Most internet junkies find themselves unable to stop at just one website (especially if the first one is not very successful). I have created several sites, somewhere in the range of 25-30. It’s an addiction. The only problem is that I now have a successful ecommerce site, but I want another one.
If I put all of my efforts into my first ecommerce site, it would grow even faster than it is right now. My first store is making real money and putting more work into it could mean $10K to $20K in increased sales. It seems like a no brainer, forget about the new site and work on the successful one. However, I am a risk taker.
Why Start Another eCommerce Site?
- Shipping Policy - Keeping your shipping policy simple is something that encourages sales. Offering FREE shipping encourages orders even more. Offering free shipping on some products and not on others is rough on everyone. Why not have one store that sells only the lighter items (the FREE shipping store) and another store that carries all those items plus heavier items (no FREE shipping on any product)?
- Store Theme - Marketing has great power. I sell many men’s products on a teal and pink website. I could gear the second store to men or at least a little more unisex than teal and pink. Would a different theme draw in a different crowd…YES.
- Different Product Line - If you have more than one hobbie or your wife has a hobbie, you may want to sell two completely different product lines. Starting a second store for this reason makes perfect sense, just make sure your first store is well established first. Starting a second site for a whole new product is like starting a whole new business. Be careful, this can be a lot of work.
Will I Start Another Site?
Probably, but not yet. Web stores are usually not built by a great idea and luck. They are real businesses that are built by real blood, sweat, and tears.
Later,
JBSlife
Hey, just found your blog via BuzzBums, I was wondering if you could help me out with my Ecommerce site… I mainly make all my money through aff marketing and adsense…
Thanks man,
Will
I’ll try…what do you need?
well, I was wondering if you ever did Dropshipping and do you think its worth it? so I dont have inventory all over the house
and what are some good ways to market it,
The site is http://www.buymenscologne.com I havent done much to it because of other sites.
Ive looked into a lot of dropshipping programs and I found one where I can offer my product as low or lower as my competition, but its has a monthly fee…
I found another dropshipping where its fee bought I have to buy the products at the same price my competition is selling to public, which means I’d have to mark it up quite a bit ot make a profit.
My question is, since im in a very competitve market, should I start smaller, and should I go with free one now until my site gets better well known, then go to the other dropshipper, or go with better prices from the start.
Thanks
I do some dropshipping, but only when I am out of stock of a particular product. It is possible to be successful with drop shipping, but it is very hard. You are putting someone in the middle of you and your customer. Anytime your drop shipper makes a mistake, it’s your fault. Drop shipping also has a much lower gross margin.
Having a real inventory requires startup capital, drop shipping does not. Many people start with drop shipping and move on to greater things once they get the money.
I would suggest doing both. Do your drop shipping, but also stock 2 or 3 popular products. This will help you understand the differences between the two and still have a large product selection. You will run into problems if they order 2 items and one is in stock and one is drop shipped, but you’ll figure it out.
As far as the 2 drop shippers, try the free one first and see how it goes. If there is a problem, drop them ASAP. Remember, it’s all about customer service. If you drop ship correctly, the customer will never know.
I said I would go with the free one…on second thought, nothing good is free. If I was going to drop ship, I would look into a solid company. I have heard of Worldwide Brands and Doba, but I know little about them.
yea DOBA is who I was going to go with, but they have a monthly fee. I dont want to pay it if My sites is so unknown and I have had time to rank well on SERPS…
Thanks for the advice man! I drop back in and let you know how its going
Cool…let me know.