Seven Online Marketplace for Starting Your Online Business

If you are looking to take your business online and you need a place to sell without coughing up huge setup fees or dealing with the hassle of building your own website, the following marketplaces are a great place to start:

You have probably heard of eBay, the world's online marketplace; a place for buyers and sellers to come together and trade almost anything. But many people don't know how eBay really works?

Here's how eBay works:

A seller lists an item on eBay, most anything from antiques to cars, books to sporting goods, and even handmade good, such as, jewelry, soaps, hair accessories etc. The seller chooses to accept only bids for the item (an auction-type listing) or to offer the Buy It Now option, which allows buyers to purchase the item right away at a fixed price.

You pay an insertion fee to list an item on eBay and the fee depends on the type of goods you’re selling and whether you’re using an auction-style or fixed price format. If the item sells, you are required to pay a final value fee which is a percentage of the total sales price of the item. Different categories of items are charged a different final value.

Now, in other to buy or/and sell on eBay, you are required to register as an eBay member. You are also required to register with PayPal. PayPal is an online payment processing service that allows online merchants to accept online payments (such as, with Credit and Debit cards) for items they sell on any marketplace. To learn more about eBay and PayPal, follow the links below:

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eCRATER is both a free web store builder and an online marketplace. What this means, is that if you are a seller you can create your own free online store in minutes. You get a free online store and list all your products in a 100% free online marketplace with;

• unlimited products & categories setup
• up to 10 photos per item listed

• your own URL, and you can also import your eBay products

And because eCrater is a Google own market place. All products are submitted to Google Product Search. So your products show up when somebody search for any of your keywords. If you are a buyer you can browse and search among millions of products available for sale.

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Etsy is a website that brings together a community of creative people who make a living from making things, whether its jewelry, clothes, art work etc. This community of sellers are able to sell handmade items to interested buyers who visits this online marketplace. The company charges users a flat listing fee of $.20 cents per items listed for sale, and takes a commission of 3.5% off all items sold. Etsy provides series of workshop to its members to help improve their chance of making it in their business venture. See an Etsy store.

Bonanza is a marketplace that prides itself as a marketplace that’s focused on items that people are passionate about. You can buy and sell on Bonanza and the cost is a fraction of what you normally pay on eBay. I know this because I’ve sold on all of these marketplaces except Artfire, BluJay, and PrimMart.

The coolest thing about selling on Bonanza is that you can have real live chat while shopping, asking sellers questions about unique items, in real-time. No waiting endlessly for an answer? Also, when you sell on Bonanza, your items are automatically distributed to Google and Bing -- you don’t have to do anything!

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ArtFire is an interactive online community designed to bring together buyers and sellers of handmade goods, fine art, vintage, designed items, supplies and media. ArtFire is the fee-free e-commerce solution for all artists looking to sell their wares online.

ArtFire offers 3 types of accounts: Buyer Only, Basic Seller and Pro Seller. With a Buyer Only account, checkout is quick and easy, and you will have the ability to leave Karma and Kudos for sellers.

A Basic Seller account is free and allows you to list unlimited items (for a limited time), with up to 4 images on each item. That means no listing or re-listing fees and no final valuation fees. This account lets you sell your items without ever paying a dime and comes with site perks such as, automatic Google Base submission of your products and Google Analytics stats on your listings.

The Pro Membership allows you unlimited listings with up to 10 images on each listing. You are also able to participate in Guilds, Artisan Councils, and utilize the Market Hub tool. You will be able to customize your shop template, use the Facebook kiosk, create coupon codes and gift certificates, edit all your products easily with our Global Product Editor, and earn artifacts and much more! There is a monthly fee of about $9.98 per month charged for this account.

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Other online marketplaces are:

BluJay is a 100% free online classified marketplace where you can buy and list items for sale for free. Sellers can post unlimited ads, 4 photos per ad, with no listing expiration all for free. And every BluJay member gets an online web store to showcase their items.

Prim Mart is the largest marketplace devoted to primitive arts and crafts! Here you’ll find hundreds of talented artists and crafters from around the world selling products such as handcrafted quilts, dolls, grubby candles, saltbox houses, and more! Prim Mart’s membership is FREE!

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Did I say seven? Well, make that eight, because there's a new sheriff in town. A brand new online marketplace where you can buy your favorite things, and sell your wares, the name is Lilyshop.

Lilyshop is an online marketplace similar in setup to etsy. Buyers can buy anything from handmade crafts to home décor, bridal accessories, jewelries, and even pastries. It is fast becoming popular as an online platform for those who want to share their own creations.

More and more business owners, big and small, are going online to increase exposure to their brand, and create leads for their business. No doubt, an online presence is a great way to promote your small business. But, if you think selling online is not for you, you can always start small, from your home. How?

• Tell your neighbors
• Give out free samples of your wares during family gatherings, and special occasions.
• Advertise your wares by posting pictures of what you do on social networks. You're already there, why not take advantage of it.

I do hope this bit of information helps you to make a decision on where to start your online selling business, if that is your goal.

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Author: Comfort Babatola - © 2013