Want to start an online store, please help!

What I know, SEO, Web Design, Web Development, PPC & Online Marketing but what I need to know is how one goes about starting an online store that isn't an affiliate site or a site made for adsense? I want to sell products on my site and have them drop shipped and am interested in the health industry.

Can anyone point me in the right direction on how to do this please?

Thanks!

 

*If you're planning on selling health related items, realize you've got stiff competition and right now Amazon is limiting new listings of health items. Amazon could be your bread and butter otherwise.

1. Do some brainstorming about what you'd like to sell

2. Create a business plan (used as a guide)

3. Do market research (you could look at Amazon, talk to people in the industry, etc)

3.5 Decide how you will fund this (small business loan, home equity loan, your savings account, zero interest credit cards, etc)

3.7 Decide where you will store your inventory

4. Register a business name, fill out the paperwork for starting a business (contact your city/state offices, Small Business Administration for advice and help), file for a business license (especially in California!)

5. Begin building your site (if you haven't already), add content, including contact info.

5.5 Decide how you process order payments (payment gateway and credit card processing-have monthly fees, Google Checkout or Paypal- no monthly fees, but don't look quite as credible)

5.7 If you go with credit card processing, you will need to use a static ip, SSL (secure http), etc.

6. Contact various manufacturers and distributors to get started with carrying products (you can look them up via Google, look at your competitors for ideas, read trade magazines - especially the advertiser section).

7. If you can, try to buy small quantities to start, so you lessen your risk on things that don't sell well. There is very little worse than taking up your precious budget and inventory space with stuff that isn't selling!!!

8. Begin your link building, advertising, content creating, media storm.

9. Good luck!

 

What about drop shopping? Can I make an online store and store the manufacturers items in it, sell them and then send the order to distributor to send out? What are the pros and cons to these methods?

 

Drop shipping Pro's:

• Limited risk, since you would not have committed yourself by buying large quantities.
• Possibly larger list of products to sell than what you could afford to buy on your own.
• Good compliment (sometimes) to inventory that you stock, making your store have a larger selection of items.
• It's a good way to test the market to see what sells. Once you know what will sell, buy in bulk from the manufacturer.

Drop shipping Con's:

• You will be at the mercy of the drop shipping company. They ship late or ship the wrong items, you have to answer to the customer.
• Customer service and your reputation could be at risk (see above).
• Many drop shippers sell cheap, crappy products.
• Your profit is low, meaning you have to sell a lot to make money. Drop shippers are usually the middle man and take a nice cut. Even if you drop ship from the manufacturer, they will charge a hefty price, often making your sale unprofitable.
• Sometimes hard to get tracking info from them to give to the customer.

 

hi there,

really good responses on this thread and i would
take the advice given.

if you want to handle the payments as most do
you can get the customer to pay you and then
pass this on to your supplier.

or you can get them to pay the supplier however;
you will have to wait to be paid; normally 30 days.

good luck in your quest.

regards
steve doyle

 

Upon doming some research John Reese has recommended this company for wholesale and drop shipping manufacturers. Has anyone had any experience with them?

http://www.worldwidebrands.com/

I'm sick of driving traffic to other peoples sites and making them 2-3 times more money online when I can do this for my own online store, I cant wait to get this going!! Thanks for the responses!

 

Yes, I have a membership there. I've never used any of the listings though, mostly because I like to go direct and I sell in a very specific niche that isn't represented by drop shipping distributors.

They probably have the best listing of drop shippers and are well liked by sellers on Ebay. Chris Malta (I believe that's his name) started world wide brands and he's frequently on Ebay Radio (never listened myself).

*Remember what I said about drop shipping distributors often selling cheap stuff? Do your research into the market before taking all your time building a site in which you'd have a thousand competitors trying sell the crap on Ebay. **Amazon doesn't like drop shippers, you should have stock on hand for Amazon.

 

The quality of the dropshipper is key. The other factor is how many people does the supplier drop ship for now. An SMC type setup is close to fatal.

A good way to test the product and the dropshipper is to sell on Ebay. You may not make much money but it's a good test drive.

 

Yes, SMC is a good example of a fatal arrangement. Too much competition selling too much junk.

Ebay is a really tough market to sell new items, especially that are drop shipped.
You run the risk of bidders buying it below your cost. If you have a reserve you are being charged with a chance of not even selling. Amazon is much better for this. No charge to list, but they take a nice chunk upon the sale. That is much better, if you ask me.

I can't stand selling new items on Ebay. I'll gladly sell used things that I bought or acquired for nothing (sometimes you can come across businesses wanting to throw away good things, they just don't want to take the time to sell it - big mistake on their part!).

 

Is this the Amazon program you use? http://amazon.com/gp/seller/fba/fulfillment-by-amazon.html?

 

So really the best way to start out is to buy in small bulk so that way I have inventory to sell and I don't have to deal with the downsides of distributors that drop ship because of the downsides you listed above. This way I have full control of products and how I distribute them.

I hope im getting this correct. Im really new at this...

 

Also the only reason I wanted to go into Supplements was because I already have a site that gets over 4K unique hits a month that is filled with affiliate and ad sense links that currently makes me decent money but really im just making someone else the big bucks..

 

No. Amazon fulfillment means Amazon gets your inventory (you send it to them or your manufacturer does) and they ship it to the customer. They take a good chunk of the profit, I'm sure.

 

Yes, unless you have a very good idea of the market and what will sell, it's generally a good idea to start with a little bit of a number of items OR drop ship (consider the pros and cons as mentioned).

I'd start with just one or two manufacturers and sell a range from those.

You have two advantages already.

1. you know what may sell by selling via affiliate links.

2. you already have an established and known website.

These 2 things are huge advantages.

 

If I could get one or two manufacturers that would be huge because most of them carry a variety of products. Would I just go through Worldwide Brands to setup an account with them? How much can I expect to spend for a small bulk order, any idea?

 

You can go through WWB if you want to set up a drop ship account OR you could just skip them and go direct and set up a drop ship account OR you could go direct and set up a wholesale account (where you buy in bulk usually).

Each manufacturer has their own programs and policies. Email or call the manufacturers for info, look at the reseller programs, decide if you want to sell their stuff, apply with the wholesalers that you like, order your items, begin selling.

If you are going to have an inventory, make sure you have taken the time to understand what software or inventory control, reporting, and tax software you are going to use.

Don't make my mistake and do the accounting part after the fact!!!
*I still haven't decided what to use: MYOB, Microsoft Business, etc. Ugh!!!

 

Another thing; don't be in a rush to start your business. Do the leg work ahead of time before buying your inventory.

Go to the library or ask the SBA for their free book on starting a business. Read it.

If you miss the Christmas rush, it's not the end of the world.

Also, I haven't seen your site, but make sure it looks professional and trustworthy to the customer. If you're already having sales via affiliate links, you're site is probably pretty decent.

 

Thanks for all the help. I have contacted one manufacturer and requested information so we'll see how that goes.

I'm going to research inventory control, reporting and tax software today to see what my options are.

 

You're very welcome! What comes around goes around. Next time you can explain how to start a business.

Good luck!

 

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