Selling Cigarettes Online??

[workonline]

We're wandering what your thoughts would be.I think its a pretty good idea,Bill Ranic from the show Apprentice made money selling Cigars online.We only wanna sell in Canada for now.Well do you think there's a market for it, any advice.Thanks

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[Brad2332]

Dont count on it working, in canada you have to be 21(or 19 I forget, I don't buy them.) to buy cigarettes. So you would be at risk for selling to minors, or those not legal to buy them, seeing as you can get a credit card at 18.

[Fishing]

you can buy cigarettes and alcohol and pornography anywhere in canada at 18 years old. except ontario which is 19. I dont smoke but I think sellign cigarrettes online is a really good idea. Figure out who distributes ciggarettes and such like that. There is going to be alot of research, especially legal. But i think you guys could make some money.

[gambit]

Bill is selling Cigars not cigarettes. It's a 2 different things. His target market are rich guys & high income earner. I suggest to develop a Business Plan first.

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Originally posted by workonline
We're wandering what your thoughts would be.I think its a pretty good idea,Bill Ranic from the show Apprentice made money selling Cigars online.We only wanna sell in Canada for now.Well do you think there's a market for it, any advice.Thanks

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[Karen]

I wouldn't do it, but that is just me.

I think you would have alot of issues to deal with... how can do you age verification for one?

Karen

[gambit]

for the age verification, he can probably use the Porn Sites' business model. I'm not familiar with it but its worth looking for.

[Karen]

Porn sites use the honor system and credit cards for age verification.

Neither one proves that the user is over 19.

Karen

[teana]

there are a lot of cigarettes sites out there already. It'd probably be in your best interest to just be an affiliate of these places so you can get cash from sales. This then frees you up from any liabilities but also lowers the amount of money you can make.

Also, finding cig distributors isn't too bad, but its getting the proper licenses that are difficult. I don't know about canada, but I know in the states that if you want to sell cigarettes there are a lot of licensing issues that amount to a pretty penny.

[pentupentropy]

just a thought... get a "froogle/nextag" style script. Something where people can comparison shop. Let people search for their brands online and list the prices on all of those sites, shipping terms, etc. Then, even if none of the sites themselves sign up, you can just place affiliate links in the engine so you'll get paid. Users will keep coming back to your site much of the time because prices may change and they be looking for a better deal. In any case, you can charge the sites or make the money from the affiliate links. Just a thought.

[Bleys]

The biggest problem with selling cigarettes online is the advertising. You can't use Google AdWords (against their TOS) and I think Overture has a ban on tobacco ads as well.

So that leaves more expensive methods of advertising.

[Doofen]

Aside from the cost of marketing or licensing issues you have to realize that there is tons of competition from other than online sources...

Most cigarette smokers fall between the ages of 20 and 64 in Canada with approximately 28% of males and 23% of females smoking daily, according to the Canadian Census of 2001 (which is outdated but fairly accurate for something as addictive and hard to quit as cigarettes). Likewise, the Canadian Census for the population of 2004 estimates the 20-64 age group as consisting of 9.9 million males and 10 million females, amounting to an approximation of 2,772,000 male smokers and 2,300,000 female smokers. Excluding the fact that, ordinarily, marketing towards female smokers is different than that of marketing towards males, you're left with a market consisting of about 5 million people. But these numbers really don't mean anything until you manage to find a rough percentage of people who regularly purchase day-to-day items from internet sources. And considering 54.5% of your market is over the age of forty, you can assume that number is very low. So it all boils down to the fact that you will have a small market to begin with regardless of any incentives you may offer.

Plus look at the power of nicotine! Being a stimulant puts extra strain on a long distance business relationship since, if for any reason your client really needs a cigarette, they will most likely purchase from another, more convenient vendor. This may cause you to lose a substantial amount of clients that have recently begun using your service simply due to the power of addiction.

I mean, I'm not trying to knock on your idea, since it is fairly innovative, I just don't believe it has the potential to garner any business. From a logical and personal standpoint, when I run low on condoms I don't go online; I go to the gas station or store. And that's how the majority of the market thinks (especially those older and less computer-friendly prospects).

[Frozenfox]

Originally posted by Doofen
Plus look at the power of nicotine! Being a stimulant puts extra strain on a long distance business relationship since, if for any reason your client really needs a cigarette, they will most likely purchase from another, more convenient vendor. This may cause you to lose a substantial amount of clients that have recently begun using your service simply due to the power of addiction.

I mean, I'm not trying to knock on your idea, since it is fairly innovative, I just don't believe it has the potential to garner any business. From a logical and personal standpoint, when I run low on condoms I don't go online; I go to the gas station or store. And that's how the majority of the market thinks (especially those older and less computer-friendly prospects).

Cigarettes are an "Impulse" purchase. It's something you want NOW. I'm sure you'd get the more cash consious minded people who like to buy smokes in cartons. But you would have to be able to offer cartons at a substantial discount from the corner store.

ALSO: Who are you going to pay the taxes too? Which province do you give the money too? Did you know it is illegal to sell cigarettes in BC if they were bought in Alberta? The same for all provinces. All Canadian cigs have a small security feature (plastic wrap) that states which Province the cig's were destined for / purchased from. An example of this issue is the numerious stories of bootlegged cig's from stolen semi-trailers. If it were that much of an issue, why would it be page 3 news?

[Anarchist]

There are obviously many sites offerring tobacco and more... just do a search! The trick will be setting the site up well... This is one thing many of these sites lack.

I am familiar with some website design and marketing. My services are for sale!... and I know what ppl want in an online site and what they don't want... what airritates them and what will bring them back. There are many things to concider, but if you can really meet the domand and cheap pricing there is no stopping a site like this except yourselves.

Starting with Canada is fine... but the USA is hurting and looking and that is the market if you really want it and you do it right.

anotherbob1961
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Sincerely,
Bob

[ibuzzmentor]

I think nowadays to get ahead in a saturated market like cigarettes you will do better to have giveaways and promotions to get people to sign up. Then you have them on your list. I mean give away a few cartons or cases a week and people will sign up on your site opposed to the other site. Buy a list of cigarette smokers. Then do a voice broadcast to them pointing them to your site offering free cartons. Would work like a charm! Voice broadcasting is ALL I do for my businesses.

[Dmoore323]

Let me get a pack