Perhaps, this is one of the most brutal myths on the Internet – the statement that for success in the online trade is enough to lay out the goods and wait for the first buyer to contact you.
Of course, if you just want to monetize your hobby, this option is just right for you. But seriously call the showcase with goods online store is not worth it.
Social networks – it’s free and a lot of buyers!
Everything is super simple, free of charge (yes, of course), fast, and also in VKontakte and Instagram there are potential buyers and unicorns living in schools.
Simple and fast?
If you have a ready YML-file with all the information about the goods in the store, everything will be really simple – but with the help of paid services. If not, you have a lot of manual work to do. Well, if you have a couple of dozens of goods, and if a couple of hundreds or thousands?
I would also like the information about availability and cost of goods to be updated automatically – and it is possible! However, for this, a surprise surprise, you need the main one – the real one!
You will have to deal with Instagram (if you can call it a shop at all). First of all, the photos are not loaded from the desktop for nothing, you need applications or extensions for your browser. It seems not so difficult, but it does not always work smoothly. You won’t be able to load 50 items, all one at a time, or through services (often for a fee).
Free of charge?
Well, yes, as it were. Except for the time (a lot of time), the money for the promotion of the page and the constant infusion of advertising in VKontakte or Instagram. And without this, you with your free page no one will see. Plus the costs of the services mentioned above, which will make your page at least look like a shop window.
Crowds of buyers?
Crowds – yes, but they do not go to the social network for shopping. Yes, there are groups of products that are quite successfully sold through VKontakte, Facebook, Instagram and even Odnoklassniki, but all this requires daily active work. And the profit from the cute little things that attract visitors to social networks, is not comparable to the speed of a normal online store.
Unicorns?
And other magical animals. For example, there is a great chance to meet those who take away potential customers as soon as there is a comment to the product. Vzhukh – and it’s ready. Correspondence in the person you do not block.
What else?
And in Instagram, and in VKontakte you are waiting for manual processing of orders, the lack of integration with 1C or the cost of service integration, the inability to sell in Yandex.Market, the limited capacity of the site
And most importantly, the rules can be changed at any time. Keeping the main content on social networks is a rather risky idea. Any social network can be blocked, remember LinkedIn and Slideshare.
Facebook and Instagram are in a special risk group, and Roskomnadzor does not always have everything smooth with American sites. In addition, any social network can change the rules on the go, and what was easy and free can suddenly become difficult and toll-free.
And in order to leave and take your goods and collected contacts of clients with you, you need to have your own base – where to carry them. That is, a normal online store.
Register on the bulletin board! No, it is better on three!
There is another way to quickly make a showcase and start selling (let’s not call it an online store, let’s not deceive ourselves) – you can put the goods on the notice board.
Once it could be a good marketing plan. When it was impossible to quickly and inexpensively make a site (or at least Lending on the knee in one day).
Now it is difficult to find the reason why instead of developing your own website you should invest in Avito, Tiu, etc. What do they promise? Low prices, ready to buy a crowd of visitors, the position in the issue, fast moderation, the possibility of individual design of the store … Let’s follow the same scheme of questions and answers.
Low prices?
But the matter is not so much in the tariffs themselves, but in a huge number of additional payments. No, you are not forced to buy these services – however, the chance to sell something at the same time is dramatically reduced.
In addition to that, in order to keep your trading “in tune”, you will have to perform a lot of routine actions: write hundreds of ads, prepare dozens of photos. All this is either your time, and it is not infinite, or the services of freelancers. And they are also not free.
Hot lids?
Everything here is complicated. On the one hand, on the same Avito there are a lot of freeloaders. Buyers try to bargain for every ruble, even when it is obvious that this is the price of the store, not someone else’s individual offer.
Position in the issue?
Bulletin boards are really well ranked. Due to your content. It turns out that you not only pay the site for placement, but also invest in its development (unique descriptions, photos, reviews, etc.) you decide.
Fast moderation?
Look at reviews or forums where those who had experience with posting on bulletin boards communicate. There you can learn a lot about the principles of moderation. If briefly, it creates a feeling of Russian roulette. Announcements and accounts can be banned for anything (including “accidentally”).
Individual design?
If the possibility to repaint the hat in another color and swap a couple of blocks can be called a unique design – yes, this option is available.
What’s the next step?
And then there’s the bright future of your online store and the orders that come in packs. Not without sleepless nights, but exactly under your complete control. Invest in the development of your own resource, and do not promote other people’s sites.
Do not waste time and money on “temporary” solutions and supposedly free undeveloped sites. If so far bad with the budget, try the cloud with a monthly subscription fee, and if everything goes well – move the site to your own hosting.