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Gauging Interest for a new Web Service

by 14pulsars
4 replies
Hi folks - long time reader, first time poster here.

I've got a few questions for some of you warriors:

  1. Do you sell ebooks yourself? (your own branding, on your own site, and not just act as an affiliate for another seller)
  2. Do you sell a physical form of the book?
  3. Do you store and ship the product yourself, or rely on a fulfillment company to do the work?
I'm thinking of developing an online service that would streamline the shipment process for people who keep their own inventory, but I need to know if there is even a market for the service.

So the question goes out to the Warrior Forum:
Do you sell physical items, and would you subscribe a service that would automate (most) shipment procedures?
#automation #gauging #interest #physical products #service #shipping #web #web 2.0 #web service
  • Profile picture of the author 14pulsars
    Nobody? No one sells physical products?
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  • Profile picture of the author darrinmcl
    strictly electronic
    The cut on physical products is just too high to justify.
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    • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
      I sell all my products electronically. I sell physical copies to my own students, friends etc. But for my products it seems daft to ship when customers can purchase, download and print for themselves.

      Have you thought about the vanity publishing market? People who write books (novels, memoirs etc) and pay to have them published.
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      • Profile picture of the author 14pulsars
        Originally Posted by rosetrees View Post

        I sell all my products electronically. I sell physical copies to my own students, friends etc. But for my products it seems daft to ship when customers can purchase, download and print for themselves.

        Have you thought about the vanity publishing market? People who write books (novels, memoirs etc) and pay to have them published.
        I suppose it depends on the market you are in - I know some people who make good money offering both ebook and physical side by side; most orders go 60/40 towards ebook, but a good number still opt for a physical product.

        Most people who do want a physical book are generally older.

        It's not all that expensive either, ~$3 to have a 100 page book printed and binded in bulk + $1-$3 shipping through USPS media mail.

        You can mark up a physical product by $5-$10, charge something like $5 for shipping, and in effect, you can make more profit selling the physical book than you can an ebook.

        Without giving out too much about the service I want to provide, it would take a fulfillment house out of the picture, letting a client print shipping labels and send a package out with very little activity on their part - just click and ship.
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