| Discussion Forum: Thread 356402 |
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| | | Author: | PhyreZtorm  | | Posted: | Apr 13, 2024 07:06 | | Subject: | New Store! Any Feedback Appreciated! | | Viewed: | 130 times | | Topic: | New Stores | |
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| Hey Everyone,
Opened my store just over a month ago but didn't know about this forum, so
thought I might as well look out for any feedback people might have..
The store is based in Australia and I started selling just domestically whilst
I took the time to figure out what I need for international shipping, pricing,
etc.
To which I think have got the information I needed and have opened up international
today in hopes to invite a larger audience as Australia is quite small compared
to the overall market from what I can see(around 4%).
I do understand that having more stock will be really beneficial and I have around
the same lot count in extra-storage that I am still yet to sort and add to inventory.
But as I have started this as a partial hobby, to get used to business-style
selling, etc, I only put a set starting amount of $1000 to build inventory as
well as a good amount of stuff I already had and am using any money made from
selling to reinvest back into more inventory.
Any feedback would be appreciated, whatever it may be.
Thanks in advance!
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| | | | | Author: | peregrinator | | Posted: | Apr 13, 2024 10:39 | | Subject: | Re: New Store! Any Feedback Appreciated! | | Viewed: | 36 times | | Topic: | New Stores | |
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| In New Stores, PhyreZtorm writes:
| | To which I think have got the information I needed and have opened up international
today in hopes to invite a larger audience as Australia is quite small compared
to the overall market from what I can see(around 4%).
|
I noticed that you opened up international shipping - but you don't have
any payment methods for international buyers.
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| | | | | | | Author: | PhyreZtorm | | Posted: | Apr 13, 2024 10:55 | | Subject: | Re: New Store! Any Feedback Appreciated! | | Viewed: | 32 times | | Topic: | New Stores | |
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| In New Stores, peregrinator writes:
| | In New Stores, PhyreZtorm writes:
| | To which I think have got the information I needed and have opened up international
today in hopes to invite a larger audience as Australia is quite small compared
to the overall market from what I can see(around 4%).
|
I noticed that you opened up international shipping - but you don't have
any payment methods for international buyers.
|
Haha.. seems the checkbox did not save. I believe that the paypal method should
work now for international?
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | Dhobeck | | Posted: | Apr 13, 2024 11:03 | | Subject: | Re: New Store! Any Feedback Appreciated! | | Viewed: | 28 times | | Topic: | New Stores | |
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| In New Stores, PhyreZtorm writes:
| | In New Stores, peregrinator writes:
| | In New Stores, PhyreZtorm writes:
| | To which I think have got the information I needed and have opened up international
today in hopes to invite a larger audience as Australia is quite small compared
to the overall market from what I can see(around 4%).
|
I noticed that you opened up international shipping - but you don't have
any payment methods for international buyers.
|
Haha.. seems the checkbox did not save. I believe that the paypal method should
work now for international?
|
Appears to be working
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| | | | | Author: | SurplusParts | | Posted: | Apr 13, 2024 22:05 | | Subject: | Re: New Store! Any Feedback Appreciated! | | Viewed: | 51 times | | Topic: | New Stores | |
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| In New Stores, PhyreZtorm writes:
| | Hey Everyone,
Opened my store just over a month ago but didn't know about this forum, so
thought I might as well look out for any feedback people might have..
The store is based in Australia and I started selling just domestically whilst
I took the time to figure out what I need for international shipping, pricing,
etc.
To which I think have got the information I needed and have opened up international
today in hopes to invite a larger audience as Australia is quite small compared
to the overall market from what I can see(around 4%).
I do understand that having more stock will be really beneficial and I have around
the same lot count in extra-storage that I am still yet to sort and add to inventory.
But as I have started this as a partial hobby, to get used to business-style
selling, etc, I only put a set starting amount of $1000 to build inventory as
well as a good amount of stuff I already had and am using any money made from
selling to reinvest back into more inventory.
Any feedback would be appreciated, whatever it may be.
Thanks in advance!
|
Hey mate,
Just a couple of things.
Firstly, you have a high minimum spend for a small store. $10 is a lot for a
store with only 7,000 parts. Most of the bigger stores in Australia have no
minimum spend or maybe a $1. To have a high minimum spend you need to have lots
of parts on offer so people can collate an order with a number of different lots.
Secondly, you don't have letter shipping at all? 70 to 80% of my orders
are shipped in small and medium letters. To have the cheapest shipping on offer
in your store within Australia at $11 is going to deter a lot of potential buyers.
Whilst letters don't have tracking, it is rare for them not to arrive.
Lastly, international shipping is expensive. So for someone to purchase from
a store in Australia you need to have things that are unique and hard to find
elsewhere. Common parts will be usually cheaper in their own markets. There
is no problems having international shipping, but it is rare to get an order.
Whilst Australia only has 4% of users, it has a disproportionate amount of stores,
740 currently open to be exact. USA has 6103 stores currently open, yet has
a much, much larger user base. It is difficult to run a small store in Australia
and get regular sales.
Best of luck
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| | | | | | | Author: | PhyreZtorm | | Posted: | Apr 14, 2024 01:27 | | Subject: | Re: New Store! Any Feedback Appreciated! | | Viewed: | 41 times | | Topic: | New Stores | |
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| In New Stores, SurplusParts writes:
| | In New Stores, PhyreZtorm writes:
| | Hey Everyone,
Opened my store just over a month ago but didn't know about this forum, so
thought I might as well look out for any feedback people might have..
The store is based in Australia and I started selling just domestically whilst
I took the time to figure out what I need for international shipping, pricing,
etc.
To which I think have got the information I needed and have opened up international
today in hopes to invite a larger audience as Australia is quite small compared
to the overall market from what I can see(around 4%).
I do understand that having more stock will be really beneficial and I have around
the same lot count in extra-storage that I am still yet to sort and add to inventory.
But as I have started this as a partial hobby, to get used to business-style
selling, etc, I only put a set starting amount of $1000 to build inventory as
well as a good amount of stuff I already had and am using any money made from
selling to reinvest back into more inventory.
Any feedback would be appreciated, whatever it may be.
Thanks in advance!
|
Hey mate,
Just a couple of things.
Firstly, you have a high minimum spend for a small store. $10 is a lot for a
store with only 7,000 parts. Most of the bigger stores in Australia have no
minimum spend or maybe a $1. To have a high minimum spend you need to have lots
of parts on offer so people can collate an order with a number of different lots.
Secondly, you don't have letter shipping at all? 70 to 80% of my orders
are shipped in small and medium letters. To have the cheapest shipping on offer
in your store within Australia at $11 is going to deter a lot of potential buyers.
Whilst letters don't have tracking, it is rare for them not to arrive.
Lastly, international shipping is expensive. So for someone to purchase from
a store in Australia you need to have things that are unique and hard to find
elsewhere. Common parts will be usually cheaper in their own markets. There
is no problems having international shipping, but it is rare to get an order.
Whilst Australia only has 4% of users, it has a disproportionate amount of stores,
740 currently open to be exact. USA has 6103 stores currently open, yet has
a much, much larger user base. It is difficult to run a small store in Australia
and get regular sales.
Best of luck
|
Thanks so much for the advice!
In terms of the minimum spend, that does make sense. My thought process was around
ensuring enough profit to run viably based on less orders coming in due to being
new/less stock. And it has worked decent for minifigures but I can see how that
would limit part buyers which would most likely end up being a large chunk of
the buyer pools I would I assume?
Once I finish parting out all my remaining sets and stock for inventory, I should
have closer to 14,000 parts which still isn't a lot but should help provide
a good chunk more options for people than I have currently.
That is a good point about letter shipping. I honestly didn't think about
it really as every person I have purchased from has always arrived in boxes or
bubble mailers..
I will have a look at adding letters as an option for domestic as that would
indeed drop shipping costs quite a bit for people buying parts..
Yeah, that does make sense about international shipping. The main thought process
around opening up international was just about allowing more people the access
to see my store even though most won't really buy from my store.
I do understand the difficulty I will probably have running a small store in
Australia. The main goals are to learn business & shipping, as well as I thought
it would be something fun to do. So I am not too concerned about getting regular
sales but do want to learn how to best optimize so I can learn the best way to
run a smallish business and shipping.
Thanks for all the feedback!
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | SurplusParts | | Posted: | Apr 14, 2024 08:11 | | Subject: | Re: New Store! Any Feedback Appreciated! | | Viewed: | 42 times | | Topic: | New Stores | |
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| | |
Thanks so much for the advice!
In terms of the minimum spend, that does make sense. My thought process was around
ensuring enough profit to run viably based on less orders coming in due to being
new/less stock. And it has worked decent for minifigures but I can see how that
would limit part buyers which would most likely end up being a large chunk of
the buyer pools I would I assume?
Once I finish parting out all my remaining sets and stock for inventory, I should
have closer to 14,000 parts which still isn't a lot but should help provide
a good chunk more options for people than I have currently.
|
I can see where you are coming from. Most stores will include a packing fee
for orders, especially small orders. This will ensure that you will still make
a profit. Yes, a large proportion of buyers are parts buyers. Unless you have
lots of rare and hard to find minifigures of course.
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That is a good point about letter shipping. I honestly didn't think about
it really as every person I have purchased from has always arrived in boxes or
bubble mailers..
I will have a look at adding letters as an option for domestic as that would
indeed drop shipping costs quite a bit for people buying parts..
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Have a look at other stores terms and see there shipping costs and postage weight
ranges. Set a maximum price for letter shipping, and then if they spend over
that it has to come in parcel rate.
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Yeah, that does make sense about international shipping. The main thought process
around opening up international was just about allowing more people the access
to see my store even though most won't really buy from my store.
|
Yep makes sense. Just maybe have a look at the list of countries you ship to.
When i shipped overseas, i just kept it too the main countries with good and
reliable postal services.
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I do understand the difficulty I will probably have running a small store in
Australia. The main goals are to learn business & shipping, as well as I thought
it would be something fun to do. So I am not too concerned about getting regular
sales but do want to learn how to best optimize so I can learn the best way to
run a smallish business and shipping.
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Makes sense and good luck with it all. Seems you don't have any unrealistic
expectations.
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Thanks for all the feedback!
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Australia, New South Wales
USA, New Jersey
