Get One-Pay Consignment SoftwareIf you work really hard at nothing but selling online, if you spend a ton of money, if you happen to chose the right product niche at the right time and if you're extremely lucky, you might turn profit. The probability of making more than $1,000 per month in 2018? .001%.
This discussion isn't intended to discourage but simply to contrast reality with the fantasy of selling online. Yes we see others doing it with varying degrees of success but here's the playing field today vs 1995:
Google 'selling consignment online' just for a basis of comparison: 36,300,000 results found that include all three of those search words somewhere on each website. Now search for some keyword phrase that anyone might use to find your website or product online. How many millions of competing websites/sellers? "If you're extremely lucky" your website or product listings might make it into top 100 listings for the search phrase but people will visit sites first that rank above your listings. We just cannot compete in 2018 with Amazon, eBay, Walmart, BestBuy, on and on...
The time and money (and frustration) you would invest in an online venture would be best spent on improving local sales but if you're not discouraged, forge ahead.
A website will need to be impressive and that will be costly. The initial cost is only a down payment. With every change or glitch a technician will require payment to attend to them. Sites like 3D Cart and Shopify charge monthly fees and don't provide hands-on help. Most such sites also have pricing schemes for charging more when low minimums are exceeded.
Ok, you finally manage to get someone's attention and they place an order. Who are they? Got no clue... What is their online reputation and history. Don't know... What's the likelihood that they will find some reason to be dissatisfied with whatever you ship, go to VISA for a chargeback (costing you $50) AND getting their money back AND keeping the shipment? Sadly, 'pretty good'. There's another group of thieves (possibly numbering in the millions) who have become aware that all they need to do is claim "didn't receive it" and VISA and PayPal will refund their money (without undeniable proof of delivery).
Google 'craigslist rape' for a real shocker. Enough said. Do you really want your name and address 'out there'?
In 1995 the chance of succeeding at selling online was 'ok' - if you knew how to rank highly in the search engines of the time (mostly AOL). In 1995 there were approximately 16 million Internet users - fewer crooks and fewer buyers. The 'sweet spot' may have been 2001-2006. Today? 4.15 billion users and every con man in the world with a computer spends every day trolling for victims.
This discussion isn't intended to discourage but simply to contrast reality with the fantasy of selling online.