labelle
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posted on January 27, 2003 09:12:20 AM new
One thing that I have learned reading these boards is that having a web site in conjunction with eBay or other auctions is one thing successful sellers seem to have in common.We each need something outside of eBay to sell from.
I think that I am like a lot of sellers. I have no tech knowledge and have no friend, neighbor or significant other that can create a site for me for an affordable price....But I want a web site.I sell collectibles--so I need a shop that can hold several hundred items.
Can anyone recommend anyplace with a website builder? I understand there are monthly fees.What is a reasonable monthly fee?What will I need to do to promote the sight? Is there anyplace out there that promotes the sites you build?
I also know that eBay stores aren't worth it for me . AW shops didn't work either.ioffer may have something workable--but we can't tell yet.
Anyone have any success or recommendations?
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paloma91
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posted on January 27, 2003 09:46:49 AM new
I kind of feel the same way now. I tried looking into my isp which is supposed to provide 10 megs of disk space to create a website if you want:earthlink. Tech support is almost non existant for it. So I looked into Geocities which is free and seems to have a build your own. I don't know that much about it. Anyone else know anything about these?
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Dragonmom
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posted on January 27, 2003 10:04:11 AM new
What was your issue with AW storefront? I used one for two years and was pretty happy with it. In fact, AW has a direct feed into Google, and your storefront shows up in google searches!
I wanted to control the look of my store, and I switched to my own domain. [http://www.dragonmother.com]
BUt there are a ton of tech issues that I can't quite take care of myself. And I spend incredible amounts of time onthe computer instead of making product. I am really tempted to go back to AW.....
however, if you want your owndoamin, you might try messing around on angelfire.com first. It starts you out with templates, and there are links to different html help sites. You might also take a look at [http://www.oscommerce.com] which is a storefront program that is free. YOu have to load it onto your domain, and you have to create the look you want. There are people in the support forums who might be willing to help you.
"And All Shall be Well, and All Shall be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall be Well"
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potterdj
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posted on January 27, 2003 11:02:05 AM new
[ edited by potterdj on Jan 31, 2003 10:43 AM ]
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neonmania
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posted on January 27, 2003 11:09:18 AM new
There are a nummber of hosting companies that offer great deals on hosting. One that I have used without any difficulties is nomonthlyfees.com - they offer 600mgs for 15.95 a month or a great deal where you pay $200 up front then just the $35.00 domain registration renewal fee each year after that.
As far as designs, do a search for html templates. There are a number of companies selling fully built site templates with some really nice designs.
I um don't officially reccommend this however Kazaa or Limewire users can pull bootleg versions of GoLive (much easier to get started with than Dreamweaver) and with probably not more than a weekend worth of fiddling become proficient enough to build and up keep your own professional looking site.
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neonmania
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posted on January 27, 2003 11:11:07 AM new
BTW - a great way to promote youe site is using your domain as your user ID. When I was running a site a few years ago this simple little thing helped to direct numerous site sales for me.
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inot
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posted on January 27, 2003 11:31:09 AM new
I can't tell you how much I have learned on this board. Thanks for this timely thread!
I registered my domain just a few months ago and have'nt done anything with it. I looked into that Homestaed.com and it really looks easy! I can't wait to get started. Neonmania, that is a great tip about using your domain name as user name.
[ edited by inot on Jan 27, 2003 11:31 AM ]
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Dejapooh
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posted on January 27, 2003 11:46:57 AM new
I created my web site to hook directly to My About Me eBay page. If someone types in Dejapooh.com they get my about me page. You can register a domain for $9.95 a year. Flash forwarding was an extra $5, Email addresses based on my new Domain (eBaysales(a)dejapooh.com) is an extra $6 for 6 addresses.
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. B. Franklin
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yisgood
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posted on January 27, 2003 12:41:56 PM new
Since I am a programmer, I wanted the experience of creating my own site. I got a domain with unlimited email IDs and 100 megs of storage for $10 a month from a consultant. He also helped me with my initial forays into HTML, Javascript and ASP. Along the way I collected a lot of useful tips and links to sites offering free lessons and free scripts. They're all on my site, so feel free to browse. I also discovered no-minimum merchant accounts where you pay no monthly fees, just for what you use. I discovered a merchant account that gives you free bad check collection and free tools for setting up your customized shopping carts. There's a lot of good stuff out there, you just have to know where to look.
Anyone who is selling regularly on ebay and doesn't have their own site is cheating themselves of all that additional business with no fees and no deadbeats.
http://www.ccs-digital.com
[email protected]
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tonimar1
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posted on January 27, 2003 01:18:41 PM new
Hi
There are a few that give you all the tools you need to make the web site, and enough room to start out with, and its free. you can always upgrade when you feel you need to and then start paying a fee. One that I am about to use is called.......Freeservers.com
it wouldn't hurt to check them out.
I registered with my Ebay selling name, but you can choose to use any name that you like as long as its not in use. I didnt register a domain name because I already have one for my Corp. and its not the one I want to use in this web site.
Then I will link it to my Me page on Ebay and see how that helps me. But don't put the link in your auction listing page, because Ebay dosen't allow that.
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lowprofile
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posted on January 27, 2003 01:31:35 PM new
http://www.doteasy.com
No Charge - Its free.
I have beed using them for a few years now.
No Problems at all
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barbarake
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posted on January 27, 2003 02:26:46 PM new
labelle - you said
<i>"I also know that eBay stores aren't worth it for me . AW shops didn't work either.ioffer may have something workable--but we can't tell yet." </i>
I'm curious as to why you say that. I'm asking because I've been thinking about setting up an ebay store - mainly for clothes. My assumption is that people might be interested in ordering more items (in their size) since they can save quite a bit on shipping when ordering more than one item.
I planned on running fewer but nicer auctions and directing viewers to see my store since shipping is (hypothetically) $6.00 on the first item and $2.00 on additional items. I know I always check out seller's other items hoping to save on shipping.
What didn't you like about ebay stores??
(Ok, I give up - how do you italicize the text? I know I've done it before!!)
[ edited by barbarake on Jan 27, 2003 02:28 PM ]
[ edited by barbarake on Jan 27, 2003 02:29 PM ]
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stopwhining
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posted on January 27, 2003 06:12:18 PM new
many of us get no traffic ,no orders with ebay stores.
if you sell clothes,you can have a website outside ebay where you can show off your stuff better such as yahoo shopping,
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labelle
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posted on January 27, 2003 06:16:48 PM new
Many thanks for your replies! Getting advice from sellers with hands on experience is very much appreciated.Looks like I have a bunch of places to look.
paloma91--I am willing to bet there are another 25 people like us out there who are looking for somewhere to make a website that is just plain do-able for the newby.I am willing to put time and effort into this. I am not afraid to try new things either. Selling on ebay just isn't enough. Seeing that you CAN make a link off of your About Me page is what made me serious about looking. As long as I have been around I didn't know this!!
dragonmom--As far as AW is concerned, I had a shop and sold nothing in 3-4 months. I had no hits either--with links back from my auctions they provide and mentions of seeing my Gallery.. It is plain looking and I wasn't happy with that either. I do like their Auction manager! I just relisted a ton of auctions at the check of a button! 3 minutes! Then compare this to 5 pages per auction at ebay.
barbarake-I can't argue that for some eBay Stores are a success. But overall they are not a hit.I just can't see paying eBay even more money.I can't see eBay allowing something like Froogle to spider the shops. I think this will become an important search in the future.I can't see why I would want to run my own shop by someone else's rules--especially eBay whose name could be OurWay. I want another basket to put my eggs into. This is a personal preference. Maybe there are others who have a different view and may want to share it.
Thanks again for the suggestions! Please keep them coming. I think this is a real topic of interest among a lot of us right now.If anyone checks anything out that looks good--maybe they would be willing to say what they found.
Cathy
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hair2dye4
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posted on January 27, 2003 07:06:53 PM new
Thanks to all, I too am trying to build a site and am so lost!
It would be great to keep this thread going with the experiance here if everyone added some helpful hints for us untechnical folks we might be able to build a site!
Such as "what is the hardest part to do on a site?" and how did you do it?
Thanks so much AW has great people on it's boards!
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labelle
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posted on January 27, 2003 08:10:11 PM new
I am laughing! I looked at all the web hosting references.Great deals!
But I still can't find a way to make a site to put on the web host..
I need to know how to build the site itself.Is this HTML?
I did try Homestead a while ago and the dial-up connection was prohibitive and when I tried to alter the site--like it shows that you can--all I got were glitches.
I am hoping we can keep this an eBay topic since that is where most of us sell. I am also hoping to find the best way to drive trafic to my site!Ebay and a site should compliment each other.
Thanks again for ideas and sharing!!!
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kliggin
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posted on January 28, 2003 05:03:39 AM new
I think these replies are GREAT!!! I was considering an Ebay Store, but had my doubts. They have so many restrictions and their prices are not the greatest. With some of the suggested sites, I'd pay a fraction of the cost Ebay charges just for keeping a store open. We won't even talk about their other fees.
Best of luck to all of you considering a website.
For those of you who have a website, what type of payment options would you suggest?
I know PayPal has a pretty decent system for website payment. How about C2it? Do you accept checks and/or Money Orders?
Thanks.
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reddfoxx
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posted on January 28, 2003 09:02:42 AM new
I think it's a wise choice to develop your own site and identity outside of eBay. I have already purchased my domain(same as eBay ID), and setup on a host service (although I am paying 9.99 a month and will be looking into some of the cheaper alternatives). My website isn't up and running for sales but it does link to my current auctions, my About Me page, my Feedback, UPS tracking, USPS Delivery Confirmation, as well as a FAQ page that tells where to send payment and other things that a bidder may want to know (questions on feedback, combining orders, shipping, ect). My goal is to setup a checkout system to handle sales, but it is a bit detailed for the novice webmaster(me). I have found that a template is the best way to go. Here is a site for some free ones:
www.freewebtemplates.com
(I don't know how to make it clickable) sorry
When I do setup for checkout, it will most likely be with Paypal.
Another option is to use a service such as www.bigstep.com that provides the web design, hosting, and checkout. But you will have to pay them.
There is a lot of information out there. But, I would really recommend you try to learn a bit of HTML. It's really not as difficult as most would think. And most HTML Editor programs really do alot of the work for you. I like Microsoft Frontpage, but also have tried CoffeeCup's HTML editor and it was the easiest to use when starting out.
If I think of anything else, I'll post an update.
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celebrity8x10s
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posted on January 28, 2003 09:14:21 AM new
I've had a website almost since the time I started selling on ebay. It's been worth every penny that I put into it. For domain registrations, try godaddy.com They are about the cheapest that I've seen. For those that may need some help building a site, check out yourownstore.com They have some nice looking e-commerce templates that seem fairly easy to set up. As for ebay stores, they do not generate nearly the amount of sells that they should. You are much better off with your own site, that you control 100%. Be sure to put a footer in all your emails, saying be sure to check out my website at widgets.com! You'll get more traffic that way, than you would from linking it to your about me page.
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neonmania
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posted on January 28, 2003 09:19:29 AM new
:::I am laughing! I looked at all the web hosting references.Great deals!
But I still can't find a way to make a site to put on the web host..
I need to know how to build the site itself.Is this HTML? ::
Yes - this is HTML. A very easy way to get started is to go to a site like thetemplatestore.com. you can look thru what they have, pick a design and for about $15.00 purchase a design and template for your site. It's the least expensive way of getting a professional looking site designed.
For the actual work you will need to do, customizng buttons, adding items etc you need to look into a WYSIWYG design program (lots of letters, looks scary but it's simply What You See Is What You Get)
If you are completely new to this you may want to look into classes at your local library or learning annex that will show you how to pick a program based on your abilities and budget and give you a quickie intro into it.. Also look into local organizations for small businesses. (here in San Diego , the organziation overseeinng growth downtown offers free software instructional programs).
My favorite program is GoLive made by Adobe. It's very simple to learn, lots of great features and you can use it effectively from day 1. You should be able to DL a preview version at Adobe.com that will get you thru the building rocess and let you know if it's the program for you.
I'm sure people here will be able to recommend a few others.
[ edited by neonmania on Jan 28, 2003 09:22 AM ]
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GU1HToM
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posted on January 28, 2003 09:39:04 AM new
As someone who has had his own site for 6+ years now there are a few things that you need to look at.
1. How much repeat business do you do?
If most of your business is repeat customers than having your own site really makes alot more sense. Your customers can go & get what you have anytime & not just when they see it in auction.
2. How do you get new customers?
I personally love using Google's Ad Clicks.
You only pay for the people that actually come to your site. My monthly Ad clicks cost has averaged about $10. My monthly sales from ad clicks customers have averaged about $500+. I am not in a highly competitive catagory tho. If the only place you draw customers from is EBAY & you only sell to new customers then it may not be worth it to go get your own site.
3. Can you build a site?
While I think anyone can build a generic site & have it work for them it usually takes a bit more to make it successful & worthwhile. You need to think about how you interact with the site (adding inventory & adjusting prices etc) as well as how your customers interact with it (Shopping carts , customer discounts, & shipping costs.).
The more automation the less work. (but higher initial cost.)
My site automatically estimates shipping weight & calculates postage. It give the customer the option of paying for insurance.
4. Accepting Credit Cards.
Not just PAYPAL but a full merchant account. Listen if your in this as a business you better well be as proffessional as possible. If you are doing $15000+ a year in sales & do not have a merchant account you are only hurting your sales.
In the 6 years I have been selling on line I have never had a Chargeback via PAYPAL or Merchant Account.
5. Customer Service.
When dealing online the only customer service you have 99% of the time is via email. Why some people chose to ignore emails from customers or potential customers is beyond me. If this is the only method of contact you have you better make sure you use it the best way possible.
RESPOND PROMPTLY & POLITELY
If you do not have an answer to a question or situation respond anyway stating that.
Of course it looks better if you can get the answer.
These are just some of my thoughts & points that I personally try to stay on top of.
There are of course other issues that will arise from time to time. Others will have their own way of dealing with specific situations.
Hope this helps
http://www.gamers-union.com
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hair2dye4
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posted on January 28, 2003 10:10:25 AM new
For those learning HTML like me,
you can practice your HTML in in word doc. and when you save it save as HTML extension then you can open it on any page on the internet to see what it looks like and fix your mistakes. I am told if we what a web site we need to lean html the right way so we can fix problems that come up.
it's a easy way to find out how to make buttons, clickable sites even tables
again great advise from the folks here.
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ezinkjetstore
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posted on January 28, 2003 10:33:05 AM new
just wanted to throw my 2 cents in here. One place to look is 2checkout.com They are a third party processor that handles Visa/MC/Disc/Amex and have their own shopping cart built in. So you can add your products and have your store. There is a setup fee, but the nice thing is you don't have to handle people's card numbers. They have decent fraud protection in that they review nearly every transaction and their customer service is pretty good. This might be a good way to get started with a web site and shopping cart without too much investment.
Also, if you want to learn html, there are free lessons at webmonkey.com you can download a lesson and it gives you a little project to do. They progress from novice to advanced and they are always reviewing new coding techniques.
Best of luck
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neonmania
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posted on January 28, 2003 11:30:39 AM new
::I am told if we what a web site we need to lean html the right way so we can fix problems that come up. ::
I can tell you that this is not neccesarily true. There are purists who feel this way but I have built sites for resorts, service companies, ecommerce outlets, and individuals. I've never had a problem arise that I couldn't fix almost immediately (generally simply reloading the file since most problems arise from file corruption) and I could not begin to tell you how to hand code.
I'm by no means says that raw HTML knowledge is not a good thing but I don't think it is a neccesary step for building a site.
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Dragonmom
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posted on January 28, 2003 02:20:39 PM new
GU1HToM, would you believe- I used your digital camera tutorial, when I first started looking at them!
Do you undestand php? Can you help me customise my shopping Cart (osCommerce) and forum board (phpbb)?
"And All Shall be Well, and All Shall be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall be Well"
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bigcitycollectables
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posted on January 28, 2003 07:01:00 PM new
Ok everybody its real simpleif you think about it.The cheapest and easiest way to make money is through an auctionwatch storefront.Ok think about it.
1.Auctionwatch storefronts are not too shabby looking.
2.Your storefront gets submited to google for free!
3.You already have a shopping cart system.
4.You are directly linked to auction sites like ebay.
5.You can do like I did and register a domain name with your storefront.
6.It suports Meta Tags.(No HTML Required)
7.It supports Meta discriptions.
8.It supports Meta Tag Tittles.
9.business has been boomin ever since I got my storefront.
10.Ebay Stores are ugly and boring.
11.Come on now,look at the storefront fees.
12.Calculated shipping and combined shipping discounts.
13.Your items are advertised as much as possible.
14.Conveniant mailing list feature.
15.I could keep going but im getting tired.
16.What more could you ask for.
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bigcitycollectables
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posted on January 28, 2003 07:17:33 PM new
Oh yea did I forget to metntion Ebay stores are pointless and expensive.What is the point of an Ebay store anyways?!Everbody that buys from you is buying the items from ebays auction listings not the stores.I know this becouse there was a particular item I had my eye on at an ebay store and I know for a fact that this item sells real quick on ebay.So I decided to watch this item in this ebay store and see how long it took for someone to find it and buy it.Well that was January 2002 and yup its still there!! :}
Anyways you end up paying more for an ebay store than you make for your profit.
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dadofstickboy
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posted on January 28, 2003 08:01:39 PM new
Just a question here:
Has anybody had any experiance with: (bcentral)
I've been looking at them lately.
To me they seem good, any opinions on them?
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sun818
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posted on January 29, 2003 12:16:21 AM new
labelle, I'm glad you posed this question. If you are on a budget like me, your options are somewhat limited, but with careful planning you can invest your money wisely in a web store.
1) Like celebrity8x10 said, godaddy.com is perfect for domain registrations
Can anyone recommend anyplace with a website builder?
My recommendation is to use web host like Westhost.com that offers PHP/mySQL and sign up for the free Miva Merchant catalog/shopping cart engine By this service, you avoid having to design your site from scratch. The only disadvantage is that Miva is not "search engine friendly" so you will miss many referrals from search engines like Google. But discussions about workarounds are available here.
What is a reasonable monthly fee?
I think $10/month is good starting price for web hosting. The price though, only gives you a Paypal interface. If you want credit card processing, you'll have to invest in the $20/month plan. But I suggest you wait until your business starts to take off or you are more serious about the venture.
What will I need to do to promote the sight? Is there anyplace out there that promotes the sites you build?
Promoting your site is a lot of hard work. The best resource for us independent folks is webmasterworld.com. While you lurk and soak up all the knowledge, you can create some pay-per-click listings on Google AdWords. Overture.com is another option, but they do have $20 monthly minimum which you should be aware of.
Other eCommerce recommendations I can make are:
1) osCommerce
Free. Again, not designed with search engines in mind. You should find a host that includes this as part of their package.
2) OptionCart with remote Mal's eCommerce shopping cart
Costs $40 for them to install the script for you.
These two suggestions are also not ideal for generating free traffic from search engines. Hope this helps.
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kiara
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posted on January 29, 2003 12:51:26 AM new
There is lots of info here and they rate the top 100.
http://www.100best-web-site-and-domain-hosting-services.com/
My advice is to check around before you jump into anything as there are so many choices and options (and hidden costs) that it can all be a bit overwhelming.
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