Help with online business idea

Guestboarder

Hi all,

I have an idea to sell goods online. I plan to do it on a small scale at first to keep the overheads down until I see if it is scalable.
So it will only be one item I will sell in various different colours/patterns. If it goes well then down the line I can begin to add more items that relate to the original product.

There are a couple of people selling this already but I am hoping I can be more competetive on price to stand out from the rest.

I have never done anything like this before so I really am unsure where to start and would really appreciate some advice (have read some of the other threads on this forum and have gotten some good tips) but I have a couple of questions:

Q: How do I go about sourcing my product? I do know about aliexpress etc but is it possible to request a sample of an item you see before you go ahead and order in bulk?

Q: With regards to the website, I am aware of free basic website templates but is there any free website templates that allow for people to purchase things from? as I assume that is far less basic than a standard website??

Many thanks in advance

jimmii

You can buy from aliexpress in small amounts (that's what it is for really and alibaba for the big orders) but anyone can buy from there so don't really see that as an option for a business you are looking to make scaleable. Contact a manufacturer that produces it and get in touch with them they should put together a sample for you.

Most hosting companies have a kit to put a site together that normally has a shop option its against the charter to discuss hosting companies etc though so you have to figure that out yourself!

Guestboarder

Thanks for that. This may be a stupid question but how do I find out who manufactures the products so that I can contact them?

jimmii

Google manufacturer of x.

Buttercake

Q: With regards to the website, I am aware of free basic website templates but is there any free website templates that allow for people to purchase things from? as I assume that is far less basic than a standard website??

Free templates do nothing, you need an ecommerce CMS like Prestashop, Magento or WooCommerce to make your store happen. Some of these will only work with specific themes or you could spend an age trying to get a free theme to work on them

or You can use Shopify and similar sites that will give you ecommerce functionality.

From what it sounds like you might need some direction and as its an online business, you would be wise to hire a web designer or web design company to get you up and running.

Guestboarder

Thanks Jimmii, I knew that was a stupid question when I asked it! :-/

amen

If you are making small crafts why not try something like https://www.etsy.com

* I have no affiliations

Guestboarder

Yes I was considering using etsy but I have looked at other sellers of the same product on that site and their sales have not been huge, I feel there just isn't enough exposure with etsy, you are in such close proximity of all the other sellers of similar products.
Also I won't be making the product myself and my understanding of etsy is that it is more for makers of crafts and products etc

jimmii

Etsy is meant to be hand made craft stuff but half of it is straight off aliexpress they really have let the place go! We deal with a good few people who sell on there and some people are getting really good results it does need to be the right thing.

Guestboarder

That's the difficult part....finding the right thing!!

AndyJB

Guestboarder wrote: »

Hi all,

I have an idea to sell goods online. I plan to do it on a small scale at first to keep the overheads down until I see if it is scalable.
So it will only be one item I will sell in various different colours/patterns. If it goes well then down the line I can begin to add more items that relate to the original product.

There are a couple of people selling this already but I am hoping I can be more competetive on price to stand out from the rest.

I have never done anything like this before so I really am unsure where to start and would really appreciate some advice (have read some of the other threads on this forum and have gotten some good tips) but I have a couple of questions:

Q: How do I go about sourcing my product? I do know about aliexpress etc but is it possible to request a sample of an item you see before you go ahead and order in bulk?

Q: With regards to the website, I am aware of free basic website templates but is there any free website templates that allow for people to purchase things from? as I assume that is far less basic than a standard website??

Many thanks in advance

Afternoon,
Interesting I just had the very same conversation with my nephew, he's working on a college project!!

Regards sourcing: I’d start with Alibaba.com, you’d be surprised what you’d find there. Also do a bit of Googling! Aliexpress.com looks interesting, although I’ve never used it.

The website will be the easiest part of the venture. Be under no illusion that unless you’re selling a very unique product / service that people want or will want when they see it, a “build it and they will come” business model sadly doesn’t usually work.

Basic hosting will cost about €60 p/a, a domain about €10 p/a, subject to type of domain EG .ie or .com etc. An actual website could cost anything from Zero to a few €K+. That ranges from a fully functional self-build/install to getting some tech firm to setup an e-store for you. There’s also the matter of payment collection options, these are also wide and varied.

You could always just sell through Amazon, Ebay or Etsy or why not all 3 at once, while finding your feet.

If you do proceed be sure to put a costings spreadsheet together. List all items that you’ll need covered and be sure to give them realistic costings and break them down weekly or monthly. Also include one for potential sales, this naturally is harder. Best suggestion I can give you is be hard on all the figures. That is, overstate costs for expenses and understate your sales.

My logic is...

1) You’ll have cash flow projections needed.
2) You’ll be prepared for worst case scenarios.
3) You’ll have a more realistic basis for calculating sales prices.
4) You’ll know how quickly or slowly a profit can be made.

Best of luck and do let us know what you do.
We are all your potential new customers!

Harry Palmr

If looking for an integrated shop and payment system have a look at this review for Shopify http://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/shopify-reviews/ other similar sites are also reviewed on the site.

For a complete newbie it seems the easiest to use at abut 80c per day for the basic package and 2.9% transaction fees.

JMR

Guestboarder wrote: »

Q: With regards to the website, I am aware of free basic website templates but is there any free website templates that allow for people to purchase things from? as I assume that is far less basic than a standard website??

Many thanks in advance

As a starting point I would advise selling your product on eBay first to determine whether a market exists and if you can sell at a price that both covers all your costs and leaves enough profit to make it worth your while.

Consider every aspect of the business and what it will cost - packaging, shipping, customer service calls, returns, product storage, etc, etc... before spending any hard earned cash.

jimmii

AndyJB wrote: »

Also do a bit of Googling! Aliexpress.com looks interesting, although I’ve never used it.

Its just another Alibaba company but focuses on smaller quantities for small business and for consumers. Its a lot of the same manufacturers as Alibaba.

Guestboarder

Thanks all, I really appreciate you all taking the time to advise :-)

I think I will take the advice and just use ebay and etsy to sell for now, see how well I do with that, I can always use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts to advertise and direct traffic to my etsy page etc....

Harry Palmr

Ebay charges are really steep I have to say, still if testing the market that's less of an issue

jimmii

If you do the site yourself then its cheap but if you have time worth doing.

AndyJB

jimmii wrote: »

If you do the site yourself then its cheap but if you have time worth doing.

Morning,
I agree with jimmii. There are plenty of full function shareware/freeware e-cart solutions out there. They're relatively easy to install, even for a novice. I've setup/used OpenCart and ZenCart. Their basic templates are very functional and will have you up and running quite quickly. There are plenty of other templates available for both. From what I've seen a lot are well priced and wouldn't break the bank.

Of course just because you build it doesn't mean customers will buy your products/services.

I'd suggest maybe starting by selling via Amazon / Ebay / Etsy or why not all 3 at once to see which one works best for you.

Once you gauge your market than look at your own e-store.

On the sourcing product front I'd also suggest looking at Alibaba, I've used it. Aliexpress looks interesting but I've not used it. There's always the good old Google search you could try!

Before you start make sure you put at least a basic projection/plan together. Use an excel sheet to review projected costs and sales. It'll give you a plan to work with and will help you put proper sales prices together. Be as realistic as possible with figures. It's all well and good selling plenty of stock, but if there's no profit you're wasting your time.

Remember to also include potential import duties and vat, compliments of Customs, in your costings. FYI duties etc will be payable before you get your hands on the goods!

I hope I've not put you off your idea, but a little bit of planning could be the difference between profit and a loss.

Best of luck.