What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Selling Online?

anette08

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Hi! I am preparing and planning for the start up of my Business Online which will be set up next year, prior to that, I want to make myself ready and prepared, Can you please share me your information about the Advantages and Disadvantages of selling online? Thanks in advance!.
 

Rob Whisonant

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What will you be selling? The advantages and disadvantages are different with different products or services.
 

anette08

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anette08
Hi!,I am planning to sell Fashion wear,Jewelries,Bags,Wedding Entourages,Wedding gowns,Cocktail dresses with free size and Plus size,There are many seller of such products online and I think It might be hard for me to step into that competitions without enough knowledge about selling online. I want to target more Customers and to lessen Possible Expenses,That is why I want to sell those online, But I'm still in doubt due to possible problems that I may encounter in selling online. If I found out that there are more advantages than Disadvantages, I would prefer to do it online and work for it.
 

Rob Whisonant

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Rob Whisonant
One disadvantage I can see off the top is clothing causes a lot of returns. Does not look or fit like the picture, wrong size, sizes run small or large etc.
 

anette08

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anette08
ah,is that so? Can I give a No return policy? it seems that everyone knows that in the world of online retail "trying before buying" is not possible,but yes I agree with you that sizes and good fit can be be one of the disadvantages and could become a conflict,I understand that it is wise for the consumer to see in person or try on before making a purchasing decision. so I think I have to make a careful action or decision in such case,Thanks!
 

Rob Whisonant

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Rob Whisonant
A no return or exchange policy on clothing would cause a lot of chargebacks. You would be out of business fast. Plus, if you take PayPal, they will give the buyer their money back if you refuse to.
 

fern2x2001

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In any kind of work or business, there is always risks. You could never eliminate that. All you can do is just to minimize it. Just like doing business offline, you could still encounter problems online. One of which is not being paid on time, or worse, not at all. There are a lot of stories heard about the one doing business not being paid by their customers simply because, since the business is online, it's also became easier for bad people to device ways not to pay the one they are doing business with. Another problem with selling online are those people who tends to do joy reservation. They would contact the seller and tell the seller that they are interested in the product and says to the seller not to sell the product to other but to him/her, hence the word reservation. But when the time comes, the customer would not reply any of the sellers messages as if no deal happened between them about the reservation of the product. Which is really a problem because the seller already denied real people with real cash who really wants to buy the product because it was "reserved" for the joy reserving customer.
 
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anette08

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anette08
Yeah ,you are right!
It is true that the risk is always there whether it is thru offline or online,
But what could be the best solution in the case you’ve said, for some customers who tends to do joy reservation,Can I ask them a reservation fee? Is that fair or rightful?
Another one thing that makes me doubt about selling online is the Payment processing,like what you have said that there are bad people who tends to order the product without planning to pay, maybe,the best solution for that is to set up a Cash on delivery Transaction to avoid such case.
 

fern2x2001

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Well, i sometimes do online selling. But my products are about electronics that i personally make. So i am sure that they can't see anything like my product out in the market. And if they do, the price ranges five figures up. That means i am confident in my product for me to tell to my buyers that they should pay first before they get the product. Simply because their payment is the one I'm going to use to buy the parts that i need to build the product. You could also do payment first method to your customers. It might drive some of potential customers away but at least you are sure that you are not going to be left unpaid and scammed. Do not do the "no return policy" because that would mean your downfall. You could, instead, clearly inform you clients beforehand that they would pay for the cost of returning so they should be sure of what they are ordering before doing so.
 

jaymish

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I don't think it's fair to make your customers pay for returning their goods especially clothes. We all know with clothes that even if you chose your size, it may be too large or too small. Different stores have different sizes.g size 8's can be different in different clothing stores. What I would do is factor in the return, in the costing. To build a loyal customer base and to build competitive advantage you have to offer services like have a return policy. Also look at your countries Consumer Act. Do they allow a no return policy? It may be better for you not to sell clothes if you can't factor return cost into the price.

An idea maybe, on delivery going with two dress sizes, a lower and a higher one, so that the client can try the clothes on before they accept them.

A disadvantage with online selling is that if you have customers that are not satisfied, they can troll you and ruin your business reputation. You need to bend over backwards to satisfy your customers.
 

BelindaMT

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Hi anette08,
I just want to share with you my experience on selling clothing online. Sometimes there are customers insisting to return the dress because of size issues. I suggest that when you post, indicate if it was american size or EU size. There are sizes like it was small in american size but for my filipino customers small american size is big for thier small filipino size. I usually used tape measure and I measured the waste line of the dress and other parts like shoulder and bust and indicate it also to my post together with the picture of the dress. To be honest, I prefer to sell jewerly, cosmetics, perfumes or gadgets online than apparel. In my experience, I have losses on apparel due to returns.
 

msg17

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Starting a business online both has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages of starting a business online is that you would not have to have a physical store before running your business. And another, this would be very beneficial to your costumers because they would just have to make their purchase online. And they would not have to go to the actual malls just to avail the items that they want. As for the disadvantages of setting a business online is that you would not have the chance to persuade or convince your customer to buy the item that you are selling. Either way, I still think that starting a business online would be good.
 

fern2x2001

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Sorry, i have forgotten that you're aiming to sell apparels which has a lot of sizes so return of product is really an issue for the seller. Unlike in my situation where electronics needs no fitting. They just have to be sure about the specs of my product. That is why i suggested to do the same because that's what i do to avoid being not payed. But apparently, it is not applicable to all products like yours. This is what we are talking about. There are a lot of concerns that needs to be addressed in online selling. And different product to be sold raises different problems that needs solution beforehand. Don't you have any thing more to sell online aside from apparels?!
 

Felmar Antipuesto

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well, advantages is that you can really make it more easy to sell because everybody is online, disadvantages is that you cannot be sure if that's a legit buyer or not.
 

HazelDJ

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Hi! I am preparing and planning for the start up of my Business Online which will be set up next year, prior to that, I want to make myself ready and prepared, Can you please share me your information about the Advantages and Disadvantages of selling online? Thanks in advance!.
Selling online has many advantages. One of it is you will not spend money to advertise your products. You can post in social media such as Facebook. People all over the world can browse and perhaps order your products. Thus, there will be an increase in your sales.

On the contrary, selling your products online has disadvantages too. There are people who just want to make fun with you or just want to put down your products. For example, some will give negative comments on your goods while they are not really your customers at all. Later, you will find out that they are your competitors.
 

samie peralta

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Advantages of selling online are:
1. Free advertisement in any social media account like facebook, instagram,shopee, and many more sites.
2. You can have many customers and proof of legitimacy that you can provide that your a trusted seller.
3. You can earn easily.
Disadvantages of selling online are:
1. Many competitor with same product and lower price.
2. If your not good with the services on your costumers it will lessen your capability on the online world.
3. lastly it's risky that you cannot secure your own money if it will grow or you'll be losing your capital.
 

richellemchua

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The advantages in online selling are, one, getting to know your customers enough to fill in and meet their needs, two, it's easier to advertise and promote your products by having sales and promotions to attract more customers. However there are also disadvantages of online selling, like bogus buyers and joy reservers, these are the people who order your products and don't pay you, there are a lot of frauds and scam out there and an online seller will find it hard to know which one.
 

Sha30

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The advantage is when you sell online many buyer coming because all people today is use a social media its great if you use social media like a face book to have more buyer for your business or for your product the only disadvantage is be carefull because to many people scam in the internet be wise to prevent these isue.
 

sidrawat

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Advantages of online Selling:

1.Easy access to market
2. Potential for rapid growth
3. Widen your market / export
4. Customer intelligence: measuring your online marketing

Disadvantages of online retail:

1. High Website costs
2. High Infrastructure costs
3. Security and fraud
4. Legal issues
5. Advertising costs
 

fern2x2001

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One advantage of selling online is that, there is no limit as to how far and wide you could reach your target demographic. As long as there is internet in a certain place, you could reach them. Another is, it's very cheap to sell online. You don't have to put up or rent a store just to showcase your products. In online, you could already show the actual products just by posting pictures, or better, videos of the products that you are selling. Another is the contact that you would have with your target customers because of chat or instant messages, they'll automatically get the answers to their queries. One disadvantage of online selling the returns of your product, another is fake buyers and another is the slow growth in traffic specially if you are just starting out.
 

Dictator20

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One of the advantage of selling online is that you can show your product anywhere you are and It can be shown by anyone even you are far from them. The only Disadvantage of selling online that I see is that maybe you will encounter some theft or scammers. So you should beware of those theft that can destroy your online business. And ofcourse you should have dedication to keep on working hard until you are on the top.
 

udershirt123

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There are many advantages and disadvantages when you are selling your products online. One advantage of selling online is that it can greatly expand your business because first, you can get more customers online. You can reach a global audience than just catering to a local customer demographic because internet allows business owners reach to a far broader customer base. Second is that there is less employee compared to traditional retailing. Third is the extended hours of operation. You can have better profit because customers can buy whenever they want to buy your product as long as they have internet connection. There are also a lot of disadvantages when you are selling your products online. One disadvantage of selling your products online is that it cost you more money in making, maintaining and securing your website. Second, online selling has attracted more and more attention of sophisticated criminals elements. That's why you need to make sure that your website is secure and safe from them. The reputation of your business can be damaged if you don't invest in the latest security system to protect your website/s or your transaction processes. Third is the advertising costs. If you want your business will get a lot of customer you need to advertise your website, it demands great amount of budget especially you are competing in a crowded sector or for popular keywords. There are many more advantages and disadvantages in online selling that didn't mention but these are one of the most common things that you can get when your selling products online.
 

GabbyBoink29

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Having a Online Business is in demand nowadays. And by Online it means, it requires using Facebook or Instagram. But there are Advantages and Disadvantages on using them. One of the Advantages is that It is Hassle Free. You just have to have a Good Internet Connection and can be easily checked thru mobile or laptop. But you have to be wise on dealing with your costumers. And having your own location and place is a plus.
 

steave astin

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Selling online has a number of advantages over selling by traditional methods, including Making savings in set-up and operational costs. ... Reaching a global audience, thereby increasing sales opportunities.
 

CookieRunner

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Everything that we do online has its advantages and disadvantages unfortunately. Let me share my thoughts and opinion about selling online since I have an experience with this plus I, too is a customer of online websites. Let' s try to compare them and talk about their advantage and disadvantages... There are many actually - So, first you don't have to worry about the rent / where to rent if you have a physical store... you can just setup or build a website or sign up for a social media account for your Business without worrying about what to pay in setting up a business online whereas with a physical store you need to invest on your shop first. That's kinda good right?

Secondly, you can advertise for free without paying much in making your store known, you can reach a lot of potential customers not just locally but also internationally.

Now with the disadvantages, since your product is for clothing, many customers can actually harass you or ask for a refund if ever they would have problems lets say for example with the size and all.
For Payment, what can you offer your customers about payment?
 
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