Can anyone give me advice on how to start an online business?

[Branward]

where can i find the wholesale fashion goods with the cheap price?which i can sell for a higher price but affordable for any level of people..the shipping rate seems to be the problem to me because it will make my price become really really high which i don't want it to be that way...
is there any suggestion for me to continue this business?
how to deal with the shipping rate since i'm in New york...

[Catherine]

When it comes to arranging the goods and products you wish to sell, you will have to look into this as being a seller, this is your responsibility. You will have to find the goods and services at the least possible price without compromising with the quality in order to earn enough profits and to build a reputation. When it comes to shipping charges, it is generally paid by the customers but you can pay a part of it to make the products cheaper and can introduce some offers of free shipping on selected products from time to time to attract some customers

[LucasFisher]

If I were you, I would go to a professional online marketing agency and trust them all the issues.

[travis]

Staying within the area of wholesale fashion goods, have you considered accessories? Maybe you're already doing that, but your shipping should be far less for items like belts and jewelry than for larger items of clothing. Surely there are some reasonably-priced shipping alternatives.

[Rajeev Sharma]

Re: Can anyone give me advice on how to start an online business?

You have to start step by step, from small one to big one,your sites and landing pages should be attractive and responsive....

[Dazedn'Confused]

It sounds like you have a general idea, but haven't actually done your homework. Starting an online business, like starting any business, requires a lot of forethought, planning, research, and a thorough understanding of your key demographic or market. Plus, you need to think of how your business will meet a need of this demographic that others are not meeting. Otherwise you are the same as every other business out there like this. In order to stand out and succeed, you need to be able to offer something different. You also need to learn how to brand and market yourself. This all takes a long time and there aren't really any short cuts. I would recommend that you take the time to learn all of this and don't expect that you can jump into something like this and that it will be a "get rich quick" scheme.

As far as shipping goes, you can actually take advantage of amazon shipping if you work in collaboration with them. This will allow you to take advantage of their expedited shipping and free shipping policies, as well as not have to worry about returns, since amazon will deal with that. Of course this service also comes with a fee, but it seems to be a good deal for people starting out.

You can either sell directly with them, or you can sell from your own site and merely ship with them (this is called Fulfillment by Amazon - FBA). This requires storing things in their warehouse though, and they handle all of the shipping logistics for you. As far as I am aware, you only pay for what you use. So you pay when an item is shipped and you pay a little for having your merchandise stored in their warehouses. But for a small business just starting out, this will be minimal. As your business grows, this will become more expensive, but then you can consider your own shipping logistics as business increases.
Now, as for your desire to sell cheap merchandise at a higher price, this is a terrible business model actually. First, the cheap merchandise is usually crap and people will feel ripped off after ordering from you and will not return and give you more business. It is always better to offer actually good merchandise. Furthermore, people are becoming more ethically and environmentally conscious and there is a movement in the moment away from "fast fashion." People are more and more aware of the logistics and don't want harmful products and clothing made in sweatshops. Hopefully all of the cheap, fast fashion will disappear within 10 years, and if it does, your online business will fail.

Of course you are more than welcome to pursue what you want to do, but I would just caution you to think through it a little better. No one wants to start a business and invest money in it just to see it fail.

[jameshouston135]

Re: Can anyone give me advice on how to start an online business?

You have to start step by step, from small one to big one,your sites and landing pages should be attractive and responsive....

For what region you are willing to start your online business and what type of business you are willing to start an eCommerce business, affiliate business, ads base informative website.

[OscarScott]

From your question I can assume that you have a rather general idea on what you wish to sell in your future webstore, and I can not help you make a decision. However, what I can do is to give you my piece of mind on what to do next as soon as you decide on your product range.
To begin with, think over the concept, design and appearance of your future online store. How will the homepage, catalog and product pages look? How will the user navigate? How many steps will your checkout process consist of? These are the basic questions to get started.
As you have considered the outer look, it is time to see about the functionality and usability. This includes taking care of development, payment systems, server and hosting, selection of a carrier, model of customer interaction and SEO optimization of your webstore.
If you dedicate some time and effort to look after the aspects I mentioned above, you will prepare a solid base for your future online business.

[Jackson]

First of all, create good business plan. Then find someone to work with. Choose the best marketing strategy. This what I would do

[alexson]

If you want to start your business then you should make an excellent marketing strategy for your business so that you do not have face failure. More failures occur when marketing strategies are not made accurate. To grow your business awareness, you must use social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

[Naheed]

If you want to start your business then you should make an excellent marketing strategy for your business so that you do not have face failure. More failures occur when marketing strategies are not made accurate. To grow your business awareness, you must use social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Yes, you are right for starting an online business, one must have an excellent marketing strategy.
Almost all the steps have been described. I will suggest that after having a proper marketing strategy,
should follow stick to this formula:
Traffic * Conversion * Order value = Revenue

[Aaron Martin]

It sounds like you have a general idea, but haven't actually done your homework. Starting an online business, like starting any business, requires a lot of forethought, planning, research, and a thorough understanding of your key demographic or market. Plus, you need to think of how your business will meet a need of this demographic that others are not meeting. Otherwise you are the same as every other business out there like this. In order to stand out and succeed, you need to be able to offer something different. You also need to learn how to brand and market yourself. This all takes a long time and there aren't really any short cuts. I would recommend that you take the time to learn all of this and don't expect that you can jump into something like this and that it will be a "get rich quick" scheme.

As far as shipping goes, you can actually take advantage of amazon shipping if you work in collaboration with them. This will allow you to take advantage of their expedited shipping and free shipping policies, as well as not have to worry about returns, since amazon will deal with that. Of course this service also comes with a fee, but it seems to be a good deal for people starting out.

You can either sell directly with them, or you can sell from your own site and merely ship with them (this is called Fulfillment by Amazon - FBA). This requires storing things in their warehouse though, and they handle all of the shipping logistics for you. As far as I am aware, you only pay for what you use. So you pay when an item is shipped and you pay a little for having your merchandise stored in their warehouses. But for a small business just starting out, this will be minimal. As your business grows, this will become more expensive, but then you can consider your own shipping logistics as business increases.
Now, as for your desire to sell cheap merchandise at a higher price, this is a terrible business model actually. First, the cheap merchandise is usually crap and people will feel ripped off after ordering from you and will not return and give you more business. It is always better to offer actually good merchandise. Furthermore, people are becoming more ethically and environmentally conscious and there is a movement in the moment away from "fast fashion." People are more and more aware of the logistics and don't want harmful products and clothing made in sweatshops. Hopefully all of the cheap, fast fashion will disappear within 10 years, and if it does, your online business will fail.

Of course you are more than welcome to pursue what you want to do, but I would just caution you to think through it a little better. No one wants to start a business and invest money in it just to see it fail.

Its such a great information to grow knowledge.