How to Sell Online WITHOUT a Website

You have the perfect idea for a web business - BUT, you know zilch, nada, zero about web technology. You don't have to! There are ways to start an online business without having your own website - and it may even work in your favor.

One of the quickest, easiest ways to make extra money is to sell something via a website: eg, a handmade craft, an item bought in bulk to resell, items around the house, etc. The solution: sell from the sites of others. Ebay is a perfect example of this.

The advantages of not having your own website are threefold:

1) Start Small: If you only have a few products to sell, you can test them to see if there is enough interest to move forward. By investing profits back into the necessary components of your business (ie, marketing), you can grow that much quicker.

In this way, you don't have to worry about the upkeep of a website, learning new technology, paying someone to update your site (if you don't know how). In short, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, especially if you are in the beginning stages of selling/promoting your product/service.

2) Benefit from the Traffic of Others: This is what I call the mall concept. You may go to the mall to shop at The Gap, but you pass Banana Republic and see a great blouse to go with those jeans you just bought. Then, of course, there's that cute necklace in the window of the accessory place that would offset your new blouse perfectly. In short, all of the merchants benefit by being housed in the same complex.
Same thing with web stores.

When customers browse/surf the web, they are doing what the terms insinuate - spending time in locations they had no intention of visiting. But because the shops are located in the same venue (ie, listed on the same website), you have a better chance of them visiting and making a purchase than if you had your own website they didn't even know about.

3) Set Your Own Schedule: Going on vacation; need to replenish product; busy at work? No problem - simply close shop. That is, remove your ad and presto - you're closed, for whatever reason. When it suits you, replace your ad.