How the Internet works, not really but

[rrich]

This is about cash. Or how to make money on the Internet. Not you making cash but. . . .

I got an E-mail about a seminar on how to make money from your own web site. The seminar included a free lunch and free MP3 player, not to be confused with an I-Pod.

I attended only because I wanted a web site where I could sell some custom furniture. Although I was part of the team that built the Internet, I am clueless about the mechanics of building a web site. So like I said, I attended.

The seminar starts and the speaker goes around the room asking people why they're here. I explain that I want to sell custom, solid wood furniture and don't know the first thing about building a web site. After that statement, the speaker ignored me for the rest of the afternoon. It didn't take me long to realize that this was not a seminar about building a web site but the speaker selling web hosting services.

The company was selling web hosting services. i.e. They have a warehouse full of servers and for x per month they will host your website on their server. The pitch was that you go to a series of companies that sell retail products. You build (copy) their catalogs and build you own catalog adding your profit to their prices. You establish an account with the retail company. The retail company needs to agree to drop ship goods.

A customer likes an item on your web site and clicks to order the product. The customer pays you and you in turn order from the retail company. The retail company drop ships the product to your customer. Ah, a simple way to make cash, right? Well almost. You handle the credit card processing at 3% or 4% off the top. Shipping fees may or may not be paid for by the retail company.

The gotchas start coming fast.
Returns:
"Those shorts make my ankles look fat." (Because they are fat.)
"The shoes don't go with my eye color. (Try not wearing a Bra and no one will notice.)
"The package never arrived." (We have your signature. Not your signature? Deal with the shipper.)
"The package was damaged." (Deal with the shipper.)
And it goes on and on.

The credit card company charges back for a variety or reasons. This suddenly becomes your problem.

All the while, the web page is eating up some of the profits in hosting fees. To get all the hosting software, sometimes credit card processing and minimal support services there is a contractual term, usually a year to start.

So all the money being made is not necessarily by you but rather the hosting company.

And I never did find out how to build a website to offer my services for custom built solid wood furniture.

[rrich]

Oh, did you notice I said nothing about TCP/IP, Domains, MAC Address, Domain Name Server, Routers with all bits included, Fiber Optics vs. Analog circuits, Fire Walls, DMZ network, Category whatever. . . . .

Believe me when I say, "You don't want to hear about that stuff unless you absolutely have to."

[Lyle]

Did you at least get the free lunch and mp3???

[rrich]

Did you at least get the free lunch and mp3???

Lunch, yes.

MP3, I think. I never got it to work. Need to use the lap top to charge the battery said to last two hours. I never got the battery to charge as the supplied cable was built upside down. The MP3 player is slightly larger than a thumb drive. Once I realized the problem and implications I decided that the MP3 wasn't worth plugging into a USB port with possible damage to the USB port.

Parking was free and the "education" was priceless. The seminar has prevented me from getting sucked into many Internet schemes.

[octane_matty]

I haven't used this myself but heard its fairly quick/easy

http://www.squarespace.com/


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