Shopping Sites

Let’s talk about refrigerator magnets. I’m in the kitchen considering my sad spread of questionable leftovers when I notice the phone number for Thai delivery on the freezer door right before me. Done.

Now let’s talk about bookmarks. Like many, I get my news online, and once I found a couple sites I trusted, I bookmarked them and the pursuit was over. Whenever I’m looking for the latest, I’m there in two clicks.

Convenience may seem like the obvious driver here, but I think it’s much bigger than that. I like to have “my” things. “My” delivery place, “my” news, “my” coffee shop. Apps satisfy that same innate desire for the routine and reliable. People used to fill up their address books with their go-to spots; now they download their apps. It’s the same concept as the good ol’ refrigerator magnet, but with much better real estate. I spend more time than I’m willing to admit hovering in front of the fridge, but not nearly as much as I spend on my phone.

Small businesses have begun to pick up on the trend. The early adopters were restaurants, gyms, and other industries with an obvious reason to buy in: immediate return on investment with minimal effort. Now scores of industries have jumped on board, and the question is no longer, “Can I make money from a mobile app?” but “How do I get mine?”

Recently, we’ve seen a huge spike in apps for golf courses, hotels, politicians, plumbers -- you name it, and someone has an app for it. Small businesses that didn’t have an obvious need for an app before certainly have one now: the competition already launched theirs.

As the demand has increased, so have the capabilities. Apps aren’t just the ordering tools they used to be. Now you can promote your favorite charity, post a question about a clogged toilet, watch your candidate’s latest speech, and send an absence note to your kid’s school all while scoring your golf game from your phone. Joking, eyes on the green.

But really, that’s not too far from the truth. We all have our “my” places and the magnets and bookmarks to prove it, but our phone screens have become the main pinboards for these favorites as we mobilize our lives. It’s just about adding your pin.

21 Places to Sell Your Products Online

Not ready to launch your own full-fledged ecommerce website? Try these hosted alternative ecommerce services for small or individual online sellers.

10 Easy, Hosted Storefronts and Shopping Carts

Hosted storefronts are an easy way to set-up your own Web store and a good option for small or individual sellers who aren't quite ready to invest in a large ecommerce website. Storefronts -- a managed service -- make it easy to create and manage a store because you don't need any HTML or programming skills, and you can customize the storefronts to suite your business needs.
1.  BigCommerce.  A storefront solution that lets you create your own Web shop -- plus you can sell on Facebook and eBay with BigCommerce.  Extra features include multi-channel retailing, mobile commerce, SEO and easy upselling.
2.  E-Junkie. A shopping cart and digital delivery system for publishers who want to include buy-now buttons to sell digital goods. You store the files on E-Junkie's servers, and buyers receive an email with instructions to download the product after making a purchase.
3.  GoEmerchant. Use it to build an ecommerce store, or you can purchase the Buy-Me Button plan to add payment options to an existing website.
4.  Mercantec E-Commerce Express. An entry-level storefront and shopping-cart service that lets you sell in a number of places including your own site and on eBay.
5.  Miva Merchant offers full ecommerce hosting and just about everything you need to start an online store – all in one package. You can upgrade accounts as your business grows.
6.  Payvment. This Facebook-wide shopping cart system offers an admin area built directly into Facebook to manage your storefront, inventory and sales. You can customize the Facebook Shopping Tab for your Facebook Business Page.
7.  ProStores. An online ecommerce platform that lets you design a storefront that fully integrates with eBay.
8.  Shopify. This hosted service lets sellers accept credit card payments, use their own domain and customize their store design. It also features built-in analytics that helps sellers track progress.
9.  TabJuice. A social commerce platform that you can use to bring products to Facebook. This storefront application adds a customizable shopping tab to your Facebook Business Page.
10.  Volusion. An all-in-one ecommerce solution that lets you design and manage your online storefront; plus it provides tools for marketing, merchandising and CRM.

4 Online Auction Sites and General Marketplaces

11.  Atomic Mall. An online marketplace that features fixed-price, make-an-offer and Web store listings.
12.  Bonanza. Sellers create booths of items (similar to a Web shop) and list products at a fixed-price. Buyers can also submit an offer to purchase.
13.  Ebay. The world’s largest online marketplace with more than 94 million active users. On eBay you can list items via auction or buy-now format, and you can also manage your own eBay-hosted storefront.
14.  Etsy. An online marketplace offering Web shops for handmade and vintage items and also supplies for making handcrafted items.

7 Free-to-List Classified-Ad Sites

Free local classified-ad sites are a good choice for online sellers who have larger items that are difficult to ship. Most general categories on classified sites don't charge a fee to list, but special categories (such as adult services) are usually fee-based.  Classified-ad sites take no responsibility for the transactions and you deal with local customers face-to-face to complete a sale.
15.  Backpage. Covers more than 400 cities and regions from the United States, Canada and Mexico. Backpage is free for posting ads; the adult entertainment and personals categories are fee-based.
16.  Craigslist. Choose a location site from cities located in the United States, Canada, Asia, Americas, Europe, and other International cities. Most classified ads on Craigslist don't cost anything to place, but some specific sections for some cities do carry a fee, such as job postings, brokered apartment rentals, and adult services.
17.  eBay Classifieds (Kijiji). eBay Classifieds in the United States (and Kijiji in Canada) is an eBay-owned network of classified sites for specific countries including the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Germany, India and others. 
18.  Facebook Marketplace. On Facebook, Marketplace, which is operated by Oodle, helps people buy and sell items in a trusted environment (e.g. within your network of friends).
19.  Hoobly. Integrates a local classifieds market into a national marketplace. This lets consumers look for general ads and then be more specific about location. Ads placed on Hoobly are free; however you may opt to place a Premium Ad, which is posted to a paid area.
20.  OLX. An established online classified site available in more than 96 countries in 40 languages. Ads are free, but the site offers paid options that appear at the top of search results.
21.  Oodle. Pulls millions of listings from all over the Web. Consumers can place an Oodle ad for free, by creating an online account. When you post to Oodle, your classified ad may also be posted to hundreds of other sites.