There’s no doubt in anyones mind that the Internet has revolutionized the way in which we live our lives. Nearly everything you can imagine is a simple point and click away from any person (over 1 billion) with a computer and Internet access. Technologies like email and Online chat have taken the place of snail mail and phone conversation. If you want information about a particular topic, it’s just a matter of typing in a few words and a millions of pages appear to show you more about what you searched for. The Internet has made it much easier to access information about a nearly infinite number of topics.

Most of all, we have seen the Internet change the way in which consumers shop and buy the items they like. Online shopping has become increasingly popular since eCommerce first began and industry trends do not show any signs of this trend slowing down any time soon. There is a lot of opportunity to make money through selling Online. eBusinesses often have a better chance of success due to the low overhead and broad customer reach. It’s challenging to be successful selling Online as competition across nearly every major market has made top search engine rankings a necessity for successful eRetailers. In addition, more and more merchants are becoming familiar with search engine marketing and optimization techniques making it ever more difficult to compete within search engines. Knowing how the Internet and Online business works will be an integral part of starting your own eCommerce business.

One of the first steps you will need to take upon entering into the world of eCommerce will be deciding on and finding the products, services or goods that you are going to sell Online. It is also one of the most challenging steps along the way to becoming a successful Online entrepreneur. Deciding which products to sell is a challenge in any business, however it can be even more difficult to decide what to sell Online since many things can’t be sold on the Web, would not be profitable to sell or it wouldn’t make sense to sell Online (such as items with a high cost to weight ratio). In addition, many merchants have found that some product markets are just to saturated or already have too many big corporations selling in them to effectively compete or make a name for themselves.

There are many things to consider before deciding on which products you are eventually going to sell Online. Can you make money off the products? How much do I need to sell to reach profit goals? Can they be easily sold Online? Are they legal to sell Online? Do I have interest in the products? These are all things that should be considered before you actually invest time, effort and money into a product or niche industry to sell in.

It is important, especially for new merchants, to start off slowly and really plan things out well when determining your product or niche market. Typically, finding your product niche begins with determining whether or not the product is a good fit for you personally. You may initially get into selling something solely for the profit that can potentially be made, but eventually you will need to know about the products inside and out. If they are not products that personally interest you it may cause issues later on during customer service and marketing processes. It is best to find a product that genuinely interest you or that you have passion for, that way you won’t have any issues spending the time it will take learning everything there is to know about what you sell, who you sell to and who is competing with you. The product should fit well with you, but at the same time you should fit well with the product or niche industry.

Basically, drop shipping can be defined as the shipping of goods or merchandise directly from a supplier to a merchant’s customer without ever being inventoried, handled or packaged by the merchant. The drop ship process can potentially minimize the merchant’s inventory, can reduce certain administrative costs and may even introduce the supplier to a newer untapped market.

Drop shipping occurs when the merchant displays and markets their products, attracts customers, receives orders and directs the sale on to a supplier who then ships the merchandise directly to the customer. A common concern and issue for merchants who use drop shippers is that there many be many other Online sellers using the same supplier or drop ship company. Using the same product source as hundreds or thousands of other merchants can make establishing a niche more difficult. It can also mean you will be competing directly with many other merchants, meaning the market is typically more saturated.

Finding product sources is the process used to locate individual suppliers that you can buy merchandise from at the lowest possible end cost to you. No matter what kind of items you sell, generally you’ll still have to go through the necessary steps to find your best sources. Sources for products that can be purchased directly from suppliers can include a drop shipper, manufacturer or independent distributor. Even if you decide to manufacture your own products, you’ll still need to find sources for the supplies required to manufacture the items yourself. Begin by choosing the method that works best for you and your business.

• Drop Shipper (wholesaler, distributor)
• Manufacturer (supplier, vendor)
• Make Them Yourself (you are the source)

For obvious reasons certain products are better to sell Online than others. There aren’t any specific guidelines as to what can and cannot be sold, but of course, you will want to abide by all current laws governing Online product sales. Smaller, light weight products are generally the best types of items to sell since they are usually easier to ship and you don’t have to worry about the complicated shipping calculations that typically come along with larger items, but some smaller items should also be avoided.

Generally, items that should be avoided will fall into one of two categories; items that simply won’t sell through the Web or items that cannot be sold Online (whether it is against the law or it is physically impossible to sell them).

If you are familiar with running a business that sells goods and/or services, chances are you already know what a tax ID number is and may even already have one for your eBusiness. New eBusiness owners should be aware what a tax Id number is, why you need one and how to obtain one for your new business.

What is a Tax Identification Number?

Tax ID numbers, also called an Employer Identification Number (EIN), is a special identifying number assigned solely to businesses by the IRS. Your tax ID number is used to identify your business to several federal agencies responsible for the regulation of business, both Online and Offline.

Many merchant accounts, banks and other financial institutions require a tax ID in order to utilize their services. Tax ID’s can also keep your social security information private as many institutions who request tax ID’s will also accept personal social security and banking information as an option (which has to be used unless the business has a tax ID).