Which payment methods do you accept?

What are the pros and cons of each marketplace and venue?

The pros of having my own website is that most of my sales come from there, and that I have pretty much total control over it versus the marketplace sites, where you have little control. For example, I like to take credit cards, and cannot do that on the market sites. Another pro of all of these sites is that inventory can be placed there and left an indefinite time, until it sells, without it costing anything (except for Etsy).

When considering all the places you sell, which channels are most profitable?
Definitely the most profitable is my own website, by a wide margin. Next is eCrater, because there are no costs involved there.

How does your revenue break out by channel (what percentage of sales come from each channel)?
My website 95%, eCrater 5% and Bonanzle (Bonanza) 2%.

I just recently started a small store at Etsy, but will not be listing much there, because of the costs involved and also because they do not submit many of the stores to Google Shopping, and consequently sellers feel the need to "relist" constantly in order to have visibility.

Part of the reason most of my sales come from my website is that is where I put 95% of my energy. So certainly the fact that my sales are lower at the marketplace sites is directly related to that fact. In fact, I'm surprised how I get a regular inflow of orders from eCrater, since I do so little about adding new items there.

Which payment methods do you accept?

On all sites I accept PayPal, Google Checkout, checks and money orders, and on my website I accept all of those plus credit cards.

What are the pros and cons of each payment method?

The cons with PP and GCO is that there are many horror stories of them shutting down sellers without notice, sometimes on what seems to be the flimsiest of reasons. So that always scares me, though I personally have never had a problem. I feel like they have to be offered, however, since so many people use them. I love people to use credit cards, because I have a minimum that I like to be reached and the more people that use them the lower my cost per transaction.

One service that I can recommend for a merchant account and gateway is Flagship Merchant Services, which uses First Data as the gateway. You can use them month-to-month, without an extended contract, which really appealed to me, and it took me about 5 minutes to set them up through Prestostores. (Filling out the application with them, over the phone, took longer but was also painless.) I've used them for over a year now.

Background (URL, when launched) and what was the impetus for starting your own website?
Sharons Vintage Store

Back in 2003 I bought two "box lots" of vintage jewelry at an auction. At the time I knew nothing about jewelry, and started selling on eBay while I was learning. I found the process very exciting. After about 3 years on eBay I had had it with the endless changes they required, and having to revise listings so often. But I loved selling online. So in 2006, I started my own website. I wanted the control, and fewer costs.

If you hired any companies to set up your website and/or design your logo/branding, how did you find them?

My website is with Prestostores, which is probably one of the easiest hosts to get started with. I've even heard a couple of people say they had one up and running in two hours. That, of course, is a simple site with no customization. They offer quite a few ways to customize your site, and it is worthwhile to take advantage of those selections. I also steeped myself in SEO and that has helped. I haven't actually hired any outside help.

Does your website have a checkout system, if so, what do you use, and what do you like/dislike about it?
One of the things I love about Prestostores is the checkout system. It is straightforward and easy for both me and my customers. Not too many clicks, and people don't have to register. They do fill out their personal info (name and address) which I get immediately in an email, along with details of the order. If they use PP, GCO or a credit card, I then get notices from each of those payment services about the payment. Really works smoothly. It can also be customized, with promo codes, notices and whatnot, which I like.