| Sell your own products on the internet paves the way for small, home-based Internet businesses to carve out our own chunk of the multi-billion dollar ECommerce pie. Ecommerce is riding a wave that won’t break, no matter what the talking heads say. If anything, it's going to get bigger. There is money to be made, and plenty to go around.
How, though, can you even start your own internet business when you may not even know how to get past the "Start" button on your computer? Even if you are an experienced computer user, most people don't know what a Merchant Account is, or how to write HTML to build a storefront. Where’s the starting point? Where can you go and stand on a big black "X" on the ground and say, "This is the FIRST thing I need to do in order to start my online business"?
Be careful! There are a lot of companies out there who tell you they will help you set up your new internet business. While some of them are legitimate, there are LOTS of scam artists as well, who are HOPING that you don’t know where to start. They will prey on you. They’ll tell you that you don’t have to know ANYTHING. They’ll say that all you have to do is send them a few hundred dollars (or even as little as thirty or forty dollars) and all will be magically revealed. Your new store will appear like a rabbit out of a hat, and they will handle everything, from the storefront to the bank accounts to the products you will sell.
Why do they do it? Why do these scam artists go to all the trouble of setting this whole thing up? Because:
- It looks GOOD to you. Everything in one place, for one fee. Internet Store, ready-made Products, Marketing Tips and Information, Promises to bring thousands of customers to your store. All in one place for one "setup fee", and "reasonable" monthly payments. You hardly have to do ANYTHING!
- It's EASY for them. All they have to do is create ONE web site, and duplicate it thousands of times, one per customer. Then they simply take your money, plug in your name, and they're done!
They don't care if you EVER sell a single product. Most of them don't stock those products anyway. They simply have a "drop shipping" arrangement with the REAL wholesale supplier. If you ever DO sell something, all they have to do is send an email to the REAL supplier, and have the product sent to your customer. (Of course, they make a profit on THAT, too).
They make it look as easy as possible to you, hoping you’ll send them your money. Then all they have to do is click a few buttons and hook you up with a useless Internet Store that SEEMS to work. While you’re trying to figure out (a) why your "store" doesn’t make any money, and (b) why you suddenly can’t get ahold of the magician who sold you your “store” and disappeared, said magician will be whistling a happy tune all the way to the bank. With YOUR money.
Don’t let it happen! Here’s my number one rule concerning the internet business: If it seems too good to be true, it IS too good to be true! Please take my advice and think it twice before you decide to start any small internet business.
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