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| Anyone have their own online store? Posted by TJG210 I'm looking into the possibility of starting an online store and want to know what I need to do to get started.  on 2/13 at 1:16 amWhat licenses do I need? Are permits necessary? Any reading material you can recommend? This post was edited on 2/13 at 1:17 am Reply • Back to Top |
| (no message) This post was edited on 2/13 at 8:36 am Reply • Back to Top |
| if you are in LA LINK will help with the state part... local laws need to be investigated Reply • Back to Top |
quote: Is this really necessary for a small time operation? Reply • Back to Top |
| My buddy started one. It was a little work on the front end but its now just sitting out there. Its all gravy for him on the back-end but I haven't asked him about the traffic or sales info since last summer. I know he's still working so he hasn't hit the bigtime yet, so to speak. Reply • Back to Top |
quote: ? laws are laws... they apply to big and small.. Reply • Back to Top |
| Yes it's what I do for a living. Check storecoach.com as a good resource. Ask me any questions and I will try to help. This post was edited on 2/13 at 8:58 pm Reply • Back to Top |
quote: do you stock your inventory or drop ship? Reply • Back to Top |
quote: Both. For my primary product line I keep quite a bit of product on hand. If I run out or sell a rare item the manufacturer will drop shop for me. It can be hard to find a reliable drop shipper. Even reliable manufacturers sometimes aren't good at shipping an order at a time to consumers. Right now I'm looking for new product lined to sell and fur to storage, hassle of shipping etc I'm trying to do these as drop ship. Reply • Back to Top |
| I'm just curious, but so you mind posting your site or just generally what kind of stuff you sell? If you don't want to post too much on here I understand  Reply • Back to Top |
| so i assume you have a warehouse with your product stocked? is this a full time job or do you work basically when you want Reply • Back to Top |
quote: Yeah, sorry I don't want to post that info. But if you go that storecoach.com site (not affiliated with them at all) you'll get plenty of good info on where to start. Some of the features you have to pay for but you can learn plenty for free. They also have a pretty good forum. Reply • Back to Top |
| its sex toys isn't it Reply • Back to Top |
quote: Yes, I stock it at my own warehouse. It was a side job that complicated my main job. I'm moving into as more a full time job now. While the hours are more flexible then traditional retail or even many office jobs it takes a decent bit more work to do things then one may consider. Especially if you are doing everything on your own like a I do. I design and develop the sites, add the products, work with vendors, answer all the calls and do all of the shipping. I don't have nearly enough $$$ coming in to pay someone to help in the office as the volume is still low. On thing to remember about the hours is that you want to make yourself available as much as possible. It may be 9:50 here right now but its only 7:50 on the west coast and you don't want to miss that sale so you may need to take a phone call. It just depends on if you want to me that aggressive. I take calls day and night whenever I can, 7 days a week. Of course some people want a clear divide in their off time and work time. The most difficult things about the job are ranking in search engines and making decent margins. There are people constantly undercutting you. Many people start out in e-commerce and keep such thin margins that they can't make it longterm. But in the meantime it devalues your product and you don't end up making money either. Reply • Back to Top |
quote: Haha, no -- I wouldn't want to handle the returns for that.  Reply • Back to Top |
quote:  Reply • Back to Top |
quote: Thanks for the resource, I started looking around it last night and it looks like it will at least give me a start. This will probably just be a part time thing for me, I have a pretty good full time job, but think this will be fun way to get a little extra spending money from. Reply • Back to Top |
quote: I wouldn't hold on too hard to the expectation of it being fun. But, good luck to you if you do decide to give it a shot. Reply • Back to Top |
| What's the market like for your product? Are there major competitors, or is it more of a niche product? Reply • Back to Top |
quote: There is some pretty decent competition out there. All things considered it is niche but can be found on some big sites. Thankfully I have buy in bulk and have good buying power on this line. Reply • Back to Top • Refresh |
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