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Downsizer Forum Index -> Small Business Questions, Ideas and Advice

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tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45661
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon May 14, 07 10:26 am Post subject:

Justme wrote:

Would it not be simpler to do a "big barn" style site?

Justme

Having said that in 2 years we have had TWO people say they found us on big barn....

Justme

Exactly, not exactly BIG, not a barn either, fails on both counts then....

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28227
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Mon May 14, 07 11:25 am Post subject:
Well I figure to start coding my solution in a month or two, a case of having to finish some of the foundation work first.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Mon May 14, 07 11:31 am Post subject:

Nick Howe wrote:

Well, why don't we try it?

Are there 10 people here who'd invest £8.90, and offer two items for sale on a Downsizer stall?

If there are, sign up. We can debate and discuss endlessly, or you we can find out for sure. If it doesn't work, you've lost a round of drinks, if it does, we steal the idea.

Not quite yet - but in a few weeks we are hopefully going to have gallons honey for sale, so would be up for it then.

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Mon May 14, 07 3:47 pm Post subject:
Then NOW is the time to start advertising it.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45661
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon May 14, 07 3:48 pm Post subject:
Yeah. And if you've got a way to send it can I order some?

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Mon May 14, 07 3:56 pm Post subject:

Nick Howe wrote:

Then NOW is the time to start advertising it.

Ooooh, you are such a temptress:).

Tahir - I was thinking of packing it well in it's jars and posting it special delivery. I'm prepared to experiment if you are

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45661
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon May 14, 07 3:59 pm Post subject:

Chez wrote:

I'm prepared to experiment if you are

That's the best offer I've had all day

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Mon May 14, 07 4:05 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Chez wrote:

I'm prepared to experiment if you are

That's the best offer I've had all day

Crikey. You probably need to think about getting out more

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45661
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon May 14, 07 4:12 pm Post subject:

barefoot_boo

Joined: 06 Aug 2005
Posts: 399
Location: Wiltshire

Posted: Thu May 17, 07 6:42 pm Post subject:

A bit of waffle from me.

Have just had a look at the site: a quite nifty idea, but money for old rope imo.

As far as I can see its just a basic install of a bog standard online shop (in this case Actinic catalog), which the owner is using as a single point of contact for a range of vendors - the owner is effectively no more than a dropshipper (aka a middleman). Advertise the goods, process orders, take payment, then pass the orders and their split of the payment through to the individual vendors for them to despatch - all the while creating the illusion that each vendor has their own bit of virtual marketspace. Easy.

But equally, I think the site owner (and perhaps unknowingly the vendors?) are taking a pretty big risk - surely the reputation of the whole site could be tarred significantly if an occasional vendor proves to be unreliable? What impact would that have on the other (reputable) vendors? The way I see it, the site owner is putting themselves right in the firing line from all angles... so maybe thats what your £89 is meant to cover.

However, I think for an existing community where there is already a degree of trust, the idea of a single shop is a great idea. But speaking personally, I wouldn't want to get involved with something that lets anyone and his dog sign up - I wouldn't want to place my reputation in the hands of strangers.

Anyhoo, a basic online shop (as per the site referenced) is a piece of cake to get up and running. If I wanted to, I could have something to rival that site fully operational by lunchtime tomorrow... any takers? lol

Boo

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Thu May 17, 07 6:53 pm Post subject:

I've been mulling this over - re the £89, I don't actually think that that is an awful lot. Most farmer's markets I've heard about or been involved with take a ten to twenty percent cut of your selling price to fund themselves. So thought of in those terms, it's not a great deal I suppose over the course of a year if you have a reasonable turnover - it's just that it's all upfront in a lump.

If I was setting up something like this, I'd charge a one off 'registration fee' - say twenty quid, something like that - and then charge five or ten percent of each transaction. As Boo says, essentially the site is working as a broker. And that kind of arrangement would be fair to all traders rather than smaller ones making less profit than larger ones.

Just my two penn'orth.

BTW, I now have seven hives of bees rather than four, and another swarm hanging in a tree that I don't have the equipment to catch. So I WILL have some honey to sell soon

. Oh. And a bee-sting on my ear. And one where I sat down a bit suddenly.

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