One option for creating a web shop is to use an existing platform. There are many companies who offer solutions for creating and hosting web shops using their technology. This can make setting up a shop relatively simple as collecting orders and processing payments are done by the provider.

Amazon offer several solutions in their Web Services section. These range from technology that you can integrate into your own site to zShops, which allow you to set up small shops on Amazon's site and the Amazon Marketplace, which allow you to sell items to other Amazon customers.

eBay offers sellers a means of auctioning their items, or offering them at a 'buy it now' price (see the e-Auctions section). Businesses can set up their own shops on the e-Bay system to auction or sell large numbers of items.