Posted: 6/1/2013 3:19:38 AM EDT
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And what can you tell me about them? I have started a very small business making atlas stones out of concrete. If someone wants one and lets me know I don't ask for a down payment until they get them. This applies whether I have the requested stone size on hand or have to make it for them. The problem is I have made stones for people who I never hear from again. I would estimate about 15-20% of people who said they would buy some have never been heard from.
To get around it I thought of starting a website where they can pay 20% of the price if I don't have that size stone on hand and if I do have it they can buy it right there and pay for shipping or delivery if they need it. I don't know anything about making websites so what is involved in a retail website? Cost of setup and maintaining it? What about making sure it stays secure? Anything else as I really don't know what I don't know. |
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Wouldn't it just be easier to charge them for the entire item when they place the order online?
Also, look into Wordpress for a website. There are tons of videos on YouTube for beginners. For payment the easiest and most secure way would be to accept PayPal on your site. Again there are tons of tutorials on how to integrate a PayPal shopping cart, and payment into your website. |
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I have a retail website. While not the biggest/best out there, May was our biggest month to date with 30k+ sales. I dont agree with charging the customer beforehand. I also dont agree with delivering the product before being paid (if I understand you, that is what you are doing?).
What has worked for me was staying small and developing a personal relationship with customers, while giving impeccable customer service. For us, if a customer wants a custom product, all we do is take a credit card number from them. I explain clearly to them that this is basically to let me know they are serious about buying, and to hold their place in line to assure that they will get the product AS SOON as it is available. Always be honest about wait times and contact the customer when needed. The card is never charged until everything to complete their order is in stock. 'Integrity' is key in this market. |