Myths of selling online

Starting a new business needs being prepared with the right information. With all the guidance available online for starting and growing a business, there are so many e-commerce myths out there as well regarding the online business. These myths may easily confuse the new sellers and even the existing ones to detour them from the path of success.

Now we don’t want you to set off on the wrong foot, so here we are, bursting some of the infamous myths for you.

What does that mean? It is believed that starting an online business is particularly difficult. For one, the process is complicated, since it involves online initiation. It may be new for some people and any new zone is a skeptical one. And second, setting up a business online is way more expensive.

How is it wrong? Starting a new business online is not at all difficult. On the contrary, it is simpler than the offline business. An online business can be 5-15 times cheaper than opening a traditional store, depending on the business scale. Starting your online business gets way easier, especially on a marketplace like Amazon, as all you have to do is make your seller account and start selling. You get a pre-established customer base, shopping process, and support at each step.

Further, online business is less stressful and cheaper to start. There is no cost of opening a store, building a team of staff, creating and managing inventories. Starting your business on Amazon removes all these hassles and saves your hard-earned money.

What does that mean? It’s a common belief among sellers that more discounts mean more buyers, and hence, more sales. Or setting a lower price of the product than the market value is the key to establishing dominance in the market.

How is it wrong? Sales and discounts are strategic games that need to be rolled out on particular occasions to get the maximum profit out of it. Frequent discounts will lead to either of the two situations -

1) It may give the impression that the product quality is poor and that’s why it is cheaper. So people may shift to other sellers for quality products, and
2) The customers may eventually get a notion that the seller is deliberately setting a high price and then offering a discount. This crashes their trust in your product, which may reduce your sales.

Both these situations are harmful to your business. 90% of businessmen believe that planned discount is the top pricing strategy. So plan your discounts, sales, and offers for special periods to retain customers, brand value, and profit.

The online business world does not run like that. While it is true that people prefer going to older brands, since these are trusted, it does not mean that the new sellers cannot survive in the market. It is all about building trust among the buyers. Once you gain their trust, buyers will come again, and the brand name will spread through word of mouth.

Take the example of Amazon itself. What Amazon succeeded in achieving to become such a big brand, was bringing shopping anything and everything under one roof at fingertips, which was not available earlier . Identifying the market gap, i.e., what people need that is missing from the market is really important. It can be as simple as selling beautiful local arts found nowhere else. Having an eye for that helps in establishing you as a brand.

What does that mean? Working on a computer (especially for running a business) means having deep technical knowledge and critical know-how. Not knowing the ABCs means you cannot even start selling, forget about growing. So, it is impossible for a common man to start or take his business online.

How is it wrong? Gone are the days when you needed technical knowledge for online selling. Today it is as simple as clicking buttons (literally). Amazon makes online selling easier and faster and you can start your business with zero technical knowledge. Just make a seller account which is as easy as that on any social media platform, upload your product listings and start selling. Amazon takes care of the rest. See how a common home-maker from Tamil Nadu is today successfully running her business on Amazon.

What does that mean? Younger generations are more drawn to online shopping. They prefer buying things online rather than going to local stores. Whereas older people do not rely on online shopping and would rather step out to their trusted shops. So sellers should focus on targeting their marketing to the youth.

How is it wrong? All generations are now online. The internet has bridged the gap. Your target groups are not necessarily youth. In fact, according to a study all the age groups shop almost equally online. It only depends on what you’re selling. It can be for any generation. For example, the young and teen girls will fall in love with a beautiful red pair of heels, while the aged women will prefer a nice comfortable pair of flat slippers. So you see the difference. So there’s no way that online shopping is only for the millennials or youths. See how Netai Roy became a successful businessman at age 50. Hence, plan your marketing according to who your target market actually is.


Starting any business needs through research - about the product, market, target groups, and about the correct ways to run it. Online selling myths like the ones described will only bring loss to the business. It is important to distinguish the facts from the e-commerce myths creating panic. Keep an eye on such myths and save your business from going in the wrong direction.