Online Shop - test the waters ?

[Dolby]

How easy - and costly - would it be to set something up to test the waters / margins ?

Say I'm starting from scratch and I want to sell Fitbit online.

• I guess a fairly simple website template?
• Register a domain and pay monthly?
• I need a Parcelninja type thing for logistics and pay them per transaction?
• I need a Paymate gateway and also pay them per transaction?
• Also need to get Fitbit dealer pricing?

 

[naeem]

If you're ok with basic website stuff (not coding, just know your way around things) You can easily install WordPress & WooCommerce

WP is free, Woo is Free but spend a bit on a premium template theme (approx $60) Most are fairly easy and very much point & click, drag & drop so apart from time. It wont cost much else.

Domain - R80 to R100 year

Hosting - cheapy hosting from say Elitehost, Hetzner, etc or similar will be between R30 to R100/month

Payment gateway - use Payfast.co.za - no monthly fee, pay per transaction. 3.9% + R2 + vat i think

Delivery - parcelninja is good, havent used them yet. Or use your own couriers if you are storing it yourself. AFAIK, you need to deliver goods to parcelninja who then store & ship for you.

Also look at Shopify, they offer an all in one hosted solution for a minimal monthly fee.



Lastly, product itself is a tricky one. FitBit is distributed locally right? I'm pretty sure I'v seen it at bigger chain stores like Makro. Make sure you get really good pricing and be able to beat their price and also leave enough markup to advertise and get your name out there. Tough balancing act.

 

[Thor]

How easy - and costly - would it be to set something up to test the waters / margins ?

Say I'm starting from scratch and I want to sell Fitbit online.

• I guess a fairly simple website template?
• Register a domain and pay monthly?
• I need a Parcelninja type thing for logistics and pay them per transaction?
• I need a Paymate gateway and also pay them per transaction?
• Also need to get Fitbit dealer pricing?

Use Shopify it will enable you to focus on what matters the most, your business.

 

[d0b33]

I would suggest shopify, but if shopify fails (hack, DDOS, restructuring) so does your business.

 

[Dolby]

I'll check it out - thanks

 

[Dolby]

A quick browse of the site shows I still need a payment gateway and logistics ?

 

[NullHypothesis]

A quick browse of the site shows I still need a payment gateway and logistics ?

Shopify is the platform. You get modules to add the payment processor of your choice and if your courier has a module that too. Most people that hold stock, just wait for a product to be sold then call a courier company to collect. You just add the courier free to the checkout. If you want to outsource fulfillment that will eat into your margins. Takelot also does it (check the pricing tab). So its really suited for high margin products or if you really want convenience above higher profits.

 

[xodosman123]

Check the prices on takealot and bidorbuy you must beat those prices...what i would do is really use online services that already exist, where you just list and they take commission per sale, or use the free ones....

 

[Spacerat]

Not worth the effort IMHO

 

[Azg]

Check the prices on takealot and bidorbuy you must beat those prices...what i would do is really use online services that already exist, where you just list and they take commission per sale, or use the free ones....

Is the Esquire Virtual Reseller Network similar to what you are referring to when you say use existing online services?
http://www.esquire.co.za/cooloffer/VRN.html

 

[chopsky]

Use Shopify it will enable you to focus on what matters the most, your business.

Shopify is definitely nice, but do you really want to be bound to paying USD and only being able to use PayFast?
WP & WooCommerce are fairly simple to get going, especially if you find a decent theme.

 

[Thor]

Shopify is definitely nice, but do you really want to be bound to paying USD and only being able to use PayFast?
WP & WooCommerce are fairly simple to get going, especially if you find a decent theme.

That payment is so little if it's too much your shop is probably not going to successful.

Shopify's complete offering is light years ahead of WordPress and woo.

Who's going to maintain and update your site?
Your the business man don't try and be all the roles.

 

[chopsky]

That payment is so little if it's too much your shop is probably not going to successful.

Shopify's complete offering is light years ahead of WordPress and woo.

Who's going to maintain and update your site?
Your the business man don't try and be all the roles.

Shopify is an amazing product, but I'd say they're very very different systems with different capabilities.
Long-term, I'd hate to be tied to having to use PayFast and being restricted to Shopify's narrow eco-system. Your abilities with Woo are endless.
But it all obviously depends on your own requirements.