New to Ecommerce, discouraged

So I'm new to E commerce, I have probably spent about 1000$ between starting a LLC, buying products, paying for some subscriptions for website upkeep, white label products testing samples. I recently decided to order a large supply of stock to readily sale and ship within a few days, as last time I let the supplier do it, it failed miserably and I ended up having to give the recipient free product as it got delivered way past the delivery day as promised on the website in order to keep good ratings. I am in no way rich, but I have a few questions for the experts, how much did you have to spend before you seen a return significant enough i.e 1k a month? How much should someone plan to invest? How much time should a sole person spend doing marketing, SEO optimization etc?

FYI today the post office robbed me of some of my stock, I ordered 20 vitamins for resale and they stole 14. This is so discouraging, anything good quality these days, I just want a good side hustle, thankfully I have a job to fall back on.

 

Thank you, I will do all of this now! Especially a mentor, I will look into that too!

 

I personally don't sell physical products online. I find it very frustrating. I could go on .. Like you have to ship it, people ask for refunds in which you lose money, you have to get product photos, you have to store the physical products. It's very pricey.

I prefer digital products, for example I have a Link Building Cheat Sheet. It's simple, but I never lose money with it. Every sale is a profit. It's also a great resource if you're interested, it shows places you can market.

And yeah I spend a lot of time marketing. Creating blog posts and such. Keep exploring free ways to market if that's the part that's frustrating. I know because I went through the same thing trying to sell a hair sponge online. At this point I still get sales on the sponge, but it's kinda annoying going to the UPS Store every day lol. Digital products for life.

Anyways best of luck mate.

 

I agree, smart idea. I initially got into E commerce to dropship and provide quality products, the problem is letting the supplier ship, they do horribly and all crap hits the floor, it reminds me of being at work where I can only intend to do well myself. I will look into how I can turn my niche into something digital as well. The hair sponge is not bad for income, they get old so it's needed pretty often like any other grooming supplies.

 

If you're new to ecommerce/websites/marketing, I would recommend a dropship or affiliate model starting out. It's less expensive while learning everything. Look for multiple suppliers to find the most reliable ones. All your other questions are open-ended, meaning it depends on the niche, product, market, your experience/skills/knowledge, etc. You can start making $1k a month in the first month using PPC Ads, but what is the ROI?

The Health/Vitamin/Supplement niche is one of the most difficult niches for anyone. It's best to have deep pockets to compete. Good luck

 

Ah yes and the suppliers, they mess up sometimes. They also change their product line so you end up having to get new product photos. I've lost like over $1000 selling physical products. It was worth the experience but I'm out on selling that online.

I think physical products are more geared for in-stores. So my approach with that business is to work on a better box and get it into beauty shops.

 

Good thinking, Ive dipped my feet into this type, but found chinese products had limited photographs, the pictures often didnt match the product or the quality is so low, but these products seem to dominate the market too. I just need to keep looking for a good drop shipper or more local if its an option. Would you recommend buying a certain amount of one product (maybe 100 a month) in order to control the competitive shipping (dropshipping can take ages to ship) and ship them out fast or just be transparent? I guess I can also answer my own question because I know it depends on the platform.

When selling physical products how did you lose 1000 (i.e. customers asking for refunds)? Definitely, physical products would have a different market in stores, especially for the generations that aren't on social media, they also become more legitimate in person, I feel like the competition is steep with the big companies in some stores, I can see how beauty shops offer more partnerships with small companies than a Target store.

 

First of all, the situation you are currently experiencing will be a valuable experience for you in the future. Don't think of it as e-commerce; even when you open a regular store, you will face significant challenges. As you know, making quick and easy money only happens in movies. So, try to learn from the mistakes you have made.

Another important point is that e-commerce is a very complex structure. I can list the path to success under 3 main headings:

1. It should be an advanced design and feature-rich e-commerce site that constantly engages customers with campaigns, vouchers, or discounts, and has an advanced analytics admin panel. Design is especially the first thing the customer looks at.
2. You need to do SEO work. Installing plugins on the site and waiting is already a wrong approach. There are more than 200 items in terms of SEO that you need to do. Most of them are related to the website.
3. Social media and advertising are also important factors. For example, if you have just launched your site, you need to promote it. In the beginning, you can solve this with small budgets. Your customers won't come to you; you have to go to them.

These 3 points are very important. Each of them requires expertise. Even if you are good at SEO and advertising, if you don't have a good site, your sales won't be different. Because the final decision-maker for the customer is your website. Instead of problematic structures like WordPress as a platform, working with large and corporate companies will always be more accurate. Remember, if success came easy, everyone would be rich. But all those who succeed are hard workers. I hope you achieve success in e-commerce.


Keaton KERRERA

 

I find this advice best. Soon, I will go with it. You can also stick with this advice.