Advice for website

[laser2507]

I am currently with 123-reg ecommerce, I am interested in other solutions, maybe cubecart, oscommerce etc, but how much knowledge or help would I need getting it all working? I mean I want a hosted solution, cant host myself.

Unloess anyone thinks 123-reg could work out for me, maybe I am too impatient, my site is 2 weeks old, but my older site I had for over 6 months, ended up around 30 visits a day... not really enough...

Please help, would really appreciate it.

For info, we specialise in selling Audio Visual goods, like plasma tv, blu-ray players, projectors, large format monitors, laser printers, a3 lasers, visualisers, etc etc aimed at consumer and businesses.

[mke]

This may sound harsh, but it really is good advice. Unless you know what you are doing, stay away from what is probably the most, and certainly one of the most, competitive retail fields on the web.

Unless you have massive resources, you can not, repeat, can not, compete in the multiple purchase business end and I'd be gobsmacked if you can get there at the consumer end. In 6 years, not 6 months.

Would yo like a list of just a few retailers who spend more in a week on marketing their sites than you will spend in total on your site over the next three years or more? Those guys buy in such bulk they can retail at less than you can buy wholesale for.

[hostingmaven]

I don't think the problem is the hosting because hosting does not mean you are going to have sales (unless of course, your customers are getting an error when they go to your website or can't use your shopping cart or something).

From what you're saying, your complaint is that you are not getting sales from your website. Is this correct? If so, what are you doing to advertiseyour website?

[mke]

I'd drop it, hostingmaven. ebuyer and cclcomputers alone spend more weekly on marketing their stocks of tv screens than the OP can afford to spend on stocks of them annually. There are several more good sources of such goods for consumers on the net. They have decent margins whilst the OP has hard to earn marginal markups. It's just plain not a goer.

There are forums full of questions about how to market in the saturated field of consumer electronics. The only counter argument to massive resources is a brilliant idea. If I had one, I wouldn't be splashing it around here, I'd be using it.

[musicbusiness]

I think you have all misunderstood his point. What he's saying is that he's currently using 123Reg ecommerce as his online shop front, he'd like to change platforms to say oscommerce.

I haven't any expereience with 123Reg ecommerce, although I have used them in the past for buying domain names, oscommerce is a serious shop front and I think any business would benefit from it's massive and very commercially-sound features.

oscommerce uses PHP and a MySQL backend database, so as long as your hosting has PHP enabled and the ability to add a MySQL database then you can technically do it. To be honest, though, maybe better off with companies like Weycrest, who I now use for all my domain buying and hosting.

Most good hosting companies will allow you to add oscommerce as a plug-in in the admin part of your site, that way you let the hosting company take care of the technical work by allowing oscommerce to 'talk' to the database, all you need to do is edit oscommerce with your own products, logo's and what not. Takes a bit of time but really worth it!

[PointandStare]

It sounds to me like you're trying to run a business on a shoestring and getting shoe string responses.

My advice (so take it or leave it) is to dump 123reg ASAP, get a design/ development company to build you a zen cart based store and market the hell out of it.

123reg are pathetic when it comes to support and assuming you'll want your site to be busy, that's when it'll fall over and that's when you'll end up spending hours 'on hold' on their premium rate support line.

Your market is very competitive (as has been mentioned) and unless you're even slightly better quality/ reputation/ prices than, for example, Currys/ Dixons/ Amazon you'll get nowhere.

[DesignsOnline]

Having an Ecommerce website built for you is not as expensive as people seem to think. If you would like a quote for one, then contact us and we can build you a website with the features you actually need and want, and make it really attractive and easy to use.

Joe

[laser2507]

Thank you all for your time in responding.

It sound like I have no hope.. :(
I used to have another site selling domestic applicances, I had a great supplier and sold a few items a week, but I lost them as they could not find my customers, they were mainly a B2B supplier...

Now I have a good AV supplier, this is why i sell av stuff, as they are good, but from responses maybe I will just wait and see what happens...

It sounds like from what most of you say it doesnt matter where I am, its really content and pricing in my market that matter?

[deebee1000]

For what it's worth, I've stuck with CS-Cart (http://www.cs-cart.com/) for all my e-commerce sites. It's not a cheap script but it does the job; and a great support forum to boot.

[deebee1000]

For what it's worth, I've stuck with CS-Cart (http://www.cs-cart.com/) for all my e-commerce sites. It's not a cheap script but it does the job; and a great support forum to boot.

[boho]

I am currently with 123-reg ecommerce, I am interested in other solutions, maybe cubecart, oscommerce etc, but how much knowledge or help would I need getting it all working? I mean I want a hosted solution, cant host myself.

Using a hosted ecommerce shop is a very good solution for people who do not know/understand enough of the programming basics to build and maintain their own site, or who simply dont have the time to, also most good hosted shop providers will have a fair degree of search engine optimisation in built, enabling you to start ranking initially and to improve upon that with your own product listings and content.

I can highly recommend looking at the site of a member of this forum Quikshop (http://www.internetretailer.biz), who has just that sort of solution and whose shops perform very well (hence why I have 2 on the platform myself).

You are in a saturated market, however, its down to how you carve a niche within it to set yourself aside from the rest which counts, offer a level of service that others dont etc. In some cases just concentrating on supplying to your own local area initially can help, by that I dont mean excluding sales form elsewhere, but perhaps by offering free local delivery, or free local delivery and set up of equipment you could build on sales by word of mouth, and it can often be easier to start ranking on audio visual equipment location x, than attempting to compete against the bigger brand sites.

[DesignsOnline]

If you wanted a bespoke Ecommerce solution that you dont have to pay for on an ongoing basis and is exceptionally simple to use, then we can arrange the hosting etc for you...

Joe

[hostingmaven]

It sounds like from what most of you say it doesnt matter where I am, its really content and pricing in my market that matter?


Yes, that's what I'm saying :)

I don't think you should give up hope though...If you keep working on it, I think you'll be fine. Plus, with businesses going out of business left and right, you never know - you could be the only guy around tomorrow...

[minttwist]

First you have to have a top notch website that will get your target messages to your target audiences in a way that will make them buy. This will increase your "visitor to customer" conversion rate.

Then you need a top-notch SEO campaign that will increase your number of visitors.

This can be done. However, it is not cheap.

A good professional web agency will set all of this up whilst providing transparency and value for money.

[shinzo159]

hi, I guess you need SEO Solution could do something with your problem.

[thedesigntailor]

I'm working on a newsletter for a company that supports charities.

This month they have a feature about how to set up a domain name. It starts first go to 123-reg...

I almost screamed!

I begged them to reconsider but instead they have just put in a disclaimer. I can't bear to see these charities be ripped off by, IMO, the single worst company on the web (since NTL have gone).

It breaks my heart to go to press... :(

[Bob77]

We use Roundcart, great support and easy to use sites.

Good Luck

[First in Retail]

Its not about the ecommerce platfrom, your business model is SERIOUSLY flawed, to be cometing in this area will take buckets of cash.

clearly if you were serious, the website would have been sorted professionally, after all it is actually a very small bit of the business :)

My advice for what it is worth, is to scrap the idea completly :(

[inigomedia]

We work with a lot of companies who are selling online in a very small way. The ones that do well are those who have stuck at it for a long time, but have grounded their business in one important way.

They play to their strengths. Most often their strengths are in their knowledge of the market AND the relationships they have with their customers.

If you're in a massively competitive market, you've got to find out what sets you apart. It could be that you carve out a niche supplying one aspect of AV and then gradually move extra stock.

Get to know the main markets near where you are and then go and meet people, find out what they want and tailor your offering to what people say they want. I don't think SEO/PPC spend or changing to a different cart is going to help much if you don't have the key relationships with loyal customers (any customers) to start off with.

[davisonconsultancy]

Have a look at www.paceretail.co.uk (http://www.paceretail.co.uk) as I think they offer the all round service you require.

I agree with the comments made, you do need to spend some time and money marketing your webshop, be it yourself or get a third party to do it. Having a fantastic website with great prices is not the recipe to success, unless a lot of people know about it.

Enjoy.

[flagexport]

very useful! thanks