| Where you sell your merchandise is called a sales channel . The Internet is one sales channel; selling in a traditional brick-and-mortar store is another sales channel. Typically, selling in more than one channel is challenging ”and can even result in what is called channel conflict , especially if you treat each channel differently in terms of pricing or other policies. Can you sell merchandise both online and at traditional retail? Of course; lots of businesses do it. It's all a question of what role you want each channel to play. Selling Commodity Products Let's take the example of a business that sells commodity products ”non-unique merchandise that is available in large quantities , such as inkjet cartridges or cleaning supplies . If you sell one item, you have lots more just like it still available. In this scenario, it's relatively easy to devise your dual-channel sales strategy ”you take the same SKUs and make them available in both channels. So your eBay auctions will feature the same merchandise that you have for sale at traditional retail. When you make an auction sale, you take the item out of your retail stock and manage your inventory accordingly . Selling Unique Products A different situation exists with a business that sells unique items ”pieces of art, perhaps, or baseball cards. When you sell an item, there isn't another to take its place. In this scenario, potential problems exist when you try to sell the same item both online and in your retail store. If you have an item up for auction but then sell it to the next customer who walks in your door, you're forced to cancel the auction mid-process ”even if the item has already received bids. It's an awkward situation at best, and can result in unhappy bidders (and a possible warning from eBay, if the situation repeats itself too frequently). In this latter scenario, you have to decide in which channel you're going to sell specific merchandise. If you decide to put a particular item up for auction, you should remove it from sale at your retail location for the duration of the auction. This way you won't be forced to choose between competing customers. However, if the item doesn't sell during the specified period, you can return the item to your retail floor. Another way to handle this situation is to offer an auction item to your retail customers on a contingency basis. That is, you offer to sell it at retail if the item doesn't sell at auction. In this scenario, you may also want to inform interested retail customers about the current auction, and encourage them to place their bids online. | 