Question for all you Internet Tech Experts

[Esco!]

Lets say I have an idea for a product I want to sell but I dont really wanna go through the hassle of setting up my own website, handling orders, handling credit card transactions...etc.

Are there companies who will do that aspect of the business for you??

For example: They handle all the orders, CC billing.....etc. All I do is ship the boxes of my product every day to whomever has placed orders.

Of course they would charge a fee for this service.
Roughly what percentage is the industry standard?? Does anyone know??

And do these types of companies exist, and if so do they have a specific term for this type of service??

 

[Wanker]

But I am sure Tboy will be able to help you.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

Just make sure Mark Zuckerberg doesn't steal your idea

 

[Esco!]

Thanks guys, but its not really an invention. Its more like I need a service

<insert SP joke somewhere>

 

[AMd'MAN]

You selling blow-up dolls?

 

[Esco!]

You selling blow-up dolls?

Let me know how many you want

 

[SillyGirl]

Is this it?

Is this it?





I don't know anything about online sales/marketing, but when I read your post I thought what you were describing sounded like what Amazon does.

 

[Esco!]

ZOMG!!! You killed my doll!! :???:

I don't know anything about online sales/marketing, but when I read your post I thought what you were describing sounded like what Amazon does

Hey, smart thinking. I totally forgot Amazon operated on a business model like that.
Only problem is they have a general website for everything, they dont AFAIK set up separate websites for each customer

 

[BEER]

So are you going to tell us?.

 

[tboy]

What you're looking for sounds a lot like ebay....you set up your store and then simply process the orders when they come in. I don't know of any company that will do all the work for you. The only alternative to setting up your own "online store" is to sell your product to someone else, that way you just ship to one location/warehouse and invoice one buyer......

To me, it sounds like you have a product to sell, but don't want to go through the hassle of selling it.......or am I wrong?

The thing is, for a company to do all the legwork for you, including billing etc, they'll want the lion's share of the profit since they're doing all the work really. Having or manufacturing a product is only about 1/3 of the cost/job. You have to promote it.

You could try Kijiji, it's free and once you write up your ad, you can renew it infinitely. Plus it doesn't cost much to get a "top" ad which brings your ad to the first page......

 

[Esco!]

What you're looking for sounds a lot like ebay....you set up your store and then simply process the orders when they come in. I don't know of any company that will do all the work for you. The only alternative to setting up your own "online store" is to sell your product to someone else, that way you just ship to one location/warehouse and invoice one buyer......

To me, it sounds like you have a product to sell, but don't want to go through the hassle of selling it.......or am I wrong?

Absolutely correct. I have other businesses on the go, and I dont have the time run a website myself. Add to that I'm completely retarded when it comes to computers uch:

You could try Kijiji, it's free and once you write up your ad, you can renew it infinitely. Plus it doesn't cost much to get a "top" ad which brings your ad to the first page......

I find Ebay and Kiji a bit of a cheap way of going about it. I want my own flashy website.

It looks like the best solution is to just pay someone to set up the site, and then hire a few people to run it. Also perhaps give them a small share of the company to keep them motivated

 

[tboy]

I don't know exactly what you mean by "run the site". Unless it's a porn site that you have to constantly update etc. If you're selling a product, once it's up, and promoted via google etc, the only maintenance really is required if you change pricing or offering.

What exactly do you want to do yourself? Nothing? Only handle shipping? Accounting? See, the more people or processes involved the more complicated it is and the more work is required aka more people.

For eg:
You need someone to process the orders (receiving the order)
You need someone to process the billing
You need someone to package and ship

For all that, you'll need someone to handle the accounting and payroll.

See I think it depends on how many units you are planning on moving. If it's like 3 or 4 a day, they will have to be expensive aka high profit to cover the cost of having someone(s) to do all the work for you. This equates to not much in your pocket.

It also depends on the product. If it's something like a shamwow, there ARE companies that do that.....but again, the more involved the less $$$ for you....

One thing about ebay and kijiji etc, they already have a following therefore customers who are going there are already qualified buyers. In other words, if someone goes into a tv store looking at tvs, half the battle is done because if they're there, they're interested in buying otherwise they wouldn't be there. The hardest part is getting a qualified buyer to your site, those sites have that going for them already.

The thing about ebay is you can list an item as "buy it now" instead of an auction. Although ebay is dying due to it's pricing schedule....I've done about $1000 worth of business via kijiji this summer at zero cost to me.....

 

[Esco!]

What exactly do you want to do yourself? Nothing? Only handle shipping? Accounting? See, the more people or processes involved the more complicated it is and the more work is required aka more people

It not a case of not wanting to do the work, its a case of not having the time.

I hope to sell about 100 to 200 units of my product a month. That requires quite a bit of work, and means you pretty much have to tend to your website 9 to 5 every day

 

[tboy]

Re: tending the website

No, you don't have to tend the website, you have to tend to your business. Two different things. The website is static, in other words, it doesn't change unless you make a change.

What you need is someone to receive the orders which can be done quite easily through paypal or cc bill as you've stated. It's called ecommerce. What you do is have an online order form/cart. The person places the item into to cart, selects method of payment, then that info is passed onto your order processor.

Then you get into manual processing of the order including shipping etc.

The actual website is automatic.

Seriously, the more I find out the more it seems like you need one of those "as seen on tv" type companies to promote, sell, ship for you. Though, be prepared to give up a lot of your margin for this service.

 

[Esco!]

Re: tending the website

No, you don't have to tend the website, you have to tend to your business. Two different things. The website is static, in other words, it doesn't change unless you make a change.

What you need is someone to receive the orders which can be done quite easily through paypal or cc bill as you've stated. It's called ecommerce. What you do is have an online order form/cart. The person places the item into to cart, selects method of payment, then that info is passed onto your order processor

Ah okay, this is what I need then. How much do paypal and cc bill charge for filling your orders??
Does it go on a set fee monthly, or does it go per order??

Seriously, the more I find out the more it seems like you need one of those "as seen on tv" type companies to promote, sell, ship for you

No, thats exactly what I wanna stay away from. That has "cheap" written all over it

 

[tboy]

Well, ccbill and paypal don't fill your orders, they just handle the payments. (not sure the service fees, they are readily available on their website though).

The order filling (the physical part) will have to be done by someone you hire.

Seriously though, it does sound like you should be approaching retailers to carry your product. You haven't said what it is so I can't reccommend who to go for. For eg: if you have a new widget or gadget for a car, you can sell it through Future Shop, Canadian Tire, NAPA autoparts, etc. I'd stay the hell away from walmart because I understand they are cutthroat when it comes to shipping on time etc.

Think of CLR and the way they have commercials and at the end say "available at...." and then list everyone they sell through.

To do sales of about 6 - 7 a day, depending on the price point, is quite high actually.

 

[Esco!]

Okay thanks tboy

 

[tboy]

no probs, let me know what you ultimately decide.....