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blue_monkey_2

Hi nzmegs,

I actually started out doing markets - wedding fairs are just too pricey for my profit margin really as there is not a huge mark up on what we sell believe it or not. Plus we have reduced prices a little so this cuts into it. I havea lot of items for sale below cost price but I am loath to reduce them more and lose more money. This is stock I bought a good few years ago when we was doing well on eBay and the markets. You'l read more about that when I get home - it was bought for with our own money though so while it is not 'missed' it would be nice to get it back.

We did fine on the market but then Primark came to down and screwed us as people did not want to pay £5 for Gossard, they wanted to pay £4 for Primark and so on. They prefer cheap over quality. So I stopped doing the markets as it was just not worth it. The rent on the stall alone was near £80 a week and then we had to get there and I had to pay for help, it was really not working out.

I used to do eBay - this was the main bulk of my business and how I got started but now everyone and their cat sells undes on eBay. I haveto say I was the first and theamount I used to make would make your hair curl, we was so busy we only ever used to work 2 weeks of the month, the rest of the time was spent packing and sending out. But thn everyone gets wind of it and people stop paying £20 for something as there will always be someone else selling for £10. *sigh* I made pre-expenses profit of 10k last year in 8 months trading but after paying just eBay and Paypal fees I was left with a whopping £838. THat figure will stick in my head forever. From then on I decided I was no longer going to do eBay.

The thing to remember is that I had over 5000 items in stock, mainly different sizes, styles and colours, now for each of those items I would be having to pay 20p an item, per month, plus my shop fee. It's a no brainer. I would buy something from the new season, list it for £20 when RRP was £25, someone else would list it for £19, then someone else £18 until you are selling things at cost and I decided that it was not worth all of the work I had to do. Literally every single waking spare moment was spent doing eBay because of the sheer volume of things I sold.

My son I Autistic, I think some of you know this, and I do not have the luxury of having people to look after him so this is it, me & hubby with the kids at home we do not do anything or go anywhere and work is my 'time out' really. I do not mind this, don't get me wrong, but I cannot do what other can do like go to fairs, seminars and the like, I am just not physically able to as I cannot take the children and if they are not at school they are with me.

When I did the maket everything had to be railed and hung and prices, we needed a huge transit to get us around and to be honest, it really is more trouble that it was worth. So it is the website only but it is who you reach out to and how you reach out to them. he Glossies like COmpany would be ideal but they want £1100 to advertise in the back for just one month. I would have to sell 200 bras to even think about covering that cost and one company had to liquidate after advertising in a Glossy.

My homepage is on here but not advertised, just click on my name and chose 'BM Homepage' and you'll find it. I have to say actually, I know there are some bits and pieces that are not quite done and some images need replacing (not that many) but my laptop broke and so I am on a temporary one that is not that brilliant so I cannot load tons of images on it so, for now, I am trying to make do. I do not think I'll have it back until next week now though.

Oh, there is also a thread running in 'Discount Vouchers and Codes' for small businesses but I could put a 75% off everything code on there and not one person would see it as no-one looks at it.

Sorry for being a whinger today.

blue_monkey_2

LOL, and bluerover, think of the sand you'll have to clear up when you get home. Oooh, much better being stuck at home watching Diagnosis Murder. Jst what kind of questions do you get asked btw??

Wordsmith

You're not whingeing, Blue_Monkey - some days it just seems that the forces are against us. Hopefully things will seem a bit better in a day or so.

How are you on the subject of underwear in general (I don't mean in a sleazy way!)? How about making your web site into a site about underwear, with selling it as a sort of (major) sideline. Like nzmegs says, getting people to come to your site for information will make them more likely to buy from there too. For example, you could have a section on the history of various items, and a section on what the stars are wearing, what men like and what women like wearing, the traditions for weddings, how to buy underwear for a wedding, etc. Each page could have a link or links to items for sale. You would need to provide useful information and also update with snippets regularly to make people keep coming back - frequently scouring the internet for useful information to use (repackaged so you're not stealing) could be built into the tasks for the day. There are so many sites selling lingerie that having a different perspective on it would make you stand out a bit.

If you want help to explore this a bit further, feel free to PM me. (I'm not touting for work - just happy to help if you need it.)

It might also be worth contacting other websites to see if they will put a link on to their site to yours (reciprocated, of course). For example, someone who sells wedding dresses or even makes wedding cakes, might be willing to link directly to your wedding underwear page. [Sorry to bang on about weddings, but they are useful as an example of a particular section of what you are selling.] The same goes for a site selling maternity dresses or baby paraphernalia - they could link directly to your nursing bras.

Wordsmith

Welcome, Bluerover. I too live close to a beach, so know how you feel. Today, though, it is horrible here - windy and rainy and thoroughly miserable. And I had to go out - dog is immune to best-to-stay-in-by-the-fire conditions if there is the chance of a game of ball. I avoided the beach, though - with nothing between us and America the wind can get a bit of a lick on and isn't very friendly by the time it gets here.

You must have trained your franchisees very well if they don't need to ask you anything!

So, can you work at a third form of self-employment while waiting for a silly question or a fire?

blue_monkey_2

Hi WS, that is a great idea and I do understand what you are getting at. I am getting there slowly, the fitting guide I have is new and I have just set up a 'loyalty points' scheme where 100 points get's you £3 discount. But, to be honest, I cannot get my head around the writing and laying out of everything that I need to do this. I am fab with numbers and order but when it comes to Literature, English nd a bit of Imagination it's a no no and I never know what to say, do or lay it out. I've always been about selling undies as there are so many other sites online that do what you do but then add links (Breasttalk/Lingerieblog do this and I have paid to have a little baner thing on their site).

Yes, I agree with you about the wedding side, actually I didnot thin earlier. The focus Wedding Lingerie page I have is quite new as I never had many ranges until recently. That might be why I am not yet showing on Google (lightbulb moment!!) I've only recently added some items and the ones I added first have sddenly started selling so I am guessing I am quite high up on Google with those now so the wedding stuff will come.

I used to offer free postage but I have had to stop, it was not reallycost effective, ten I tarted doing free postage if you spend over £100 but people would buy £101 worth an return £80 worth so that did not work either. So I introducted the flat rate but am till cheaper then FL, BV, M&S and the likes of Additions as they are over £3 - but I do not do free returns like they do.

I have had a couple of 'suspicious' transactions over the last few weeks - card declined and email address changed for example, thinking they might havethought it would go through right away before te card was found stolen? hen someone ordered a lo of goods and so I upgraded to Special Delivery and they came back a few days later 'wrong size' without having been tried on. I think they were going to do a 'they have gone missing' trick on me. You really have to have your its about you.

Right, kids to bed - they have had enough it seems!!

bluerover_3

ha ha...wooden floors throughout....good for sandy shoes...

teamtheme.com is my coaching biz....all the answers are there, maybe that's why i don't get asked too much these days..!! Hey, a THIRD job, now there's an idea eh.... Think i'm becoming a pro' gambler !!! too much time in here..Here's a TIP for everyone: Place a DOUBLE on Celtic and Rangers to WIN...34 times out of 38 you'll win...!

whitewing

blue monkey,

I don't know if this would work. I was wondering if you could hire out a church hall for an afternoon near a town centre, and have a 'quality clothes sale'. Maybe get a couple of charming boys from the local college to drag the ladies in off the street!

Church halls are often relatively cheap to hire. It'll need to look clean and fresh. Maybe get the local WI or church ladies to provide cheap refreshments in return for a donation to charity and have your stuff on display.

Even if people just hear of your website from it that may help.

bluerover_3

Yes Wordsmith...West Of Ireland i believe you are...sounds thunderous, grey and moody. ...bit the like my ex-wife..!! Great spot though, love to go over to Galway this summer....

Wordsmith

I like your web site, Bluerover. It looks a very professional set-up.

Horace

Blue Monkey - I am getting a quote to update my website (it needs a thorough revamp now that I am doing corporate events too) I can put a linky up for you (or rather the webdesigners can). If I put it here it will remind me.