On the phone this morning, I was telling a friend that we had finished setting up a PayPal account so that our non-profit organization could begin selling event tickets online. He replied saying, “Boy, what a difference a generation makes.”

“Dennis, it’s not a generation,” I replied, “It’s a few years.”

Dennis was simply commenting on how things have changed over time. Used to be that if you wanted to buy a ticket to an event, you had to GO to a ticket booth / window and plop down your cash. Of course things changed long ago for big business. For example, buying a concert ticket or airline ticket has been an easy online experience going on 10 years now.

Only in the past few years has it become easy for “regular folks” a.k.a. smaller companies and organizations to set up basic eCommerce solutions for simple transactions. PayPal, for example, allows pretty much any person or group to set up “Buy Now” buttons to post on their web sites, blogs, or emails, allowing customers to purchase items (or make donations) with their credit card. This simple service comes with no set-up charge. And customers must be transferred to the PayPal web site to complete transactions (which can be a turn-off to many people).

Dennis is right that things have changed, and they will only continue to get better, faster, and easier.

If you need help setting up a basic online sales account, or you want to go the professional route and weave real eCommerce into your own operation, call TBC. We’re happy to help you.