Struggling Business Owner from NJ

[NeedFastMoney]

Someone directed me to these forums when I saw there was little to not interaction on a previous forum.

I'm a single male from the state of New Jersey. I run an eCommerce business selling items via auctions, Craigslist, etc. My business is NOT successful. I offer great deals on video games, other household electronics, cellphones, etc.

Most of the time I get contacted by scam artists or people that are too cheap and afraid to pay for the items they want. It is VERY frustrating as my bread and butter is my business. I have attempted to start an accountability/mentoring group here in Jersey (with people that are closer or at the point I wish to be) on other forums but received absolutely NO RESPONSE.

I am on the verge of quitting with the entire plan for becoming wealthy because I am working very hard and trying any and everything but nothing is happening as a result. I have been doing this for years and still have very little to show for it.

I came here in hopes of renewing my faith in being a business owner, finding a group I can network with FACE-TO-FACE, and possibly looking at a new business that is more lucrative than the one I am in.

 

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[fanocks2003]

Someone directed me to these forums when I saw there was little to not interaction on a previous forum.

I'm a single male from the state of New Jersey. I run an eCommerce business selling items via auctions, Craigslist, etc. My business is NOT successful. I offer great deals on video games, other household electronics, cellphones, etc.

Most of the time I get contacted by scam artists or people that are too cheap and afraid to pay for the items they want. It is VERY frustrating as my bread and butter is my business. I have attempted to start an accountability/mentoring group here in Jersey (with people that are closer or at the point I wish to be) on other forums but received absolutely NO RESPONSE.

I am on the verge of quitting with the entire plan for becoming wealthy because I am working very hard and trying any and everything but nothing is happening as a result. I have been doing this for years and still have very little to show for it.

I came here in hopes of renewing my faith in being a business owner, finding a group I can network with FACE-TO-FACE, and possibly looking at a new business that is more lucrative than the one I am in.

First of all: What distinguish you from the rest of the crowd?
Secondly: Why not bring on board a partner who can share profits with you in exhange for them giving your business the expertise you need. It may be marketing and customer relations in this case.

I can relate, I have been in such a situation myself. The solution came when I teamed up with others. Knowing my weaknesses saved me. We all have them.

 

[NeedFastMoney]

First of all: What distinguish you from the rest of the crowd?
Secondly: Why not bring on board a partner who can share profits with you in exhange for them giving your business the expertise you need. It may be marketing and customer relations in this case.

I can relate, I have been in such a situation myself. The solution came when I teamed up with others. Knowing my weaknesses saved me. We all have them.

My cheap prices. *Thinks*

Which is probably why I constantly attract cheap, non-paying customers. Wow. My question is then how can I (one man) sell my products for the same price (or more) than the prices retail stores offer and still be competitive?

I have NO idea how to do that.

 

[Sparlin]

First of all, welcome to the forum. If you are looking for quality information, this is the place to get it. It sounds like you are pulling your hair out over the sales issue.

I'm not one of the gurus here, but I can relay some things I've learned. I don't know exactly what your product is, but you cannot go head to head against the main retail stores if you are selling the same products. I think you mentioned electronics (games, cell phones, etc.). That is a very difficult market to compete in. You had better have a super marketing plan if you try.

The main issue is that mega retailers such as Walmart order their merchandise in large volumes. This allows them to get the product extremely cheap from the manufacturers compared to the price you can buy it at. For example, it may cost a widget manufacturer $10 to make a product. If you come along and order 3 of them (for resale) he will sell them to you for $13. This gives him a $9 ($3x3) profit. Walmart might approach the same manufacturer and order 10,000 units of the same item. Walmart tells the manufacturer that they will only pay $11 per unit for such a large order.

The manufacturer complies so they can make a $10,000 profit ($1x10,000). Then Walmart will take those units and sell them for $12. This really puts you at a disadvantage from the onset.

What you need to do is find a niche market. That is an item that has value to a certain demographic, but one that stores such as Walmart don’t carry. For example, most of the big retailers sell clothing. There is a store in my local mall that just sells Nurses uniforms (Scrubs). They have a niche, and people from the medical community go there to shop. Find a niche product that you can sell at a good profit margin.

Now I probably explained something that you already knew. The point is that if you take the time to read through these threads you will find out how to be successful. There are several people here that utilize drop shipping as a business. Look up the info and learn how they do it.

Apart from that, there are several other ways to make money. You’ll find experts here that deal in real estate, self storage units, blogging, web development, stock markets, and other things. I think if you do take the time to read, you’ll find a community here that is glad to advise you. I know they are helping me as I’m still at the beginning of my journey. Hang in there; some of the answers are here. Welcome aboard. :cheers:

 

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[fanocks2003]

My cheap prices. *Thinks*

Which is probably why I constantly attract cheap, non-paying customers. Wow. My question is then how can I (one man) sell my products for the same price (or more) than the prices retail stores offer and still be competitive?

I have NO idea how to do that.

That is a very important question to answer. Because there will always be a bigger company than yours willing to outspend you (and if they are up to it, they will). Price is really for the big boys. We smaller guys need to compete on high quality. And there is really more to gain doing it high price, high quality.

As you said yourself: attract the better customers. Customers who want you to do well, because that means they will do well long-term as well. That is the customer relationship you really want. It's much more fun doing business with people who are not trying to scam you of you're hard work and your financial output all the time. I know how it is, because I sold mp4 players before. That field is filled with cheapskates (with "field" I mean the tech business field in general).

 

[biophase]

My cheap prices. *Thinks*

Which is probably why I constantly attract cheap, non-paying customers. Wow. My question is then how can I (one man) sell my products for the same price (or more) than the prices retail stores offer and still be competitive?

I have NO idea how to do that.

You cannot just be cheap. You need to begin building a brand so customer will pay you more for the value of doing business with you and the comfort of being able to make returns.

Are you selling name brand items or are you selling cheaper imitations of them?

 

[kidgas]

I don't know much about e-commerce, but are these people getting product without paying? If so, is there a way you can assure that they pay before you actually ship the product? Credit card hold, money orders, etc. I always make sure that I have cash, cashier's check, or money order for my first month's rent and a deposit on my rental houses. No keys until I have that money in hand.

 

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[NeedFastMoney]

You cannot just be cheap. You need to begin building a brand so customer will pay you more for the value of doing business with you and the comfort of being able to make returns.

Are you selling name brand items or are you selling cheaper imitations of them?

Namebrand items such as the Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, Sony Blu-Ray players, etc.

 

[NeedFastMoney]

I don't know much about e-commerce, but are these people getting product without paying? If so, is there a way you can assure that they pay before you actually ship the product? Credit card hold, money orders, etc. I always make sure that I have cash, cashier's check, or money order for my first month's rent and a deposit on my rental houses. No keys until I have that money in hand.

It depends on what venue I advertise on. Most of the time I am on Craigslist (because it is free and money is limited right now) and I'll use links to direct them to my auctions, etc.

I always get people saying they want to come meet me and pick the item up face-to-face but most of my business is ran from my home and I don't do in-person pick ups.

I ship everything (or have it shipped if it is a large product via dropshipping). I think if I could find another free venue that isn't plagued with cheapskates like Craigslist (but with the same amount of traffic) I could do better.

 

[Sparlin]

I know you say money is tight, but from what I can tell it would be beneficial to start your own website. I had one about a year ago and it cost $30 a month. That included webpages, shopping cart, and expense for ads. Disclaimer, I let it go and discontinued it, however I did make some sales while I had it.

Here are some ideas that I think might help. People like Biophase would be better suited to address this stuff.

Specialize in your niche (if you want to continue in gaming). Pick one particular game style such as role playing or action first shooter and have that theme as an anchor. Both of those game styles build up cult followings quickly.

Post Content about Games Write brief articles about specific games that address strategies to overcome opponents, hidden secrets, ways to increase weapons, and so on. You want to provide information that will benefit the gamers. If you don't know about a particular game, go to other forums and pick up tips. Post that you will pay $5 bucks for a good article about a game on Craigslist or some other site (Constant Content). DO NOT PLAGERIZE!

Set up a Membership Club: offer free membership to visitors of the website and send them emails monthly or biweekly discussing strategies and new deals. Offer members a discount if they buy from you.

Announce new products:
If a new game is released, put it on the front page along with a description of it. Write a review about what is good or bad about it.


Offer Specials: Give your customers free games if they buy 5 or 10.
This acts as an incentive to buy from you repeatedly. Give away a free game if they buy a system from you (XBox).


Advertise locally: For 20 bucks you can buy a magnetic sign for your car, 11 bucks get you a flimsy but workable sign. Put it on your vehicle as you drive around town. Gameplay dot com. (Made that up..dont know if it is real... hope it's not a porn site)

Have T-shirts made: T-shirts are not that expensive. Wear them to trade shows or flea markets. Give them away for free with large orders or sell them direct at low price. Sell your products at a local trade show or flea market. It wouldn't be fun, but it would get your company name out there.

Host Events: If you get enough of a following, rent a facility and charge for admittance. Have Teams of players square off. Sale your items on the side.

Ok..have to run.. Friday night and angry girlfriend

I've tried some of these with a different product line. Maybe some of the other guys can throw out some ideas on how to optimize you web visibility.

 

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[G_Alexander]

It depends on what venue I advertise on. Most of the time I am on Craigslist (because it is free and money is limited right now) and I'll use links to direct them to my auctions, etc.

I always get people saying they want to come meet me and pick the item up face-to-face but most of my business is ran from my home and I don't do in-person pick ups.

I ship everything (or have it shipped if it is a large product via dropshipping). I think if I could find another free venue that isn't plagued with cheapskates like Craigslist (but with the same amount of traffic) I could do better.

You are definitely right with the last statement you made there. You can find a much better venue to sell your products.

I know you are worried about costs, but a lot of times you need to spend money, to make money. Just keep your overhead as low as you can to make good profits and maintain your sanity.

My dad, for instance, has an eBay store he started a few months ago to make extra cash. It is not even his fulltime business, but it very well could be.

His eBay store costs him $10 a month. $10 a month! He sells one item and he has broken even.

On top of all this, eBay is full of people with bid histories and credible payment options.

While craigslist is a great resource for buyers looking for something local, I would highly recommend that if you want the scam e-mails to stop, you either start and eBay store...or like others have said start your own website.

Hope this has been helpful.

Keep us posted.

-Alex

 

[NeedFastMoney]

i know you say money is tight, but from what i can tell it would be beneficial to start your own website. I had one about a year ago and it cost $30 a month. That included webpages, shopping cart, and expense for ads. Disclaimer, i let it go and discontinued it, however i did make some sales while i had it.

Here are some ideas that i think might help. People like biophase would be better suited to address this stuff.

specialize in your niche (if you want to continue in gaming). Pick one particular game style such as role playing or action first shooter and have that theme as an anchor. Both of those game styles build up cult followings quickly.

post content about games write brief articles about specific games that address strategies to overcome opponents, hidden secrets, ways to increase weapons, and so on. You want to provide information that will benefit the gamers. If you don't know about a particular game, go to other forums and pick up tips. Post that you will pay $5 bucks for a good article about a game on craigslist or some other site (constant content). Do not plagerize!

set up a membership club: Offer free membership to visitors of the website and send them emails monthly or biweekly discussing strategies and new deals. Offer members a discount if they buy from you.

announce new products:
if a new game is released, put it on the front page along with a description of it. Write a review about what is good or bad about it.


offer specials: give your customers free games if they buy 5 or 10.
This acts as an incentive to buy from you repeatedly. Give away a free game if they buy a system from you (xbox).


advertise locally: for 20 bucks you can buy a magnetic sign for your car, 11 bucks get you a flimsy but workable sign. Put it on your vehicle as you drive around town. Gameplay dot com. (made that up..dont know if it is real... Hope it's not a porn site)

have t-shirts made: t-shirts are not that expensive. Wear them to trade shows or flea markets. Give them away for free with large orders or sell them direct at low price. Sell your products at a local trade show or flea market. It wouldn't be fun, but it would get your company name out there.

host events: if you get enough of a following, rent a facility and charge for admittance. Have teams of players square off. Sale your items on the side.

Ok..have to run.. Friday night and angry girlfriend

i've tried some of these with a different product line. Maybe some of the other guys can throw out some ideas on how to optimize you web visibility.

awesome ideas!

 

[webnetking]

Good idea Sparlin. Your idea / suggestion i think Workable here in our country too.
Thanks++

 

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