell your products online.
Huntington Beach Bicycle Company , built on osCommerce. As well as your own hosted and non-hosted website shop, there is also the option of an online marketplace. These are a good choice if your interest is to solely sell products, as opposed to start a business or develop a well-known brand. This is because marketplaces such as Amazon, Etsy and Ebay allow you to quickly add a catalogue of products and sell at low-cost with minimal support or background knowledge needed.
They also give you access to their wide search database and customer flow, giving you steady trade without you having to spend time or money marketing your products. If you can sell it, it can go on Ebay. This makes it an open platform for any type of online business but does make it slightly more difficult to cut through the noise and reach a specific audience.
Ebay will also allow you to sell across the world, allowing you to expand your popularity worldwide. Selling through Amazon gives your product a level of authenticity which many shop owners spend years trying to build. The fees on Amazon can be more or less than other sites, depending on if you are selling high-quantities, where you will pay a flat listing fee per month, as well as a fee based on the variable rate of what is being sold.
Generally, Amazon is chosen by most sellers as a leading place to sell products, particularly for electronics, books, DVDs and similar. Etsy is a dedicated marketplace suited to a niche group of users, primarily those who like to buy vintage or handmade items, although it has more recently extended its offering into digital products such as website themes and custom-design services.
Due to its nature, Etsy buyers often have more cash to spend and it can be a gold-mine if your product fits the target audience hint: Whereas eBay has a fairly impersonal feel, Etsy is more easily personalised and can allow a seller to setup products without any background knowledge or technical experience which can in turn, make their offering more appealing to the customer. The downside of Etsy is that as well as listing and final sale fees as seen on all marketplaces , you also have PayPal fees to contend with, which can subtract money from the total profit. I used to make guest bathroom gift baskets with all that stuff and sell them and give them as gifts to save me money on presents!
Have you ever gotten free stuff to sell? How did you acquire it? What is the item that you got for free that sold for the most? Please update this post!
I love painting furniture etc but I do not have a truck or much help to move furniture. How did you get furniture up the stairs? Did you have a lot of strong friends with trucks?
Selling just became much easier
Were you worried about strangers coming in to your house? Christie, eventually when I started painting furniture, I was in a house with a garage. I never let anyone in the house. I did all of that when I had stairs. Do you think that I could sell these beauty samples in a bundle as you did? Off of ebay, five of them together sell for fourty five dollars!
IDK if I could sell the stuff from the black friday ads, but if i could, what pointers could you give me? Then, resell lots of stuff. Also, be sure to check out Slickdeals! They are a website that shows alerts like a newsfeed for cheap stuff that you can resell or use for your family. I would love to do this but my area has a very high rate of bed bugs!
5 Trending Products to Sell Online
Was this an issue for you and how did you protect your home as well as the homes of your customers? The freezing temps should kill them. You can still resell things like furniture or plastic. I just wanted to kind of throw this out there, because in some places bed bugs are truly an epidemic; but just washing bed bug infested clothes — is not going to ensure that all of the bed bugs will be killed.
It is the high heat of the dryer that will kill them, for it least 30 minutes time. Bed bugs do not like heat, so using a steamer on them is effective too. The washing machine itself will not kill the bed bugs because bed bugs are able to survive in water, especially if the water is cold.
So remember, high heat. I have also found it is easy to make money or get what you need with free stuff. We found a full set of dining chairs, a trash bag full of tag- on baby clothes and working appliances among other things. We have both advertised and received items from the free section on Craigslist. I have free items of furniture in my house right now and they are lovely.
Give it a try ladies!
- Kochbuch der besten Lagerfeuer-Rezepte: Handbuch vom Kochen, Backen, Braten & Grillen in der Wildnis - Band 1 (German Edition)!
- Lineare Algebra.
- Erniedrigt - BDSM Geschichten (German Edition).
- Problem-Based Physiology E-Book!
- How to Get Free Stuff to Sell.
Thank you for sharing Anna. I used to give the things to my local homeless shelter that I once upon a time lived in. Sarah, you are a God send! I love your ideas about making money from home. Thank you for all you do! Payment was cash, in person. As for setting prices, it was just the market data of what things were going for on Craigslist, what others were asking for similar items.
For the most part, you look at what others are selling things for. Do Not Send Email Notifications. If you want customers to trust your site and buy from you, you have to set up your Shopify shop in the right way. Wish you could get the Cliff Notes for making money on Shopify?