One of the major reasons that people use 3rd party sites to sell is that it's far easier to use someone else's format and templates to get a site live faster than to try to figure out how to do it on your own.
Even though website programming has gotten a lot easier, it can still be a steep learning curve for someone who has never dealt with HTML or templates before.
If they don't want to take the time to learn, many 3rd party sites are extremely user- friendly and have a working staff that can help people to get their stores up in record time.
POPULAR 3RD PARTY SITES
We'll discuss more in detail a number of 3rd party sites that others have found user-friendly and easy to get started selling online.
You probably have heard of eBay.com as a highly popular way to sell, but there are many others, including Etsy.com, CafePress.com, Amazon.com, and many more.
Each has its own strengths and weaknesses and will appeal to a particular audience.
MATCH THE INVENTORY TO THE SITE
The reason that eBay.com is so popular is because you can sell a wide range of products in an auction format, thus getting more sales.
However, other sites like Amazon.com can also sell more than books; the public just isn't as aware of the many options available. Etsy.com tends to attract artists, while Caf0 Press.
com will appeal to people with an idea who don't want to create products as much as market those products that come from their ideas.
GET HELP ALONG THE WAY
Take advantage of the many ways to get help from each of these sites.
EBay.com has a large help support area that is quite responsive, as it makes its money by people selling things on the eBay site. It pays for the people of eBay to help facilitate your experience.
It's not going to be a slam dunk, but it will certainly be easier than programming a website from the ground up.
Take a look at other sellers on the site before you get into your own site. See how sales are taking place. Place some of your own orders so you can see the process from the buyer's point of view too. Go into the community forum
if they have one and ask your questions there. There's no reason to go it alone when you use a 3rd party site.
