There are some disadvantages of e-commerce which you should be aware of before starting to trade online. Whilst e-commerce opens your doors to a global audience, it also gives you direct global competition. So your little niche product that might go down a storm at your local trade fair, may well be completely competitive when competing with thousands of exporters in Hong Kong.
Any e-commerce venture is also heavily dependent on third-party firms such as Google, your webmaster or who ever is in charge of managing your website and also your web host. If Google makes you drop a few rankings on one of your key pages, it could mean the difference between taking a salary and not - a risk outside of your control? Yes and no, good search engine optimization is key to doing well at Google.
Online you don't have the presence you get offline - your customer can come and leave much easier than if they are actually in your shop. Visitors are merely a click away from leaving your site. See something they don't like - bam; they're gone.
Furthermore, you may find that you are too successful online. If you sell handmade rocking horses and your website gets picked up by say, a large regional newspaper and you suddenly find one thousand orders placed - what do you do? It's unlikely, but you simply must be prepared for anything in such a fluid environment as the internet.
Managing the risks, growing steadily and building relationships with your customers are the core to successful e-commerce.
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