E-Commerce Guide
With the growth of ecommerce via the internet there is growing awareness both among the buyers and the merchants about making the net an even safer place to do business. This is mainly due to the fact that with the growth of web based transactions there emerged innumerous cases of fraudulent practices, sales of replicas, misuse of credit cards, bank accounts and misappropriation of cash. Although certain effective steps have been taken to stop such malpractices and wide misuse of net transactions, it is still not sufficient to stop the racketeers from swindling money from unwary web buyers. Thus, Google brought out its unique Google Checkout for assisting the web purchaser and preventing them from becoming victims of fraud.
Google Checkout is a recent arrival and one of the better known financial organizations PayPal had been in the market with a vast network in almost all major countries. Hence, when the Google Checkout was introduced to the web there were rumors that it was going to be a direct competitor of PayPal. However, things turned to be somewhat different as Google Checkout’s main aim was to provide complete anonymity to the purchaser’s credit card or debit card or bank account.
Google Checkout out is rather quite simple and one only has to click on the shopping cart icon on the Google website. In case a person is still not sure he may gather information from the Google Checkout website. To start with, one can shop for any items that are available only at the participating stores. Then after dropping all items in the shopping cart and completing ones purchase the person can click on the Google Checkout button. A person wishing to purchase through the Google Checkout method needs to fill up a form giving the details of his debit card, credit card or bank account. Under no circumstance does Google disclose the identity of your card or bank account to the merchants. In fact, the Google stands as guarantee between the buyer and the seller. It has clear cut policies to refund your money in case of fraud, but the same should be reported to Google within 60 days.
However, Google Checkout is for one time transactions between the purchaser and the seller of the merchandise. It also do not allow stored fund to be used for future transactions. In case of PayPal this is quite possible. Again, Google Checkout does not allow payment of fund from person to person and this is easily done through PayPal. In spite of that it is emerging as a good user friendly option for web shoppers who want some protection for their hard earned money. No doubt it is adding new merchants who likewise wish to keep their goodwill and want genuine buyers.
Today, there are numerous solid and dependable hosted e-commerce solutions available, for those who want to setup an online shop and make it thrive. Hosted e-commerce solutions have on offer an array of features and operations, including merchandising, inventory, payment and shipping options and shopping cart functions. The choice today is rather vast and good, but for someone who is not exactly familiar with the whole idea, this can be a rather daunting task at first.
How are you supposed to choose? Well, you need to check what is crucial and important for your business. Not all services are the same and not everything can work on the same level, but your needs are very precise, so you have to choose based on them.
Easy and guided setup - If you choose a hosted ecommerce solution, it means that you want an all in one solution, because that makes everything easier. This is the spirit, and this is why you are supposed to choose something that provides an easy setup and customization. A well created wizard should be able to provide you all the needed information and steps so as to complete the installation and customization of the software fast and easy. Once you setup everything you should be able to operate and launch the e-commerce venue.
Import and export features - The basic e-shop storefront is supposed to help you create a catalogue. This is something expected and normal, however not all solutions will allow you to import your own database, which means that you might need to type everything from the beginning. This is not fun and you should always check if the import is available, otherwise you might need to work for days until you have everything up. The best hosted solution will allow you to export the files and data as well. It is something that needs to be available, because if you decide to change the host or choose another solution, you will need to type everything again.
Choice of themes and templates - Even if the basic template of the hosted solution looks good, the availability of several more solutions is mandatory. It is not possible to have one template and one design available only, because there might be hundreds of companies that feature the same theme. The e-commerce vendors should provide you with a fully customizable template, additional features and designs and styles.
Marketing options - When choosing the vendor, you need to make sure that the website will give you the chance to market and promote it accordingly. Is there a mailing list option? Are there incentives and coupons available? Can you run any offers and promotional programs? These are questions that you need to answer before choosing the hosted e-commerce solution.