If you run a one-man shop and you're looking to sell a product or service, you have a few options. You can build an e-commerce site from scratch, which requires time and expertise, or you can go with a turnkey marketplace like Etsy, which might not be a good fit for your product (unless it's a tea cozy).
Somewhere in between lies small-business management service Planet Soho, which now offers Soho Storefront: a quick and simple way to create an e-commerce site for hawking your wares.
Designed for "the smallest of small businesses," Soho Storefront officially launches next Tuesday as part of the company's Soho VIP package, which includes business amenities like professional designed group emails, secure cloud storage, various documents and templates, and so on.
All you do is sign into your Planet Soho account, click through to your storefront, then start adding products and services. If you have just one or two, it literally takes a matter of minutes to start selling.
From there you can share your link via email or Facebook. The storefront is an attractive, decidedly Etsy-style tiled catalog (here's an example), one that makes ordering a snap.
The only downside I can see is that customers must pay via PayPal; storefronts can't accept credit cards outright, at least for the moment. On the plus side, you pay no extra transaction fees save for PayPal's usual 3 percent.
Planet Soho's VIP packages, which start at $4.95 per month, include not only the storefront, but also perks like discounts from stores and services: OfficeDepot, TurboTax, Fedex, etc.
If you're looking for a fast, easy, affordable, and consumer-oriented alternative to the likes of Etsy and Ebay, consider a visit to Planet Soho.
At the same time, check out "The 5 Best Online Marketplaces for Selling Handmade Goods."
