Starting an Online Retail Business Research Paper

"For successful transactions, final sale fees are calculated using a sliding scale, with a range of 6% to 0.75% of the final transaction value, with a minimum FSF of 10¢ on completed sales. Gold account-holders are able to list up to 2000 items with no monthly fees, while higher listing limits are available with upgraded account levels carrying a monthly subscription fee" (Atomic Mall -- FAQ, 2012).

Anyone who is at least 18 years of age, capable of engaging in legally binding transactions under applicable law, and has either a valid credit card or PayPal account can sell at Atomic Mall. The first step is to complete the secure Seller Registration form and providing ones real name and address, along with a valid Visa, MasterCard or American Express account number. The card is used to help verify your identity, but is not charged until one makes a sale on the site. Payments can also be taken through PayPal. In order to minimize fraud and ensure that they only sign the highest quality merchants, Atomic Mall charges a non-refundable confirmation fee at signup. This fee helps them screen out less than sincere sellers, and ranges from $10 to $12.50. This fee is credited back to ones selling account after approval, along with a special new account Bonus credit (Atomic Mall -- FAQ, 2012).

Final sale fees (FSF's) can currently be paid by credit card or PayPal. The card that is on file is billed for outstanding FSF's on the 1st and 15th of each month. If paying by credit card, there is a $5.00 minimum credit card charge. In the event that ones fees for any billing period are less than the minimum, the overage is credited to the account, and applied to the next billing cycle. If one chooses PayPal as their payment method, incremental amounts of their choosing are prepaid into the account. When sales are made or other fees incurred, the fees are deducted from this existing credit (Atomic Mall -- FAQ, 2012).

One can sell virtually anything that does not constitute a violation of law, or breach on another person or entity's copyright or trademark rights. There are two ways to create a listing. The first is to go to the Item Creation page and enter all pertinent details for the item. One can include up to four photos, as well as set shipping fees for domestic, express, and overseas shipping. One can even give their listing a little panache by spicing up the explanation with custom fonts, formatting and colors. The second way to create a listing is to take inventory data one already has in a spreadsheet, and export it for use with their bulk upload utility, called the AtomicUploader.Utilizing this handy tool allows one to create and maintain all their ad listings offline, and send them to Atomic Mall whenever they are ready (Atomic Mall -- FAQ, 2012).

Currently site wide categories, sub-categories and 3rd-tier sub-categories are restricted to those in the site category list. One can however make as many custom store categories as they need, simply by entering them as they make new listings. These store categories can be anything that is wanted, from product brands, to specific colors and sizes, to increasingly narrow niche categories. One may also suggest new site categories through the appropriate thread in the forums. There are several options for enhancing seller's listings to make them more noticeable to shoppers. One can add borders, bold text, a colorized background, or all three. The charge for any one enhancement is twenty cents. One can add all three to your listing for fifty cents. These fees are per listing, and stay with each ad until it is permanently cancelled (Atomic Mall -- FAQ, 2012).

Everything that ones see at Atomic Mall has been built from the ground up. The site was not purchased and installed out of a box, but has been built from the ground up. Every attribute, function and control was created with an exact purpose in mind: to make it easier and more pleasurable to buy or sell a product. They have had several years of experience in the ecommerce world, and they know what works and what doesn't. The newest web tool might look great, but if it takes a long time to load and causes consumers to shop somewhere else, it's of little use. They have taken the total of their mutual experience and used it to form and mold Atomic Mall into a tool that is first and foremost useable, while continuing to be visually appealing and intuitive. They want to help merchants find new customers, and to keep them coming back. They also want shoppers to find the purchase they desire quickly and easily. These were their two primary guidelines in the formation of Atomic Mall's infrastructure (Atomic Mall -- FAQ, 2012).

References

Atomic Mall -- FAQ. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.atomicmall.com/faq.php#about1

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