Beware, the Internet may be getting much more expensive:

Time Warner Cable Expands Internet Usage Pricing

Okay, I have a storefront application, now what? There’s a lot more to a web store then a slick application. Below is my list of other things that I’ll  need to start a store:

1. Web Address – I’m using Solutions4Tech.com– A site I registered with GoDaddy.com‡
2. Company Name — I’m using the web address
3. Inventory — Initially, that’s my closet.
4. Regulatory Issues — These are already setup through Solutions4Stuff,LLC.
   -Business License
   -Sales Tax
   -Business Organization
5. Payments — (My Favorite Part) – I’m going to use Paypal for now because I have an existing account. The down-side is  cusotmers will have to leave my site to pay, and it may be confusing. (Even with integration PayPal usulay requires you go to their site)  Luckily I sususpect my customers are used to buying stuff with paypal and won’t be too discouraged.
6. Shipping — I’m using my UPS Online account which integrates with Acutiva Commerce very well.– I’m happy about this

Lucily since my last post, Auctiva fixed most of the issues that I had, and now I have my own Terms and Conditions and I’ve put them in the header instead of on the front page.

“Fun”  Stuff that’s left to do:

1. Entering more inventory –Entering  Inventory is very tedious,  you need pictures, and descriptions — but at least it pays off in the end
2. Entering sales tax info — The state of Georgia has more than 70 different sales tax jurisdictions (mostly counties) . Auctiva lets me setup tax by zip code, but I still have to set them each up and each county doesn’t necessarily follow a zip code perfectly.  Georgia is not the most  Internet business friendly state.

As you know from my previous post. I’ve  started to use Auctiva Commerce for my web store. I was able to sign up because I’m an existing Auctiva customer for their eBay tools and they sent me an invitation. But if you go to thier site: Auctivacommerce.com, they have lots of marketing information, a limted-time offer, and no way to sign up–not even a note saying when you will be able to sign up. That’s got to be quite frustrating for anyone interested in doing business. Not a good way to launch a site in my opinion.

As you probably figured out from my last post: The Economics of Ebay, I’m going to try and sell stuff that most people would normally sell on eBay without using eBay. The Goal is to do it for less then what I would pay on eBay.

One of the most critical things I am going to need is some type of store to sell stuff. In comes an email from Auctiva with an offer to use the “pre-release” version of their new web store application–Auctiva Commerce . I looked at the store and and the promotional offer, which means that in my case it will be essentially cost free until April, and decided to try it out. (Markters let this be a lesson to you that sometimes timing is everything.)  Auctiva is a company that specializes in tools for ebay sellers. I’m guessing that with the change in the way the eBay does business with its eBay Stores sellers, they tried to create a product that better meets those sellers’ needs. The product has a number of nice features (like sophisticated sales tax setup, and shipping integration) and is still missing some stuff  (an About Me page or a Terms and Conditions Page) All of these issues are being worked on in some way or another, and are to be expected in a new product, none of them are show-stoppers and the product is very usable in its current state.

See my Store as its built here: solutions4tech.auctivacommerce.com