I'm hesitant about engaging more fully in online business. Help!

12 replies
As I've stated in another thread, I might just turn my hobby into a bit of an online business (via Ebay). Just to say something I should have, the collectibles I'm planning on selling are trading cards for a popular fantasy trading card game.

However, I've always been uneasy about how money is exchanged on the internet. I mean I've only ever shopped once on e-bay. (My Dad and I bought a game with his credit card but even then, I ended up receiving two copies for it. I don't even want to know how much he actually paid. >_<;; ) It's been a long time since then.

Still, I got surprised the other day when my Dad told me he's been online shopping all along and he's never had that same problem.

So can anyone help? The issues I'm concerned with regarding selling and buying stuff online are mainly security and delivery. Is there anything I can do (or should have done) to prevent mistakes in this type of business?
#business #engaging #fully #hesitant #online
  • Profile picture of the author ErikNilsson
    You Need Paypal to buy Online Goods which major sites allow it.And also You need a CC to fund u r paypal Account.It's easy to buy and sell online.For Ex You List a Product in Ebay for 10$ An user Buy's U r Product You will have your Money in your Paypal Acc After that You Ship the Product to the User.
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    • Profile picture of the author oyruhere
      Originally Posted by ErikNilsson View Post

      You Need Paypal to buy Online Goods which major sites allow it.And also You need a CC to fund u r paypal Account.It's easy to buy and sell online.For Ex You List a Product in Ebay for 10$ An user Buy's U r Product You will have your Money in your Paypal Acc After that You Ship the Product to the User.
      Paypal is secure and means you won't have to give your account details to anyone during a transaction. Generally trading online is pretty safe but there are some extra security measures you can take.

      You should change your PP passwords at least once a year (more would be better) and it should be a random password that isn't associated with you in anyway (W*57X3ppQ9dG% for example.) Another thing I would advise, just to be extra safe, is to open a basic account (with no overdraft facility) which remains separate from your personal accounts. Use this for your online business and link your PayPal account to it.

      Not only is this an extra level of security but it also helps you keep track of your trading accounts. However don't get the heeby-geebies. If you are sensible online transactions are fine.

      Good luck
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      • Profile picture of the author ERPLeadsWriter
        Originally Posted by ErikNilsson View Post

        You Need Paypal to buy Online Goods which major sites allow it.And also You need a CC to fund u r paypal Account.It's easy to buy and sell online.For Ex You List a Product in Ebay for 10$ An user Buy's U r Product You will have your Money in your Paypal Acc After that You Ship the Product to the User.
        Yes I'm aware of PayPal and need a credit card. It's why I'm concerned with security issues.

        Originally Posted by spearce000 View Post

        1. Start small and part-time, that way you won't lose a lot of money if things turn sour.
        2. As Erik says, you'll need PayPal to sell on eBay and (despite what you may read elsewhere on the forum) they're reliable and security conscious. They're also set up to be fully integrated into eBay.
        Thanks, that's actually the plan for now. I might need to start investing in some more cards though first. And yeah, I guess I should start giving PayPal a little bit more credit (no pun intended).

        Originally Posted by spearce000 View Post

        3. Send your items by courier - don't just stick a stamp on them and shove them in the mail. That way you'll get a signature so you can be sure the item has arrived. Most courier companies offer insurance as part of the deal, so you can get reimbursed in something goes missing.
        Oh! All right, thanks for this tip. I'll keep this in mind. How does this work with E-Bay though? Is there a way I can limit my products' availability to just the country I'm in or do I really have to prepare myself to sell internationally?

        Originally Posted by oyruhere View Post

        Paypal is secure and means you won't have to give your account details to anyone during a transaction. Generally trading online is pretty safe but there are some extra security measures you can take.

        You should change your PP passwords at least once a year (more would be better) and it should be a random password that isn't associated with you in anyway (W*57X3ppQ9dG% for example.) Another thing I would advise, just to be extra safe, is to open a basic account (with no overdraft facility) which remains separate from your personal accounts. Use this for your online business and link your PayPal account to it.

        Not only is this an extra level of security but it also helps you keep track of your trading accounts. However don't get the heeby-geebies. If you are sensible online transactions are fine.

        Good luck
        All right, thanks for this! I'll write this down. Security is really the biggest thing that's keeping me hesitant. I can get used to mailing stuff via courier (I've done it already about once or twice) but I guess you can say I was hit by the identity theft scare. >_>;;
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  • Profile picture of the author Mary Wilhite
    Originally Posted by ERPLeadsWriter View Post

    So can anyone help? The issues I'm concerned with regarding selling and buying stuff online are mainly security and delivery. Is there anything I can do (or should have done) to prevent mistakes in this type of business?
    There will always be bad people online or offline. Unfortunately people only remember bad experiences much longer than the good ones.

    So, take the standard precautions and do business online without fear.
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  • Profile picture of the author spearce000
    1. Start small and part-time, that way you won't lose a lot of money if things turn sour.
    2. As Erik says, you'll need PayPal to sell on eBay and (despite what you may read elsewhere on the forum) they're reliable and security conscious. They're also set up to be fully integrated into eBay.
    3. Send your items by courier – don't just stick a stamp on them and shove them in the mail. That way you'll get a signature so you can be sure the item has arrived. Most courier companies offer insurance as part of the deal, so you can get reimbursed in something goes missing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Seth Bias
    Just so you know if your a new ebay seller you'll have to wait i think 12 or 21 days before you can get your money from a sale. And that lasts for 90 days or $650 worth of items sold I believe. So expect to wait on the money coming in at first.
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    • Profile picture of the author MP80
      Hi - I understand where you are coming from, and I was much the same when I started in IM. Here are a few security measures that I would suggest:

      * Make sure you have a good firewall/virus protection. I use Norton360 and recommend it. 5 years ago I would not have recommended anything Norton, but a lot has improved since then and right now it is my favorite.

      * Download (FREE from CNet.com) CCleaner - It deletes any old webpages/cookies (including flash) + crap that is hanging around on your computer.

      * Keep a disposable credit card on hand. I'm not sure where you are located, but here in Australia you can buy them without any ID from the post office. They have a pre-loaded amount eg $50 or $200 and once you have used them you just throw them away. Even if you don't use a disposable credit card, I think you are pretty safe when using Visa or Mastercard with regards to unauthorized purchases.

      * Have solid passwords, as was already covered above.

      * If you are concerned about getting your email hacked then get a second email address linked to your main one. You can do this with Hotmail and I'm not sure about other providers. The linked email address will have no password on it - you can only access it by logging into your main account. All mail sent to that address will redirect to your main account. You can give out the second email address when needed, without worrying about someone being able to hack into it.

      * Don't install anything from google on your computer - google toolbar, google chrome etc. [Lol, this one is actually just a personal preference :p] Even after I [supposedly] 'uninstalled' all my google stuff, my firewall still reported one of their programs trying to access the internet hourly.

      * False information can be used on some accounts (eg google adwords, youtube etc in case/when you make mistakes and get banned) but not with Paypal. If anything is linked from a banned account to a new one eg flash cookies, IP address, credit card number, email etc then the new account will also be banned.

      PayPal is 'safe'.. to a fault! Some people have had their account frozen just from logging in from a different computer (ie different IP address) which is actually reassuring from a security point of view. The main people you need to watch out for when using PayPal is PayPal! lol. They are safe, but you must read their terms and conditions thoroughly and make sure that you have the correct type of account for what you are doing. Login from the same computer each time, and if you have any problems with them always be patient and polite with their staff. Avoid connecting your main bank account with them, as they have been known to withdraw money and refund customers (without notification) if anything looks suss to them (regardless of whether it is or not). Don't use any false ID/information on your account because if they demand proof and you don't have it you won't get your money!

      When your business is going well I would talk to your local bank about opening a merchant account and keeping PayPal as a backup.

      You probably won't be able to prevent every possible threat, but there isn't too much worth worrying about if you use commonsense. There are some good suggestions on this thread, so use them to stack the odds in your favor and then take the plunge! (The water's nice in here! )

      All the best,

      Max.
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      Before you do ANYTHING else in your day - do at least ONE thing that brings money into your business.
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  • Profile picture of the author spearce000
    Originally Posted by ERPLeadsWriter View Post

    Oh! All right, thanks for this tip. I'll keep this in mind. How does this work with E-Bay though? Is there a way I can limit my products' availability to just the country I'm in or do I really have to prepare myself to sell internationally?
    The process is quite simple, and eBay talk you through it when you list your item. You can specify if you want to ship it internationally or just to your home country. I was reading the other day that in the US you can integrate FedEx shipping with your listing.

    BTW, you don't have to have a credit card to use PayPal. They can link to your bank account.
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  • Profile picture of the author ExRat
    Hi ERPLeadsWriter,

    Originally Posted by ERPLeadsWriter View Post

    As I've stated in another thread, I might just turn my hobby into a bit of an online business (via Ebay).

    So can anyone help? The issues I'm concerned with regarding selling and buying stuff online are mainly security and delivery. Is there anything I can do (or should have done) to prevent mistakes in this type of business?
    Two things -

    1) sell a few low value items on eBay to get the hang of it and boost your confidence. Within a short time you'll be saying, 'this is easy!'

    2) learn to use Google efficiently and in a targeted manner and do a lot of reading. Learn about scams, search for information about e-checks and Western Union for example. Become a bit of an expert in the things that can go wrong and your confidence will be boosted.
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  • Profile picture of the author HairyPoppins
    Use paypal and trust your gut. If something feels fishy then it probably will be. I'm sure you won't have too many problems selling things on ebay. Maybe the occasional bad apple but, I wouldn't imagine anything bad enough to not do business on ebay.
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  • Profile picture of the author funkynassau
    We've been selling online for about two years. We use PayPal and have not had any problems with them. The money goes right into my PayPal acct. when the customer makes their purchase.

    I ship by Canada Post, I use their Expedited service which gives me a discount and it is also traceable, but nothing has ever gone astray. Parcels are received in a couple of days. It's less than half the price of any courier company in Canada.
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    • Profile picture of the author ERPLeadsWriter
      Originally Posted by MP80 View Post

      * Keep a disposable credit card on hand. I'm not sure where you are located, but here in Australia you can buy them without any ID from the post office. They have a pre-loaded amount eg $50 or $200 and once you have used them you just throw them away. Even if you don't use a disposable credit card, I think you are pretty safe when using Visa or Mastercard with regards to unauthorized purchases.
      I never heard of those but I'm definitely going to try and see if there's something like that around here. Thanks for telling me this.

      Originally Posted by MP80 View Post

      PayPal is 'safe'.. to a fault! Some people have had their account frozen just from logging in from a different computer (ie different IP address) which is actually reassuring from a security point of view. The main people you need to watch out for when using PayPal is PayPal! lol. They are safe, but you must read their terms and conditions thoroughly and make sure that you have the correct type of account for what you are doing. Login from the same computer each time, and if you have any problems with them always be patient and polite with their staff. Avoid connecting your main bank account with them, as they have been known to withdraw money and refund customers (without notification) if anything looks suss to them (regardless of whether it is or not). Don't use any false ID/information on your account because if they demand proof and you don't have it you won't get your money!

      When your business is going well I would talk to your local bank about opening a merchant account and keeping PayPal as a backup.

      You probably won't be able to prevent every possible threat, but there isn't too much worth worrying about if you use commonsense. There are some good suggestions on this thread, so use them to stack the odds in your favor and then take the plunge! (The water's nice in here! )
      Whoa! Okay, I think I'm getting more scared of PayPal now but thanks! I guess the mistake from my past E-bay encounter really must've been when I my Dad clicked the same link twice cuz our internet connection back then was buggy.

      Originally Posted by spearce000 View Post

      The process is quite simple, and eBay talk you through it when you list your item. You can specify if you want to ship it internationally or just to your home country. I was reading the other day that in the US you can integrate FedEx shipping with your listing.
      Well that's a relief. The shipping costs we have here for overseas are monstrous. (At least for me. >.<;;; )
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