startup for selling online

Thought some of the smart folks here might be able to assist…..a family member and I are thinking about packaging and selling a barbecue rub and/or supplies online. I can handle the site design, the ecommerce piece, etc, I think.

Anyone else ever done this? Any pitfalls, tips, success stories to share?

Thanks!

I can't offer you any advice.. But I made a chili dog sauce that can be dry packaged (for the most part), that I've thought about doing the same thing (online and locally) with. Hope ya get some responses here... Nice topic to bring up!

Your biggest task will be making sure that people are directed to your site. You can seed a lot of the search engines, but unless you stay on top of things, your site will find its way so deeply in the listings that no one will find it.

Very few start-up websites get enough traffic to support even a modest sales level. If you sell your product through other outlets or advertise your product and use the website as a supplemental sales tool, that can work for you.

Starting a ecommerce site and expecting people to find you and to buy something may be an unreasonable expectation.

Contact all the bbq sites you can and see about getting them to link to you for a start. Getting the search engines to find you requires a lot of time and effort. Send out some samples to reveiwer sites and get some feedback from them about your product. Try to have more than just one item if you can.

I have thought of doing the same thing as well. I am sure many Roadfood members have also. Seems like it could be an online business that could really take off.

I would not worry about traffic at first. My main concern would be legal restraints, taxes and all that jazz. These concerns may be minimal as all one is doing is blending herbs and spices. Yet I think Government would get its big fat nose into it and make it a real hassle.

I have never found creating traffic to a web site all that difficult. I would suggest a soft sell approach that is highly informative about the special ingredients you use, their history and attributes. Talk about your special blending skills as well. Use anecdotes and stories, make it interesting, make it personal. That's what people like and that is what would make your site special. It is also what will get you indexed into the major search engines better.

Links are important but create a good site first. People doing related efforts will be happy to trade links with you and it will get you indexed better. Exchange links with only high quality sites that do not compete directly with you though. Just a few thoughts...hope I have helped

Writing articles and submitting them to all the article directories is an awesome way to build links and link popularity. Also when u write the article you become the expert. You are allowed a byline with a link to your site. Submit at a least a few articles per week. These articles can be about cooking or anything that relates to your subject. I use to do well on the web but it:

With so many websites it is a high risk. Remember if you build it they may not come. But if you write it they will read.

thanks to all for these great suggestions. I've seen some cool ideas on the Smoke Ring as well.....

please keep your ideas coming, and thanks again!

quote:

Originally posted by jman

.........
Starting a ecommerce site and expecting people to find you and to buy something may be an unreasonable expectation.

Over the past 30 years I have done small time selling via mail order and then the internet. Even product mention (free advertising, the holy grail of mailorder), brough less than a flood of orders. As jman says, it can be tough getting enough customers. Don't give up (I'm still trying!!!!!), but don't quit the day job or "invest" the kid's college fund either.........Try eBay. It is a little expensive, but you can get a quick start.

quote:

Originally posted by tmiles

quote:

Originally posted by jman

.........
Starting a ecommerce site and expecting people to find you and to buy something may be an unreasonable expectation.

Over the past 30 years I have done small time selling via mail order and then the internet. Even product mention (free advertising, the holy grail of mailorder), brough less than a flood of orders. As jman says, it can be tough getting enough customers. Don't give up (I'm still trying!!!!!), but don't quit the day job or "invest" the kid's college fund either.........Try eBay. It is a little expensive, but you can get a quick start.

The Secret to e-commerce marketing is to have a service that's expert in SEO to manage it for you from a technical aspect.

darn search engines are the key, I know. Doing it cheaply, though, is another think, I think.

This is where I first learned about search engines many years ago. It is still the best.

Search Engine Watch

http://searchenginewatch.com

quote:

Originally posted by pdxyyz

Sales tax is the latest issue with on line sales. The new Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) is putting a big bite into the business.

In the past you only had to collect sales tax in states that you had a physical presence. The purchasers of those products in states where you didn't have a presence had to declare these purchases on their state tax returns and pay the local use tax.

The SST changes this completely. If your state has signed on and made the SST law, you as the retailer have to collect sales tax on all sales based on the location receiving the product. You also have to submit the taxes collect to each and every state participating in SST.

This is a major PITA for web entrepreneurs.

You can find more information here: www.streamlinedsalestax.org

I believe Internet sales are still exempted from Sales Taxes. There are a few exceptions that apply to businesses that have an "brick & mortar" location that already collect state sales taxes.

The Fed. exemption ran out a year or so ago, but was extended.

internet sales remain exempt from sales tax. The states hate that, but so far, haven't been able to do much about it.

pdxyyz,
Put your contact info on your profile so I can contact you directly

quote:

Originally posted by pdxyyz

quote:

Originally posted by stlouisguy

internet sales remain exempt from sales tax. The states hate that, but so far, haven't been able to do much about it.

Sorry guys but internet sales are not exempt from sales tax in the those states participating in SST.

Please go to this link for details: www.streamlinedsalestax.org

You can also go here to see eBay's reaction to the SST : http://www.ebaymainstreet.com/federal/ And while eBay wants you to protest to your congressman this is a state level initiative.

The new direction is to make all sales tax destination based and to force retailers into using approved software to ensure that the sales tax collected is remitted to each state.

Correction eighteen states have already adopted SST as law.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/369058_salestax01.html

I make my living supporting Point Of Sale software for small businesses. This is real and should not be ignored by web based retailers.

I hear you, and thanks for all the info on this…..if I get the site going, I’ll certainly take advantage of this information…..right now, Missouri is not a participant in this, and I’d be using an established provider to handle my secure shopping cart, so I’m not overly concerned at this point…..

This is a company in Orlando that will manufacture your recipe of sauce, soup,salad dressing, or sauce, and bottle it, label it, and ship it to you in case lots. They also have their own sauces available for people who want to buy in quantity and resell.
IPAC, Inc
International Packaging of Authentic Cuisine
1270 Belle Avenue
Suite 115
Winter Springs, Fla. 32708
Tel: 407-699-7507
Fax: 407-699-7543
Tell them you heard of them from a guy who lives in Maine !!!!