Some more ideas

So this past week was a bit of a test to see which format of listing would really have the highest potential of selling. The test failed in a way but brought some ideas to my head. First of all, NO listings sold. No auctions, no fixed priced and no store inventory. I thought originally that I would sell at least one of the auctions considering I posted three different versions, but it was to no avail.

After looking back on the week, I realized that it's going to be difficult to sell the number of items I thought I could originally sell per day. Instead of listing items as SINGLE items, I am going to list most of auctions at LOTS of 10 or more of the same item, targeting retailers and distributors. If this method of selling works better than single item selling (which I hope it will), I may continue to be the middle-man for the retailers.

Additionally, I feel that personal selling is going to help me a lot. I made a sale on Saturday night to my friend, selling him a case and car charger for 10 dollars at a cost of less than 3 dollars. It seems like my friends and family are more than willing to support my business and help me get started, so I will encourage them to spread the word for me also.

In my Internet Application Development class, I have been working on a survey to determine the best accessories to invest in based on the demand of those people who complete the survey. I'm looking to have the survey released in about two weeks and gather the data for about two weeks thereafter. The survey will help me launch my business into the summer and help me determine whether or not I want to pursue the venture or not.

I will be posting the LOTS of items starting tonight and continuing throughout the week. Another idea I have is drop shipping. If I take orders for LOTS, I can have my wholesaler directly ship to the buyer's location, eliminating the need for me to do any shipping at all. First I need to get rid of the items that have been sitting around and then drop shipping is something that I definitely want to look into.

Promotional materials are also becoming necessary. I will be having a logo designed this week and using it on my letterheads and eBay store. I plan on making a flyer with some of the items I currently offer on it. The flyer will be handed out to friends and put on bulletin boards with my web address on it. Remember it's http://www.more2cell.com/

Lastly and probably most importantly, I have integrated my business into the QUickBooks Pro 2006 software, which I will use to manage my "inventory", vendors, customers, and sales. The reporting on the software will automate my financial reporting needs and make things run very smoothly. I will be importing my expenses YTD into the software and I have already entered my first sale.

This week can be summed up real simply: failure brings change to BETTER tactics and strategies. Let's hope for the best.