Top 5 websites to look at?

If you could only read five websites to help you succeed in ecommerce...

[CernyM]

If you could only visit five websites to learn how to build, run, and grow an effective ecommerce web site, what would they be?

--Mike

[Sinner_G]

Why read 5 when all you need can be found on one?

WebmasterWorld

[andy_boyd]

There's the obvious ones such as Amazon.com which has implemented many initiatives to encourage sales and repeat customers. Stuff like tailored suggestions based on previous buys and interests, one click ordering, affiliate marketing ... etc etc.

Then there's The Apple Store featuring clean design and brilliant content. It's easy to track orders and see what's going on. (Also, check out the iTunes Music Store if you can, it is great.)

I personally admire BlackStar.co.uk. They are a store which specializes in DVD's, CD's, Video Games and accessories and are based just down the road from me in Belfast, Northern Ireland. BlackStar have a constantly updated inventory, good design, impressive customer care, a personal touch, easy ordering ... the list goes on.

CDBaby, another innovative site with a great shopping cart with multiple ways to pay. You can listen to previews, get hand-picked suggestions based on your choices, great prices, and it is run by a friendly bunch!

RedEnvelope.com, Ashford.com are also great sites. When you go looking for them you can almost get too many ideas and not enough time to introduce them to your customers.

I know that's more than 5, but anyway!

[lazerzubb]

wired.com
finance.yahoo.com

2 amazing websites.

[jsinger]

Five sites to emulate, such as Amazon, or five sites for discussing e-commerce, such as WebmasterWorld?

Last year Wal-Mart actually shut down its prior site for a few weeks while it was moving to a new type of site. Wal-Mart, which hadn't done very well online compared with K-Mart's Blue Light and others, spent millions on research in designing their new site, the third one in their online history. Certainly Wal-Mart.com is one to look at.

Ashford is a pretty site with very high end products. But the company was largely a failure. Good site for product presentation.

-------
Some of the best small sites are fairly ugly with a minimum of tech bells and whistles. They're simple, easy to navigate, SE friendly, engender trust and do 98% of what multi-million buck sites do. Unlike the most biggies, some are highly profitable!

Those are the ones most of us should copy. I'm sure that after a certain point adding features can reduce sales by confusing newbie customers.

[andy_boyd]

Good point jsinger, Amazon and Ashford, for example, are good to look at, but from my perspective they are best for getting ideas as most of their stuff is far too complicated for me and most likely my customers.

Looking around is good, but implementing a lot of things usually seen on Amazon and the like would confuse and scare away the average Joe Bloggs. As you say, sometimes a small and welcoming site is all that's needed for someone to make a purchase.

Adding too many nifty features will undoubtedly mean a certain number of customers will get confused and leave, without purchasing anything. Boo.com *was* a prime example of that.

[CernyM]

Five sites to emulate, such as Amazon, or five sites for discussing e-commerce, such as WebmasterWorld?

Either really.

I'm building my first eCommerce site, and am trying to avoid being swamped with too much information. If my best approach is to emulate winners, that's what I'll do.

If there are more general sites (e.g. Webmasterworld) that offer a shortened path up the rather steep learning curve, those would be great too.

One thing I should note is that I'm reasonably proficient in the technology side - its the sales and marketing side that I'm really trying to learn.

Thanks,

--Mike