Whether you’ve got an e-commerce website or a physical location (or both) getting your product in online marketplaces can only increase your exposure and your profits. The biggest are Amazon, eBay and Etsy in that order.

Here’s how you do it.

Amazon. The Amazon Marketplace, open to both businesses and individuals, offers a great way to start or grow your business—especially since 49 percent of U.S. consumers say they start their shopping searches on Amazon. First, decide what and how much you want to sell. If you sell fewer than 40 items a month, you can sign up as an Individual Seller. You’ll pay $0.99 for each item you sell, plus additional  selling fees. Expect to sell more than 40 products monthly? Then you’ll want the Professional Seller account, which lets you sell an unlimited number of items for $39.99 per month (plus some additional fees when items sell).

eBay. Before starting an eBay business, you might want to start small. Create a free eBay account, decide what you want to sell, write your listings, test prices and interact with buyers. You can list 50 items per month for free. Then, you’ll pay a small fee for each listing beyond that allotment. You also pay a final value fee (a small percentage of the sale price) once an item sells. You’ll need to also get a PayPal account. If it works out, you can start your own eBay store for $19.99 a month.

Etsy. With 1.9 million sellers, Etsy is a low-cost way to sell your crafty product, art, vintage goods or collections. Reselling someone else’s product is prohibited. Etsy defines what they consider handmade, but the seller is required to be at least a part of the design process—if not the actual maker. Starting a shop on Etsy is free, but you will pay three basic selling fees: a listing fee, a transaction fee, and a payment processing fee. 

From the editors of SmallBizDaily.com | Photo Credit:  eBay stock photo by  Mr.Whiskey /Shutterstock