Have You Tried Selling Goods on Facebook?

John W. Adkisson for The New York TimesDarren Gann says Facebook helps him communicate with customers.

Today’s Question

What small-business owners think.

In a small-business guide we’ve just published, Eilene Zimmerman reports that more small businesses are doing business mostly or even entirely on Facebook.

For example, Darren Gann, co-owner of the Baby Grocery Store, opened his Facebook storefront in February (he also has a kiosk in South Park Mall in Charlotte, N.C.). Thirty-five percent of his sales come through Facebook, where Mr. Gann gives help and advice to his customers. “They communicate with us there about everything, from asking about a shipment to what do we recommend for a gluten-free 9-month old,” he said.

There are also risks. For example, not all consumers are comfortable entering a credit card number into a Facebook shopping cart. And Facebook is not promoting the service — at least not yet. But Payvment, which calls itself a social commerce platform and helps businesses process Facebook shopping transactions, said it had 170,000 clients and was signing on about 1,500 stores a week.

Please take a look at the guide and tell us whether you have tried selling — and not just marketing — goods on Facebook. Do you think customers will share a credit card on Facebook?

Source & Image : New York Times