Want to start an online retail superstore

[ahwoogah]

Hi my name is James i am 19 years old and thinking about well been thinking about for the longest to start an online retail superstore. What im trying to do is basicly sell anything that a consumer might need from some socks to an washer machine. At first im going to drop ship my items then as time come im going to get a warehouse and keep stock myself. I know at first that profits wont be as big as i want them to be but if 300 people is buying something and im only making 10 to 15 dollars profit, i think thats real good. I will be using X-Cart because i think it has the best features to offer from Wish List to Reviews. I will be using linkpoint for my Merchant Account and also UPS and Fedex to ship. I think once i start to keep stock myself thats when the profit margin will increase and i will start to do well myself. My company name is Ahwoogah.com i picked that name because i wanted something cutting edge and something that will draw attention from the customers. When you hear Ahwoogah you think of the cartoons with the cars that have the loud horns. So i just want to know what you guys think

Thank you,

CEO of ahwoogah.com

[bzboy]

Hello...I think its a good idea for online retail, but keep in mind, it is a extremely hard business...You have to have all of your SEO up to date and thats a job in itself...Also just out of curiosity why are you choosing UPS and fed ex? I personally use USPS as the main shipping partner, plus they give free boxes for priority. I was just curious

Good luck with it. If you stick with it you can be sucessful

[BusinessAdviser]

That's very ambitious. However, it's clear to me that you haven't done a market analysis, and the result will be disasterous. Just as a start:

Have you considered the complexities of lining up the suppliers for "anything that a consumer might need?" Unless by "suppliers" you mean Wal-Mart, you're about to undertake a task that is virtually impossible.

How do you plan to inform consumers of your company? How do you expect word to spread about your company when consumers can't seem to figure out how to spell it to even get to the site?

And getting into the competitor analysis, what will your company offer that is better than, say, Wal-Mart? God knows it's not price or customer service.

I applaud your entrepreneurial spirit, but you are preparing for disaster. Save your money, do your research, and enter into an area that at least shows opportunity for success.

That being said, based on your lack of analysis and your opportunity selection (that's for you, Akula), it's clear that you have no business starting up a company. If you choose to ignore this advice and keep pursuing this endeavor, I wish you luck and my deepest condolences on the loss of your life savings.

[ahwoogah]

To get the name out about my company i plan to to first Make Signs and put them around busy streets etc put ads in the paper etc. Google Yahoo i also plan to use. Im also putting Decal on my car friends car parents car etc to get the word around.

My main focus will be customer service, i plan to have Grade A customer support threw live support 24/7 Calling and also email ticket support. I think this is what makes a company grow, If you show you care about them they will continue to do business with you.

Ive also been doing alot of research on what consumers are demanding for right now and that is electronics. Its alot of competion out here with them but i plan to bring the best prices possible even im only making 5-10 profit i plan to have the best prices.

I also want to offer free overnight shipping once we get our feet off the ground and a big number in sales are coming in. I think this will bring the sale & profit margin up by adleast 20 to 50%. I have the hole thing mapped out and i think i can be pretty sucessfull in what i want to do and what i want to bring to the market

[BusinessAdviser]

You have no idea what you're doing.

Signs, ads in the paper, and car decals will not only reach a very small number of people, but they will make the company look cheap.

Even if you plan to sit at the phone 24/7 to answer questions, for you to be successful, you will need sales that are too large for you to handle all the questions. You will have long wait times, high costs, and actually HARM your customer service.

So if consumers are demanding electronics, why are you focusing on socks and washing machines? Additionally, you would actually need to take a loss in order to bring consumers the best price.

Finally, even with a lot of sales, you will be unable to offer free overnight shipping. This makes it clear that you have not done a financial analysis.

You're facing disaster. Take this advice and stop, or go forward, lose money, waste time, and wish you had taken this advice and stopped.

No offense, but you really have no clue about this at all. I'm trying to help you out here.

[toml7379]

I agree with Jonathan here mate. He is correct in saying you have not thought this one through - WHAT SO EVER!

Firstly, advertising in streets, on cars etc is going to reach no-one, and it will cost money. Promoting online via affiliates is infinitely more effective.

Secondly, live support 24/7? You're going to need to hire people to do that for you, at least 3 people and you'll need to pay them. So if you're making 10-15$ for 300 products you sell, where is the money coming from to pay them - just to provide customer support!! Your contribution margin WILL be negative.

Thirdly, you've clearly never heard of niche marketing. Consumer electronics is THE most competitive online retail sector, period. You simply will not be able to compete with larger companies.
Unless you have a working capital somewhere around the 5 figure mark, you will not be able to provide any of the services you mentioned.

Also web design and maintenance = hard work, and expensive.
Everything i have said adds up to a good reason why you shouldnt pursue this any longer, or if you do, scale it down MASSIVELY and niche!!!! For gods-sake niche.

[luemob]

I would recommend the following steps to get you thinking and depending on your budget proceed to what you can accomplish with that. If budget is limited, then time and your own learning curve will have to be the major part of your progress to succeed:

1. Get your domain name in order to decide what you are planning on selling and stick to that topic or niche. If you are planning on a larger scope like retail goods then you might not succeed due to the bigger online stores that already have that. You can look into an affordable hosting plan right now by going here and there you can get your site built within the same plan, marketing the site using the $30 Google credit for advertising on google or build a blog within the plan. You can get hosting right now for $35.00 for the 12 month plan.

2. You may want to consider a niche that works out better for you using a script called BANS, its a simple install script that can be used on a site and you can also make money using ebays affiliate program which will probably were you'll make most of your money.

So you may want to narrow down your choice of what to sell and then go from there.

[GregK]

I agree with those who are commenting on your business venture. I applaud you for having that entrepreneurial spirit at the age of 19. However, you have your work cut out for you with what you are doing. I would never say it's impossible, rather prepare for major sacrifices and loss up front. As a recommendation, I would get your feet wet in a network marketing company that fits you at first. This is not an advertisement for my company. It is exposure for the network marketing industry. You will grow as an individual and a business man. Cut your teeth on something that won't break the bank but overtime can yield you a substanial income. You are young and seem to be very ambitious. Again I applaud you and wish you well.

[BusinessAdviser]

I would recommend the following steps to get you thinking and depending on your budget proceed to what you can accomplish with that. If budget is limited, then time and your own learning curve will have to be the major part of your progress to succeed:

1. Get your domain name in order to decide what you are planning on selling and stick to that topic or niche. If you are planning on a larger scope like retail goods then you might not succeed due to the bigger online stores that already have that. You can look into an affordable hosting plan right now by going here and there you can get your site built within the same plan, marketing the site using the $30 Google credit for advertising on google or build a blog within the plan. You can get hosting right now for $35.00 for the 12 month plan.

2. You may want to consider a niche that works out better for you using a script called BANS, its a simple install script that can be used on a site and you can also make money using ebays affiliate program which will probably were you'll make most of your money.

So you may want to narrow down your choice of what to sell and then go from there.

Do not confuse this posting with advice. This is an advertisement for you to use the poster's services. You do not need them. You need to scrap your plans and begin to study business. You will fail at your current plans and, unless you really learn about the business world, will fail at future plans. I'm sorry to say that you just need to learn more. There are plenty of resources here and elsewhere, so use them. Don't make the mistake of falling in love with your idea and saying "To hell with all the naysayers."

[LiveWise]

You have a good idea, but you can't be everything to everybody. Select a smaller niche--your niche is so broad and it is difficult to have the knowledge about everything. If you want to stick with everything, become a franchisee with a company so that you can get volume discount to be able to offer the best prices.

[luemob]

Do not confuse this posting with advice. This is an advertisement for you to use the poster's services. You do not need them. You need to scrap your plans and begin to study business. You will fail at your current plans and, unless you really learn about the business world, will fail at future plans. I'm sorry to say that you just need to learn more. There are plenty of resources here and elsewhere, so use them. Don't make the mistake of falling in love with your idea and saying "To hell with all the naysayers."

Jonathan

You sounded like you were scolding me there for a moment. I completely agree that customers have the say and most time the direction on where to make the money. But I think that one would have to love what they are doing in order to succeed, who wants to buy a product or service from somebody that hates representing it? Thats a qoute from Donald Trump.

[luemob]

Hi my name is James i am 19 years old and thinking about well been thinking about for the longest to start an online retail superstore. What im trying to do is basicly sell anything that a consumer might need from some socks to an washer machine. At first im going to drop ship my items then as time come im going to get a warehouse and keep stock myself. I know at first that profits wont be as big as i want them to be but if 300 people is buying something and im only making 10 to 15 dollars profit, i think thats real good. I will be using X-Cart because i think it has the best features to offer from Wish List to Reviews. I will be using linkpoint for my Merchant Account and also UPS and Fedex to ship. I think once i start to keep stock myself thats when the profit margin will increase and i will start to do well myself. My company name is Ahwoogah.com i picked that name because i wanted something cutting edge and something that will draw attention from the customers. When you hear Ahwoogah you think of the cartoons with the cars that have the loud horns. So i just want to know what you guys think

Thank you,

CEO of ahwoogah.com

Let me also offer this:
Your Domain is great, ahwoogah.com. if you are planning on using that then go with it and look into getting it trademarked. That way you can exclusively benefit from it by not allowing it to be used in PPC campaigns by others.

Also, what is ahwoogah.com going to represent? is it going to represent sox of all shapes and sizes? then let that be the brand, ahwoogah.com where you can get your sox (just an example) other examples of that sort would be ebay=online auctions and google=search.

X-cart, an excellent CMS. Very easy to use and it has plugins to Search Engine Optimization the site and create easy customizable features. Remember that extra plugins cost but I also believe that it makes up for it from its online support. Your prolly looking into about $500 in site setup including internet hosting, plugins and maybe even a customizable header. Sox puppets cartoons on the header maybe?

Just my thoughts but wait I may have to go back to school for this so I may not know what I'm talking about. . .and don't be afraid to fail either!

[BusinessAdviser]

If you go forward, check back with us in 12 months to update us on how it's going.

[KingDingaling]

So James...... Your website is all over ripoffreports.com advising evryone not to use your website. Noone recieves their orders, and the ones that do recieve there purchases get fakes and ripoffs. I know this because Me and several other customers have made contact through email. When you purc hase your item, you receive an email from shopcorrect.com telling you they processed your order, five minutes later a fraud website awoogah.com tells you that they are processing your order. You make sure to charge the credit card and not send the product. Weve contacted the Better Buisness Bourea and several others have alerted internet authoritys. What your doing is an outrage, its only a matter of time before you and your website are shut down. You seem like an honest guy just trying to start a buisness, but theres corruption going on in your website.

[hugh009]

If you think that you are going to stand a chance of competing against Wal-Mart and their BILLIONS of dollars in advertising bucks then you are dreaming! Don't stop dreaming but go for something on a smaller scale!