I’d like to look at a vital aspect of e commerce, and that is the nature of the product or service. There are certain products and services that are very suitable for selling online, and others that simply don’t work. Suitable products generally have a high value-to-weight ratio. Items such as CDs and DVDs are obvious examples. Books, although heavier and so more expensive to post, still have a high enough value-to-weight ratio, as the success of Amazon, which started off selling only books, shows. Laptop computers are another good product for selling online. Digital products, such as software, films and music, can be sold in a purely virtual environment. The goods are paid for by online transactions, and then downloaded onto the buyer’s computer. There are no postage or delivery costs, so prices can be kept low. Many successful virtual companies provide digital services, such as financial transactions, in the case of PayPal, or means of communication, as Skype does. The key to success here is providing an easy-to-use, reliable service. Do this and you can easily become the market leader, as Skype has proved. Products which are potentially embarrassing to buy also do well in the virtual environment. Some of the most profitable ecommerce companies are those selling pornography, and other sex-related products or services. For a similar reason, online gambling is highly popular.