eCommerce is a great business. In theory, you just have to watch orders come in, send them to your fulfillment center and watch your profits grow. Of course it’s much more complicated than that. Launching an online store doesn’t guarantee you visitors, having visitors doesn’t guarantee you orders, and having orders doesn’t guarantee you profitability. You probably know most of this. That said, if you want to get involved in the eCommerce boom, here are some product considerations for you. I think the following are good characteristics for products you might want to sell online:

When people can’t get it elsewhere

About 20% of US citizens live in a rural or non-metro area. Despite local merchants best efforts, you simply can’t get everything out in the country. (I know, I lived there.) The local video store hasn’t got Criteron’s Sid and Nancy for sale. Nor does it have Withnail and I. But DVDs aren’t the only things that small towns don’t have. Residents also often don’t have access to: fancy lingerie, high end chocolates, kilts, John Kruk rookie cards and organic teas.

It’s not just country folk who can’t buy everything that they want. One of a kind, novel products are typically only available in one part of the country and are also perfect for Internet retail. Do you happen to make the world’s best rhubarb jam? What about your artwork? If it’s a high quality unique item, you’re in business.

When people are embarrassed about buying it

The Internet is an anonymous shopping experience allowing visitors to buy things they just otherwise wouldn’t. That’s one big reason why sex and the Internet go so well together. Sexual products aside, you have an opportunity to market anything that people are embarrassed about buying. Solving relationship problems is one area that comes to mind. Solving financial worries is another.

When it’s cheaper

A couple businessmen I met run a very profitable online operation selling… well selling all kinds of things. People love a bargain. If you’re running your business properly, you should have a cost advantage on the brick and mortars. If you’re able to pass that savings on, you can be a winner.

When buying online is more convenient

When I was running my business, I used to send vendors a gift during the holidays. For me it was easier to go and find something online and have it sent to them. Wine.com and Red Envelope were my choices. Perhaps there’s a business specializing in B2B gift giving?

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An eCommerce store is inexpensive to start and operate. Most of your marketing can be done with grassroots efforts posting (not spamming) on relevant messageboards, working on search engine optimization, purchasing Google Adwords and sending out a few local press releases for good measure. Fulfillment can start as a bidaily trip to the Post Office. Your accounting can start as a notepad. It takes a just a few hours a day to create a source of cash flow. It can be fulfilling and fun too.

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