Be smart about your e-commerce
There's a large range of e-commerce solutions available to small business, from zero cost options to per-transaction-cost options to fixed monthly cost options. Here's a brief guide to the range to help you make an informed decision.
The almost no-cost simplest option
While it won't suit everyone it's important to begin with the simplest payment model. 1/ You have an order form on your website that captures relevant customer and order details. When the customer completes the form and clicks SEND you receive an email that includes this information. 2/ You email the customer to confirm stock availability and the total cost including postage, and you supply your bank details for an internet banking transfer or your address and payee details for sending a cheque. 3/ When the money arrives you fulfil the order and email the customer to confirm the goods are on their way. Plus: No ongoing or transaction costs; a personal shopping experience. Minus: A slower process that may deter sales and the impulse to buy may go away. Note: The cost of an order form to email facility on your website would be $110.
A PayPal 'Buy Now' button
A 'Buy Now' button is placed under an item you want to sell. Your web designer codes the button with the product description and pricing. When a site visitor presses the Buy Now button they are taken off your website to the PayPal website where this line item is described, the order can be reviewed, and your customer can proceed to enter their billing, shipping and credit card details, or they can pay with their PayPal account. An email is sent to you with order and payment details and you fulfil the order. PayPal charge 2.4% and 30 cents for the transaction (this reduces if your per month total is over $5000) and the Net amount is put in your PayPal account, which you can withdraw to a nominated bank account daily, weekly, monthly as you like. Plus: Simple; transaction only charge with no monthly fees. Minus: This button only works if you have one or maybe two items for sale; your customer is taken off your site to make the purchase (but is returned to your site); a moderately high cost per transaction (see 'Buy Now' button for details).
A PayPal 'Donation' or 'Make Payment'' button
If you've gone onto the website of a charity or non-profit organisation you may have seen one of these buttons with a field above it where you can put in a dollar amount and press the Donate button, which takes you through the PayPal process described above and enables you to choose the amount you want to donate. But the button doesn't have to say 'Donate', it can say 'Make Payment', for example, and be used for commercial purposes. Mostly used for donations but it could be a fine e-commerce model for your business. Plus: Good for certain types of transactions, say your customers have to pay a 20% deposit on a choice of products and amounts. Minus: You rely - somewhat - on the arithmetic of your purchaser to put in the right amount, but amounts can be made clear on your site; your customer is taken off your site to make the purchase (but is returned to your site); a moderately high cost per transaction (see 'Buy Now' button for details).
A PayPal 'Add to Cart' Button
If you've got multiple items for sale you need a shopping cart - a basket where goods can be put in and taken out and tallied when your customer is ready to checkout. These buttons sit under or beside each product and are coded with the product details and pricing just like the 'Buy Now' button. The difference being that clicking on these buttons doesn't take you to the checkout, it just adds the product to your shopping cart and when you're ready you click on a 'Checkout' and/or 'View Cart' button. This takes you off-site to PayPal and then the process is the same. Plus: Simple; transaction only charge with no monthly fees. Minus: This button only works if you have one or maybe two items for sale; your customer is taken off your site to make the purchase (but is returned to your site); a moderately high cost per transaction (see 'Buy Now' button for details).
A PayPal Email Payment System
This option allows you to send a customer an email - either by going to Paypal's Request Payment site or with your own Outlook program - with a payment link on it. Your customer clicks on the link and goes through the PayPal system to pay the specific amount they need to pay. Plus: Allows you to specify the amount of the payment and make a personal payment request to your customer. Minus: Each payment has to be individually setup; though this is easy it means that this method is only appropriate if you have a relatively low volume of payments; the customer is taken off your site to make the purchase (but is returned to your site); a moderately high cost per transaction (see 'Buy Now' button for details).
A Planet Domain Shopping Cart - Store Commander Standard / Store Commander Pro / Store Commander Platinum
The Planet Domain Store Commander options provide a seamless shopping experience. Unlike PayPal, where you are taken off your site to PayPal's site, Store Commander has design capabilities that allow your shopping cart to be branded with your colour theme, logo and style elements; it therefore provides a shopping experience that is integrated with your website. Add Planet Domain's Payment Gateway - which makes you independent of PayPal for your transactions - and you have a shopping cart with a fixed monthly cost and no transaction fees. But, of course, you pay for the privilege. There are three options with features ramping up and the price following. Standard is $60 per month, Pro is $100 per month, and Platinum is $250 per month. Adding Payment gateway - to make you independent of PayPal, otherwise you could be paying them per transaction as well - adds $55 per month on top. The right Store Commander option for your business requires a thorough assessment and comparison of features.
Plus: An integrated shopping experience; a large range of features such as the ability to take multiple currencies, multiple product images, secure login, product slide shows, selection of shipping options and different discount options; fixed monthly costs (independent of transaction volume); marketing tools such as promotional codes, newsletter tools, shop statistics and cross-selling options. Minus: your business has to justify the cost, but the price is excellent for the features you get.
If you have any questions on these subjects you're welcome to call us on (02) 9810-5206.