Newbie E-Commerce

[Deleted2BB3x9]

Another quick update : I've lowered my product prices as they were too high compared to best buy, walmart etc. I've matched their prices. Hopefully I get my first sale soon!

Edit: My margins are now cut in half but there's still room for profit. It'll be around 50$ per sale. For people with experience, is this a good margin?

 

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[GravyBoat]

It'll be around 50$ per sale. For people with experience, is this a good margin?

Hell yes it is, this means you can live off 2 sales per day. What if you make 10?

 

[Deleted2BB3x9]

I forgot to update you guys. So no sales yet, but I see loads of potential with this product. I've had 200 visitors already so I'm not sure why i'm not getting sales. I've decided to purchase some reviews from fiverr and I'm also going to start selling on ebay too. Ebay should get me some additional traffic and I think the reviews would be the final push needed for my customers to buy.

P.S. My CTR for my keywords are 7.87% and 10.81%. So people are interested in my product, I think the reason for no sales is a trust issue. If anybody experienced is following this thread, maybe I could show you my site and see what you think about it.

 

[GravyBoat]

Send me a PM.

 

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[Deleted2BB3x9]

Hey guys,

So I've got some bad news, I don't think this business is going to work out. I was very naive in thinking I could compete with the big guys. So it's time to close up shop, it's better to move on quickly then to try to make it work and waste more money. I think this thread will still serve as a great starting point for those looking to start ecommerce. I know I've already inspired a couple people and I hope it keeps on inspiring people; learn from my mistakes.

Here's what I've learned from this business:
-Don't compete with the big guys (walmart, bestbuy)
-Research your product immensely before starting, don't get lured in by the thought of how much money you can be making
-Have a kick-a$$ USP, provide REAL value.
-Adwords is a good way to test if people will buy
-Just because you get leads doesn't mean people will buy
- Me-too dropshipping is dead
-What matters most to people is PRICE
-Don't give up if your first business fails

Now it's back to the drawing board, I'm also going to read the book again just to refresh my memory.

 

[MoneyDoc]

Hey guys,

So I've got some bad news, I don't think this business is going to work out. I was very naive in thinking I could compete with the big guys. So it's time to close up shop, it's better to move on quickly then to try to make it work and waste more money. And for those wondering my product was mini fridges. I think this thread will still serve as a great starting point for those looking to start ecommerce. I know I've already inspired a couple people and I hope it keeps on inspiring people; learn from my mistakes.

Here's what I've learned from this business:
-Don't compete with the big guys (walmart, bestbuy)
-Research your product immensely before starting, don't get lured in by the thought of how much money you can be making
-Have a kick-a$$ USP, provide REAL value.
-Adwords is a good way to test if people will buy
-Just because you get leads doesn't mean people will buy
- Me-too dropshipping is dead
-What matters most to people is PRICE
-Don't give up if your first business fails

Now it's back to the drawing board, I'm also going to read the book again just to refresh my memory.

That's the spirit.

Keep it up Ben!

 

[dochustle]

Hey guys,

So I've got some bad news, I don't think this business is going to work out. I was very naive in thinking I could compete with the big guys. So it's time to close up shop, it's better to move on quickly then to try to make it work and waste more money. I think this thread will still serve as a great starting point for those looking to start ecommerce. I know I've already inspired a couple people and I hope it keeps on inspiring people; learn from my mistakes.

Here's what I've learned from this business:
-Don't compete with the big guys (walmart, bestbuy): Compete with them, just find a differentiator. Walmart's not going to give the customer the personal touch you can, for example. Everyone starts small.. expand from there.
-Research your product immensely before starting, don't get lured in by the thought of how much money you can be making: Do this by taking to customers and validating your business before doing anything. Sitting down for coffee with 15-20 potential customers before you build anything will save you time and money in the long run
-Have a kick-a$$ USP, provide REAL value.
-Adwords is a good way to test if people will buy: Know where your customer is now. Where do they hang out? Where can you find them? Go to these places and get feedback.
-Just because you get leads doesn't mean people will buy
- Me-too dropshipping is dead
-What matters most to people is PRICE: Not if you provide enough value. Solve a real pain point in their life and price becomes a non-issue
-Don't give up if your first business fails

Now it's back to the drawing board, I'm also going to read the book again just to refresh my memory.

Learn from your mistakes and apply it to your next venture. Best of luck.

 

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[Deleted2BB3x9]

I'm going to be getting into importing from china and selling on amazon and ebay. I should post a thread soon.

 

[early riser]

Hey guys,


-What matters most to people is PRICE

Somewhat, let me explain. And don't worry the only reason I know this is through experience selling.
Frankly I wish I was where you were at when I was 16.

Anyhow:

People don't buy exotic cars bc they need something to get them from point A to point B.
What matters with anything is value, or need.

No one ever has bought something willingly that they thought was worth the same as what they are paying for.
You have to convince them that what they are giving up (money) is worth less than what they are buying ( whether that value is derived from a product/service/a matter of convenience or need and the importance of such/ reassurance of a company's reputation, the happiness/fun level/status it may bring someone etc.).

Still boils down to they perceive it to be more than worth the cost.

That is how transactions take place.

 

[Deleted2BB3x9]

I'm glad you cleared that up for me. I need to figure out some more ways to provide more value. And, I agree that what really matters is the value of an item not necessarily it's price. My reason for saying price was because when there are a bunch of similar products competing against each other, people will normally pick the one with the lowest price. But if I can provide superior value to my competitors, I can charge whatever the item is valued at in people's eyes. However I still think price plays a part, especially for commodities where it is difficult to differentiate yourself from the rest.

 

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[early riser]

My reason for saying price was because when there are a bunch of similar products competing against each other, people will normally pick the one with the lowest price.

That is true and they may shop accordingly, however even when deciding on the lowest price item, it still comes down to they think that what they are buying is worth more than what they are paying.

Interestingly enough convenience store type items sometimes have the highest margin and they are able to get away with it. Even though it may just be pennies here and there they make it off of volume.
That is because you put way less thought into that when buying over a major purchase.

 

[Ecom man]

Hey guys,

So I've got some bad news, I don't think this business is going to work out. I was very naive in thinking I could compete with the big guys. So it's time to close up shop, it's better to move on quickly then to try to make it work and waste more money. I think this thread will still serve as a great starting point for those looking to start ecommerce. I know I've already inspired a couple people and I hope it keeps on inspiring people; learn from my mistakes.

Here's what I've learned from this business:
-Don't compete with the big guys (walmart, bestbuy)
-Research your product immensely before starting, don't get lured in by the thought of how much money you can be making
-Have a kick-a$$ USP, provide REAL value.
-Adwords is a good way to test if people will buy
-Just because you get leads doesn't mean people will buy
- Me-too dropshipping is dead
-What matters most to people is PRICE
-Don't give up if your first business fails

Now it's back to the drawing board, I'm also going to read the book again just to refresh my memory.

In my opinion you didn't give this enough time to tell if it really will work or not. You lowered the price on Wednesday night. You did not have any sales for 2 days and called it a loss on Saturday morning. You do realize there are a TON of online purchases made over every weekend right? I agree with you that it doesn't make sense to throw good money after bad but a Thursday/Friday with no sales doesn't mean the idea wasn't going to work out. I would give it a full week at minimum, say from this Wednesday through next Wednesday, before completely trashing the product/ idea. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[AlterJoule]

What else are you doing to advertise?

 

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[AlterJoule]

Is this the product you asked my opinion on in private?

 

[Deleted2BB3x9]

I'm currently only using google adwords, I'll run a campaign for another week just to double check if there is still potential in this product like Ecom man said. Thanks man! And Alter yes this is the product I messaged you about. I went ahead with your suggestion and lowered my price and ate the price of shipping. Now I have a 20-30$ profit per sale, which isn't bad for me lol, the only thing is I don't think this product is bought with big volumes, so I'm not sure if I would have enough sales to cover the cost of advertising.

 

[AlterJoule]

@Silverhawk851 has several great resource posts.
Here is one, https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...-250-sites-to-help-you-make-more-money.52034/

I also believe I have some Adword and Bing advertising credits. Let me look for those and I'll shoot them your way so you can continue tweaking. I don't think you're anywhere near finished testing this out. Keep going. I'll be in touch.

 

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[MoneyDoc]

Hey Ben, any updates buddy? Shop still running? Got your first sale yet?

 

[Deleted2BB3x9]

Hey Guys,

Sorry for the lack of updates. This will be my final update with this project. I ran paid advertising for like another month but my CTR was way lower, I was getting an average of 3 clicks a day. So I'm done, I don't think there is potential with this product online, the big box stores have that covered, and their costs are way lower since they buy in wholesale so it's hard to compete with their prices. Although I do see some potential in B&M but i'm no where near ready for that, so i'll keep this as an idea for the future.

 

[Threenuc]

So since you gave up on the project can you reveal what your niche was?

 

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[LogicIsReal]

So since you gave up on the project can you reveal what your niche was?

He said earlier in the thread that he was using mini fridges.

 

[NVaz]

Hey Guys,

So I'm done, I don't think there is potential with this product online, the big box stores have that covered, and their costs are way lower since they buy in wholesale so it's hard to compete with their prices.

Hi,
Correct me if I'm wrong but although I haven't read the whole thread, this post made me think that you've got it from the wrong angle since the beginning... because we can't compete with their prices.We need to offer something of value, something that the big ones can't offer, something that differentiates us, something that makes us stand out of the competition, something that makes the buyer come to us even though he's aware there's cheaper places to go.

 

[Deleted2BB3x9]

Hi,
Correct me if I'm wrong but although I haven't read the whole thread, this post made me think that you've got it from the wrong angle since the beginning... because we can't compete with their prices.We need to offer something of value, something that the big ones can't offer, something that differentiates us, something that makes us stand out of the competition, something that makes the buyer come to us even though he's aware there's cheaper places to go.

I had an angle, but my customers didn't think it was valuable I guess. I offered superior service, I offered free repairs, I have an HVAC mechanic on my support team (my dad). It probably wasn't strong enough of a USP as repairs aren't common.

I had though of another too, designing custom mini fridge designs, so you could have a photo or something on the front. But it would have been too expensive, it would have been unrealistic to ship a heavy item to my house so I could apply a design to it then ship it again. I was dropshipping so there's little control on what value you can provide.

But it's the best I could do with the product I had. It's not like you can bundle mini fridges lol or improve the overall design or features. A mini fridge is a mini fridge. A commodity. And when it comes to commodities, big box owns it. If you can find a USP for this product go ahead and do it. Let me know how it turns out.

P.S. I'm new at this, so take my advice with a grain of salt. If you think i'm making some wrong assumptions then tell me

 

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