Best 7 Ways Of Selling Online In 2024

Best 7 Ways Of Selling Online

If you want to start selling online, you will have to find the best place to sell the items you don't need anymore. Also, this place will differ based on the product you are selling online. For example, the place where electronics are sold will be different from places where homemade foods and other items, e.g., jam, dishes, etc., are put on the list of sales.

In this article, we put together major online places to sell your stuff online, 7 in total. We will also provide advantages and disadvantages of selling online. Ultimately, we will finish this article with the conclusion and dividing these methods based on two factors: whether they require a certain budget or not.

What Advantages Will You Get From Selling Online?

I know that working from home and selling your stuff online can be an amazing job, especially if you are the type of person who wants to stay in your pyjamas and make money where you are sitting using a laptop or a smartphone. In general, selling online will have the following advantages:

You save time (no commuting) and money (no expenses for lunches, gas or transport cost, parking, etc.).

If you choose this type of job, you will choose your own hours and places to work. There will be endless possibilities, and you will be the one in charge of making the choices instead of your boss.

You won’t need to be in one place, under one roof, to make your sales. In other words, your presence won’t be limited to a place or a room because you will be able to do this anywhere in the world you want.

You won’t be stuck to do things that you are not passionate about, such as working hours, selling products that you don’t know about. And hence, you don't think that you are actually wasting your time.

In online sales, however, you will be able to follow your own interest instead of someone else and do whatever you like to do. For example, you can transform your hobbies and things that you are interested in into a profitable business.

Within a brick-and-mortar company, you will need to invest in certain products to add to your inventory and spend huge money to profit from selling your products. However, you won’t need to invest in expensive materials and products that you can’t afford in online sales. Instead, you will use whatever you have to run your business. Then, you can invest in something else in the future once you are making money.

What Are The Disadvantages Of Selling Online?

Like everything in our life, starting something by ourselves will come with a few drawbacks. It is important to note that knowing these drawbacks will help you to have realistic expectations.

Since you just started your online store, it may take some time before you make your first sale. This is because few people knew you since you started your online sale, maybe your parents and friends. That's why it will take time to find your customers. So don’t be disappointed when you couldn’t make $100 on your first day.

Selling online will be much different from physical stores, and therefore, if you don’t have any knowledge or experience about selling online, you will be required to step up your game and learn more to make your online sale with ease.

Since it is your first time opening an online store, you will be on your own, and you don’t have a team to support you. It would be best to do everything else yourself, such as accounting, managing, web designing, shipping, etc. You will be the one to blame if something goes wrong. This happens because you are alone in your company for the first few months. In the beginning, you don't have enough budget to support a team of your own.

Ways Of Selling Online

Now you know the advantages and disadvantages of selling online. Are you ready to tackle this task and start your online store? In the following paragraphs, I will introduce a couple of ways you can use to sell online.

Using Known Selling Online Websites

Did you know that you can use online stores to promote and sell your products? Let’s see which companies provide such features for you:

Amazon

Well, who hasn’t heard the name of this billion-dollar company? It is actually very well known. Amazon gives you the ability to promote and sell your products in many categories. Also, if your products belong to a specialized category, you will be able to upgrade your selling plans and obtain Amazon approval to sell these products.

Amazon will charge you based on what you are selling. For example,

If you are using a standard individual selling plan, you will be required to pay 99 cents for each item sold. Also, you will be short a certain amount as a referral fee. It is important to note that the referral fee includes 8% of the total sales price.

You will be charged $1.80 for promoting your created items such as movies, videos, books, etc.

It is important to note that you better consider the professional selling plan if you want to sell more than 40 items each month, which will cost $39.99. This option will be cheaper in the long run, and you can save your money.

eBay

The second online place to sell is the market places designed by eBay. What happens on eBay is that potential buyers can bid on the product or service that you are offering. This is an auction selling your products. The highest bidder will get your products or services. What makes eBay so popular is that its fee structure is simpler than other online stores. This makes it a more favourable choice.

It is important to note that eBay selling plans for auctions are as follows:

You will be required to pay 10% of the final sales price to eBay. The final sales price also includes shipping costs. It is interesting to know that you will be exempt from paying taxes.

If the number of sales over a month exceeds 50 products or services, eBay will charge you an extra 30 cents for every additional sale above the 50 items.

Sell Your Antiques and Collectibles Via “Ruby Lane”

Well, not all people are in the business of trading antiques and collectables. However, if you have antiques and collectibles at your house that came into your possession from your ancestors or you are a collector of old coins, books, etc., you can easily display the items on “Ruby Lane,” where you can expect at least 1.80 million new visitors per month.

Please note that Ruby Lane will charge no fee for displaying your item. However, if the number of items exceeds 50, you will be required to pay an amount of $54 each month. I would also like to mention that Ruby Lane will charge you 6.7 percent of the total order price. And, like all the above websites, you will be exempt from paying taxes.

Creating Your Own Online Store

I know this one can be a little challenging, and it will take your time and energy. However, if you are a good web designer capable of providing the necessary elements to the website, a skilled content writer capable of giving what customers really want, and a capable promoter using social media platforms and other promoting methods, please don’t waste your time and put your skills to work.

>>>Please click here to read my article on How To Start Your Online Store<<<

You may wonder why an online store can help you in making extra money by selling online. Well, I am not asking you to be just like other successful online stores mentioned above, e.g., Amazon. However, if you can carry out this important task and use social media platforms to promote your website and products, you will reach out to customers not only in your area but also worldwide.

In addition to an increased number of customers, you can enjoy the following advantages of initiating your own online store:

You will have complete access to your customers' information, e.g., search & purchase history. If you wonder how search & purchase history can help, you will be able to list the products and services required by the customers and not the product they don’t need.

As mentioned above, you will be required to pay a certain fee for eBay and Amazon to do the auction and selling. However, if you own your online store, you won’t need to pay for any third party except for shipping costs, and you will keep all the profits.

You will be your own boss, and you can set your own schedule for your online selling business. Since you own this online store, you will be the only one pulling strings, and you will be the only person who is setting the rules. Sounds interesting, huh?

Promote and Selling Online By Using Social Media Platforms

No one can deny the important role of social media platforms in promoting products and services and the number of sales. Primarily, if you have a website or online store, you can use social media platforms such as YouTube, Telegram, Instagram and other platforms to promote what you’re offering and improve brand awareness.

Using social media platforms, you can actually engage with the customers directly and improve your services and goods by asking for their feedback. This way, you will make sure that your customers will always stay loyal to you, and new customers will join your growing family.

In addition, you can use social media such as Facebook and Instagram to sell your products directly and free of charge. Again, you will use them to advertise your goods. The eBay website will direct your customers to your social media to finalize the order. This way, they can chat with you online.

Please note that using social media to sell your products will be challenging because people don't know you yet, and gaining their trust will take a long time. Don’t forget to engage with your customers via posting media content desired by the customers and mention those who have purchased goods from you and bring them to the discussion.

Local and International Online Selling Stores

Trade Your Goods Using Facebook Marketplace (Local)

In October 2016, Facebook started to support those in the business of trading their goods online. For this reason, this company has created Facebook Marketplace aiming to connect people interested in trading their goods over the internet.

To realize the goal, Facebook has started its partnership with other online stores, e.g., Shopify, to simplify online merchants' presence on its platform. It is interesting to mention that you won’t be charged any money for using the Facebook Marketplace. However, you will be required to follow certain guidelines to act as a merchant on the Facebook Marketplace.

Trade Your Goods Using AliExpress (International)

It is interesting to note that more than 20 million visitors from over 230 countries are using AliExpress, a branch of Alibaba, as an International marketplace. Whether you own a company or are working individually, you can use this online store to sell your goods to both people and businesses.

As for the selling plan for AliExpress, the following plans are applied: AliExpress will charge you 5% to 8% of the total fee for each order, and this amount can vary based on the product category. There shall be no extra amount of money charged to you.

Conclusion

There has been significant growth in small businesses that prefer to sell their products and goods online. Due to this reason, we took our time and introduced you to several ways you can choose from to sell your product online. All of the above methods are challenging. However, you will be capable of doing everything you need with a little effort and time.

We also divided these methods for more convenience based on two factors: whether they require a certain budget or not. Platforms where you can sell your product online,

For free include: Facebook Marketplace, your own online store, and social media
At a certain percentage of the total order, prices include Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, and Ruby Lane.

I trust you enjoyed this article on the Best 7 Ways Of Selling Online and found it helpful. Please stay tuned for more blog posts to come. Take care!

JeannetteZ

Your Opinion Is Important To Me

Thoughts? Ideas? Questions? I would love to hear from you. Please leave your questions, experiences, remarks, and/or suggestions about The Best 7 Ways Of Selling Online in the comments section below. You can also reach me by email at Jeannette@WorkFromAnywhereInTheWorld.com.