Website To Compete With Littleton

Phil,

I'm looking for new sources all the time and predominantly on the web. My local brick and mortar shop is a huge disappointment and the next nearest is 40 miles away.

Your success would depend on many things, most notably as Richard mentioned is recognition. Other key ingredients are website design and functionality; quality product at a reasonable price; service during and after the sale to keep em' coming back.

Littleton probably spends a lot of money on their website construction and maintenance; placing themselves on search engines, national advertising, etc. You probably wouldn't destroy their niche any time soon.

A business strategy for you could include ebay listings with links to your website for follow-on business. Just remember, there are thousands and thousands of businesses competing through ebay, websites and brick and mortar businesses ... somehow you will need to stand out. How ambitious are you?

That sounds like a very ambitious project, philney. I'd love to see what you are capable of, but I'd hate to see you suffer financially if it doesn't pan out well enough.

Is there any way you could make the website but still keep a different job, or perhaps do something additional on the side (e.g., build websites for companies or other people for a fee)? I imagine when you first start, after the website is built and you're essentially waiting for a customer base to build, you'll have some extra time to spend on other projects.

BTW, are you coding everything yourself or using a CMS? If you're using a CMS, take a look at Drupal and see what you think.

As far as the site is concerned, here's what I really like to see:
1) professional presentation
2) loads quickly (limit your images)
3) uncluttered design (very important!! check out https://www.davidjbauer.com and https://www.sweetlous.net for my examples of relatively uncluttered design... although I haven't finished sweetlous yet)
4) few page loads (use javascript tabs, ajax, modal windows, etc. instead)
5) for anything for sale, top-notch pictures are a must along with an accurate and detailed description, liberal return policy, and reasonable shipping/handling

Good luck and keep us posted!!

Regards,
~neuron

quote:

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I don't suppose there is a need for pictures of the proof sets or rolls

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My opinion is that in order to sell anything, pictures are very important. It's not just to see the grade, I think it gives the buyer a better feeling, an impression of physically getting a "real object", if that makes any sense. It does involve some money for the equipment, as well as knowledge and time.

For the related costs, besides buying your inventory, think about the web site design, the web hosting (file size and bandwidth), shopping cart (professional look and great functionality), payment processing fees, marketing costs (even minimal, people have to know you exist), ebay fees (a good way to reach a large number of shoppers), the cost of the packaging and shipping material, etc. I don't want to discourage you, but it's important to know if after all these costs, you can still offer a low price on your coins.

We started our web coin business in 2006, and we're continually building our selection of coins and our customer base. It's very enjoyable, and very difficult at the same time.

Thanks Lucky...Pmallette you bring up some very valid points. I do have everything you listed covered except for the design and the marketing. I am working on the site right now and it is coming along, but I will never try this again. It is kicking my rear. I have researched the marketing a bit, but not extensively enough to calculate an actual cost. I am somewhat frightened of that.
Does anyone know if I am allowed to post the link to the website in its stages of development and get feedback from the forum while I work on it? If anyone's opinion can be trusted, it's you guys. And thanks for all the encouragement and info so far. I would love to hear more.