newb- Going to start online biz but has questions

[Crash]

I'd imagine that quite a bit of what I will ask in this post has been answered before so I apologize, but I would greatly appreciate it if someone could provide me with some answers. Also, this will probably be kinda long so thanks to anyone that takes the time to read through it.

I'm interested in creating a online business selling electronics and by way of a website and dropshippers. I've heard that electronics arnt the best thing to get into right now since that market is saturated, but there is a large market for it and it seems that the majority of the competition is on ebay or on small user made stores on yahoo. Anything else I can think of doing would need a physical store to be successful and I being 18 and a college freshman I have either the time nor money to run a real store.

So far I have registered a domain and I am not sure what to do next. As far as I know I need to get hosting, make a website, get a tax ID and get an internet merchant account.

Ok, well my main problem lies in making the website. I know dreamweaver, photoshop, fireworks, etc., so creating a template is no problem for me its just the whole product database, shopping cart, checkout, stuff that confuses me. It is to my understanding that the current shopping cart software do just about everything for you. So what exactly will shopping cart software do for me and what should I be doing right now? Also, could someone recommend a good cart software. I would prefer it to be cheap or free but I dont want something with a ton of holes in it.

Another thing I am concerned about is returns and chargebacks. Since i am using dropshippers it would be very difficult for me to allow returns. The item would have to go from the consumer to me then to the dropshipper which would cost an insane amount in shipping. And then from what I have read, chargebacks come with a hefty fee aswell.

Finally, I'm concerned about the legalities involved with such a business. What do I have to do for my website to be recognized as a registered business. Do I even need to get a Tax ID? What else do i need to get? BTW i live in the state of Florida.

Ok, thats about all I can think of right now
Thanks for reading

[roban]

Hi Crash and welcome to the forum.

There are plenty of free ecommerce shops around. A good shared hosting account like Bluehost, has these shops as an auto install. My cart of choice is Cube Cart and there is OSCommerce and Zen Cart to name a couple. You might as well start with one of those as they contain all the templates, shipping and payment gateway information you will need to get yourself up and running. All you need to supply are images, product descriptions and prices. Drop shippers are available as well if you do a search for them. Don't pay to sell someone elses products, there are pleanty of free drop ship programs available. DO YOUR RESEARCH!

For a business you will need to register with your local government. A sole proprietorship would be your best bet as it's easy, quick and cheap. It will probably cost you arount $35.00 and you can't open a business bank account without one nor can you use certain payment gateways like Pay Pal Express or Pro, Authorize.net or several others. Besides you want to instill confidence in your potential buyers and being legal goes a long way towrds doing just that. If you are a sole proprietor, your social security number becomes your tax ID.

Don't worry about charge backs. Most companies have return policies and if they don't, you don't want to deal with them.

Any other questions and I'll be glad to help you. I can be found on MSN, Yahoo and ICQ.

[autoecart]

Host Department also offers a good ecommerce package and has unlimited storage and bandwidth and gives you two free SQL databases.

[lindaruffell]

Hi!

Chosen a tough job: selling electronics online! i agree there are too many players out there and you will have create a market for yourself.

Do you have any work experience? Online business needs little cash flow but you need to clear a lot other things like how to get traffic, promotion of your website, legal stuff,etc.

You are young... why don't you join some online school which will teach you the aspects of marketing online, SEO for your website, create or develop a niche market, and much more...help you become a better and a successful entrepenuer... just a thought!

[TipPro]

Don't worry about the market, since your young this will be a great experience for you. Most likely this venture will not allow you to retire young but it will teach you how to put together an ecommerce business. So when a good idea for an ecommerce business does hit you, you will be ready for it.

[Crash]

Don't worry about the market, since your young this will be a great experience for you. Most likely this venture will not allow you to retire young but it will teach you how to put together an ecommerce business. So when a good idea for an ecommerce business does hit you, you will be ready for it.

That is basically exactly what I have been thinking so I'm glad you posted. I figure that I probably wont make much or anything but atleast I'll gain some experience and be able to put on a resume that i manage my own online business. So aslong as i dont lose much money and I learn a thing or 2 I'm perfectly happy.

[dropshipman]

You seem to be on the right track in starting your online biz, but i have a genuine concern for you starting with selling electronics. It will be very, very tough for you to start out competiting in that market using dropshippers, basically, there are tons of people online selling electronics... ipods, cellphones, etc. and I can guarantee you that no matter how low you price your products, someone out there will beat you and since you're just starting out, find a niche, specific market product that not many people have but only a few people want.
That's how i started, and it worked....

[rosep]

Way to go, Crash ! Good for you for starting an online business. Electronics are a tough sell as mentioned by others but maybe you may have an unique product noone else has thought off. Setting up a website is one thing, promoting and driving traffic to your site is another. If capital is an issue right now, maybe you could start an online business where a website is provided for you at a reasonable cost and a mentor shows you how you can promote it. Once you understand how the marketing works, you can then set up your own website for your electronics. Just a suggestion.

[toniaxp]

Electronics are a fierce market on the internet since there is so much money to be made from them. If you are going to go for it though might I suggest targeting one specific area to start with as it might be less work than promoting 20 different types of electronics try to be a specialty store such as just dvd/cd players or just tv's