7 Critical mistakes online sellers make when choosing e-commerce solution

While as important as it is for the online vendors to have a reliable e-commerce solution provider by their side, the task by itself isn’t easy. There exist many solution providers; screening them – their features, market reputation and pricing – and then picking one that suits your individual needs and requirements is time-consuming and stressful. And there’s a big room for sellers to commit mistakes. 

Is Amazon selling your thing? Are you, too, looking for a good solution provider? 

Here are 5 critical mistakes online sellers make when choosing e-commerce solution provider—7 mistakes that you should avoid for a smooth journey ahead- 

1. Listening to others - 

Of course you must ask for others’ opinions; but you shouldn’t blindly follow them. Different sellers have different needs. What’s good for them might not necessarily be good for you. So stop prioritizing others’ words more than you should.  

2. Not putting your own need at the top - 

Like mentioned, you have your own distinct needs. Put them at the top instead of following someone else or getting bogged down with all the features of these e-commerce solutions that is of no use to you. 

3. Thinking high price synonyms “best” - 

There’s a common perception everywhere that high price always means the best. While it might be true to an extent, but not always. So stop assuming that the e-commerce solution who’s charging you the most is offering the best of everything.  

4. Running after the cheapest price - 

Sure you’re limited on your budget and you’re supposed to be careful in you spending. However, you should refrain from running after the e-commerce solution that claims to be the “cheapest”. Remember, there’s often a trade off between quality and price. 

5. Not looking for more - 

So you want just BigCommerce eBay integration for now and a company is offering you exactly that. But what if you want to sync-up more of marketplaces, webstores in the future? Is the company offering more features? So you must always a long-term perspective and look for features that you might not need now, but will in the future. 

6. Agreeing for a revenue share - 

There are e-commerce solution providers who ask for revenue share from the sellers. Agreeing to any such deals is a mistake, given if your business expands and you start making more, you’ll end up paying more than what’s justified. Settle for someone who charges a flat rate with no revenue share and no commission demands. 

7. Thinking you won’t need additional help - 

Maybe right now you can handle everything of your storefront easily. But down the line, when you’re growing and the burden is too much, you’re going to need additional help. So better be prepared for such scenario from early on. There are few e-commerce solution providers who, these days, also offer managed services. Go with them.

These are 7 critical mistakes many online sellers make when choosing their e-commerce solution provider. Don’t be one of them. Be smart and choose wisely. 

Save time and money with these 6 online multi-channel inventory management tips

While there lays a host of challenges for the online sellers, managing inventory tops that list. Even more difficult when selling on multiple channels, there’s a lot at stake if things get screwed up with inventory metrics, including financial loss and damaged stores’ credibility. So if you’re an online vendor, it is essential you pay special attention to stock management.

Here are 6 pro tips to help you save time and money when managing inventory online-

1. Identify top-selling items- Often the top selling items are the part of every confusion in inventory management. So it is important that you identify your top selling products and handle them with more care.
2. Communicate with your employees- If you employ more people – or outsource others – you should be in constant touch with them; exchange with them the information to ensure everyone is on the same page and that there’s no confusion.
3. Plan regular audits- The surest way to not to screw up with your inventory management is to conduct regular audits—sometimes planned, other time totally random. Don’t wait till the moment you start seeing your warehouse a bit empty. Stock immediately when needed.
4. Sign up to e-commerce solution- Mentioned already, multi-channel inventory management is difficult. However with e-commerce software solution that offers seamless integration of marketplaces, webstores and comparison search engines – from Shopify to Amazon to eBay-Netsuite – things get much easier. So sign up to one of these reliable solutions and handle your stock of various storefronts from a centralized interface quickly and conveniently.
5. Track inventory in real-time- Few of the top multi-channel e-commerce solution today provides centralized platform to handle your inventories in real-time. And this helps a great deal in avoiding overselling. So pick a leading solution provider that offers real-time stock management facility.
6. Have a damage control measure ready- You’re doing all you can to ensure perfect inventory management. However there will be times when you would screw things up—especially during sale seasons. So for such moments, you must have a contingency plan to fix the wrong and get your stores back on track with minimal impact on your credibility and financial standing.

These are 6 pro tips for online vendors to help them save money and time while handling their large inventory. So whether Amazon selling is your thing or you have multiple storefronts, say goodbye to all the confusions when managing your stock.