Should I use multiple platforms to sell my goods?

[IvoryMint]

Hi All,

I have recently started my own wedding invitation design and print business called Ivorymint Weddings co.uk, I use Shopify to host the site and I'm now starting to wonder whether I should extend my reach by using places such as Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, Notonthehighstreet etc

What is your opinion on using multiple platforms to sell your goods? Should I do it? Would it have a negative affect on my own website (which is where, ultimately, I would like my sales to come from)?
Do you use any of the sites suggested above and have any tips on using them?

I am very new to being a 'business woman' so any and all advice would be appreciated!

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this thread.

 

[JPMiddleton]

From personal experience both platforms have customers who shop on independent sites from time to time, but not very often. There is a small crossover but (especially with eBay) we tend to find we have different customers on each channel. We only list a percentage of our products also, giving people a flavour of what we sell. This has benefitted us in that customers have occasionally seemed us out and found a much bigger range and stuck with us through our site.

It's never going to be a negative trading on other channels but just thinks carefully about your strategy.

 

[morrigan]

Hi
Hopefully you will get some responses from people more experienced but I would certainly consider selling on multiple platforms./ channels. You need to consider how to manage your stock levels if you sell out on your website ...... you need to adjust your stock on eBay, Play, Amazon etc.

There are tools to integrate Stock Control, Dispatch and so on but this will add additional costs. I have an eBay Store with no website and have considered a website because I did not really want to restrict the business to one outlet. However I have not found any all singing and dancing ecommerce providers that I am total happy with. I mention this because of the recent password scare on eBay and how this may have impacted on sales it seems silly not to look at other options to sell.

Not sure that helps

 

[IanG]

Of course you should sell wherever you have customers.

The overlap is likely to be quite small so you're not generally competing with yourself if you enter different marketplaces. Even if you are, there is an argument to say that the presence of your brand in other places to assist you in closing a sale which you've previously lost when the customer moved on from your previous venue.

However you must make the decision on merit - would there be any benefit to investing time and money in additional venues? Could that time and money be spent expanding the existing site where you already have traffic?

I see on a fairly regular basis people on this web site asking similar questions and you'll get a stream of SEO / internet "specialists" saying that its essential that you plough a large quantity of money in to SEO / link building / link exchanges / witchcraft and I do wonder to what extend that investment is recouped.

Ultimately you won't know until you try it - and expertise is all very well and good but my advice relating to my sector won't necessarily reflect your experience in yours. Just tread carefully particularly when the advice is coming from people with a significant vested interest.

 

[IanG]

it seems silly not to look at other options to sell.

I'd agree with that - and it is not good advice to say monopolise your entire business around one provider such as Ebay - but also, they're not going to fail any time soon. Password scare or otherwise. Bit too big for that.

 

[IvoryMint]

Thank you for all your replies- they have been very helpful. Having seen it written here I now realise that the answer was obvious it would be silly to limit the amount of people who have access to my goods just because I want them to go via my website. I like the idea of having a taster of goods on these other sites, it'll act as an advertisement for my actual website.

Morrigan: if you are looking for other ways to sell, I would recommend Shopify for its ease of use and the ability to set up a shop in a matter of hours. Having said that, it is a little bit frustrating when you have to pay extra for 'apps' that you feel should be included anyway, and it's not massively customisable. I guess it depends on what sort of product your are selling.

Thanks again for all your wonderful advice!

 

[Banksbroo]

Hi
I don't deal with wedding stuff, but do sell a range of perforated paper, so was curious how you had implemented your shopping cart / and presented your products.
I had a look at your site, squillion times better than my own, did you do it yourself or was it created for you? Nice work.

 

[IvoryMint]

Hiya,
Thank you for the kind words. I made it suing a purchased theme on Shopify and then editing it myself. Very easy to do, though the theme did cost $150 but think it was worth it as the free ones weren't quite what I wanted. If you need any help setting up let me know and I can give you a few hints and tips

 

[IvoryMint]

*Using not suing!

 

[alanc]

Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, Notonthehighstreet

A couple of points:
Amazon require all products to have a unique bar code. To sell your own custom products on Amazon you will need to buy some bar codes.

Notonthehighstreet don't sell everything (like Ebay & Amazon). They are very selective about what they list.

Etsy would be a good fit for your products..

 

[IvoryMint]

Thanks you for your input Alan, I hadn't realised that about Amazon. I'll probably stay away from them! Having looked at Notonthehighstreet it seems you have to pay $199 to get featured, which unfortunately isn't in my budget right now. So I've decided to use Etsy and a little of Ebay. At least with ebay my listing will be at the top once it nears the end of its 'listing life' unlike google which I feel I'm constantly battling!

 

[morrigan]

A couple of points:
Amazon require all products to have a unique bar code. To sell your own custom products on Amazon you will need to buy some bar codes.

There is software out there that lets you generate your own products found one that is free. Will try to find link to it or perhaps others may have links to barcode generators.

 

[BenHowie]

I think selling on Ebay and Etsy for your line of products would work well, but like others have said you may find the best results come after some trial and error.

I have recently spoken to some full-time Ebay sellers, and they indicated that success can vary significantly based on your listing title (and subtitle). I'd recommend researching other Ebay sellers in a similar field and see what sort of titles and strategies they use (a good tool for this is Terapeak - I think there is a free trial [no affiliation!] ).

On a similar subject, having a professional Ebay listing template and good quality photos can increase your conversion rate (people who buy after viewing your listing).

 

[fisicx]

A word of caution about shopify. While very clever it does restrict your options for the future. You will be paying for services for evermore and totally reliant on their hosting and developers.

If you had your own hosting and ecommerce platform you would have full control and no ongoing costs.

 

[amac]

Third party marketplaces are great places to get started but I think like any store, as you grow, you want to own your selling space - whether that be physical or online. As much as anything, I think these two sites act as marketing channels, especially as more and more manufacturers sell direct via their own websites or stores.

 

[BenHowie]

IvoryMint did you decide to sell on Etsy, eBay or Amazon in the end?

 

[antropy]

I'm now starting to wonder whether I should extend my reach by using places such as Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, Notonthehighstreet etc.

I think you should try as many channels as possible and see what ones work for you.

 

[RanjeetJS]

Of course you can use multiple platforms, i don't see any reasons it might affect your business . It's just , how you portray your business on various platform and getting attention from the buyers

 

[Amy@ Filplastic- Racking]

I too use shopify, and we also have Amazon and eBay shops. All are successful for different reasons, and to different types of consumer. Most of our eBay and Amazon sales are residential, and our web sales are mostly businesses. A lot of our products like shopping baskets needed a barcode creating for Amazon, but it was really easy and low cost (might even have been free) to do.

Don't forget to activate your Facebook shop in the Shopify apps, it's so easy to set up. If you want to see a Facebook shop in action look at our Filplastic Facebook page. You can either take the orders on Facebook or direct them to your own site I think.

 

[blissman]

Hello IvoryMint
thats a good looking site which template did you buy in the end

i have looked at shopify is it easy to add your products etc how many hours do you think you used building the site
thanks
Jas

 

[Chinavasion]

When starting up a business, I think the best way is to focus on one channel at a time and then add more gradually. I would suggest you try everything you can to make your own website generate sales for you first. Over time you will find ways to improve and tweak your content to make it convert better.

Once you have done this, you have a very good foundation of pictures, descriptions and specs that you have tested over time. Afterwards, you could look into other channels. But again, I would really focus on one and make it work first before you move on to add more channels.

I have seen quite many start-up people, trying to sell through as many channels possible, but neglecting the details that will make it work.

At last, Etsy definitely seems the right channel to expand into.

 

[SabriM]

Each platform is a way to market and showcase your business (and win additional sales) along the way so I would say without a shadow of doubt trade across multiple platforms. If you need any help, please drop me a message as I am more than happy to advise.

 

[JodieVeeqo]

I'd definitely use multiple platforms, at least to start with. Go where the customers are - and there are plenty on Amazon, eBay, Etsy etc. It shouldn't have a negative effect on your own website - if anything, should drive traffic there if you link back from the other platforms.

 

[northeast]

We manufacture our own products so had to buy barcodes but they didn't cost much - i seem to recall about £40 for 100 and ivory mint would probably not need too many.
Noths.com is expensive - a hefty commission as well as your joining fee.
We didn't have much luck with etsy but there is a similar uk website if someone with a better memory can remind me of its name

 

[tylnewcastle]

A couple of points:
Amazon require all products to have a unique bar code. To sell your own custom products on Amazon you will need to buy some bar codes.

One can create their own barcode. That shouldn't be stopping point for listing on Amazon. Yes there is a cost to buying a barcode printer which are generally costlier. But, I guess just create your own unique code.