Questions about getting started selling online.

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- Rena Klingenberg

Questions about getting started selling online.

by Barbara
(Lansdowne, Pa, USA)

Hi, everyone.

I am a "newbie" when it comes to starting a home-based jewelry business. I finally decided to turn this passion of mine into a business and I am nervous and excited at the same time.

I purchased a domain name (barbsbeadsandthings.com) and have web hosting thru HostGator. However, I have NO idea what to do next. Should I build a website so that I can sell everything from there? Or should I consider building a blog?

Also, I know Rena mentioned SBI for websites. Can I sell my jewelry thru that?

I am just ready to start selling my jewelry online but not sure how to do it.

Barb

barbsbeadsandthings.com

Comments for
Questions about getting started selling online.

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Some tips to help
by: Lee

Barb,

I do not sell jewelry however I do run an administrative consulting business and I can offer you some more food for thought.

You would build a website to sell online and I would look into WordPress platform (which has many eCommerce and store plug-ins). If you are collecting payments through PayPal then you can use their storefront but if you are collecting from other sources you may need other options from your host for security. Quite frankly PayPal is great for collecting money because they also allow you to set shipping charges, taxes and options.

There are also other sites to sell on and I am sure you will get some suggestions from Rena and the others here.

Best of luck to you,
Lee
www.myofficeassist.com

Go Etsy!
by: Tara Hutchinson

Barb,

Like you, when I first started, I had absolutley NO idea what I was doing. I purchased several domain names through a few different servers, and even hired a web designer to make me a flash website. Then I found Etsy. I was looking on there for some supplies one day, and I noticed all these other jewelry designers who had storefronts with 200-300 sales! And I thought, why am I missing out on this piece of the pie? So, I got started with them. It is inexpensive and easy to keep up with. This was one of the concerns I had with having a website: how was I going to update it without learning code?

As for a blog, Lee's advice about Wordpress.com was sound. This is where my blog is, and it's free. You might not have to do this right now, this might be something you will have to think of later when your business develops to the point where you start to work on branding.

Good luck!

XOXO

Tara

TaraHutchJewelry.etsy.com
TaraHutchJewelryBlog.com

Getting Started
by: pam

Hi, Barb,

Congratulations on moving foward with your online jewelry business! I and many others know exactly how you feel, because we have all been where you are at one time or another. I am not and expert, so thanks for allowing me to add a few things that I've learned along the way.

1. Develop your brand or your own "style". With so many designers online, your product must stand out from the competition!

2. Take good pictures of your product. This can be frustrating at first, but it is really one of the most important steps for your business. Good pictures help to sell your jewelry. (Please read the information on this site regarding picture taking. The best advice is right here!)

3. Be realistic about the time you have to spend on your site, because it takes a lot of time, and if not managed well, could cut into other areas of your life, including family, job, and time to create your items.

4. Don't expect to make a lot of money right away! Take your time and enjoy the process. Remember to promote your business everywhere. Don't depend on your website alone to create sales.

5. Always put your customers first! They deserve the best that you have to offer.

Barb, I hope this helps. When I first started my business, I was lucky enough to find this site.
It has been and continues to be a great source of information and support, so please stay in touch!!

Good Luck!!!
pamgstudio.etsy.com

own site
by: pat barden

ifound that setting up me own site was a lot of fun--but withe web-builder mine came with through network solutions--each item for sale ihave to do a separate paypal--thats a bother--itry to put my latest pieces on my site--but basically--its a large artfire button--its so much eazier to list on an online selling venue as that--the downloading of the pictures, the paypal, the setting it up so you hithe picture to gogo to the pay page--
iuse my site to list my specials, local stores im in, shows ill be at--
but ive really found lately--for that--a blog is even eazier--
its still all about keywords, search engines, all that--and mostly--promoting your own work--tossing it out there into the airwaves every possible moment--and always wearing your pieces and remember your calling cards

Thanks SO much!
by: Barb

Everyone, thank you SO much for responding. If I am hearing all of you correctly the easiest way for me to create an online presence would be to:

1. Set up an online store through Etsy.com
2. Create a Wordpress blog that has a link to my Etsy store.

Am I correct?

Barb

Another thought...
by: Ann Nolen

Hi, and welcome to the online world. I also anguished about how much time it would take. At first I had a website, with a built in store AND and Etsy store. So, I was listing each item twice and it was taking forever.
Then one morning I got up and found out I had sold the same piece twice during the night! Luckily I had an extra set of materials and supplies and made a second one to make everything work, but I was sweating it! Then I decided I needed to stick with just one, and one that removed it from the store when it was sold. Etsy did all that and more so I went with that. I have never regretted it, Etsy has worked great for me.
You could use the WordPress Blog, it is a great site. You could also do a website, like I did with Weebly.com. The free version is good enough for a nice site, and really easy to use. What really made it work was using the Etsy tools to make it look like a page on my website. To see that, once you have an Etsy store, see the tools in your account "How to build an Etsy Mini". It generates HTML you can cut and paste in and your Etsy store can be spread online almost anywhere! See my website STORE page for one example, and other pages on my website where I have put smaller versions. Best of all, this is all free.
Ann
www.AnimalCoin.com

Open Source Software
by: Mme Magpie

If you plan to sell more than a handful of items, I would recommend using an ecommerce platform. Here's my brief thoughts on the three platforms I have experience with:

Joomla with Virtue Mart (current)

Joomla is the CMS (Content Management System) and Virtue Mart is the ecommerce plugin. Both are free and can easily be installed via the Fantastico installer on your control panel (I also use HostGator). The hard part is learning the back end of Joomla. It's bug, clunky and not very intuitive. Its also incredibly powerful and can grow with you. Finding a template that you can use think is attractive might prove challenging. Many of the fancier templates claim to require Adobe Dreamweaver to work with. This is what I have done with Joomla/Virtuemart: http://mmemagpie.com/shop

Another powerful ecommerce option for Joomla is Tienda from Discouri. It didn't have all the features I wanted, but it's fairly simple to work with in comparison to Virtue Mart.

Joomla has a few layouts that I don't care for and can't make go away. Most of the available Virtue Mart templates are incredibly loud. You will need a template, as it's native appearance is awful.

Prestashop (future)

I am working on rebuilding with Prestashop. You can install it via QuickInstall on your control panel. Much easier to work with than Joomla, so far, and it offers me ALL the features I wanted and more.

Prestashop has a nice selection of templates from obnoxious to subdued. No additional software needed to make these do your bidding.

When selecting a template for purchase, make sure the developer speaks your language. Prestashop is based in Europe, so they don't all speak English. This is why it's important: I'm having some problems with layouts and subcategories, and I'm working with the developer to fix this.

It's under construction, but this will give you an idea of what Prestashop can look like: http://mmemagpie.com/boutique It is fully functional (in spite of the mess), so if you pay for something, look for it in the mail :)

ZenCart (past)

Can be installed via either of the installers. Ugly as sin out of the box. You will need a template. Super clunky and images load slowly. I fought with it for a few months before deleting it.

Previous post, Continued...
by: Mme Magpie

Closing thoughts:

You have plenty of resources right there in your control panel. Why not install any (or all) of the free/open source ecommerce platforms and fiddle with them. See what makes sense to you. If you need a certain feature, make sure that platform has it or that you can add it.

Do not settle. Here's why. I originally chose Zencart based on reviews. Hated it. Moved to Joomla/Virtue Mart because it was glowingly recommended. It does what it does very well. I'm leaving it because I can't find a template that tickles me for the latest version if I wish to stick with Virtue Mart and not purchase expensive Adobe software. Because of my chosen template, I'm currently working from an obsolete version of Joomla.

Do yourself a favor and learn the bare basics of html. You can find everything you need to know in the beginner and intermediate tutorials here: http://htmldog.com Knowing a little code goes a long way.