I'm hoping to sell my own products (books, etc.) online in the future when I have my Web site up. I was wondering what would be the best method of payment for e-commerce. I know Paypal is preferred, but what about just sending in a check beforehand? Is that completely outdated in e-commerce?

E-commerce is the ability to conduct sales transactions online. This includes selling items on your website.

The benefits of e-commerce is that you are opening new revenue streams. Instead of having a website that only provides information you can have a website that provides information and also offers consumers a new way to purchase from you.

The downside are the security issues with e-commerce. Many e-commerce enabled sites make sales by accepting credit card information online. This credit card information needs to be protected from hackers and other attackers. Other common payment methods used in e-commerce transactions include e-checks and paypal payments.

If you would like to add an e-commerce capability to your website there are many solutions available to you. You can outsource it to a third party website or you can manage the e-commerce on your site. If you manage it on your site you can buy an off-the-shelf software package or design your own solution.