Escape the Borg! - My Journey to Freedom, Ecommerce

[OldFaithful]

With a prospective mfgr that close, you might want to arrange to meet with them at their facility. You can size them up, evaluate their mfg capabilities, and establish a business relationship. This can help you get the best deal possible.

It's much easier to "give someone the shaft" if you've never met them and they don't know you as a real person with a real story. Email can be very dehumanizing.

 

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[PTP]

With a prospective mfgr that close, you might want to arrange to meet with them at their facility. You can size them up, evaluate their mfg capabilities, and establish a business relationship. This can help you get the best deal possible.

It's much easier to "give someone the shaft" if you've never met them and they don't know you as a real person with a real story. Email can be very dehumanizing.

I actually have been over there 3 times already. The email with the designs was sent after I talked with the owner.

While he is not able to manufacture the parts at his shop, he referenced me to another company. I called them and they said they have done this kind of manufacturing before for similar parts. Im now sending over designs and trying to get a price quote.

 

[PTP]

Well I have hit my first major hurdle.

Because I didn't raise my prices, my supplier is cutting me off. I have no more products to sell with a HUGE increase in demand (more on this in a second).

Some might ask why I don't just raise prices. The long term effects out weigh the short term benefits. If I were to raise prices to the level the manufacture wants me to be at,it bumps me out of my target market. The next level that I enter into begins to compete with larger name manufactures for more top tier buyers.

Also, by increasing prices, I will piss off a large majority, if not all of my market. Since price is one of my main competitive advantages I have, it would be to my detriment to increase it. The long term benefits outweigh any short term pain.

Im meeting with an American manufacture this week to try to expedite the process and get my products made in the US.

Recently I have seen a HUGE surge in sales. I learned that a person on Reddit posted a link to my website. Sales spiked on that day to more than Black Friday. This is the 3rd day since it was posted and sales have been at or around Black Friday numbers for those days. The two big things people have been commenting on as to why they wont buy it is A) Its Chinese made and B) They want the one with the other connection point.

When I get both of these fixed, and actually start advertising my company, there will be a lot of people looking to buy what I have to offer.

This goes to show that what Im selling, in the price point im selling at, is in huge demand. Very few other companies are servicing these consumers. If I change the price I no longer have this competitive advantage.

I have decided to take a new route and change the direction of my company. They path I was headed down was not a long term solution. Im going to make my brand more about the lifestyle than it is about individual products. To say im excited for the new direction im going is an understatement!

Instagram 17.8k

Facebook 300+

 

[Argue]

What are you sell

I decided to make this eCommerce/importing progress thread after a spur of the moment decision. My goal for this thread is to not only be able to look back and see the progress I have made, but to absorb the advice that others have been so gracious to bestow upon me.

I would first like to take a second to thank @Ecom man and @Walter Hay. I know i'm not the first to say this, and definitely wont be the last, but you both really helped me to get motivated and learn a lot before jumping into the world of eCommerce.

Starting an eCommerce business is less about the money for me as it is about the learning and experience. Don't get me wrong, I like making money. But I really want to learn as many skills as I can now to set myself up for the future.

Now for the progress (as of 3/26/16)...

I started with this whole eCommerce thing in late January. After about a month of searching for a product to sell, I finally found my niche. I decided to sell on eBay because I didn't want to make a rookie mistake on Amazon and forever be banned.

• I created a brand name and logo.
• With my first product I am about to order my first shipment of 100 units. I have progressed from order sizes of 15 to 30 to 60. They are selling well. On average I sell 4.5 a day at $16-$19 profit per unit.
• My second product is a little more expensive and sells about one a day. I have ordered a second order of 25 units more of this item. My profit margin is again $16-$19 depending on where it is shipping to.
• I have 4 other products all in the same niche that i'm going to sell once I have the money to do so.
• I created a killer template for my listings. I found an amazing picture to aid my company image and tracked down the photographer. He was a super nice guy and allowed licensing rights at a price that I saw fit to pay him.
• Started the process of getting a domain name. The one that I want is owned by someone who is holding it to sell. I should have control of it soon enough.
• So far I have over $3000 in sales. I could have sold more but there has been a few week layover between each new shipment.

What I need to get done

The overall consumer perception of eBay, that is that it is a cheap place for deals, really hurts my company sales. My products require a sense of quality which is not achieved on ebay. As a result I need to move to my own website and build a brand through there.

• While my niche is not illegal, It is definitely frowned upon by eBay and Amazon alike. As a result I know my days on eBay are limited and that I need to make my own website.
  
• I need to improve my ability to write copy.
• This summer im thinking of, in addition to my eCommerce business, working in the sales department of a company. I would like to overcome my fear of putting myself out there and learn the art of selling.
  
• Also ive heard a lot of good things about toastmaster. Can anyone support this? Id like to learn how to talk in public.

I have not decided if I want to go the @Ecom man route of many products on ebay/personal web sight or the @biophase of changing products for resale on Amazon. What I do know for right now is that i'm going to build a website around my niche and build my company image and brand. Once that has been established I will figure out where to go next.

If you've made it through my rambling so far, thank you. I understand that I have a lot to learn and am open to any advice that you can provide me with. I look forward to reading your responses.

what are you selling that is "not illegal", but "frowned upon"?

Read the thread but you don't say what your item is? I'd like to know and definitely know more about ecommerce. If you don't mind, can your provide links, videos, authors etc so I can learn more about ecommerce? You motivated me to follow your path. Thank you.

 

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[PTP]

What are you sell

what are you selling that is "not illegal", but "frowned upon"?

Read the thread but you don't say what your item is? I'd like to know and definitely know more about ecommerce. If you don't mind, can your provide links, videos, authors etc so I can learn more about ecommerce? You motivated me to follow your path. Thank you.

For the love of God please tell me you arent being serious.

 

[PTP]

Can one of the mods please move this thread to the Inside please. Thank you!

@AllenCrawley @Vigilante @Andy Black @MJ DeMarco

 

[Argue]

For the love of God please tell me you arent being serious.

Why are you so alarmed? I'm genuine about my question? I didn't mean to offend you. I'm new here and I really don't know much yet about this forum. I'm just seeking information/advice. I'm sorry if I said anything wrong.

 

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[stealth09]

@Argue fyi people here don't ask what product an individual is selling. That puts them at risk of having anyone who comes by to steal his idea...

 

[Argue]

@Argue fyi people here don't ask what product an individual is selling. That puts them at risk of having anyone who comes by to steal his idea...

Oh I didn't know. Truly, I'm very sorry. I was very motivated by the OP journey I just had to know but I guess I made a mistake. I hope the OP doesn't put this on the INSIDERS and leaves this thread available. I'm reading it to learn. Again I'm sorry about asking, I'm new to this forum and this is a whole new world to me. I'm very excited at all the success here in this forum it's causing me to break my old habits and form new ones. I wanna get into ecommerce just need some references. Maybe this was the wrong place to ask. :/

 

[PTP]

Oh I didn't know. Truly, I'm very sorry. I was very motivated by the OP journey I just had to know but I guess I made a mistake. I hope the OP doesn't put this on the INSIDERS and leaves this thread available. I'm reading it to learn. Again I'm sorry about asking, I'm new to this forum and this is a whole new world to me. I'm very excited at all the success here in this forum it's causing me to break my old habits and form new ones. I wanna get into ecommerce just need some references. Maybe this was the wrong place to ask. :/

No worries brother! The more familiar you become with the forum, the more you will learn the "unspoken rules".

There is a ton of great information in this forum. I suggest you check out the threads by @biophase @AllenCrawley @Ecom man and @Vigilante for ecommerce. Nearly everything I have learned, I learned from reading their posts.

 

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[Argue]

No worries brother! The more familiar you become with the forum, the more you will learn the "unspoken rules".

There is a ton of great information in this forum. I suggest you check out the threads by @biophase @AllenCrawley @Ecom man and @Vigilante for ecommerce. Nearly everything I have learned, I learned from reading their posts.

Thank you!

Keep up the terrific work!

 

[PTP]

Just got this under my shopify store. I thought it was pretty neat!

 

[PTP]

Met with the manufacture today, got a tour of the facility.

Found out they are already very well versed in creating the product I need which is amazing news. This undertaking is much larger than I had first anticipated and will require a lot of $$$ to get started.

The designs that I had made are nothing compared to what is needed for the manufacturing process. Will likely get someone in the manufacturing facility to work with me in designing/ reverse engineering products.

 

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[OldFaithful]

The designs that I had made are nothing compared to what is needed for the manufacturing process. Will likely get someone in the manufacturing facility to work with me in designing/ reverse engineering products.

This might have been expected, it's certainly quite normal. It's a good sign really, just be sure to have a proper NDA to protect your unique design features. Good work!

 

[PTP]

Havent heard anything back from the manufacture since I met him on Wednesday. Sent my 2nd follow up email today. I dont understand why he wouldn't respond considering I would be paying him to help redesign my CADs, as well as a mold cost, in addition to the MOQ.

Regardless, I started sending out emails to other local manufactures. The benefit to this was I got a better understanding of how my product is made. This allows me to be more knowledgeable when talking to othre manufactures about what I need them to do.

 

[PTP]

Finally heard back from the first manufacture. We have a meeting set for next week to go over the CADs.

Drove over to another local manufacturing company yesterday. Waiting on a price quote although it is the weekend so Im not expecting anything until Monday. They seem more flexible in order quantity size but arnt able to make all the parts I need. They also dont do engraving which is a big minus.

I will find and meet with some more manufactures just to get a general idea of the market price. This will allow me to better judge who legit and who's ripping me off.

However, the first manufacture is the one I really want to because they know what they are doing and have all the proprietary machines already made.

Instagram: 18.3k

 

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[PTP]

Met with the manufacture again today. I am now getting some designs made. The first product is going to be something simple just to get it out the door. Once everything is set up, I will get other iterations made with more complex changes that I want.

Still concerned about getting the price lowered. Its something I need to figure out.

Instagram: 19.3k

 

[Niptuck MD]

am in the same boat (trying to get that rolling residual income) so i can quit this 48 hour of mindless mundane grunt work hahaa

 

[PTP]

Had some help from someone I know with getting a CAD design made. I got the manufacture to sign an NDA for design and sent them over to him.

Hes now working on getting the design spec'd out and then will give me a price quote. This same manufacture is going to help connect me with a smaller facility that he knows. This smaller facility does the order sizes I am looking for, which is going make the starting cost a lot cheaper.

Instagram: 19.6k

 

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[dave773]

Read through the entire thread. Keep it up man. You have overcome so many obstacles by this point nothings going to stop you. Maybe you should reread over your thread if you haven't yet and see how far you've come. Not that you need the belief, but there is a significant difference in the way you write as well as your mindset from page 1 compared to page 4.

You started avoiding getting banned on ebay and now a year later you are about to set up shop in the US. Incredible.

 

[Kade]

Man, this thread is inspiring.
Really enjoy the regular update and you breaking down the progress.
Keep it up and good fortune with the local manufacturer!

 

[PTP]

Been away from the forum for a little while. Time for an update.

Essentially since the end of December I have been out of stock. My Chinese manufacture wasnt sending me stuff because he left his USA shipping station and was in China. After bugging him constantly, he finally sent me some products. Now after 3 weeks of being out of stock of everything, today is my first day of selling.

I sent an email out to people who signed up to be alerted when the products are back in stock. Sales have been steadily streaming in. Its great to be back on track again. This has opened my eyes to the potential of email marketing. My list has grown to about 1500 people and I havent sent a single email out. That will change.

Constantly being at the mercy of the supplier whether it be him not sending me products or him demanding I change my pricing (still not sure why) is reinforcing the commandment of CONTROL. I think its safe to say that this lesson will be ingrained into my mind for years to come.

Got a call from the manufacture essentially saying that they dont want to work with me. Something about my company reaching out to them already before. I think thats unlikely given that my company is made entirely up of just me and Ive only contacted them once. The guy Ive gotten to know is still trying to figure out what is going on so I will keep you posted.

Instagram 20k. Trying out a new strategy for gaining a following that does not involve the follow/unfollow method. Slower growth but more targeted followers.

Re-started mediation. Last time I was doing mediation I would just sit there for 15 mins with my eyes closed. Needless to say that didnt work out to well. This time im using an app called headspace which is guided meditation.

Reading the Blue Ocean Strategy and have already started to rethink my entire business path. Its a phenomenal book and I highly recommend it.

Finally, im figuring out how to manage a complete brand shift. Essentially what im looking to do is take my current product line and change most of it to products in a different niche while still under the same brand name. Does anyone have any experience doing something similar to this?

 

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[PTP]

Update:

The Bad News

As of a few days ago, I no longer have a Chinese supplier.

I found out yesterday that the USA manufacturing facility that I was going to work with fell through. I have maybe 1 month of products left before I am out of inventory.

The Good News

Im still alive and breathing. Kind of obvious but still good news nonetheless

There is a degree of leverage I have against the Chinese supplier. Will see how it works out.

Sales are almost better than they were at Christmas time. Possibly was partially due to a change I made to my website (more below) partially because I FINALLY have full inventory (what a concept).

The guy who worked for the USA manufacture that I have been in contact with is helping to set me up with a connection at the old facility he worked at. Creating contacts is extremely important.

I am going to have to invest more up front in terms of tooling costs, however, I was told this new company is excited to work with me. Im still waiting on news but am staying positive.

The designs will be finalized this weekend and then I will know what the per unit cost is going to be.

Recently I learned about optimizing your website for speed. I implemented all the suggestions over various websites and managed to significantly speed up my website.

While the speed is still abysmal, I have seen a very good response in terms of conversions etc...

Have reached out to a website developer to further optimize it even more.

I dont have the time or knowledge on how to speed up a website (other than what ive already done) so this was a no brainier. Updates on how that goes to come.

My plans moving forward in order

1) Get products manufactured in the USA
2) Add a branded apparel line to my store (multiple customers have asked me to do this. I dont anticipate it to be a huge hit. Mostly for advertising)
3) Expand my brand into different vaguely related niches. Im still hesitant on how to do this and not ruin my brand image and I will be reaching out to forum members for guidance. Thank you ahead of time

There are definitely some major hurdles I need to overcome, however, I am just grateful to be alive and have the opportunity to run a business. Thank you for reading

 

[Niptuck MD]

Update:

The Bad News

As of a few days ago, I no longer have a Chinese supplier.

I found out yesterday that the USA manufacturing facility that I was going to work with fell through. I have maybe 1 month of products left before I am out of inventory.

The Good News

Im still alive and breathing. Kind of obvious but still good news nonetheless

There is a degree of leverage I have against the Chinese supplier. Will see how it works out.

Sales are almost better than they were at Christmas time. Possibly was partially due to a change I made to my website (more below) partially because I FINALLY have full inventory (what a concept).

The guy who worked for the USA manufacture that I have been in contact with is helping to set me up with a connection at the old facility he worked at. Creating contacts is extremely important.

I am going to have to invest more up front in terms of tooling costs, however, I was told this new company is excited to work with me. Im still waiting on news but am staying positive.

The designs will be finalized this weekend and then I will know what the per unit cost is going to be.

Recently I learned about optimizing your website for speed. I implemented all the suggestions over various websites and managed to significantly speed up my website.

While the speed is still abysmal, I have seen a very good response in terms of conversions etc...

Have reached out to a website developer to further optimize it even more.

I dont have the time or knowledge on how to speed up a website (other than what ive already done) so this was a no brainier. Updates on how that goes to come.

My plans moving forward in order

1) Get products manufactured in the USA
2) Add a branded apparel line to my store (multiple customers have asked me to do this. I dont anticipate it to be a huge hit. Mostly for advertising)
3) Expand my brand into different vaguely related niches. Im still hesitant on how to do this and not ruin my brand image and I will be reaching out to forum members for guidance. Thank you ahead of time

There are definitely some major hurdles I need to overcome, however, I am just grateful to be alive and have the opportunity to run a business. Thank you for reading

KEEP UP THE POSITIVE MINDSET AND YOU SHALL PREVAIL AND OVERCOME; I am dealing with the same asinine suppliers (selection from china) and also with my other projects and its been a frustrating few days but i know that it will all come to fruition soon;

 

[#nowhere]

Update:

The Bad News

As of a few days ago, I no longer have a Chinese supplier.

I found out yesterday that the USA manufacturing facility that I was going to work with fell through. I have maybe 1 month of products left before I am out of inventory.

The Good News

Im still alive and breathing. Kind of obvious but still good news nonetheless

There is a degree of leverage I have against the Chinese supplier. Will see how it works out.

Sales are almost better than they were at Christmas time. Possibly was partially due to a change I made to my website (more below) partially because I FINALLY have full inventory (what a concept).

The guy who worked for the USA manufacture that I have been in contact with is helping to set me up with a connection at the old facility he worked at. Creating contacts is extremely important.

I am going to have to invest more up front in terms of tooling costs, however, I was told this new company is excited to work with me. Im still waiting on news but am staying positive.

The designs will be finalized this weekend and then I will know what the per unit cost is going to be.

Recently I learned about optimizing your website for speed. I implemented all the suggestions over various websites and managed to significantly speed up my website.

While the speed is still abysmal, I have seen a very good response in terms of conversions etc...

Have reached out to a website developer to further optimize it even more.

I dont have the time or knowledge on how to speed up a website (other than what ive already done) so this was a no brainier. Updates on how that goes to come.

My plans moving forward in order

1) Get products manufactured in the USA
2) Add a branded apparel line to my store (multiple customers have asked me to do this. I dont anticipate it to be a huge hit. Mostly for advertising)
3) Expand my brand into different vaguely related niches. Im still hesitant on how to do this and not ruin my brand image and I will be reaching out to forum members for guidance. Thank you ahead of time

There are definitely some major hurdles I need to overcome, however, I am just grateful to be alive and have the opportunity to run a business. Thank you for reading

Hi PTP,

interesting update. Did you look for alternative suppliers? Maybe elsewhere in Asia?

Problems are part of the Journey. Keep on going forward.

 

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[PTP]

Hi PTP,

interesting update. Did you look for alternative suppliers? Maybe elsewhere in Asia?

Problems are part of the Journey. Keep on going forward.

Ive weighed both options and have decided that american manufacturing is the way to go. My goal is to find someone local so that I can easily check up on them when need be.

 

[PTP]

Update:

Through an extreme amount of self control, patience, diplomacy, and guidance from my dad, I was able to get on reasonable terms with my Chinese supplier again. I have some more shipments coming in but everything is on borrowed time.

There were times where I would read a message from him and have to walk away for a few hours because he made me see red. Its hard to tolerate someone else telling you how to run your business. But, if you're still tethered to them, it best to be diplomatic.

I learned that keeping calm and not losing your temper is the best way to deal with people you may disagree with.

Speeding up your website is extremely helpful for boosting conversions. My website currently has someone working on it to speed it up to levels that I hope are blazing fast.

Yesterday my designer finally finished up part of the design for one of my proprietary products. This CAD allows me to move forward with the manufacturing process and allows me to start creating the needed tools to get everything ready for production.

There are still numerous variations that I want produced, but now I have a template to base the designs off of which will make it much cheaper down the road.

After listening to a Steve Jobs audio book, I learned that he was really big on rewarding milestones - even the small ones. As a result, im going to implement this into my business to make myself more motivated. My goal for this month is to break my 1 month sales high. If I do I will take myself out to my favorite restaurant.

Ill let yall know how a short term (<1 mo) goal helps with motivation.

Facebook is growing, albeit slowly. Just a few likes away from 1000. Will run a contest and capture emails at the same time. More to come.

 

[PTP]

Its about time for an update. This one will be quick, Ill follow up with a more detailed one later.

• CAD that the designer made was trash. Lost some time and money but learned not everyone knows what theyre doing.

• Random American manufacture reached out to me out of the blue. Offered products I could private label. Didnt want to private label. Wanted my own designs. Got samples and asked if they could send me blank CADs. They did.

• Brother is helping to redesign my products using blank CADs. 1/3 CAD variations are done. Received prototypes currently testing. They are GORGEOUS imho.

• Ordering small production run from USA manufacture to get US products on my store. Lead time 3-4 weeks. Lots of work to do for the product launch. Will be removing most other products from my store. Expecting a temporary sales hit.

• Better for the long term success of my brand.

• Working on getting custom packaging. Want to bring an "apple like" unboxing experience to a niche where that is not the norm. Will be expensive per box but emotional appeal from unboxing cannot be understated.

• Figured out a way to grow Facebook a lot.

• Went from 1200-1300 pages likes to 1750-1800 in about 3 days. The method will only work better as I get larger.

• Getting more active on social media. Instagram stories and Facebook growth specifically.

• Plan to hit advertising hard with these new American products. Personally expecting brand to explode.

Lots of work to do in terms of finally getting the brand name out there. Excited and ready for growth.

 

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[PTP]

Got this announcement on my store today. Doesn't time fly when you're having fun? Happy Easter everyone!

 

[PTP]

Update:

• First mini production order as well as 2nd variation samples should be coming in tomorrow

• Bought a new theme on shopify that is optimized for speed. Finally launched it today.

• Getting ready for the first of my new product launches.

• Ran a contest on Facebook to help name my product. Got a bunch of great suggestions as well as a cool naming structure that im going to use for the rest of my products.