【正文】 ducts that can be bought easily from neighborhood stores. Can a Web site be sustained by selling cigarettes? I don39。s high shipping costs further hindered people from buying pet foods online. No one was surprised that eventually don39。re the Inter retailer of that product, people say Oh yes, I remember that product. What a great idea. So we leveraged that name and saw the doors opening for course, home business entrepreneurs like us do not always have the opportunity to sell a brand name. Our own products do not have the kind of brand recognition enjoyed by the big panies. Nor do we have the marketing muscle to develop and nurture a brand. Does this mean that home businesses cannot make it on the 39。s return policy should be clearly specified to protect you as well as the consumer. Is it expensive to deliver? Shipping is expensive. In fact, studies estimate that shipping amounts to11 percent of sales for online retailers. Hence, if you are planning to sell on the Inter, you need to make sure that the shipping costs will not price you out of the market. Many Inter retailers made the mistake of selling products that aren39。t necessarily have to limit yourself to small items. Even big items do well on the Inter if it creates such a value in the mind of a customer that he or she is willing to ignore the cost of shipping. Some online retailers adjust their pricing to keep the total cost of the product (including shipping) lower. Potentially high shipping costs of their bulky and big wagons did not deter Tony of . While their wagons may be bulky and potentially expensive to ship, they were able to offset this constraint by having the selection and maintaining a high quality of service. Yes, our products are kind of expensive to ship, Tony says, but we cut our margin so we can stay petitive. He admits that if somebody goes to a big toy store and find an item similar to what they sell, many times they will find it for less. Where we blow everyone out of the water is when he or she gives it No one will gift wrap these wagons because they39。s customers, convenience wise, we can blow the petition out of the the customer touch or need to feel the product? Some products are simply not suited for distribution over the Inter, particularly those where customers need to experience the product before buying it. Some products are meant to be touched or tried on before customers can be convinced to buy. For a business to thrive online selling these kinds of products, it must first drastically change the buying habits of people. A large ebusiness may be able to change consumer behavior, but even the Inter has proven that it takes time and a lot of money. Take shoes for example. When people buy shoes, they want to fit it and walk on it to test how fortable it feels and how it looks on their feet. Buying shoes online implies that a consumer takes on a greater risk in terms of fit, look and fort. What may look good on the screen may not necessarily feel good on their feet. Because of consumer behavior in buying shoes, it is not surprising that shoe online retailers normally experience higher returns than other shops on the Inter. In fact, NFO Interactive finds that 20% of online shoppers returned women39。t on the web. Using the Inter ,Once you have a basic understanding of what the Inter and the World Wide Web (WWW) are all about, and you have spent a bit of time using them (there is no better way to learn!), you will be far more aware of how the Inter can help your business!