Natchez shop Santa’s Station has customers from as far away as Switzerland and Australia. But they’ve never set foot in the shop on the corner of Main and Canal streets. Instead, they’ve visited the store’s two-year-old virtual storefront on the Internet.

&uot;We reach people that we would never reach,&uot; said Santa’s Station owner Kim Gammill.

The biggest seller on Santa’s Station’s Web site, www.santasstation.com, is blown-glass Polonaise ornaments, Gammill said. &uot;They are a collectible,&uot; said said. &uot;There can only be one distributor in an area.&uot;

But on the Web, Gammill can expand her customer base beyond Natchez.

Charles Hall, owner of Cover to Cover Books and More, has also expanded beyond the bounds of his bookstore on Washington Street in Natchez.

&uot;We put the Web site up in January as really a test site,&uot; Hall said. The site was fully operational but has since expanded to include more merchandise.

The bookstore’s first love, Hall said, remains its bricks and mortar building, &uot;where people can browse, discuss books, (attend) book signings.&uot;

But the virtual storefront on the Internet (www.c2cbooks.com) gives the store &uot;another layer of service,&uot; Hall said.

The site now offers access to more than 1.5 million books, as well as a search tool for used or out-of-print books.

And Hall has plans over the next six months to add more features, such as compact discs and &uot;e-books,&uot; which allow readers to view books through computers and other digital devices.

Hall said the Web site is designed with a Natchez focus. The front page of the site currently offers visitors the chance to buy an autographed copy of Natchez author Greg Iles’ latest book, &uot;24 Hours.&uot;

Other pages introduce books with regional interest. Another page has a schedule of events at the store, and another lists the schedules of local reading groups.

Hall said his site benefits local and out-of-town shoppers. Local shoppers can order a book online and have it shipped directly to the store — avoiding the shipping costs of other Web sites. They do have to pay state taxes, but those are often lower than the shipping costs on other sites, he said. And the tax money benefits the local economy, he said.

&uot;It’s the best of both worlds for in-town shoppers,&uot; Hall said.

So what should you do if you’re considering putting your business online?

Hall advises people to &uot;remove the blinders quickly&uot; and remember to advertise their Web sites.

&uot;Just because you have an online store doesn’t mean you’re going to have customers,&uot; he said. &uot;You can have a wonderful Web site but if no one knows about it, you won’t have sales.&uot;

Setting up a Web site is an investment, Gammill said, and one that can take some time to master. But she said the time and effort has been worth it.

&uot;It brings a lot of sales that we would never have if we hadn’t done that,&uot; she said.