Main Subject - Internet and Businesses Online

Want to know what is involved in selling your products online? This article will explain the basic elements that go into making an ecommerce site work.

E-Commerce opportunities on the internet are mind-boggling.

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

Ecommerce transactions in the U.S. are projected to hit $198 billion in 2006 according to shop.org. According to eMarketer, Canadian consumers spent $3.8 billion online in 2004 and that number is expected to rise to $5.7

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

billion in 2006.

There are four main costs to setting up an e-commerce store:

Hosting costs/shopping cart software
Hosting costs for an ecommerce shopping cart solution range from

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

free to $79.95 per month or more. Before you purchase a shopping cart system, there are many things to consider.

When choosing shopping cart software, you need to consider the number of credit card processors an

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

shipping services it supports. Credit card processors and shipping services can change, so the software will need to be easy to update and be well supported to keep up with the changes in the market. You will also need

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

to consider how easy it is to set up and add products and how easy it is for the customer to use. Shop in some the shopping cart’s sample stores before you make your decision. It is also important to determine if it can

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

handle the tax system where you are selling and if it supports your chosen method of shipping, whether it is by weight, fixed amount, or both.

You also have to consider the company who will be hosting your site a

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

nd/or shopping cart. If your shopping cart is going to be hosted by the same company that hosts your site, you need to ensure that it will be fully supported. You will also need to ensure that your order forms and shoppin

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

cart will be secure. Ask your web hosting provider if your hosting package includes the use of their secure server (SSL) or if it will cost extra. Most commercial shopping carts are hosted separately from your site, and

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

the SSL is included in the montly fees you will pay for the software.

Some popular shopping carts are:
• X-Cart.com - A popular commercial shopping cart.
• Oscommerce.org - This is an open

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

source based online shop, (so it’s free!) but it is not easy to set up for a 'newbie'. You will also need to find a host that supports it.
• Zencart.com- Another free open source program that is maintained by

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

volunteer efforts. It is based on oscommerce, and a little easier to set up. Like any open source program, however, it does not have support staff to help you if you are stuck. To solve any problems, you have to rely on

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

orums and other users to help you.
• Cartville.com
• Paypal.com - Paypal offers a free shopping cart, but it does not work with many tax systems, like the one in Canada.

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

velopment Costs
Whether you hire someone to develop and customize your store or you do it yourself, there are costs involved. You will need to customize the color, logo, shipping, tax and addresses, just to

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

name a few. You will also have to set up your products and product options.

Cost of a merchant account

The next cost involves setting up a method of receiving credit card payments on-line. <

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

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Setting up a Paypal account is the least expensive option (2.9% + $0.30 USD per transaction at the time of writing). Costs for your own merchant account are higher – there are usually set up fees ($500+), transac

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ion fees (up to 3% per transaction) and a monthly flat fee as well. If you already have a merchant account set up off-line, an e-commerce account will be significantly cheaper.

Promotional Costs

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

r>
You should also budget for advertising and search engine marketing to drive consumers to your site. After all, what good is having a store if no one comes to shop?

This article is by no means all enc

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

ompassing, but it does cover the basics of selling online. An ecommerce site is an affordable way to sell your products to your customers. Compare the costs with setting up a physical store front – the cost of selling on-

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

line is truly cost-efficient. But Beware! Even though opportunities abound in today’s market, if you try to run an ecommerce website on the cheap you will ultimately limit its potential.

Good luck with your store

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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Most advertising executives and their sales forces will have all sorts of statistics why radio is better than cable television advertising or why cable advertising is better than radio. And each set of statistics is rather convincing indeed.

It takes commitment and an obsession about customers to win business. Over the years, my experiences have taught me that it is simple to create a customer-focused culture, but it certainly isn't easy. If a company gets it right, however, the customers and profits will be easy to attract and keep.

What is the most difficult task you face as an affiliate marketer? Imagine being able to slide in next to a successful campaign of another affiliate marketer and start sucking customers right off their plate? Imagine sliding into a niche and immediately catapulting yourself to a top selling position? Well you can, and the secret is...

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