2 kinds

[greenoak]

once in a while PEOPLE from far away WANT OUR CUPBOARDS AND WE DONT SHIP AND WE DONT TAKE ORDERS.....but we do have them to sell.... usually they see the web, email me, call me and talk about how bad they want them for their store or whatever...then we talk about the shipping and i have to say its for them to figure out.and give them an option or 2......then nothing usually.....BUT the other kind of business person comes upon us a couple of times a year..... and its no problem !!! i dont even have to talk about the possibilities...she can do it...
this is happening right now and im sellilng either 4 or 6 of our big cupboards to a new store in california....
i just love this can do attitude!....

[vangogh]

Why not set up your site so people could buy products directly through it? If you're only selling a few items that need to be shipped it might not be a huge savings in time, but what about all the people who want to buy, but don't call or those that simply assume you won't ship because your site isn't set up to sell?

[greenoak]

weve decided not to do that for so many reasons....we really wont even ship, even small things like a book...the site does its job really well but selling an item online isnt the goal....
i have a healthy respect for what it would take to set up a selling site and we dont want to do it....the reason is mainly that our good things are too big to ship.... the small things we have are available lots of places.... we just arent an internet store....but the internet serves us really well..and is a very productive part of our marketing....
ive looked at online selling a lot and am not tempted to put the effort out.....if i thought it would work i would do it...starting with a whole new website...

[vangogh]

Want to hear something funny? I misread your first post and I was thinking those sales were the people who contacted you to have something shipped. Thats why I was wondering why not set it up on the site, since it would make it easier on you. My bad. I do understand why you don't sell online. You do have a product that people will generally want to see and touch and like you say shipping would be expensive.

I know it can be done even with your product, but I do understand your choice for not setting up an online store.

[KristineS]

It might be worth talking to FedEx or something though and seeing what the possibilities are about setting up an account you could use for shipping. FedEx Freight would work for the bigger stuff.

I understand why you don't want to ship, but FedEx freight can make it pretty easy. Of course, you would still have to pack and ship the goods so they don't get damaged and that might be more than you want to do, but it still might be worth speaking with Fed Ex.

[greenoak]

if you ever want to know about the options just ask..we have done the legwork checking on what you mentioned and a lot more....have you ever run a company that sells online and ships? there are a whole lot of issues....
. .im not trying to do that......but i could tell you a lot about it if you want to know more........we did it for about 7 yrs with our pictures..... and later considered and rejected all kinds of online ideas...
im more interested in finding buyers like the one i described at the start of this thread .
ann

[Patrysha]

Why not work to appeal to those kind of customers by pairing up with a local hotel and other services that out of towners would like and put the package up on your website, facebook etc...show them what you have to offer and make it easy for them to plan the trip out to see you :-)

[greenoak]

thats a good idea..for retail shoppers..we could do more of that....
...the big customers, like the can do person i started this thread about usually use the internet to find me...they dont really come thru our area otherwise....shes a store owner in california...2000 miles away....and has never been here...she did buy 4 cupboards today!!! making it a very good day...

[KristineS]

if you ever want to know about the options just ask..we have done the legwork checking on what you mentioned and a lot more....have you ever run a company that sells online and ships? there are a whole lot of issues....
ann

Actually, that's what I do now. We ship from our headquarters and three warehouses. It is an interesting logistical puzzle.

[greenoak]

then you must know what a big comittment it would be to successfully stock inventory and get it on the internet right and to ship it...i dont want to do all that.......im more about being a destination store..thats a big enough job.....where they come to me or call me and buy it on the phone and send a truck...like the lady i started this thread about.........
i thought she was a good example of how a good business person can solve a problem that seems too hard for others...........i thought that would be an interesting thread...

[KristineS]

Yeah, I do know what that takes and how much managing and thought has to go into it. Selling online certainly isn't for every business.

In your case, Ann, it sounds like your business model works well as it is. I'd say it's a case of if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[billbenson]

I'd make one comment. There may be things that you could do on your web site to make it ready for online sales should you want to do that down the road without adding much cost or time.

Just a thought.

[greenoak]

thanks bill, if i ever want to do it i would be coming here for advice.... right now i know enough about it to know its not going to be on my to do list anytime soon... actually i got the bug last year and spent 300 on a really nice site already set up for selling..and i did get lots of good info here, from vg.....it was going to be connected to our etsy, but i missed the fact that the same item couldnt be on your site and your etsy....so i dropped it....it probably wouldnt have worked anyway...
i just look around and see so so few who are making it online....in my field anyway...what i would call making it anyway....

[huggytree]

ive sold and bought large antique items on ebay....the last one i bought was a large hall bench....Greyhound has very low prices for shipping.....ive also used a local shipper who packages the items and finds the shipper for me...ive sold a large oak bed and a huge dresser this way....it cost the new owner almost $400 each to ship...they were happy...i think they were lawyers...someone with money and not much time...

id figure out a way to ship everything you have....charge what it takes...add $100 for your time....rich people will pay what it takes if its something they really want...that dresser was a $400 dresser, but they paid $800 for it after shipping... they called to say how happy they were and to let them know if i have more things to sell them

look for ways to expand your customer base....this economy may be a permanent thing...you can still grow your business in the middle of it

[greenoak]

thanks huggy...i knew about greyhound..your dresser musts have been really nice...... we were swamped today.and sold a lot...... ann

[huggytree]

dresser was spectacular quality even for 1910...probably belonged to someone rich...almost twice as heavy as the standard 1910 oak dresser.

use Greyhound!.....dont forget to charge extra for your time to bring it there....tell your customers that it costs what it costs..give them a rough estimate + $100 trip charge......that way you arent spending time quoting a requoting shipping...give a range and charge the exact price (send them a copy of the shipping bill)....if they take it they take it....most wont, but some will