'The Only 5 Things You Can Sell' by Palyn Peterson

So, you want to start an internet store do you? What is it are you going to sell? This really is first thing to tackle, because without any products your store will fail, guaranteed. All jokes aside, let me share some insight on broad this topic.

First, do you have anything to offer that you can make? Crafts, exotic bird houses, jewelry, doll houses? Most people will answer "No" to this one, but that is ok! Lots of options are still available. In fact, most online stores do not create their own products.

Affiliate programs are another great choice. An affiliate program is when a company gives you commission to sell their products. You direct customers to their website, and that is it. You don't manage inventory, sale or shipping. Some companies may provide web space and site creation support, but be careful about going that route -- they may want to charge you setup fees and maybe a membership fee. If affiliate program is worth it, it will most likely be free. Here are other points to pay attention to:

1. How much commission you will receive with each sale. 5%- 10% is on low side. Try to stick with companies that will pay you 20%-35%. I've even come across some affiliate programs that pay as much as 50%. 2. Read affiliate agreement. Some companies state you can only sell their products on your website, and no one else's. If this works for you, great. If not, be sure to read agreement and make sure this is not case. 3. What pay out amounts are. Know how much you need to make before a check is cut and mailed to you. 4. Do you receive support? Many companies offer their affiliates marketing material to help sell products. This could include website content, pictures, banners, cut-and- paste emails, and classified ads.

Some people pull in many thousands of dollars a month with affiliate programs, they can work, but remember to be careful! There are many wolves in sheep clothing just waiting to take your setup fee and monthly payments just to leave you without support and no sales. If affiliate programs interest you, there are a number of good affiliate program directories. Here are a few:

1. www.affiliatesdirectory.com 2. www.associateprograms.com 3. www.affiliatematch.com

Next, a very popular and incredibly practical choice is drop shipping. Drop shipping is when a wholesale distributor maintains product inventory, you create a store selling those products and take customer's orders at retail prices. You then turn around and send customer's order to wholesale distributor who ships products to your customer, often with your company name on package.

The customer receives their products not knowing that you are running business with no inventory and from comfort of your home. And no inventory means you only spend money when you are making money. In other words, you only spend money buying products at wholesale when you are just going to turn around and charge retail price to a customer. How great is that? This is one of most popular methods of running a retail business on internet, and for good reason!

'How I Shot Myself In Foot.. No, Wallet!' by Palyn Peterson

I need to let you in on some very important information. Not only will this information save you lots money, or possibly life of your entire business, but it will allow you to increase your profits through multiple businesses.

First off, operating an online store is a fabulous and lucrative pastime, so kudos on making that decision. But before getting into thick of it, heed my warning, you do not want to make this same mistake: only maintain one distributor for each of your online stores. Two if you MUST.

I know what you might be thinking right now, "But more products I have, bigger selection will be and I'll end up selling more -- therefore I'll be making more profit!" And that's exactly what I thought at one point, too. But unless you are charging sky-high prices or maintaining an inventory of your entire stock, then this thought is only half true.

It is true that you may end up selling more, but reality of situation will quickly appear and you will be losing money with nearly every sale. And this is all centered around one simple, and easily glossed-over factor: shipping.