abbeyvet - 10:22 am on Jun 18, 2007 (gmt 0)

how would they have come across the important of selling on eBay

EVERYONE knows about eBay. There are a lot of small businesses for whom it is an important sales/marketing channel.

if you didnt have to buy that other 80% then wouldnt most people refuse it

Not necessarily. It's about thinking to the future. For many small businesses getting a meaningful website online (ie not simply an online brochure) is a big step. They not only want it to contribute to the bottom line right now, they want it flexible enough that it can cope with future requirements.

The days when a small business wanted a brochure that looked nice and had their phone number on it and little more or had little or no knowledge of the web are fast fading. Young business owners are web savvy, media literate and planning to use the web to make their businesses run more efficiently and to interact with their customers in a meaningful way. They want functional, not just pretty.

Keep it simple

It's worth repeating JD Morgan's Einstein quote:
"Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler."

It is easy to confuse being small with being simple. Many small businesses are not simple at all.