Ecommerce Experiment

At carrotmedia HQ we’ve decided to create our own online shop to really show the doubters out there that ecommerce can succeed if done correctly. We now have a huge challenge of deciding what to sell and what market sector we should target.

So what would make a good product to be sold online?

1. Easy to dispatch to customers worldwide
2. Good profit margin above 30%
3. A product which can be sold to a large market place with a high economic value
4. A product with a reasonable life-span that won’t go out of fashion or is perishable
5. The ability or option to sell a high value product

We looked at a huge number of products and came across a number of challenges which were:

1. Most wholesale suppliers wanted a minimum order of £1000 and we are trying set this up on a shoe string budget.
2. Credit terms couldn’t be agreed early on until a trading history is established
3. Banks are unhappy with certain products, these include computer hardware and mobile phones due to recent VAT fraud cases
4. We are in the business of building websites so finding a product we have experience with was extremely difficult.
5. Finding a market which isn’t too saturated is extremely difficult and finding a unique product is even more challenging

We decided to sell jewellery as our product for a number of reasons. We aren’t aiming to compete with the big boys in the market place and needed an edge that sets us apart. Therefore we are going to use small local suppliers with unique hand made products. By using numerous suppliers we can ensure a good supply of stock as these businesses traditionally sell to the wholesale market. Most people who make handmade jewellery are fairly small operations which are often run part time alongside another job. Therefore they can’t meet the demand of large high street retailers but it gives us a unique opportunity to sell a high quality product that most retailers aren’t interested in.

The product is light weight with a good profit margin which will allow us to attack an international market place. The jewellery market is a multi billion pound industry which although it is saturated in parts gives us the opportunity to position ourselves in a niche.

Now we have to define our market and choose a name, let the fun begin. We’ll be sharing every aspect of the process over the next few months and if you want to comment please let us know what you think.

We’re looking to spread this experiment far and wide so any Stumble’s, Diggs, Reddits or Tweets are very appreciated. You can even blog about us if you like.