One of the first questions people ask when considering starting an online store is "what is it going to cost?" The answer is: "that depends". Of course, most people hate that response, but it's true. Many of the costs associated with having an online store depend on which route you take in setting up and managing your store.
For example, while we recommend Zen-Cart, if you use a hosted shopping cart, you may have low set-up fees but there is an on-going monthly fee for that service. If you select a cart that you can host yourself, you may experience a larger upfront cost with getting the software installed, configured and customized for your use, but the tradeoff is that there is no on-going cost for the use of the software. Depending on your skill level, you may be able to do the set-up yourself.
Here is a list of items that could involve a fee (one-time or on-going). No sample fees are shown because these will vary by provider. However, as you research these as part of your planning for your online store, you will have access to the fees for the services you select.
Products
Inventory
Drop-Ship Fees and/or Warehousing Costs
Website and Shopping Cart
Website Development - DIY or Professional
Website Hosting - Shared Hosting or Dedicated Server
Shopping Cart Software - open source, proprietary or custom
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