Small business often have small budgets, and many times having a custom ecommerce solution developed simply isn’t feasible or practical (or, let’s be honest, necessary). Fortunately, for the small retailer who wants to get online and start selling quickly, there are several great options available in the form of hosted services and subscription-based web applications.
Below, we’ll take a look at five of those options, their average cost, basic requirements and what sets them apart. Our list is by no means exhaustive. There are many great services available, and we urge you to consider them all to find the one that’s just right for your business. Let us know which one you use in the comments.< /p>
1. Big Cartel
Big Cartel, in its own words, "provides you with your own independent store to sell your stuff online." Prices range from $9.99 per month for 25 products, to $29.99 per month for up to 300 products, with varying levels of customization with each plan. Big Cartel has a few nice things going for it -- it only charges a monthly fee and doesn't take a percentage of your sales revenues, and it can link in directly with any PayPal or bank account, meaning you won't need an expensive merchant account or have to deal with gateway fees. For individuals and small vendors who sell a limited product inventory, this is a great option.
2. Shopify
Shopify was one of the first hosted ecommerce SAAS applications and a popular solution among merchants who may be selling a larger variety of products. Prices range all the way from $29 per month all the way to $699 per month, depending largely on the number of products in your inventory (100 for the smallest plan,...
