advice on e-commerce shop

[lou1978]

Hi all, new to all of this so apologies if I do something wrong!!
I have been thinking for the last 6 months (since the birth of Lily) about working from home and what I could do. My own website came to mind, selling baby clothing and accessories.
After becoming almost completely obssesed with the idea and constantly thinking about it I decided to stop 'just thinking about it' and go for it. From research however, I have discovered that my idea isn't very original and it seems to be a very popular venture!! I am determined though that this is what I want to do.
I have made a start and contacted a number of wholesalers to get some ideas about prices etc and know exactly the style and type of clothing that I would like to sell. I have registered a domain name also.
I am having trouble deciding which would be the best way to sell my products. I am quite inexperienced when it comes to building my own website, I did have a quick go on dreamweaver... but my thirteen year old son could do a job 100 times better than me!!
I think the best way for me to get started would be to use a ready made shop... here's where I need help... It would be good if I could get some advice on which ones are the best. I would Like my website to be bright and funky but not cost me a fortune. Is this possible?! Any ideas?? I'm not stupid when it comes to computers and once shown I take things on quickly, it's just that my knowledge is limited. One more thing, I have no business experience whatsoever!! Am I being realistic about all of this, is it achievable with a nearly 7 month old daughter and 2 sons of 11 and 13 or should I get my head back out of the clouds?!!!!

 

[CarlF]

I would recommend starting on eBay - you can have products listed there in minutes. Trial a few to see what sells best. Once you have a better idea, you can then consider a website. Do beware of eBay fees tho and bear in mind that in addition to eBay costs, you'll need to include PayPal transaction fees.

Experiment with different products at different prices, with different shipping costs to see what works best.

Getting a website together is the easy part - getting visitors to it, and converting those visitors to customers is the tricky thing, especially in such a competitive marketplace.

I would register a domain name now, which can be done for a few pounds and then do nothing with it for a while. Get setup on eBay and if you then decide to setup your own website at a later date, you'll have the domain name available and ready.

best of luck

Carl

 

[lou1978]

I have actually been using ebay for quite a while now and do have an ebay shop but only to sell second hand ladies clothing etc and some vintage bits and bobs- tat as my boyfriend likes to call it!! so I am familiar with ebay. I think you are right though, I should start off with ebay and take it from there if all goes well. I suppose I just wanted to jump in the deep end and like you say, I am very aware of the costs of ebay but it does bring in the traffic.
I have registered a domain name contemporarybaby.co.uk. Thats another issue I have. My partner thinks the name is not important, I think it is. I spent months trying to come up with an original catchy name, something a bit different from the current trends of using cute kids names, but all I could come up with was contemporary baby oh well what you see is what you get I suppose. Thanks anyway, for your for your time and advice.
Louisa

 

[betausers]

Hi Lou,

Nowadays, you can grab the framework off of osCommerce (more than 200,000 people using it) and attach a template to it from templatemonster or have a designer customize it for you. That´s how I would do it.

Best,
Ray

 

[Cromulent]

I would recommend starting on eBay - you can have products listed there in minutes. Trial a few to see what sells best. Once you have a better idea, you can then consider a website. Do beware of eBay fees tho and bear in mind that in addition to eBay costs, you'll need to include PayPal transaction fees.http://www.totallyshoes.co.uk

I'd suggest Amazon marketplace rather than eBay as the costs are lower.

 

[wood1e2]

I think you are at the start of a business plan.

With using Ebay you will be found straight away, you will not need to advertise etc, Ebay provide the footfall.

But your shop design within Ebay will not be funky!!

If you went with an off-the-shelf e-commerce package with a template for the design of the website then you may be able to get a funky design.

But it will not be orginal, obviously as it is a template.

The more expensive way forward is to have someone design you a bespoke e-commerce solution and website design. You can keep the cost down by using an offtheshelf e-commerce package and having a designer create something unique and funky, to over lay on top of the e-commerce package.

Also you will have to work on promoting your site within the search engines, as just having a website in existence does not mean it will be found by anyone searching your particualar niche, thats when things like Search engines optimisation (SEO) comes in.

That is making sure your website (onsite) is optimised for search engines to place you high enough in the ranking results for people to find you, plus there is offsite SEO as well.

Along with

Unique selling point
Good enough design to convert visitors, etc etc etc

You idea may work, but there is a lot of work and not just getting and website and thinking of yeah I have made it...as some people seem to think!!!

IF you have any further question post them, best thing keep asking until you are certain what you want to do and when.

One final thing do not be convinced that cheapest is best

 

[Optegris]

Hi all, new to all of this so apologies if I do something wrong!!
I have been thinking for the last 6 months (since the birth of Lily) about working from home and what I could do. My own website came to mind, selling baby clothing and accessories.
After becoming almost completely obssesed with the idea and constantly thinking about it I decided to stop 'just thinking about it' and go for it. From research however, I have discovered that my idea isn't very original and it seems to be a very popular venture!! I am determined though that this is what I want to do.
I have made a start and contacted a number of wholesalers to get some ideas about prices etc and know exactly the style and type of clothing that I would like to sell. I have registered a domain name also.
I am having trouble deciding which would be the best way to sell my products. I am quite inexperienced when it comes to building my own website, I did have a quick go on dreamweaver... but my thirteen year old son could do a job 100 times better than me!!
I think the best way for me to get started would be to use a ready made shop... here's where I need help... It would be good if I could get some advice on which ones are the best. I would Like my website to be bright and funky but not cost me a fortune. Is this possible?! Any ideas?? I'm not stupid when it comes to computers and once shown I take things on quickly, it's just that my knowledge is limited. One more thing, I have no business experience whatsoever!! Am I being realistic about all of this, is it achievable with a nearly 7 month old daughter and 2 sons of 11 and 13 or should I get my head back out of the clouds?!!!!

We have a lot of experience working with start-ups like yourself and we could provide you with a uniquely design eCommerce store for as little as £849 inc vat.

Note that our stores are not built on existing, out dated technologies like osCommerce, the are coded from the ground up by ourselves and are fully functional for a UK based store out of the box.

Take a look at our site at www.openmindcommerce.co.uk and don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions

 

[SillyJokes]

Hello and welcome.

I think you can create a business, even with lots of kids. I had three when I started and have four now. It's v. hard though and I couldn't do it without my brilliant childminder Jane.

Now onto your business idea.. Ooooh, pleeeeese, rethink the area you are going into. If the forum had a pound for every new mum who wants to start a babies gift business that turns up here, the place would be self funded.

You've got to put a bit more thought into it. Try and find another need out there in the market place. Remember you are in the 'new baby' glow period where all your friends are having new babies and you love yours. But believe me, in a few years all that is gone and there is so much more to think about than buying baby gifts. I cannot remember the last time I had to buy one and my youngest is 6 now.

You need to think of something else to give yourself a fighting chance against all the other new Mum businesses, especially the ones who did this 10 years ago and lead the market.

In my experience you'd be better looking at the kinds of things that are demanded by kids going to school if it must be a kids thing.

 

[marky9378]

We have the perfect solution for an online shop and we will help you start selling online free of charge if you purchase our ecommerce package.

Contact us at [email protected] and we can discuss what you need and come to a price that suits you.

 

[imageonline]

Hi op

Have a look at www.internetretailer.biz I got my site from them with very little start up costs. Lots of useful info on the site about startups. Also a good idea to try ebay at the same time and direct your customers to your site.

 

[wood1e2]

I have registered a domain name contemporarybaby.co.uk. Thats another issue I have. My partner thinks the name is not important, I think it is.

Your company name is not important, but your domain name is. Having something with your niche in the domain name will help.

So contemporarybaby.co.uk would be ok. If you went for something funky and off centre it may not throw humans, but then it may not help search engines place you either.

 

[sgpratley]

Lou,

We've just launched a new eCommerce product for start-ups to complement our 100% bespoke service (which is really aimed at established businesses and has a price tag to match!)

We're looking for a few case studies and would be happy to offer our entry level product at a really knock down price to help get you started.

We could set you up with a site looking v similar to the 'Baby' template on this page for about £500 including the first year's hosting. We can even offer a 30 day money back option.
shineecommerce.com/static/designs/

Drop me a note via the site if you're interested. And good luke with the idea however you choose to run it!

 

[runetworks]

sgpratley,

You need to tale people you our reselling interspire's cart. Not that you build it yourself.

 

[Monica_ChilliApple]

Hi Lou,

I think the idea of selling stuff on E-bay or amazon is good provided you know your branding is awesome and marketing & advertisement activities are in place.

However, in your case i don't think all these things are on the track since you don't have the basic requirement (a website), which is a key to all these activities, And these activities would get you some business.

So at this time your basic need according to me is an e-commerce site. You may think of not spending too much on website at this time but you really need a web solution which is cost-effective and affordable for you.

If you plan on getting a website, do let me know. You can PM me.

I'll be glad to help you out.


Thanks.....
Monica Wilson

 

[in2play]

One direction I've seen work is setting up a stall at craft fairs and Christmas markets, especially if you have some distinctive/ethical products. Not quite sure if it would work given the current economic climate. You'd need to do this in combination with eBay and a website.

We did it for two years and it helped get us going. We were also able to take the young family - my daughter would try to sell everything for £66 once she could talk.

BTW - be very careful with print adverts. We've never made a profit from one.

 

[MH1]

If you decide to use ebay keep an eye on your costs, many people are selling at a loss since they do not understand the basics of business, such as costs, gp and np.

Ebay is good for quick easy sales, but your margins are likely to be the lowest of any sales channel you try, with an average 15-20% commission between ebay and paypal fees from every sale, and extra fees from items which do not sell.

Add too the mix ebay last qtr have just announced 17-18% reduction in turnover over the same period the previous year, all the tinkering with the sales platform is having a negative effect, sales from ebay are becoming much less important compared too other methods.

Ebay is slowly dying IMO, it will take several years to repair the damage inflicted over the last year or two.

 

[sgpratley]

sgpratley,

You need to tale people you our reselling interspire's cart. Not that you build it yourself.

As an Interspire Gold Partner we're allowed to brand the product and sell it in conjunction with any other services we wish. After that it depends what you mean by 'build'.

Software on its own is not a shop. We're not really interested in just reselling software, we're interested in using it to create businesses and we come across to many people whose efforts stall because before they can actually sell a product they need to learn about hosting, ftp, html, databases, scripting, integratin with paypal, integration with shipping companies, legal stuff for their T&C's and privacy policies, email deliverability...the list goes on. That's before you get to any advice about how to actually promote the thing. We take away all that because once your shop is set up you should never need it again.

That's what we're providing and that's what I mean by 'building' an online store.

If anyone just wants a copy of the Interspire software I can provide that, and match their current prices in GBP but that's really not what I'm offering here.

I'm also not interested in just trying to be the cheapest person on the forum. If I did that I'd be knocking out osCommerce sites on cheap hosting.

We're offering a commercially supported product, on Rackspace hosting, backed by a team that has been building and marketing eCommerce sites in the UK since 2008. The first 3 sites we did as Shine Marketing all do well in excess of ten grand a month just through SEO and have multiple employees in each business looking after them.

So, you pays your money and takes your choice as they say

 

[More4mums]

Hello and welcome.

I think you can create a business, even with lots of kids. I had three when I started and have four now. It's v. hard though and I couldn't do it without my brilliant childminder Jane.

Now onto your business idea.. Ooooh, pleeeeese, rethink the area you are going into. If the forum had a pound for every new mum who wants to start a babies gift business that turns up here, the place would be self funded.

You've got to put a bit more thought into it. Try and find another need out there in the market place. Remember you are in the 'new baby' glow period where all your friends are having new babies and you love yours. But believe me, in a few years all that is gone and there is so much more to think about than buying baby gifts. I cannot remember the last time I had to buy one and my youngest is 6 now.

You need to think of something else to give yourself a fighting chance against all the other new Mum businesses, especially the ones who did this 10 years ago and lead the market.

In my experience you'd be better looking at the kinds of things that are demanded by kids going to school if it must be a kids thing.

I agree with sillyjokes - this won't be a booming market in the current climate and the market if over saturated. Unless you are selling something unique I would look for another niche.

I run my business on a website, ebay and amazon with a 2 year old and a 5 year old and it can be done - you just don't have a spare minute to yourself ! Remember and build slowly and don't invest the life savings!

 

[lou1978]

Hi, just wondering what you mean with a print advert? craft fairs would be a good option to run along side ebay and a website.

 

[lou1978]

I can see where you are coming from, I have come across hundreds of websites selling baby products when researching but to be honest I can't think of anything else I would rather sell at the moment. I think there needs to be some degree of passion for what you are selling.
I'm not looking to make a huge fortune here either, just enough really to cover the loss of income from my old job. I agree though, the present climate probably isn't the best time for somebody as inexperienced as me to be investing my life savings( be nice if I had some!!) No I shall be purely investing a minimal amount of £ to buy a minimal amount of stock and IF I am lucky enough to sell anything I will just plough it back in and so on

 

[lou1978]

Oops, the above posts weren't supposed to go there!!!

 

[Cromulent]

Hi, just wondering what you mean with a print advert?

An advert is a newspaper or magazine for example. Something that is printed. It could be a poster or some such as well.

 

[lou1978]

Ah I see, thats what I thought it meant, though I still don't understand why in2play advises against it. I thought that was a good marketing avenue for example, at the back of a baby magazine, or does it cost a HUGE fortune to do this?

 

[in2play]

We tried some baby/parenting magazines and made very little off them. We also had some leaflets go into one of those packs the midwives/hospitals give out - and made even less.

Our best success with print has been when the Guardian have featured our items in their various lists - these were free and made us quite a few sales. Thinking about it, I might start contacting the features editors at various magazines and newspapers to get some more coverage like this.

Craft fairs are great fun, but try not to spend all your profit at the fudge stall . Marketing through nurseries and 'parties' is another option - we've not tried it, but there is a toy company in our area that sell this way (they also rent some shelves in a local shop).

 

[baitboats]

I have used storebuilders.co.uk for all my ecommerce sites since seeing their ads on eBay in 2006. Excellent customer service, and you can view their feedback for proof...

 

[More4mums]

I have used storebuilders.co.uk for all my ecommerce sites since seeing their ads on eBay in 2006. Excellent customer service, and you can view their feedback for proof...

Unfortunately I did not have such a good experience with them and found their after care poor - when there was a problem I got little help. They promised to integrate google checkout and never managed to do so. I also know of a few others who have left after initially setting up with them.

However everyone has different experiences don't they?

 

[skybluejemma]

I would recommend webeasycommerce.com, lots of features and easy to use.

 

[Stampy]

Unfortunately I did not have such a good experience with them and found their after care poor - when there was a problem I got little help. They promised to integrate google checkout and never managed to do so. I also know of a few others who have left after initially setting up with them.

However everyone has different experiences don't they?

It's spam anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it!

 

[Party Kiosk]

Whatever you decide, good luck. Just keep a clear head. eBay and Amazon are good starting points, but remember with Amazon they are a different breed of buyers who actually count the days until your goods arrive with them. eBay you could get away with a lot more and if you are a busy mum, then you don't know what is going to happen.

 

[Deleted member 27344]

Nowadays, you can grab the framework off of osCommerce (more than 200,000 people using it) and attach a template to it from templatemonster or have a designer customize it for you. That´s how I would do it.

eeurrghh .. recipe for disaster.
You'll end up spending more on getting a designer customize it (an working properly) than if you just hired someone in the first place.

Seriously, experience screams don't go this route.

 

[DesignsOnline]

eeurrghh .. recipe for disaster.
You'll end up spending more on getting a designer customize it (an working properly) than if you just hired someone in the first place.

Seriously, experience screams don't go this route.

Very true, you can do it properly the first time and save money, or you can waste time and money trying to cut corners, only to find you need to then hire a professional to do it again from scratch.

We get a lot of customers who wish they hadnt tried to cut corners, and had come to us in the first place.

Joe

 

[lou1978]

Thanks, I think I'll just stick with ebay for now, not too keen on using amazon just yet. Yes a very busy mum what with two great lads and a baby girl almost about to crawl!!! Still keen to sell baby clothes and accessories, not been put of yet!

 

[lou1978]

I shall continue to search for an off the shelf e-commerce site. Having to outlay a large amount of cash would be unwise, I would rather wait to see if I can make a success of things first. My brother is a graphic designer working in marketing and advertising so hopefully he will be able to help me out when needed.

 

[bcmedia]

Wood hits the nail on the head - You need to consider first of all how you intend to get visitors to your website.....A great looking ecommerce site is wasted if you don't get people viewing it. With millions of sites going up each week, what is going to make your site so special that people will end up viewing it, let alone make a purchase?

Once you got that covered then consider calling me for a real snazzy website

 

[edman]

I would recommend starting on eBay - you can have products listed there in minutes. Trial a few to see what sells best. Once you have a better idea, you can then consider a website. Do beware of eBay fees tho and bear in mind that in addition to eBay costs, you'll need to include PayPal transaction fees.

Experiment with different products at different prices, with different shipping costs to see what works best.

Getting a website together is the easy part - getting visitors to it, and converting those visitors to customers is the tricky thing, especially in such a competitive marketplace.

I would register a domain name now, which can be done for a few pounds and then do nothing with it for a while. Get setup on eBay and if you then decide to setup your own website at a later date, you'll have the domain name available and ready.

best of luck

Carl

Carl gave you some good advice here

However if you want to get a ready made shop you can also start of with any free opensource script like zencart etc see list of them and ratings here php. opensourcecms.com /scripts /show.php?catid=3&cat=eCommerce

These are free to use and have a lot of useful Features and plugins. They are also very easy to setup and come with a lot of support