Canada Post's e-commerce solution, called eParcel© Store, is ideal for entrepreneurs who want to sell their products over the Internet. (It may or may not suit someone trying to sell services online, although Canada Post has plans to tackle this problem in a new version.)

eParcel© Store is an online application that lets you quickly create a virtual store, in English, French, or both. The store includes SSL (Secure Socket Layering) to provide a secure online purchasing environment, credit card, COD, and billing payment options, and even multi-currency pricing. 

Another of the features of eParcel© Store that I really like is the automatic taxes and shipping costs calculator - in Canadian funds of course. And eParcel© Stores come with a shipping module that makes shipping across Canada or anywhere in the world much easier. The cost of an eParcel Store varies, with the minimum monthly hosting fee ranging from $29.95 through $95.00 a month (plus tax) for a small business, depending on the options you choose. There is no set up fee.

There are two options for setting up an eParcel© Store; you can set up either a complete store or choose the shopping cart option. The complete store option is designed for people who don't have a Web site and aren't familiar with HTML. The shopping cart option is for e-commerce merchants who already have a Web site and are familiar with HTML programming. Follow the "two options" link for more details.

There is a catch, however; "eParcel© Store’s offer does not include banking fees, set-up fees for a merchant account, credit card transaction processing fees, set-up fees for a credit card server and shipping fees if applicable." 

If you already have a merchant account that allows you to accept credit card transactions without signature, this presents no problem for you. If you don't, the good news is that there are several Canadian companies now offering internet merchant account and payment processing services. The two that Canada Post promotes to use with their eParcel© Store are InternetSecure and PSiGate. 

InternetSecure and PSiGate are both Canadian companies which have been authorized by the Canadian banks to issue Internet merchant IDs, and process sales for merchants with their own Internet merchant IDs. Both provide an on-line secure, real-time credit card processing system for your Web site.