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E-Commerce Stores. A Brief Overview

by harvez16
12 replies
Hi Warriors,

I was just wondering about E-Commerce stores, as I am completely new to the concept.

Say for example I owned a scuba diving site that I had created, which helped scuba divers out.

How would I create a store for this, where would I get the product from, would In have to store the inventory somewhere, how do I manage the payments, and shipping etc.

This is all very interesting, but I've found it quite hard to find some good information on it.

Thanks Guys
#ecommerce #overview #stores
  • Profile picture of the author Stranger Danger
    Do you want to buy bulk orders at discount, but have to stock, inventory and ship everything? Or, do you want to have everything dropshipped?
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  • Profile picture of the author harvez16
    I would probably rather not have the inventory myself, so I'm presuming the drop shipping way would be easier? But then again, there would probably be less of a profit margin I guess.
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  • Profile picture of the author Stranger Danger
    Yes. Check out Store Coach, then. They have a forum, free training videos - everything you need.
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  • Profile picture of the author harvez16
    Thanks Stranger Danger I'll have a look straight away.
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  • Profile picture of the author brandon_holcomb
    You will make smaller profits per item sold with the drop shipping method but with limited funds drop shipping is the way to go. I would look at accessories for drivers rather then things like tanks and that are really heavy, bulky or just expensive to ship.
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  • Profile picture of the author PhilaPM
    First how did you decide on scuba diving? Have you done your keyword research first? This is the process I follow.

    1. Pick 20 niches
    2. Do keyword research - Is there enough traffic and can you compete SEO wise for those keywords?
    3. Narrow list down to about 5 niches that has the traffic and you can compete.
    4. Run google Adwords test to verify number of searches per day and commercial intent.
    5. Choose the ones with the most searches and best CTR.
    6. Start getting suppliers.
    7. Start building store
    8. Start Seo or Adwords campaigns.

    Patrick
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    • Profile picture of the author harvez16
      I didn't decide on scuba diving, I was using it as an example if you read the OP. I just wanted a brief overview of how the entire proccess works, as I would like to implement one.

      But of course before picking one, I would do neccasary keyword research, checking competition etc.

      I just don't know how the whole e-commerce thing works.

      Originally Posted by PhilaPM View Post

      First how did you decide on scuba diving? Have you done your keyword research first? This is the process I follow.

      1. Pick 20 niches
      2. Do keyword research - Is there enough traffic and can you compete SEO wise for those keywords?
      3. Narrow list down to about 5 niches that has the traffic and you can compete.
      4. Run google Adwords test to verify number of searches per day and commercial intent.
      5. Choose the ones with the most searches and best CTR.
      6. Start getting suppliers.
      7. Start building store
      8. Start Seo or Adwords campaigns.

      Patrick
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      • Profile picture of the author MrPaul
        I think you'll find e-commerce can be chunked into 3 models:
        1.) self-hosted E-commerce such as osCommerce, Zen Cart, my preference osCMax (deployed since 2007, hard goods that we inventory), and similar. Very often a PHP/MySQL combination. (I looked into Magento and think it looks slick, I just couldn't hack my way to any kind of speed at the time. I'm sure its improved since then.)

        Analytics needs to be integrated. (i.e. Google Analytics can track site visits, but does not track from referrer to sales funnel without additional programming.)

        2.) Marketplace: Amazon.com, Ebay, Etsy and Artfire in craft/handmade niche, etc. -- treat every customer with the same templates, display, etc.

        Built-in analytics, payment processing, deposits to your bank account.

        (I am personally on the edge of ditching Amazon. There are situations where Amazon allows legal theft. Ticks me off.)

        3.) Semi-hosted:
        You purchase an account, but leverage group payment processing.

        Any open source shopping cart will be a tradeoff between your time and money and the functionality you want. The marketplaces such as Amazon may be peculiar in the way they allow programming. Their customer service to merchants may suck.

        If you have a strong product and a strong market, best get started somewhere. You can steer a moving car easier than a parked car.

        Regards,

        MrPaul
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  • Profile picture of the author Stranger Danger
    I would probably make sure that there were at least 1 or 2 suppliers available that would be willing to dropship (and) provide acceptable margins - otherwise, your adwords campaigns may be in vain. You may also want to check if each supplier enforces any MAP's that may be in place.
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  • Profile picture of the author PhilaPM
    There really isn't a reason to look for suppliers unless you know the traffic is there and you can compete to get on the 1st page. Focus on products that are at least over $100 and you'll have room for profits.
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  • Profile picture of the author landonwiggs
    World wide brands has a huge list of suppliers...thats a good place to start. also, I use shopify for my online store and it;s a really easy to use platform and I love it. It's about $30 per month. shopify manages all payments as long as you have a paypal email they will handle the order process and all of the customer interaction. They send emails when you add a tracking number and things like this. It's not as hard as it sounds to get it set up. find a good niche, dedicate yourself to it if you find it to be a good niche to get into and just dont stop plugging away. you will find success if you persist. good luck!
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    • Profile picture of the author Stranger Danger
      Originally Posted by PhilaPM View Post

      First how did you decide on scuba diving? Have you done your keyword research first? This is the process I follow.

      1. Pick 20 niches
      2. Do keyword research - Is there enough traffic and can you compete SEO wise for those keywords?
      3. Narrow list down to about 5 niches that has the traffic and you can compete.
      4. Run google Adwords test to verify number of searches per day and commercial intent.
      5. Choose the ones with the most searches and best CTR.
      6. Start getting suppliers.
      7. Start building store
      8. Start Seo or Adwords campaigns.

      Patrick

      Originally Posted by Stranger Danger View Post

      I would probably make sure that there were at least 1 or 2 suppliers available that would be willing to dropship (and) provide acceptable margins - otherwise, your adwords campaigns may be in vain. You may also want to check if each supplier enforces any MAP's that may be in place.

      Originally Posted by PhilaPM View Post

      There really isn't a reason to look for suppliers unless you know the traffic is there and you can compete to get on the 1st page. Focus on products that are at least over $100 and you'll have room for profits.
      -My reply was in reference to your post above. I agree with what you wrote, but I do not think that setting up an adwords campaign prior to finding a supplier is critical. In fact, I'd say that depending on your approach, this step is optional most of the time.

      Focus on products that are at least over $100 and you'll have room for profits.
      -This is not always true. You should also state what other factors should be considered prior to choosing a product to sell.
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