How to make money selling stuff online

How to make money selling stuff online

How to Make Money Selling Things Online?

Buying and selling online- or eCommerce- in India will cross the UD$84 billion mark by 2021, says a joint report by Deloitte India and Retail Association of India. The rising popularity of smartphones and inexpensive Internet packages will be the main drivers of this growth, the report entitled ‘Unravelling the Indian Consumer’ further says.

Whether you’re an individual or small enterprise that wants to expand the business, eCommerce is the best way to make money selling things online. You can also take a slice of this US$84 billion pie that’s up for grabs.

Selling Online

There’re several ways you can sell things online. It depends on what you wish to sell, your target customers and of course, the infrastructure you have. Above all, it also depends upon your budget or how much you’re willing to invest in selling things online.

The Internet offers several excellent avenues to make money online. These opportunities are available to any craftsperson, small or large business owner, blogger, writer, medicine and engineering professionals and almost everyone.

Therefore, I’ll show you how to make money selling things online.

Making Money by Selling Things Online

As I mention, almost everyone can sell almost everything online to make money. Therefore, let’s explore different ways to make money selling things online.

1) Start Own Online Store

Here I’m not implying you start something like Amazon or eBay. Instead, you can easily open a small online store easily either free or by investing small amount of money. Online resources such as Facebook Marketplace allow you to make money selling things online. Facebook Marketplace is ideal if you’re looking for local customers.

If you’re looking at customers around the world or even in your own country, opt for Shopify, Etsy or similar resources. You can try these websites for free, for a limited period.

Shopify, Etsy and others enable you to open own online marketplace with the unique name where you can make money selling things online.

2) Seller on Amazon, Flipkart, Facebook

Regardless whether you’re home-based craftsperson or own a small business, register as seller on Amazon, Flipkart, eBay and other large online retailers. Once your registration is successful, you get own dashboard on their portals. Here, you can upload product pictures, brief description, price and other details.

However, Amazon, Flipkart, eBay and others charge a small commission for selling your product. However, you can make money selling things online to a very large customer base.

Or you can also try Facebook Business. This is a special service from Facebook for enterprises small and large. You’ll have to pay a nominal fee to sell things online by creating a Facebook Business page. Considering that Facebook reaches over 2.41 billion users, you can imagine how many people will view and might buy your stuff.

3) Open Own Website

This is yet another option to make money selling things online. Nowadays, a domain name with hosting and other essentials costs as low as Rs.5.000 per year. You can buy a domain name of choice and create own online store. Since it’s your own website, there’re no limitations on what you can sell and how.

To sell online through own website, you’ll have to ensure the website is secure. Also, you’ll have to learn digital marketing or hire a digital marketer to ensure your website attracts potential buyers.

A good digital marketer can also help analyse data from your website and enable you to generate the highest possible leads that can convert as customers.

4) Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is the simplest way to make money. However, you’ll need a website or blog to make money selling things online as an affiliate marketer. Sign up as affiliate marketer for programs such as Amazon Associates. Upon successful registration, you’ll get a dashboard and other resources free. You can select things that are sold on Amazon and create affiliate links. You have to post these affiliate links on your blog or website.

Whenever anyone clicks on your affiliate link and buys something, Amazon pays you commission ranging between two and 18% of the cost price. This means you’re not manufacturing and selling own stuff. Instead, you’re making money selling things from other companies and suppliers. Affiliate marketing is very popular among bloggers and website owners.

5) Dropshipping

Dropshipping isn’t very popular in India. That’s because most people are unaware of how it works. To become a dropshipper, you’ll have to set up own marketplace or website. Again, you’ll not be selling own products online.  Instead, you’ll be selling things bought at wholesale prices from suppliers worldwide. Alibaba.com is one such excellent website where you can find suppliers.

You have to agree over the price with these suppliers. You can also make your own unique brand with these products. Once you have these essentials in place, post pictures, description and price on your website. When anyone places an order, you’ll forward the same to the supplier and make a payment. However, you keep the difference between your price and that of the supplier as your profit. Usually, the supplier ships it to the customer directly. You’ll need a proper returns policy to enter dropshipping business.

6) Trading Used Stuff

Millions of people worldwide make a lot of money selling used things online. In India, we have very popular websites such as OLX.com and Quikr.com. You’ll have to register here as a seller and pay a small fee to get a proper used goods marketplace. There are two ways to make money selling things online through OLX.com and Quikr.com. It’s possible to sell new stuff or used things.

Regardless of what you’re selling online through OLX.com or Quikr.com and similar websites, beware of frauds. There’re several scams where fake buyers lure a seller to part with cash and the things instead of paying and buying the product. You can read FAQs on these websites to learn more about scams that affect sellers and how to avoid them.

Important Tips to Sell Online

Before you start making money by selling things online, follow these important tips. Firstly, identify your market. The next thing is setting up a payments system, unless you’re selling through Amazon, Flipkart, eBay and similar online giants.

Calculate shipping costs and add them to your price. Also have an excellent returns and customer care policy, if you’re serious about the business.

And finally, stay in touch with customers through various means such as apps, email and social media posts.

Conclusion

It’s also possible to make money selling things online such as study courses, homemade products, books and poems you write and lots more. Also utilize free and paid resources including LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and others to ensure your stuff is seen by the highest number of people.

What can I sell online to make money?

What can I sell to make money from home easily?.
Sell old clothes. If you have some clothing that's in decent condition, but you no longer wear it, try selling it. ... .
Make jewelry. ... .
Repurpose old phones. ... .
Make decorative coffee mugs. ... .
Make t-shirts. ... .
Sell furniture. ... .
Create planners or PDFs. ... .
Get paid to write..

What can I sell to make money fast?

What Can You Sell to Make Money Fast?.
Old clothes. If you're looking for things to sell to make quick cash, your clothes just might top the list. ... .
Sneakers. Have some cool sneakers you want to get rid of? ... .
Jewelry. ... .
Watches. ... .
Your wedding dress. ... .
Baby items. ... .
Home décor items. ... .
Holiday decorations..

What is the most profitable way to make money online?

If you're looking for ways to make money online then you've come to the right place. In this article, you'll discover the top 7 ways anybody can generate income online..
Affiliate Marketing. ... .
Selling on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Cragslist. ... .
Blogging. ... .
Niche E-commerce. ... .
Your Own YouTube Channel. ... .
Selling E-books. ... .
Develop Apps..

How can beginners make money online?

How to make money online as a beginner.
Get involved in market research. ... .
Become an online tutor. ... .
Sell your clothes and other belongings. ... .
Become an affiliate for your favorite products. ... .
Start a dropshipping business. ... .
Transcribe recordings. ... .
Rent out your stuff..