The Future Of The Small Ecommerce Seller
Volumes have been written regarding the future of e-commerce as it relates to the “little guy”. The explosion of the internet has made millionaires and even billionaires out of dot com entreprenuers. Men and women that had a dream, and the drive to develop and execute ideas. Establishing their businesses in garages, basements, living rooms and kitchens around the world, the one thing these people have in common is that most of them started out as a one or two person operation.
One of the most frequent questions I field in my ecommerce courses is ” Can the small seller still get in and make money on the internet or is it too late?” The answer in my mind is a resounding YES, however this answer comes with caveats.
The route that many of us “old timers” took back in the late 90’s and early in the new century has become much more crowded and even gridlocked as we have moved into the new century and beyond. Back in the day as the popular saying goes, there was very little competition. The number of available venues could literally be counted on one hand. Sites such as eBay (and a FEW others) allowed the Mom & Pop sellers to market to the world and build a worldwide business. As we moved into the new century, established businesses began to take notice of the internet and the trememdous opportunities it offered to commerce.
The small sellers began facing tremendous competition as traditional Brick and Mortar (B/M) businesses started to realize the internet was not a fad, but a viable and yes necessary marketplace.
Today the Mom & Pop, as well as small and medium sellers face tremendous competition from the corporate world. To be successful, the “little Guys” must be competitive in all aspects of ecommerce marketing. From price to shipping to service and selection, the small seller needs to do it better than the corporate competition.
eBay is changing direction from the small seller to corporate accounts. Yes eBay can still be used as an integral part of marketing, but certainly should not be the only venue or channel used. Amazon.com offers a great marketing channel for larger businesses with quantity of merchandise but does not really fit those with low quantity numbers or the onsey twosey seller. Overstock.com is offering a similar service but again is more focused towards quantity sellers.
Many new marketing channels are now working hard to attract disenchanted small ebay sellers who have been disadvantaged by the eBay search changes or don’t fit into the Amazon.com type model. In order to begin a new business on the internet, sellers will have to do their research. They need to know their product, the demand for the product, and the best venues from which to market from. Knowledge is power, and having the knowledge to make an intelligent decision on how best to market your items will provide the small seller the best opportunity to succeed.
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