Who here runs a full-blown ecommerce site?

axleman

15 years ago

I have been running one for several years. I am about to add another one as soon as I can figure out Zencart

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RyanPiccolo

15 years ago

Nice! Zencart is actually my favorite platform to use. I recently tried CRE Loaded but I can't seem to get much support for it. So it's back to Zen Cart for store #3.

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axleman

15 years ago

My main site is a custom site built on Coldfusion. I had it outsourced several years ago and it has done quite well, meaning I don't have to have a "real" job

I don't need the same functionality for my next site, so I decided on Zencart. I think within about a year I can do almost as much business as my main site.

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RyanPiccolo

15 years ago

Originally Posted by axleman

My main site is a custom site built on Coldfusion. I had it outsourced several years ago and it has done quite well, meaning I don't have to have a "real" job

I don't need the same functionality for my next site, so I decided on Zencart. I think within about a year I can do almost as much business as my main site.

I wish my sites were my full time job! Just not getting the traffic I need for them yet.

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axleman 15 years ago

Originally Posted by RyanPiccolo

I wish my sites were my full time job! Just not getting the traffic I need for them yet.

Well, I transitioned from a brick and mortar business to 100% online over a period of several years, dropping my local, more generalized business and focusing on my more specialized internet niche. It had taken time, but at this point I am well established as an "authority" in my market. I won't say I'm getting rich doing it, but I can at least pay the bills.

As far as traffic goes, I started back in 99 or so on niche related forums (actually it was email lists back then), answering technical questions and carefully avoiding being spammy. I befriended several well known people in the community this way and got referrals from them. I eventually started advertising (banners) on the most relevant sites, so I almost always got well focused traffic. Once my redesigned ecommerce site got going a couple of years ago, I started getting a much larger portion of SE traffic. These days Google accounts for over half of my traffic which is great for getting new customers. I also get a lot of repeat business.
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Baystreet

15 years ago

Like most things it has its good points and bad points.

The part I like the least is dealing with all the emails.

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JWB 15 years ago

Ecommerce has tons of customer service issues but
that is something you can outsource. I looked at
starting an ecommerce but I really didnt want to deal
with all the dropshipping details that you have with
finding products for your site..
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tomcam

15 years ago

I own a site called eSnipe.com that places $350 million in bids on eBay every year, 300 bid/second at peak times. It's been running continuously since 1999, and started taking money in 2001. The code is simple and all custom. Stephen Gutknecht wrote the ecommerce portion.

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ecis36

15 years ago

My wife and I started a bakeware site called CakePanStore.com. How do you market your sites? We currently use mostly PPC until we can start getting more organic traffic.

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RyanPiccolo

15 years ago

Originally Posted by ecis36

My wife and I started a bakeware site called CakePanStore.com. How do you market your sites? We currently use mostly PPC until we can start getting more organic traffic.

I've just been doing a bit of backlinking. So far it seems to be working. I've been ranking for the keywords I've been using in my anchor text. BTW...nice site. I just "stumbled" it.

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embrown

15 years ago

Originally Posted by ecis36

My wife and I started a bakeware site called CakePanStore.com. How do you market your sites? We currently use mostly PPC until we can start getting more organic traffic.

Oooh, I love baking and cake decorating. When I come back from boot camp, I'm soooo buying a bunch of stuff from there!

I found a bunch cool wordpress themes that are shopping carts.

My shop is here: — PLR MegaStore

The shop is live but there's only one product at the moment. Don't buy it unless you plan on collecting pictures of me

Wait untill the end of the week, then it'll be fully stocked!

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billyshall

15 years ago

I run an ecommerce store,

Built with codeigniter...

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stma 15 years ago

Originally Posted by billyshall

I run an ecommerce store, Narien Teas

Built with MagentoCommerce...

I just set up a client with magento (he picked it prior to hiring me).. Was a really nice experience I think and the site looks great. Bit more complicated to set up than most other carts but the look and feel of the finished product is awesome.
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Joe Giannetti

15 years ago

Check out my site....

It's based off zen cart....

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Dan C. Rinnert

15 years ago

Originally Posted by RyanPiccolo

I'm wondering who is into ecommerce? I currently have two stores online now and plan on making a couple more for my "portfolio".

I have two eCommerce sites as well, but they are going to be merged into one site just as soon as I finish the coding and design.

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axleman 15 years ago

Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert

I have two eCommerce sites as well, but they are going to be merged into one site just as soon as I finish the coding and design.

Heh, actually my new site I'm working on is splitting off some products that are on my current site, but not so well related. So I guess I'm going in the other direction
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billyshall

15 years ago

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RyanPiccolo

15 years ago

Here's a question I've been thinking about. I have a site that sells sleeping bags and the name of the store is The Sleeping Bag Shop. My supplier also supplies tents. Would you start a separate store for "tents" to keep it more specialized or just add it to your existing store because sleeping bags and tents actually go well together?

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axleman

15 years ago

Originally Posted by RyanPiccolo

Here's a question I've been thinking about. I have a site that sells sleeping bags and the name of the store is The Sleeping Bag Shop. My supplier also supplies tents. Would you start a separate store for "tents" to keep it more specialized or just add it to your existing store because sleeping bags and tents actually go well together?

Well, those two things go hand in hand and I think you might be missing out on upsales by not having them on your bag site.

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RyanPiccolo 15 years ago

Originally Posted by axleman

Well, those two things go hand in hand and I think you might be missing out on upsales by not having them on your bag site.

I guess it doesn't hurt to give it a shot.
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lonniewa2

15 years ago

Originally Posted by RyanPiccolo

Here's a question I've been thinking about. I have a site that sells sleeping bags and the name of the store is The Sleeping Bag Shop. My supplier also supplies tents. Would you start a separate store for "tents" to keep it more specialized or just add it to your existing store because sleeping bags and tents actually go well together?

It depends on how many time tents get searched for each month. If it does not get that much traffic and if all the websites on the first page are huge authority I would just integrate into your current website.

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Dan C. Rinnert

15 years ago

Originally Posted by RyanPiccolo

Here's a question I've been thinking about. I have a site that sells sleeping bags and the name of the store is The Sleeping Bag Shop. My supplier also supplies tents. Would you start a separate store for "tents" to keep it more specialized or just add it to your existing store because sleeping bags and tents actually go well together?

As axleman said, those two go together. If you were selling mattresses, rather than sleeping bags, then I'd make tents a separate site. But, if you have a sleeping bag site, tents are a naturally extension.

I know the mantra is niche, niche, niche, but, for an eCommerce site, it's often more natural to have multiple products than just one. There can be exceptions, of course. But, I don't think you should worry too much about having too many products in your store, as long as you take things to a logical extension. Sleeping bags and tents are fine, but don't add cordless drills because you found a good supplier somewhere.

On a digital product site, you might focus on a single product. But, with an eCommerce site, people often overlook that they are selling a single product too, even though they may have a wide selection of goods. You see, people can buy sleeping bags and tents anywhere. You don't have to sell them on those. What you're selling them on, what your product is, is you. Why should they buy from you rather than someone else? That's your real product. Too many people focus too much on the physical products, trying to undercut the competition and whatnot, when you really need to focus on your business/site and why people should be buying from you, not why they should be buying a specific product.

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axleman

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert

As axleman said, those two go together. If you were selling mattresses, rather than sleeping bags, then I'd make tents a separate site. But, if you have a sleeping bag site, tents are a naturally extension.

I know the mantra is niche, niche, niche, but, for an eCommerce site, it's often more natural to have multiple products than just one. There can be exceptions, of course. But, I don't think you should worry too much about having too many products in your store, as long as you take things to a logical extension. Sleeping bags and tents are fine, but don't add cordless drills because you found a good supplier somewhere.

On a digital product site, you might focus on a single product. But, with an eCommerce site, people often overlook that they are selling a single product too, even though they may have a wide selection of goods. You see, people can buy sleeping bags and tents anywhere. You don't have to sell them on those. What you're selling them on, what your product is, is you. Why should they buy from you rather than someone else? That's your real product. Too many people focus too much on the physical products, trying to undercut the competition and whatnot, when you really need to focus on your business/site and why people should be buying from you, not why they should be buying a specific product.

This is great advice. You have to set yourself/your site apart from your competitors and sell people on your company, not so much on the products necessarily. Why should they buy from YOU rather than a competitor? Do things that make your site different than the others.

I'm not exactly a guru or anything but here is some other tips based on my experience:

Sell products or brands that people can't normally buy locally. My whole site (parts for a specific rare vehicle) is based on items that you aren't going to find anywhere locally 99.9% of the time. So pretty much all potential buyers have to use the internet to find me.

Learn your products/market well. Become an expert in your field. You will get all kinds of questions. The better you are able to answer them, the more credibility you will build for your business. People come to me because they know I know my stuff when it comes to the market I am in.

If someone sends you a question and leaves a phone number and email, respond by phone if you can. Not only does this build trust and credibility, but it can also lead to upsales. I probably get upsales on 50% or better of return calls I make. Many times after I have answered the initial question they had, they will say, "Oh yeah, can you help me with...." and bam, add something else to their order.

Also, putting a voice to your business reminds them that there is a real person behind the site and they will be more likely to buy from you again or recommend you to someone else.

On the same note, if you have a complaint or a problem, respond quickly! I have found that most people are understanding when problems arise and they just want it fixed. Take care of your customers (within reason) and they will take care of you.

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billyshall

15 years ago

I'd make it another store, or better yet add tents to both

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Steve Faber

15 years ago

That's actually how I started, 5 years ago. I used PPC to get traffic and built it using Yahoo stores. It broke even pretty quickly, but I made a huge mistake in not outsourcing my customer service. Knowing what I know now about getting free targeted traffic and doing PPC I could have made some good money. The customer service aspects took quite a bit of time, and every once in a while I had a problem with CC fraud.

I used dropshippers, so I never held any inventory, or had to do any of my own fulfillment. I've toyed with the idea of getting back into it, but currently haven't the time.

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Steve L

15 years ago

i'm kind of working backwards with this one project.

i have a music blog (risingfist.com) that i'm about to attach an online record store to (ecommerce store). now that I am averaging decent traffic.

i highly recommend attaching a blog to any ecommerce store, if not making the blog the homepage itself.

steve

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sbucciarel

Banned 15 years ago

Well I do, but I sell my own products from it, not someone else's.

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alan mac

15 years ago

Hi

I run a niche store and have done since 2001. A few things I would consider

1 - Try and get a product that has repeat orders
2 - Try and get a product that has repeat orders
3 - Try and get a product that had repeat orders.

A one off product is fine if you can make it work with ppc, but with a repeat order product like bird feed, shoes, magic tricks or knitting for example you can build up your customer base and sell to them time and time again.

Do your own customer service - Treat customers as you would like to be treated and they'll come back to you again and again. Don't out source it to a company where the person typing the answer gets $5 an hour. They probably won't care as much as you.

How can you win against the big players? I now use free gifts that have a high perceived value. You can import some items from places like China cheaper than you think. There other lots of other options - just don't try and win on price!

Good luck
Alan

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bluesguy

15 years ago

I plan to start an eCommerce site soon.

By the way Ryan, is your site Sleeping Bags based off ZenCart?

It looks pretty slick..are you using a theme/template?

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RyanPiccolo 15 years ago

bluesguy...I'm using CRE Loaded for that store. But to be honest I would use Zen Cart for my next store as it has a very helpful community behind it. All my questions were anwered in their forums minutes after I posted them. Both Zen Cart and CRE Loaded are based off of the OSCommerce platform so they are similar in the way they function.

As for the template...I designed it myself.
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EmmaG

15 years ago

I've run a few ecommerce sites in my day, and I've used Miva Merchant, Cubecart, zen, OS, and a few others.

Miva might be a bit pricey, but it can handle a great deal of traffic and orders. My last site with Miva was bringing in mid-six figures per year with very few technical issues.

Cubecart, Zen and OS Commerce are all based on the same software, and while they have great community support, they all lack functions and features that limit their ability to seamlessly handle traffic and process orders. Cubecart still hasn't figured out how to get several of their shipping modules to work correctly.

I've been looking at php based shopping carts lately, and I think that the WP Shopp plugin has some potential. It's not quite ready for prime time IMHO, but it's close, and it's an elegant simple solution.

Magento - a great shopping cart on paper, but is still plagued with site loading time issues and SEO problems. If you are running a large enterprise based cart, it's a great solution.

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Who here runs a full-blown ecommerce site?

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