I just completed a website for a brand new company called My Jeweler Connection and despite having more than 12 years under my belt as a designer and administrator for e-commerce sites as part of my regular job, somehow I seemed to forget how much time and dedication it really does take to run an online sales business and all the complications that come with making it a smooth experience for the buyer. I do it all day, 5 days a week, so I’m right there if something goes wrong or a customer needs assistance, but this new business was to be run part-time, after the regular 9 to 5, and I think it was a real eye-opener for my clients when they realized all that had to go into it.
Not only do you need a good product and sales concept, but you need good product photos, accurate product descriptions, and don’t get me started on the complications of shipping! Well, I’ll get started a little bit…no matter what those friendly USPS television advertisements, or your shipping representative from FedEx or UPS may tell you, choosing the right shipping option is never easy. Do you need insurance? What size packages will you send? Are you shipping internationally? Will you need the packages picked up? There are so many variables that it can be quite daunting, and to make it even worse, finding an affordable shopping cart solution that can correctly calculate the shipping charges for your customers is always a challenge (it’s been the bane of my existence for 12 years). I can completely understand the trend for online stores to go to free shipping!
So, next time you get the idea to sell something online, take your time and do your homework. You’ll need to have a lot of things ready even before you have a website and then once your website launches, be prepared to invest some real time in updating products, customer service, packing and shipping, if you want to remain successful.