Considering Starting E-Commerce Business, But I Do Have Questions...
Hello...
I'm thinking of starting an e-commerce business and I'm thinking of going with STORE COACH (www.storecoach.com), but I do have a few questions for those who do operate an e-commerce business.
(1) How often do you get customers calling/e-mailing about questions regarding your product? I know there are people who go into niches they know little/nothing about because it is lucrative. For those people... how did you handle specific questions about your product?
Did you have to stay in front of your computer/on the phone constantly answering questions?
(2) Do you get customer complaints/harassments and customers wanting to return your product often? Did you handle the complaints/returns yourself or did the e-commerce store you purchased the software from handle it?
(3) Did you ever have problems with other stores offering products at a lower price?
The reason I ask is that I've worked in retail and I encounter these questions constantly. The phones are always ringing. The customers are always complaining about the price, coupons, specials and there are hassles in dealing with returns.
However, in dealing with these issues, I've always had the support of my store team in dealing with these and occasionally, when things got out of hand, I would refer them to the store manager, so these problems are usually manageable.
Again, I am thinking about an e-commerce store, but before I invest, I just want to know the risks, the problems and the rewards.
It seems whenever I look at these e-commerce sites, they almost always seem to list the benefits of starting your own business, which, don't get me wrong, is good (and I suppose that is true with most any IM/MMO course), but sometimes, you don't realize the risk...
I'm thinking of starting an e-commerce business and I'm thinking of going with STORE COACH (www.storecoach.com), but I do have a few questions for those who do operate an e-commerce business.
(1) How often do you get customers calling/e-mailing about questions regarding your product? I know there are people who go into niches they know little/nothing about because it is lucrative. For those people... how did you handle specific questions about your product?
Did you have to stay in front of your computer/on the phone constantly answering questions?
(2) Do you get customer complaints/harassments and customers wanting to return your product often? Did you handle the complaints/returns yourself or did the e-commerce store you purchased the software from handle it?
(3) Did you ever have problems with other stores offering products at a lower price?
The reason I ask is that I've worked in retail and I encounter these questions constantly. The phones are always ringing. The customers are always complaining about the price, coupons, specials and there are hassles in dealing with returns.
However, in dealing with these issues, I've always had the support of my store team in dealing with these and occasionally, when things got out of hand, I would refer them to the store manager, so these problems are usually manageable.
Again, I am thinking about an e-commerce store, but before I invest, I just want to know the risks, the problems and the rewards.
It seems whenever I look at these e-commerce sites, they almost always seem to list the benefits of starting your own business, which, don't get me wrong, is good (and I suppose that is true with most any IM/MMO course), but sometimes, you don't realize the risk...