Many people have great ideas for a booming eCommerce store, but step back because they think that eCommerce stores need huge investments! If you are one of them, then you have been the target of the biggest myth! I literally started my store Coorgshoppe.com with ZERO investment!

You can also do it!

So here is the recipe for a Zero investment eCommerce business. Note that basic costs such as electricity, computer, and internet charges are not included as you would already be paying for it.

Basic Ingredients Required

• An eCommerce product idea – May be a craft work you have been working on, a painting, hobby products or a product which is available for a low rate in the market, but can be sold for a higher price
• Laptop, desktop with internet connection (you can even run it from an internet cafe !!)
• Recognized selling portal (will discuss this later)
• Shipping partner – Talk to your local courier guy (or if the delivery address is nearby, then deliver yourself!)

Process/Procedure

Listing your product online

There are several ways of listing your product online for free! Social platforms such as Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc are the simplest places where you can post a picture of your product and leave your contact details. Other option is eBay where you pay a percentage only when a product is sold! Tying up with pre-existing online portals such as Flipkart or Amazon is also a possible option.

If you want your own online store, then eCommerce portals such as www.shopnix.in provide 15 day free trial to run you store for FREE!

Building customer base and selling

Word of mouth, use of your free SMS packs, email, whatsapp – can all be used to spread the word about your eCommerce store! Once listed, update about a sale in eBay or eCommerce portals is usually mailed to your email id. You can then follow it up.

Collecting money

Collecting money is quite easy with online banking option. You can ask your buyer to transfer the amount to your account before sending the product. Some of the payment channels such as PayUMoney also give an option of sending a payment link which can be linked to your bank.

Some banks offer transfer money through mobile number or a pin number. Some can even transfer money through Whatsapp or twitter. Make sure you have included the shipping cost in the total product cost.

Packing and Shipping

You can use the old carton boxes (of that TV, or refrigerator you have been saving for ‘just in case required’ times!) to form neat box for your product. Tape it well, write the address for delivery and ship it with your preferred shipping partner (the money paid here will be recovered from the profit you make after selling the product).

That’s it! You would have listed and shipped your product for FREE! Once you are confident about the running of such a store, then you can choose a relevant plan from the eCommerce portal (such as www.Shopnix.in) and go big!