First time website setting up - jewellery shop, help please! :)

millwalll

in my option i would start off bye using paypal this way it does not cost your anythink to set up and alot people have paypal accounts also it very easy to set up and use

Bob63

Excuse me being the harbinger of doom, but my simple advice is don't do it.

Selling any goods online that can easily be converted to cash makes you a target for fraudsters. Jewellery will make you the number one target.

Remember that as a merchant you are fully liable for fraudulent purchases in a cardholder not present transaction. You can do all sorts of things - check that the address given is verified by the credit card company, get an authorisation number from the credit card company etc. - but if the purchase turns out to be fraudulent you will be the one that loses. I'm pretty sure that Paypal is no different - sell to a hijacked account and you will be the one that loses out. You have the potential to lose a lot of money.

Mike

MoneySavingSapphire_:D

My jewellery is made from copper and glass - not precious metals, is that what you mean cheesy.mike? TBH, it'll be such a small operation, selling to people on forums that I deal with already, just through a specific site.
I'm tempted right no just to go with that Streamline site, as it templates look sooo easy and it is quite cheap. This thread has made me realise how non-technically-minded I am!

irnbru_2

cheesy.mike wrote:

Remember that as a merchant you are fully liable for fraudulent purchases in a cardholder not present transaction.

The OP should ignore PayPal, a proper payment-gateway service should be used.

However, the OP would be better off looking at their business plan and seeing whether the markup made by having your own site plus the attendant running costs outweighs selling through EBay.

irnbru_2

Flexible_Friend wrote:

You'll need PHP as part of you hosting package so need a UNIX/Linux host.

Nope. PHP runs on Windows platforms too.

tewboss

I just thought I'd mention that UNIX based website hosting tends to be cheaper than the equivalent Windows package. There are plenty of pre designed PHP ecommerce packages to choose from that have been tried and tested.

In regards to security, you should really state in the terms and conditions that any orders are requests for orders rather than actual orders - most big businesses state this. I can't help with the legalise I'm afraid.

Astaroth

But given that Linux are cheaper (generally) then if you do not need the functionality of a windows host (normally ASP/ ASP.Net) it is better to go with the linux as for like for like performance their pricing is better.

I would also say to ignore paypal - to me it is exceptionally unprofessional and when I do come across a site using it it makes me think that they are a teenager/ student in their bedroom fronting themselves as a "company".

A proper merchant service like Streamline (not Streamline Net which is no connection and I wouldnt be surprised if RBS was trying to get closed down for interlectual property breaches) is the best way to go but is the most expensive in terms of setup. There are companies that to me are middle ground between the two like NoChex.

Certainly running a business has risks like fraud but when you write your business case/ plan you should be factoring these in anyway.

tewboss

Yes I'd avoid using PayPal for that exact reason, unless you want to be an ebay seller - the only thing I would use PayPal for.

Bob63

MoneySavingSapphire_:D wrote:

My jewellery is made from copper and glass - not precious metals, is that what you mean cheesy.mike? TBH, it'll be such a small operation, selling to people on forums that I deal with already, just through a specific site.

That's a different kettle of fish. You will still be liable for fraud no matter what you sell or how much, but jewellery like you describe will be much less likely to attract criminals.

Personally I'd be tempted to just setup an eBay store, build up a nice collection of positive feedback and certainly promote your eBay store in as many places as possible. Sure there are higher costs with trading on eBay but with what you want to do I think the cost is well worth it considering how little experience you have of setting up and administering an ecommerce environment.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

Mike

MoneySavingSapphire_:D

Thank you all for your help! And ebay shop is an idea, but part of my plan is to give myself a little project (and I like making pretty things, like jewellery and, well, a website!), but also because I thought it might be a good thing to put on my CV as a hobby, a bit different. (Am in uni @ mo) Astaroth - would you think I should avoid Streamline Net then?
So, if I wanted to set up an nice pretty site with a simple background, swirly pink writing, space for photos that maybe you should click on and enlarge and a "checkout" system, but that is easy to set up (maybe with templates?) and cheap - who shall I go with? Links to sites please, I'm so hopeless! (You're all so helpful, btw, I hope I haven't missed anybody's post out in thanking them)
:j