Sales on the web
Do you have a product/products you want to sell?
Run a home based shop. The internet provides the
medium for selling from your own home.
For example, a friend of a friend, designed pyjamas
for kids, and set up a home based business selling
these over the internet (and ultimately to high
street retailers).
You obviously need to have the idea, and the
means to develop it, as well as enough understanding
of the retail world to make this a success.
Multi Level Marketing (MLM)
If you are not up for going it alone, there are
thousands of multi level marketing (MLM)
businesses out there that can be run
over the internet.
Please be aware of scams, and don't mistake a
Pyramid scheme for an MLM business.
Pyramid schemes are illegal. They cost people
a lot of money. You pay to join a scheme and the
only way to recoup your money is to recruit other
people to join. In contrast, a legitimate MLM
has an actual product it is selling and participants
make money two ways:
- The sale of product to a Customer (Retail
Sales)
- The recruitment of new Distributors to expand
the Distributor Network for the products (Sponsoring)
(Watch out for Pyramid schemes that include a
product that is hard to sell, as a cover for the
underlying scam.)
One example of an MLM product I have come
across recently is Xango. Our babysitter persuaded
me to buy some Xango juice - it is a fruit juice
that contains the juice of the Mangosteen fruit
which has been shown to have long term health
benefits in a wide range of areas. I bought a
bottle to try and later agreed to one a fortnight.
The babysitter's partner is a rep for Xango
juice. For every bottle he sells, he gets a commission,
and I believe he would also be compensated if
he persuaded someone else to start selling as
well.
As far as products go, if you believe the
health benefits (and my babysitter is quite passionate
about them) then this is not bad. It is a repeat
product. Unlike something like jewelry which we
only buy occasionally, once signed up, customers
could continue buying Xango juice for years.
So how do you find the right
MLM business for you?
As with Party Plan
sales, I believe that you are only going to be
successful in internet sales, if you are passionate
about the product. I'm therefore very wary of
any advert that suggests I can make lots of money,
but doesn't tell me what I'll be selling.
Please also be wary of schemes that have big
up front costs.
You need to be able to see the business in action
and try the product. If you are convinced it is
a brilliant product, you are going to be able
to sell it honestly.
If you are concerned
about scams, the website below has some useful
information:
http://www.scamwatch.gov.au
Selling on eBay
It is possible to make money buying and selling
on eBay, if you understand the marketplace and
what and when to sell.
You can also set up as an online trader with
eBay and run your own store through their website.
There have been several books written to teach
you how to make a profit using eBay. If you're
serious about it, they are worth a read.
It is easy not to make money, for example, if
you time your auction wrong. Most people don't
bid on an item until the last half hour of its
listing. If you list an item to end midweek at
school pickup time, and you are selling children's
items, you will miss a lot of your market. Sunday
evening appears to be a popular time to end an
auction, as most people are thought to be home
at that time.
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