e-Commerce, anyone?

[Hawkmoon]

It's me again, and I need help ... again. Computer-related, naturally.

For a few years before she died, my wife had been working toward creating an Internet business selling jewelry and craft items from her native country. She had already bought a lot of items, and she paid a guy (from her country) to create a web site for her -- but he never finished the job, and as far as I can tell there's no copy of the digital files on this end. I remember seeing a mockup of the site when she was alive (without any way to accept payments, which is the part he didn't finish), but now I'm guessing that the mockup version must have been on his server. And I only know his first name, so I have no way to contact him.

I talked to a pawn shop about just buying the stuff. I think the owner was honest with me -- he said the stuff is beautiful, but not the kind of thing people buy from pawn shops. His advice was to sell it on the Internet. So I'm right back where we were before my wife died -- I need an e-commerce site, and I don't know patooties about programming or web site development. So I'm looking for freeware e-commerce software. There are a lot of them out there. Does anyone have any recommendations as to which one or ones would be best for a computer idiot to try?

This is not for a long-term business. I have no way to re-supply inventory. I would have this site up only for as long as it takes to sell a major portion of the inventory my wife had already accumulated.

Is anyone familiar with any of the solutions in this list? http://www.webappers.com/2010/07/09/15-best-free-open-source-ecommerce-platforms/

Thanks

[lee n. field]

ebay or etsy?

[BlueStarLizzard]

ebay or etsy?

That's what I was thinking, especially since you don't actually want to go into business and are just getting rid of the stock you already have.

[MillCreek]

When my wife was getting rid of a bunch of stuff she inherited from her grandmother (china, silver, figurines, etc.) and Longaberger baskets, she did it via eBay.  No muss, no fuss and she got rid of everything.

[Hawkmoon]

That just might be the way to go.

Thanks.

[cordex]

The problem you are going to have with setting up your own shop is not the software. There are plenty of low cost options for turn-key shopping carts with all the technical details worked out.

The issue is getting traffic to the site. That takes time and money, and if you don't plan to do it long term then that is a lot of work for a little gain.

I vote eBay, etsy or similar.

[lupinus]

I'm going to hop on the wagon and say get thee to eBay, Etsy, or both.

Another option might be to look around to see if there are any local shops that do sell that sort of thing and if they'd be willing to take it off your hands either up front or on consignment. You could also do the same online, either a website or an Etsy shop that sells similar items to what you are trying to offload.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[Fly320s]

Etsy is the place to be for artsy stuff.

If you are on Pinterest, you can link to the Etsy site and maybe increase your traffic.

[RoadKingLarry]

Only problem with evilbay and the like will be that Paypal will almost be a necessity.
But for the best ROI they will likely be the best option.
And, posting up pics here might net some sales as those of us that are not actual wearers of feminine jewelry and associated frippery do have such in out immediate family.

[HeroHog]

As someone who has built and managed an E-Store I can testify that it's a PITA and traffic is an issue. Ours was SO not worth it!

eBay, Etsy, profit?