Its business for 4300 rubles

For the organization of additional income actually need not so much time, effort and money, as many of that represent. And this story is about how I went through a full cycle from the discovery of an idea to the closure of a business for objective reasons.



During my trip to China, I drew attention to various therapeutic and stimulant drugs that were commonly sold in medicine shops. And having acquired such a tincture, I was rather surprised that they really are not so bad.



So, on arrival home, I decided to collect information on this issue and, surprisingly, I found that nowhere in the city, nor on the Internet, or even in Chinese markets or warehouses, was there such a thing. And, of course, I had an idea to arrange the resale of tinctures from China.

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Thinking of the idea

All existing substitutes merchandise stores and shuttles worked through forums, social networks and other “secret schemes”. I initially wanted to organize a white case that would work adequately, without any extra problems from the law.



Therefore, I decided to organize the sale of goods through an online store with delivery via mail or transport companies. SP at that time was already, and this product was not subject to mandatory certification.

Purchase

You can find a lot of intermediaries for ordering clothes, various items (sometimes even gigantic sizes), but they refused to buy tinctures, referring to the possible battle of glass and the difficulty of passing customs.



But after 2 weeks, a person was found who agreed to bring a trial batch of goods, and completed the order in exactly 1 day, with a surcharge of only 20% for the goods. Naturally, we are talking about the transfer of goods from China to the Primorsky Territory.



Having discussed all the conditions, I realized that he would be able to deliver the goods to me in a volume that would more than cover all my potential trade.

Online store

Since there were no competitors in particular, it was decided to do on their own and make the site independently.



• WP engine

• Paid template

• Revision within 2 days

• Profit!

Costs: 1100 rubles.



Content



Since I had an experience as an SEO consultant for 3 years, plus working as a journalist and content manager, all the selling texts, reviews, comments and tips were written independently. It took 4 days, after all the site looked great.

Payment system



Most often, bribes offer to transfer money by direct transfer to an electronic wallet, or take money when exchanging goods. But, since I myself live far from the main sales market, the last payment option disappeared, and the second was too “unreliable and frightening” for visitors.



As a result, I just registered in one of the many services for the sale of information products, which offered convenient integration with payment systems. I painted beautiful buttons for the site. Is done.



Online consultant



I also put a free online consultant on the site and asked for a “solid” greeting with a machine gun to give the site a more professional and trusting look.

Logistics

A bottle of tincture is a beautiful thing, but extremely unreliable and fragile. And it had to be sent from the Far East to Moscow through the whole of Russia by our transport companies.



During the trial packaging and testing for strength, 3 bottles were broken at home, and I needed to give them to Russian Post. And this state of affairs was unacceptable.



Father came to the rescue. As a military radiologist, he showed me an old way of packaging in plastic cases for lamp equipment for landing in difficult to reach areas.



In the hardware store I found the necessary items and was able to collect a similar case from them. As a result, the problem with the safety of the goods was solved. As always, military technology in Russia is good.



The cost of one case out: 276 rubles.

Pricing

As my mother used to say: “First, say so much that it is most scary yourself, and then look at the reaction of the person.”



Having played with the price and the level of demand for the products, I found the price level, after which the price reduction does not affect the demand. Total markup for products was 1400%. Those. having sold one bottle of tincture, I actually paid for all the costs of starting the case, all the broken bottles, paid for “free” delivery, case and so on. And they sold a lot.

Marketing

After analyzing the competitive inquiries and the total pool of potential customers, I came to the conclusion that there is little competition. What did you do:



1) Optimized website;

2) A pool of feature articles for uploading traffic to the site;

3) Run for a month on the satellite grid;

4) Guerrilla seo-marketing on thematic sites - a little.

5) Profit.



After 2 months, all requests were already in 1-3 positions, and the site received 70% of the planned traffic.



Costs: 0 rubles.

Positioning

Everyone tried to sell similar products as gifts and souvenirs from China. I made a detailed review of products for ingredients. Added a description of Chinese traditions, ways and reasons for the use of products.



He also invented a legend for these products in the Chinese traditional style, since the institute passed through the cultural studies of the APR countries. Knowledge was.

When everyone was selling a souvenir from China, I was selling a living embodiment of Chinese history, traditions and culture.



Not an iPhone, of course, but cultural marketing is on a level.

Sending

Mail is in the next house. At home, he packed the box himself, walked 2 minutes, made a parcel at the post office and sent it. Box 2 kg first class goes from Vladivostok to Moscow 4 days. The indicator is quite good.

Reason for closing

The main bottleneck was a simple detail - the new law. The tincture contained rice vodka-moonshine. And as you well know, at the moment you cannot sell drinks that contain alcohol via the Internet.



At first they refused to accept the goods at the post office. When I went to investigate (they always sent me, but now they don’t), they explained to me in the bodies that I would be indignant, they would close me altogether.



In general, I decided to comply with all the requirements of the law, presented the remnants of products to my friends for others, and the site closed.



Nevertheless, from scratch, I created a viable model of an online store, which at some point gave super-profit.

Invaluable life experience

1) Payment must be taken immediately, cash on delivery does not work. While the person is on the site, he has a desire to buy. And in a week the package comes to him, he already estimates and understands that maybe he doesn’t really need it. The rate of refunds on cash on delivery is great.



2) People who start asking about culture and traditions take a lot of time, but do not buy anything. These should be immediately sent to the culture channel. You are doing business, not talking to dreamers.



3) At such a distance (Vladivostok-Moscow) it is unprofitable to sell small items. We need either wholesale deliveries or high-margin goods.



4) Marketing "Gray" things is too expensive and often a waste of money: it is better to engage in legal activities.



5) Every little thing is important.



In general, as can be seen from the article, you need to use the conditions and your special knowledge. This is the only way to gain competitive advantages and achieve profit.



Ps Website development, purchase of materials for dispatch, purchase of products, marketing: 4300 rubles.

There will be questions and suggestions on the article, I’ll hear it with pleasure.