Shopify is an online commerce platform that allows businesses to sell products and services either online or in-person. From creating an online store to point-of-sale options in bricks and mortar stores, Shopify is the perfect solution for anyone who wants to sell anywhere.
The fully hosted Shopify option allows users to create an online store to sell their goods, easily manageable and updatable, fully customizable to their needs. Shopify handles payment processing, and you don’t need a merchant account to be able to benefit from a Shopify store.
Alternatively, Shopify offers a lower-priced account to simply add “buy now” buttons to your own website. In the past, many people have used PayPal to similar effect, but some are now moving away due to the fees charged by PayPal. The number of products you sell and the prices they achieve may influence your decision either way, but Shopify is certainly an alternative to PayPal.
With the hosted option, full inventory management is available, and shipping can be arranged through a third-party fulfilment system. In fact, the Shopify ecosystem supports the installation of apps, including apps dedicated to dropshipping – if you’re looking for a quick and easy intro to the world of dropshipping, Shopify is a great place to start, and offers a 14 day free trial as a bonus.
For brick and mortar stores, Shopify offers a mobile POS app alongside a mobile card reader. All the benefits of running your store via Shopify are available, and payments are taken easily and processed entirely by Shopify.
In most countries, you will receive your payments from sales to your bank account within a few days when using Shopify payments. Payments can be taken from multiple sources including credit cards and PayPal.
It’s simple to set up and easy to get along with, and with a 14 day free trial you have nothing to lose. Shopify is a great way to get started selling on the internet, especially if you do not already have facilities in place to process card transactions.