Buying and selling online- or eCommerce- in India will cross the UD$84 billion mark by 2021, says a joint report by Deloitte India and the Retail Association of India. The rising popularity of smartphones and inexpensive Internet packages will be the main drivers of this growth, the report entitled ‘Unravelling the Indian Consumer’ further says.

Whether you’re an individual or a small enterprise that wants to expand your business, eCommerce is the best way to make money online is by selling things online. You can also take a slice of this US$84 billion pie that’s up for grabs.

 

Selling Online

There’re several ways you can sell things online. It depends on what you wish to sell, your target customers, and of course, the infrastructure you have. Above all, it also depends upon your budget or how much you’re willing to invest in selling things online.

The Internet offers several excellent avenues to make money online. These opportunities are available to any craftsperson, small or large business owner, blogger, writer, medicine and engineering professional, and almost everyone.

Therefore, I’ll show you how to make money online by selling things.

 

Making Money by Selling Things Online

As I mention, almost everyone can sell almost everything to make money online. Therefore, let’s explore different ways to make money selling things online.

 

1) Start your Own Online Store

Here I’m not implying you start something like Amazon or eBay. Instead, you can easily open a small online store either for free or by investing a small amount of money. Online resources such as Facebook Marketplace allow you to make money online by selling things. Facebook Marketplace is ideal if you’re looking for local customers.

If you’re looking at customers around the world or even in your own country, opt for Shopify, Etsy, or similar resources. You can try these websites for free, for a limited period.

Shopify, Etsy, and others enable you to open your online marketplace with a unique name where you can make money online.

 

2) Seller on Amazon, Flipkart, and Facebook

Regardless of whether you’re a home-based craftsperson or own a small business, register as a seller on Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, and other large online retailers. Once your registration is successful, you get your dashboard on their portals. Here, you can upload product pictures, brief descriptions, prices, and other details.

However, Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, and others charge a small commission for selling your product. However, you can make money online by selling to a very large customer base.

Or you can also try Facebook Business. This is a special service from Facebook for enterprises small and large. You’ll have to pay a nominal fee to sell things online by creating a Facebook Business page. Considering that Facebook reaches over 2.41 billion users, you can imagine how many people will view and might buy your stuff.

 

3) Open your Own Website

This is yet another option to make money online. Nowadays, a domain name with hosting and other essentials costs as low as Rs.5.000 per year. You can buy a domain name of your choice and create your online store. Since it’s your website, there’re no limitations on what you can sell and how.

To sell through your website and make money online, you’ll have to ensure the website is secure. Also, you’ll have to learn digital marketing or hire a digital marketer to ensure your website attracts potential buyers.

A good digital marketer can also help analyze data from your website and enable you to generate the highest possible leads that can convert into customers.

 

4) Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is the simplest way to make money online. However, you’ll need a website or blog to make money online by selling as an affiliate marketer.

Sign up as an affiliate marketer for programs such as Amazon Associates. Upon successful registration, you’ll get a dashboard and other resources free. You can select things that are sold on Amazon and create affiliate links. You have to post these affiliate links on your blog or website.

Whenever anyone clicks on your affiliate link and buys something, Amazon pays you a commission ranging between two and 18% of the cost price. This means you’re not manufacturing and selling your stuff. Instead, you’re making money selling things from other companies and suppliers. Affiliate marketing is very popular among bloggers and website owners.

 

5) Dropshipping

Dropshipping isn’t very popular in India. That’s because most people are unaware of how it works. To become a drop shipper, you’ll have to set up your marketplace or website. Again, you’ll not be selling your products online.  Instead, you’ll be selling things bought at wholesale prices from suppliers worldwide. Alibaba.com is one such excellent website where you can find suppliers.

You have to agree on the price with these suppliers. You can also make your unique brand with these products. Once you have these essentials in place, post pictures, descriptions, and prices on your website. When anyone places an order, you’ll forward the same to the supplier and make a payment. However, you keep the difference between your price and that of the supplier as your profit. Usually, the supplier ships it to the customer directly. You’ll need a proper returns policy to enter the dropshipping business.

 

6) Trading Used Stuff

Millions of people worldwide make a lot of money selling used things online. In India, we have very popular websites such as OLX.com and Quikr.com. You’ll have to register here as a seller and pay a small fee to get a proper used goods marketplace. There are two ways to make money online through OLX.com and Quikr.com. It’s possible to sell new stuff or used things.

Regardless of what you’re selling online through OLX.com or Quikr.com and similar websites, beware of fraud. There’re several scams where fake buyers lure a seller to part with cash and the things instead of paying and buying the product. You can read FAQs on these websites to learn more about scams that affect sellers and how to avoid them.

 

Important Tips to Sell Online

Before you start making money by selling things online, follow these important tips. Firstly, identify your market. The next thing is setting up a payments system, unless you’re selling through Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, and similar online giants.

Calculate shipping costs and add them to your price. Also have an excellent return and customer care policy, if you’re serious about the business.

And finally, stay in touch with customers through various means such as apps, email, and social media posts.

 

Conclusion

It’s also possible to make money online by selling things such as study courses, homemade products, books, poems you write, and lots more. Also utilize free and paid resources including LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, and others to ensure your stuff is seen by the highest number of people.