Freeserve offers online shop start-up facility

Freeserve is launching an e-commerce forum this week, aimed at small and medium-sized companies.

Called Marketplace, it will allow people with minimal Internet experience to set up a virtual shop front. The service has been tested over the past few months, with 25 merchants selling to Freeserve employees. There will be at least ten merchants selling wares ranging from rollerblades and skateboards to special occasion cakes and upmarket bathroom fittings.

There will be three payment levels, ranging from &£49 to &£125 per month, depending on the number of products for sale. There will also be a one-off fee of about &£100 to WorldPay.com, a security specialist that runs credit checks.

The free ISP and Dixons offshoot has been in discussions with Ubik.net, a specialist in e-commerce software, to create a so-called third-generation solution that is more robust and easier to manage than previous e-commerce solutions.

Freeserve chief executive John Pluthero says: “The Ubik.net solution is technologically advanced, very user-friendly and scaleable [adaptable] to meet merchants’ needs.”

Ubik.net chairman Rodney Potts claims this solution “will become the benchmark for future generation e-commerce software.”