posted on October 30, 2006 10:07:27 AM
I was approached by this company http://websitepros.com/ They said for $79.95 a month, they set up your website, advertise in yahoo, google and many other search engines, provide a shopping cart, are in partnership with a company called ecommerce.com that SAYS runs your credit cards for free? HUH? One of their clients is: http://yougottime.com/
posted on October 30, 2006 12:23:43 PM
I don't know anything about this company, but I can tell you at first blush that part of what they are charging for you can do for yourself, for free.
But even if you are bound and determined to put up a web site, I would, in all seriousness, try to discourage you from doing so. I know you personally and have a general idea about your situation. I know that you would love to make some extra cash and that you are willing to work hard to get it.
That last is a tremendous asset. I would hate to see you, Paloma, and others here work their fannies off for little or no return. Web site designers are big money pits. The features you'll find you want always cost more. They love selling you things a la carte. This isn't an intentional plug, but since you brought up the topic, give a listen to my friend Michael's latest podcast at eauctionair.com. He's got a lot of experience in marketing (way more than me) and does a take on one of these web store designer companies and their outrageous pricing.
I started out years ago similar to you, finding antiques and collectibles and selling them at flea markets. I'm not sure that in the final analysis I ever made very much money. For every Vernon Kilns Disney ceramic collectible or Bud Man mug I found, there were a dozen or so unsellable dogs I got stuck with. That didn't change when eBay happened and I started selling a/c there.
What changed was when I decided to go with a steady source of merchandise. Suddenly it was a lot less about "gotta hit the garage sales and live auctions" and a lot more about "gotta get this stuff listed on eBay".
If I were starting on eBay again today, I would decide which market I wanted to enter. Let's say women's shoes. I would sit down and plan how much money this is going to take. Even the cash-poorest person can raise money one time from *somewhere*, a fact that bailbondsmen are well-aware of. I would budget as much as possible for buying inventory, a couple hundred dollars for a good digital camera, and look hard at my computer to see if that needs replacing too.
Money in hand, I would do some research and find merch sources, starting with publicly-accessible places like viatrading.com and contacting some of the brokers who exhibit at eBay Live. I would *not* do what a friend of mine does, which is scour thrift stores for shoes. I would look for shoe distributors locally and start some conversations. I would start stocking a poopload of those shoe-size Priority Mail boxes. I would find a cheap-cheap-cheap source of shipping labels, and if I could find a discount on postage, that too. I would talk to people who sell shoes, both on eBay and off. (And in the course of that I would discover that large sizes sell very well -- this is in fact true.)
I know these weren't the opinions you were looking for, but they are heart-felt and sincere. I believe there is still a great deal of money to be made on eBay by people who can buy surplus from local businesses.
fLufF
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Now appearing at eauctionair.com
The Internet's Most Informative Talk Radio Show
posted on October 30, 2006 04:26:57 PM
Thanks Fluff, this is exactly what I wanted. I appreciate it very much. If I had the money to throw away, I'd go with their website/advertising thing but I don't. I think I'll take your recommendations and pass on it. I listened a little bit to eauctionair today as well as a few days ago. I was impressed. Nice information you can listen to while you plug along on the computer. I haven't heard you on it yet though (grin)
I am planning to specialize in something when I finally run out of items from this ware house I live in. Once I can safely walk down the hall without stepping over boxes from my "inheritance", I wiil focus on one thing. Don't know when or what it will be yet. I started putting some of the nicer "treasures" online. You know even without their website or search engine power, I seem to be picking up some additional hits/clicks or whatever you call them AND more sales. Whether this has something to do with the google base store thing or not. I dont know.
I've been out of work for awhile but still looking for a 9 to 5'er. I spend my days doing a serious job search, returning phone calls, emails etc and the rest: listing or trying to sell something somewhere. It's a pain but it's called survival
Thanks again Fluffy for your opinion. It is GREATLY appreciated.
