I was thinking about starting my own website and was wondering if anybody on here has one and if they could give me some advice. Is it worth it? How many customers do you average per week? How much inventory do you need to have in order to start one?  Thanks for your time! -Derek

I was thinking about starting my own website and was wondering if anybody on here has one and if they could give me some advice. Is it worth it? How many customers do you average per week? How much inventory do you need to have in order to start one?  Thanks for your time! -Derek

 

Not really worth it nowadays.

I have and it is tough...

The site I built is mostly for portfolio display, but I do still generate some random web traffic and hits.

Startup costs can be low and investing is minimal with today's technology and tools.

Ed can elaborate more on this, since they pay greatly in costs to maintain, service fees and other things to keep this site running...

Not really worth it nowadays.

I have and it is tough...

The site I built is mostly for portfolio display, but I do still generate some random web traffic and hits.

Startup costs can be low and investing is minimal with today's technology and tools.

Ed can elaborate more on this, since they pay greatly in costs to maintain, service fees and other things to keep this site running...

 

I was thinking about starting my own website and was wondering if anybody on here has one and if they could give me some advice. Is it worth it? How many customers do you average per week? How much inventory do you need to have in order to start one?  Thanks for your time! -Derek

What is the site for?  What does it sell?  What kind of inventory do you have?  

I created my own site a while back, mostly to list all that I have an avoid 10% or so in eBay fees.

Problem is, you'll never have the exposure to your goods like you do with eBay.

For me at this point, getting 86-87% (after eBay+PayPal fees) back in sales is better than no sales at all.

In all honesty, I haven't pushed the site and done much for advertising, so I know others could do much better.

You can still do both (own site & eBay), although then you have to keep up on inventory so you don't list the same set in two places.

Why should people buy from YOUR site when they can make the same purchases with more options on eBay, Bricklink, whatever? If you can't answer that with a good reason, don't bother creating the site. Otherwise, you can't drive the traffic to support your projected sales...

Unless you have a very unique inventory - a huge quantity of old, vintage sets, or custom items, etc., there is no point in wasting time with your own site when you can sell on eBay, Amazon, Bricklink, Brickpicker (Soon!), etc. People gravitate to sites with the best selection, you'll never match the "mall" type stores.

Why should people buy from YOUR site when they can make the same purchases with more options on eBay, Bricklink, whatever? If you can't answer that with a good reason, don't bother creating the site. Otherwise, you can't drive the traffic to support your projected sales...

 

Not to mention the protection offered to buyers (as a seller I know it's a pain, but as a buyer I do appreciate it).

I agree with what others have said...I would not go into it thinking it will be any source of income from sales. It will likely be an expense and in my personal experience will generate no sales and any income generated at all may come from traffic based ad campaigns and ppc/affiliate...

Ebay amazon all the box retail stores websites all do it better cheaper with faster Free shipping and better CS along with huge selections and sales. We have never made a sale from our website but do make some money with affiliates and promoting traffic to ebay. We have a very limited selection and I believe trust becomes a big issue with these newer less know sites...

As a Side project or hobby it can be fun and there are several fan Lego sites that are successful and you should maybe focus on a particular niche you see not currently being met. Good Luck

Thanks for all the replys! To answer Eds question, I was just thinking of doing a site with regular Lego sets. As for inventory, I have about $40,000-$50,000 worth of Legos to sell. (Don't have my brickfolio completely done yet) As to why I was thinking about it, is because I sell at some conventions and several people asked me if I had a website and was just wondering if it was that common a thing to have. I think that you guys have talked me out of it though! Thanks for all the advice!

One thing I have done is reserved my business name's .com and I point that web address straight to my eBay store page*. That reserves the name for you, points people to your inventory (you could point it to whatever other site you sell more on instead, if it's not eBay), and gives you the option in the future to create your own site if you want to.

 

Buying a domain name is cheap, and well worth it to keep from kicking yourself in a few years when you really want to do something with mycoolstorename.com.

 

*I have not checked that linkage in awhile, turns out it's defunct, lol. Doing online chat with godaddy right now to get it back in place. See, these threads are quite useful, they remind me to check things like that from time to time! 

Thanks for all the replys! To answer Eds question, I was just thinking of doing a site with regular Lego sets. As for inventory, I have about $40,000-$50,000 worth of Legos to sell. (Don't have My brickfolio completely done yet) As to why I was thinking about it, is because I sell at some conventions and several people asked me if I had a website and was just wondering if it was that common a thing to have. I think that you guys have talked me out of it though! Thanks for all the advice!

You might be better off just making a store on eBay or Bricklink and making up some business cards with links on it. Websites are very difficult to maintain without proper experience and education.

Sent from my iPad using Brickpicker

I was thinking about starting my own website and was wondering if anybody on here has one and if they could give me some advice. Is it worth it? How many customers do you average per week? How much inventory do you need to have in order to start one?  Thanks for your time! -Derek

 

It is worth, if you don

I've contemplated it plenty of times over the years, but never went through with it due to time restraints, although I do have a few domain names secured. I would do what frog said and reserve the domain name first. 

 

It's not as expensive as you think. Hosts are running specials all the time. 1and1.com had an offer that expired end of April for  an e-commerce store that was $0.99 for a month for a year.  Right now it's till cheap starting at $7.99/month. If you have the time go for it. At worst you tried and are out some funds, but the sky is the limit. 

 

I'd start by listening to what others said and securing the domain name and getting business cards with all your venues of selling online on it and your new domain name. Then when items sell on ebay and bricklink, you can include your business card and point them to your website or like you said at your convention selling.

Agree with all that as much as it seems to be a nice way to avoid fees, it just doesn't pay off. The rent that you pay ebay in order to be part of the most popular mall in the world is well worth it.

 

Same thing with a brick & mortar store - while I love the idea of having one, it would be very hard to ever make the numbers work, to justify doing it.

No 99% of the people on here dont do enough volume to justify a website. Plus at that scale you are no longer just selling a few sets for a meager profit, you are now a full fledged business and the IRS will want a piece of the action. And when you start paying 40% of your profits to the gov, website hosting fees, domain fees, advertising for your business, etc... all of the sudden its no longer a profitable adventure. IMO keep it small, fly under the radar and enjoy having a hobby thats pays for itself and is actually cost neutral.

How much are the costs to host a website in US? Are there options, to host the site in an other country?

 

And on what volume you have to declare a business to the IRS?

How much are the costs to host a website in US? Are there options, to host the site in an other country?

 

And on what volume you have to declare a business to the IRS?

 

You can purchase domain names and host websites very cheaply - godaddy.com is a good place to start and evaluate fees, there are lots of others. It's not the expense of hosting the site that is the problem for most of us, it's building and maintaining a site (time consuming) for very, very little gain.

 

IRS Website: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Business-or-Hobby%3F-Answer-Has-Implications-for-Deductions

is a good place to start reading about business vs. hobby status

I've had several domains and websites hosted at 1and1.com for many years.  I've been pleased with their service and stability.