Questions related to buy and selling of products or services via electronic means.
20
votes
17answers
4k views
What is the best merchant processing solution? [closed]
If you want to take credit card orders (or pre-orders), what is the best merchant processing solution?
I've heard the PayPal and Google Checkout will freeze your funds if even a single person ...
13
votes
4answers
609 views
Already 120,000 monthly visitors but almost no revenue
I am starting to get very frustrated, after 2 yrs of crazy amounts of work and $70K invested and having my website online for 1 yr I already have 120,000 monthly visitors but still can't monetize the ...
8
votes
9answers
854 views
Looking for an elegant and basic ecommerce solution
I am looking for a low cost, low volume, and very simple to setup/use ecommerce solution for a friend to sell home made goods (e.g. photo boards and knitted scarfs). There is likely to be little ...
8
votes
6answers
589 views
Using Paypal for accepting online payments
Reading posts on this site I came accross the strong advice for any serious business to stay away from Paypal as an instrument for accepting online payments. On the other hand lots and lots of online ...
8
votes
2answers
270 views
Is selling on Amazon.com a good idea?
I am wondering if anybody in the community has experience with Amazon.com's merchant programs, and whether or not they are a boon or a negative factor to a growing e-retail business. They have been ...
7
votes
5answers
384 views
considering changing from hobby to business… but how?
I would like to change my hobby of making treats for my dogs to a small side business that I can sell dog treats online (like a bakery) but I am not sure where to begin or what all I need to do to ...
6
votes
8answers
2k views
Any experience with StartSSL class 2 certs?
I am interested in buying a cert to sign my binaries as well as web server cert. https://www.startssl.com/?app=2 seems to provide it at decent price, but I am not sure if this is a reliable company.
...
6
votes
1answer
615 views
How To Open US Business Bank Account For LLC Without Going to US
Recently opened a LLC in USA, I am non-US citizen, do not live in USA, we are running an ecommerce business, now we need to open a business bank account for this LLC without physically walking into ...
6
votes
1answer
363 views
Automated recurring billing systems Paypal vs others
We have today paypal integration, which was very simple, one time purchase.
Now we want to into recurring payment model and charge users on monthly or yearly basis. We would also allow users to buy ...
5
votes
11answers
486 views
What are the most important variables you would look for on a website selling engagement rings to convince you to trust the retailer?
I am hoping this question will start a conversation on trust in e-commerce, in particular for e-tailers selling high value items where this is very important. By "trust" I am referring to:
trust ...
5
votes
5answers
238 views
Choosing a URL: balancing a bad name with a great URL vs. a great name with a bad URL
Assume I've made a (hypothetical) online game where you equip two cats that rule small feifdoms, and they fight each other. I haven't done this! It's just an example. But say I did this, and I wanted ...
5
votes
7answers
318 views
How can eCommerce (catalog) sites increase conversions?
How can sites that sell consumer goods in catalog eCommerce shopping cart websites improve conversions? Would love to hear your tips on what you feel would encourage users from simply searching for a ...
5
votes
3answers
199 views
When does it make sense to use an automated Affiliate Sales Platform?
I am working with a client on the launch of their company. Yeah!
They would like to use ClickBank as a platform for selling membership in their online resource center. We would be supporting this ...
5
votes
1answer
136 views
Taking payment for products you are not providing
I'm wondering how companies operate that take credit card payment for products they are not providing.
For instance, half.com allows users to sell their books through their website. Buyers can ...
4
votes
9answers
1k views
Would you (Java Developer) learn PHP? if management decided opensource (PHP) projects could fulfill business requirements
(Apologies for the long post. I'm really keen to get sound and balanced advise. The only way to do that is to provide you with a good overview of the situation.. :) ..)
I would like to say upfront ...
4
votes
7answers
359 views
Advertising for my ecommerce startup
We are an ecommerce startup into online services in India and are looking for ways to advertise ourselves. Is google adword or facebook ad a good choice? Also does getting big time into social media ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Do I need 1099-MISC forms for someone paid via paypal?
If I pay someone via paypal, do I still have to fill in the 1099 and/or w forms?
4
votes
6answers
266 views
What is the best invoicing tool you have discovered? [closed]
We're running an online store of electronic devices, and we need to start creating invoices for our clients.
What is the best invoicing tool you have discovered?
4
votes
3answers
131 views
Do we still need to have our own ecommerce website?
8 months ago, my wife and I were starting to build our own business. We didn't create our own products, at least not yet for now, what we do is just reselling others product.
We didn't open offline ...
4
votes
2answers
142 views
income in paypal
Does income in my paypal account need to be declared for tax purposes, or does it just have to be declared for tax purposes if I transfer my paypal funds to a real bank account?
4
votes
4answers
231 views
Should I change my domain name if there is a company with the same name?
I recently registered a co.uk domain name which I was hoping to use as the site for an e-commerce business. After registering I checked companies house and found there is already a registered Ltd. ...
4
votes
3answers
473 views
Legal restrictions and tax regulations in global ecommerce
Currently, with all the power the Internet provides, it's relatively easy to start online business. There are no obvious restrictions on the process. A business from almost any location can sell ...
4
votes
3answers
143 views
If your startups is in B2C space, then how to get feedback from users before building product?
We are in B2C space creating a product for consumers. I'm wondering how can we engage average users to get feedback? What would be our starting point?
Thanks,
Gagan
4
votes
4answers
593 views
Small business multi-channel ecommerce solution needed
I'm involved in a three-person start-up, selling physical products on the web via:
Our eCommerce store (either a high-end hosted cart (Lemon Stand? 3dcart?), or a cart we'll host ourselves ...
4
votes
1answer
75 views
What do you do about known payment fraud?
As someone that's sold services and webapp subscriptions online for about 8 years now, I've seen a lot of payment fraud, mostly in the form of signing up with stolen credit card numbers. I've managed ...
4
votes
2answers
268 views
What effect(s) does Google's Panda 2.5 update have on new websites in the SERP?
I recently launched 3 websites (within the past 7-10 months) that had been steadily increasing in the rankings on Google search up until this past weekend, when I noticed a huge drop across most of my ...
4
votes
1answer
214 views
Foreigner opening online store in the USA
I'm from Europe, don't plan to move to the USA
I will open an ONLINE store ONLY (no physical stores)
Goods will be imported from Europe
Shipping will be handled by the fulfillment company
I am ...
4
votes
5answers
362 views
Starting an Online E-commerce business
Currently, I am working as a Web Developer and looking to start an online business in my spare time.
My Project is to create an ecommerce website, initially in the UK, for the latest mens and womens ...
3
votes
3answers
965 views
Is it legal to make/sell candy from home?
My wife is really getting into making hard candy from home, including cough drops. She's wanting to start selling them on Etsy. But, we're having trouble finding any information on whether or not it's ...
3
votes
4answers
194 views
Putting limits to technical support for software services, is it good?
I have recently established a company to sell ecommerce software as SaaS. There are some leads that request proposals from me. I am in a dilemma. There are two risks that I want to avoid:
I want to ...
3
votes
6answers
270 views
Struggling with the timing of our website
We have just completed our first prototype and are now considering the online introduction process. Of course we are united as a company in the belief that we have a buzz worthy and remarkable ...
3
votes
4answers
470 views
Should I get a .co or .com?
I'm currently deciding if I should get a domain name of my 1st choice but with a .co (instead of a .com) or if I should get a less preferred domain name with a .com (because my 1st choice of .com is ...
3
votes
5answers
654 views
How do I find good developers to join a start-up on a low-budget
Im located in Minneapolis,Mn. Im starting up an online business here in U.S with market focus in Africa.Im building an e-commerce (auction) site for the growing African savvy internet users.
I am ...
3
votes
2answers
202 views
How to declare income when most/all your income comes from Paypal?
How do I declare my income if all of it comes from paypal ? Most accountants in Portugal (where I live and where this company will be based) don't know how it works... Do I declare it only when I ...
3
votes
2answers
664 views
How can a company prevent or protect themselves against post-delivery fraud?
How can a compay selling high-value products protect themselves against post-delivery fraud (including but not limited to returns fraud)?
Can we insure ourselves against fraud or somehow pass on the ...
3
votes
3answers
218 views
Even after 1 year, the ecommerce site isn't showing good results
Last year around august, I joined an eCommerce start-up(handicraft items) as the technical head. Though, the company was online for more than 4 months prior to me.
The website look and feel was ...
3
votes
7answers
248 views
What do you build in your e-commerce site to gain consumer trust?
I'm co-founding a start-up that is developing an e-commerce app. We're trying to decide what features to build in that shoppers would expect to see in order to feel comfortable submitting credit card ...
3
votes
3answers
177 views
Do you FreshBooks?
Part of my startup is client work, and one client suggested using FreshBooks to handle the billing. Any opinions on this service? Is it worth it for the premium app?
3
votes
2answers
246 views
Is There A Recommended Method for Software Protection?
What method of software protection do you recommend simply to make sure your software is not too easy to use without paying, but is not too annoying for honest paying customers?
3
votes
5answers
677 views
Selling products online in the US from India
My Business is to have an to sell products online (online store). My business name has just been approved and I have also purchased the company desired domain. I am in the process of taking my first ...
3
votes
4answers
332 views
e-commerce store using wordpress
I am considering setting up a e-commerce store for a friend's retailing shop. What I am interested in is a solution that is easy to maintain in terms of administration (insert new products, new ...
3
votes
4answers
318 views
Is there a service like chargify that will do recurring billing, but allows variable monthly charges?
This is a hypothetical question, but say I run an email hosting service and I want to charge my customer a fee per month for each email account that he has set up. Let's say that the email accounts ...
3
votes
2answers
362 views
Your experiences outsourcing product fulfillment?
I am looking for feedback from people who outsource their product fulfillment on the pros and cons of their service providers! I think the information will be helpful to the community. What should ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views
Has anyone had any experience with GoCardless?
Has anyone had any experience using UK startup GoCardless for only payment processing?
Get paid directly from your customers’ bank accounts. No merchant account. No credit card fees. No hassle.
...
3
votes
1answer
200 views
Small consultancy - first .NET software product out. Advice on release, marketing and selling?
About a year ago I set up a Ltd company to provide IT/Software consultancy to various firms in and around London, UK. This has been going very well and I just completed my first full years accounts ...
3
votes
1answer
543 views
Do I need a resellers permit when selling online in the US, from a company outside of the US?
I have a New Zealand based company. I sell items online. I am setting up a new website in the states that customers will buy from. My supplier (in the US) will send directly to the customer (in the ...
3
votes
3answers
549 views
Show competitors prices on e-commerce site, legal issues?
I am starting an ecommerce site selling electronics in the UK. I belive I can compete with price against others in this field, and was considering have a 'price compare' table on the product pages ...
3
votes
3answers
174 views
If one sells ecommerce software, do you HAVE to be PCI compliant at this point?
If one sells ecommerce software, do you HAVE to be PCI compliant at this point?
I read it costs upwards of 40K to get your ecomm software PCI compliant.
And some of the requirements have things like ...
3
votes
2answers
158 views
How can I take refundable deposits online?
I am looking to provide rental items online, however it is important that I can take a deposit that will be returned after the usage of the item. I am aware of capture delay although my understanding ...
3
votes
2answers
239 views
Charging U.S. sales taxes on product purchased online and sold from foreign location
We are building an online application that will allow users to create and purchase high-quality typographic logos and business cards. The application is taking a while to develop so we've decided to ...
