That's right, you can set-up shop free!
I know, there are lots of places offering free websites these days and French Cupboard has explored many of them. But it's been my experience that they usually limit the number of items you can sell in the "free" package or they run ads on the site. I recently came across a new place that I really like. At least it's new to me so if you all know about this already, let's blame my obliviousness on exhaustion (4 kids, homeschooling, running a business... I'm perpetually exhausted). I took some time to investigate it and this is what I've found so far...
There are no ads and you can list as many items as you want. Personalize it. Link your Facebook & Pinterest accounts (and Twitter, YouTube, etc). Integrate your Etsy items (I know, cool!). The cart is already set-up so all you have to do is enter your paypal address for accepting payments. And it has an RSS feed so subscribers can see your new products automatically (some of the popular web hosts don't even have that). It includes a free blog. If you sell digital downloads, customers login right on the site to collect their purchase. The best part is that it's easy to use. I'm sure there's lots more fun stuff that I haven't learned yet but I plan to open a boutique and do a test product or two so I can play around more. The one glitch that I've found is that they take a 2.75 percentage of each sale, but I still think that all that you get for that percentage is pretty amazing. Especially if you are new to selling online.
So, if you have entertained the thought of starting your own online shop, this is your chance. I've created a "marketplace" with the company so that we can introduce the free boutiques to prospective French Cupboard members but anyone can get the free boutique, even if you aren't interested in being a member. Go on... give it a whirl! Check it out HERE.
Posted by: Polly ~ Counting Your Blessings
