Online Sales

[DougBrown]

Is anyone selling online? Are you making any actual sales? What are you using to process your shopping cart, OSCommerce, Paypal...?

I'm trying to set up a sales page on our guild's website without spending too much time or money until I know what will pay off. Any and all comments and suggestions are welcome. Thanks, Doug

 

[Keith Burns]

There was a thread here awhile back concerning selling thru your chapter's website. I could be wrong but I believe the consensus was not to do it as it could affect the non-profit status of your club.

 

[Max Taylor]

That was my impression also. Max

 

[DougBrown]

Yes I read that thread and we are set up as a nonprofit corporation, but we are all professional turners acting as a co op so that sales would be from individual members. The web site and our guild is set up to facilitate members marketing, advertising, and sales. I've spoken to other nonprofits that do sales in our area and they have set their corporations the same way. Besides with the sales so far, the last thing I'm worried about is the IRS :cool2:
Thanks, Doug

 

[Kenneth Hertzog]

I like most would also like to sell on line.
I have seen different companies host an area where one could set up his own web page and sell online. If the AAW would set this up I would sign up NOW.
I also realize that this would not be free and it would also help make the AAW more profitable.

ken

 

[dkulze]

My best efforts at sales online have been of wood, rather than of finished pieces. I have a friend who sold for a while online and quickly decided that it was too much of a hit or miss experience to work. He does gallery and consignment now.

Dietrich

 

[WODAD]

Doug, on-line means you must list your piece, keep it on hand and monitor the site for any sales (takes time). So if you list 10, 15 or 20 pieces you have to store them as well as new producton items. Now if you have just a web page with information and examples of your work you can still pick up inquiries and probably just as many sales. Consignment or outright wholesale gets the piece down the road and gives you a great excuse to make more woodchips

Frank D.

 

[woodwish]

We tried an online site for a while to sell our kaliedoscopes, never sold a single one. Only sales we made were from people that saw us at a show and grabbed a business card, so it was all through e-mail actually. Occasionally for kicks I put one on e-bay and actually have had pretty good luck on auctions and "buy-now" options. Also sold a few bottle stoppers that way. I toss in a catalog page I made with photos and prices in case they want some more and offer a 10% discount on a second one. Probably made more sales from that then you would think.

We have a bankcard account (MC, Visa, Disc) that we use so we don't use paypal.

 

[almather]

I sell through my website. But my volume is not that great, though each of the two years I have had it up have seen increases in sales. I use paypal. Right now I am making some changes to my site. I have prices listed with my production items, and links to my shopping cart. However, with my more-one-of-a-kind items I am placing sample pictures and a note encouraging poeple to contact if they are interested.

This past fall I had sales in both catagories.

Some people pay through paypal, others contact me directly.

I have also had wholesale contacts through my site. I am glad to see each sale, but in reality, my website is a convenient brouchure for people to look at my products, in my opinion.

Al

 

[Ken Grunke]

I was lucky enough to find an online gallery situation run by other people as an outlet for my turnings, and I get an order once in a while but it doesn't pay the bills by any means. http://www.wisconsinmade.com takes a standard commission from sales, 40 % I think, of course they are for residents of WI only but this type of operation is probably scattered around the country so would be worth looking into for your area.

I played around with a shopping cart for my own site but found it to be too much of a hassle for the return expected. Like Al, I see my website as a glorified brochure to point potential customers to, mostly folks I meet face-to-face. I get very few inquiries from web visitors.

I do like the idea of setting up a guild organization specifically for the purpose of marketing, and having an online shopping cart for a group of craftpersons working in a common medium. I've been thinking of talking with other members of our AAW chapter about this, it would have to be completely seperate from the club and the AAW I guess but I don't have a plan in mind so I just haven't gotten a round tuit yet.

--
Ken Grunke
member & webmaster, Coulee Region Woodturners
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