E-commerce

What are the advantages and disadvantages of selling books and goods over the internet
The globalization of the world and modern day technology has made it possible to carry out complete businesses online. All the tasks of handling a business can be carried out online. Likewise, books are also traded, sold, and bought online. The biggest site for online book buying is Amazon. There are certain disadvantages as well as advantages of selling goods online.

The advantages of the online book selling business are that first of all the buyer gets to browse through millions of books and read reviews. The buyer can get any book he wants from a single place. He does not have to wander from shop to shop.  The ease with which a book can be found from the huge database is a plus point. The user simply enters the name of the book, or author name and the book, its description along with its different editions is displayed. The system of payment and delivery is also simple and fast. Books can be bought through a PayPal account or a credit card number. People are more accustomed to trusting online trading. Another advantage of online selling is that the store is open 24 hours. The look of the site can have a great influence on the image of the store. A professional look of the site portrays the image that the site is not a spam and we are here to do business.  (Bragg, 2007)

The disadvantages of online bookstores are the hidden costs that are attached to the shipping process. Buyers get very annoyed with such costs and dont buy frequently. Another disadvantage of selling online is having the fear of not being able to handle the computer operations. The frequent cost of maintain a website is a disadvantage. A lot of time and effort is required to direct a site to the intended customers. The owner has to give a lot of time to sort out the books and orders that are placed on daily basis.  (Bragg, 2007)

If books can be downloaded online, how will Amazons business change
The downloading of online books will affect the business of many bookstores like Amazon. Their business will go in great lose as one will want to buy a book. Everyone would prefer to download it to save a few bucks. To avoid this, Amazon has already a membership fee that has options of downloading in a limit. The fee although is quite expensive. If books were available free online, bookstores like Amazon which depends upon buying and selling of books would simply go out of business.

Amazon has come up with a solution for such a situation. It has designed Kindle. This enables users to not only buy and sell books but also subscribe to major newspapers and magazines. By this the traditional way of online selling is transformed. Books will no longer have to be shipped. This will save the site some money as well.  (NewsWeek, 2007)

What do traditional stores have to gain from setting up an e-commerce side to complement their retail stores
The pleasure of buying books from traditional stores is unbeatable. Many people still want to buy books only after they have personally viewed its condition and contents. This experience is missed in online shopping. To provide a personal feeling, traditional stores have showrooms and advertise their books that can be bought online. This gives them the advantage of selling books both ways. International customers also benefit from their favorite bookshop in this way. E-Commerce reduces the facility and employees cost.  (Neowave)