How we opened and then closed the online store
Good day to all.
Traditionally, it is customary to share successful stories, they say, it was very difficult, but we all survived and now we are a very successful company. I want to tell you the story of the creation of your online store "Tafigoods" without the happy. To be honest, I couldn’t start it, I was going to have two weeks either with thoughts or with spirit. After all, it’s not easy to admit your failures. In general, if my experience will be useful to those who are only at the beginning of the path, it means that I did not try in vain.
A little background. I worked as a clerk, sat in a cozy warm office, where you can always pour yourself a delicious hot coffee, received a salary at the end of each month, and in general everything was stable and good. But over the years you start to get used to all this and to appreciate less and less, there is a desire to jump higher and do something new. Having read various success stories on Habré, I came to the conclusion that you need to open your business. After all, the main thing would be the desire, so it remained to find a promising direction. Considering that I work in the logistics business in an American company, I didn’t think of anything else how to distribute anything exclusive from the USA. I began to look at different directions from sports goods to electronics and clothing. In the course of negotiations and correspondence with manufacturers, the idea came that it would make no sense to identify one promising direction, all the more so with any mistake the risks can be fatal, something like “don’t put everything in one basket”. As a result, I came to the conclusion that it is necessary to carry everything a little and sell, revealing the most interesting direction. In addition, since now there is a trend of all kinds of gadgets and various mobile stuff in general, then we will be more inclined towards this. The range of the store will consist of gadgets and accessories for them, household goods, outdoor activities, etc. We excluded clothes because of the need to have different colors and sizes, as well as smartphones and tablets due to the lack of margins, and in general, they are sold to everyone.
By this moment I had a partner, because I understood that great things can be done only by a team. So, we started with the following set: starting 600 thousand rubles, “a la” team, even a business plan was written, in which they tried to describe in detail all the stages, starting from purchasing and ending with sales and marketing. And most importantly - we had a great desire! The business model was simple: we buy various interesting products on Amazon and eBay stocks, and not everything. There was even an purchasing algorithm: we see something interesting in the stock, check for reviews on Yandex.Market (so that there is at least 4 stars), then the filter worked at a price: if it is two times lower, we buy. Then the goods were delivered to Moscow, and it must be admitted that this part of the whole chain of business was the best worked out. Since I have long been engaged in the logistics of goods from the United States, at the price and time we had clear advantages over competitors. Actually at the price we wanted to conquer the market. After all, we saw sales only and only through Yandex.Market, since, having basic knowledge of selling goods via the Internet (thanks to books and different courses), we came to the conclusion that it would not do much to rest on website optimization, as we planned to declare itself, perhaps, in the most competitive environment. Contextual advertising was expensive for us for the same reason, we could not interrupt the rates of the monsters of this market. Therefore, we had to be content with low-frequency queries, which we actively did. As a result, Yandex.Market was the most suitable tool for a startup with a click price of 3 rubles. After all, we could afford to put the lowest price in the range and customers would be lined up on the store's website. Everything seemed logical and we did not see in the theory any difficulties that we could not cope with.
')
In March of this year, we begin the practical part: we wrote a technical task, developed a design, a logo, etc. The developer of the site, having familiarized with the task, set the deadlines in 2 months. We were delighted with this alignment and decided that at the beginning of May we were opening up and laying a month for testing and corrections. Considering that the run-in would be quite enough for us, we decided to prepare for the summer season, especially since we could not open a store without an assortment. All March and April, we were engaged only in the site and the purchase of a minimum range for launch. The goods came literally in a week, but since the admin panel of the store was not yet ready, we compiled texts for future product cards. How to write lyrics? Something was transferred from Amazon, and as a result the original text was obtained, something was rewritten. A developer, meanwhile, wrote the code.
The store was planned to be made with a small chip: we divided the store into three departments. In the first section there were only four products at a price equal to the cost price, but the offer was available only one day. The next day, the goods went to the next department and the stock had already lasted 3 days, but at the same time the price was slightly higher. Three days later, the goods went to the third department, where there were no limits. In general, we considered that this stock system would attract visitors and outlined it in the business plan as the main element of marketing.
In April, I still managed to drive to the USA in order to distract myself and, as they say, “start a business with fresh forces.” Then came May, but we could not start the store, as the developer started having difficulties, which he carefully concealed. In the beginning, he told us that he understood incorrectly about the stock system, i.e. transfer of goods between departments, then he left the programmer, who led our store. And the developer announced new terms. For us it was a real shock. There was no point in swearing and making claims, as I would have to look for a new contractor. But there was no time for this, especially there were no guarantees that we would find better. In general, we are tuned to the new dates. And the next two months (June, July) we stupidly sat on promotions and caught suitable offers and “filled the store shelves” with goods. Finally, on August 4, we start up and take one month for ourselves to test and refine the rough edges. It should be noted, in case the developer of our site reads this article, he billed us at a 50% discount. This somehow reassured us and made it possible to purchase more goods. By the way, by this time we had already filled our entire warehouse with goods for the initial minimum range and our starting money was almost over.
Well, then the most interesting thing: the stage of registration and verification of our store in Yandex.Market. Honestly, we were sure that it was more a formal moment and Market’s task was to check the site for errors, etc. After all, we will become their customers and we will pay for each click, plus it was planned to conduct contextual advertising for individual products. But how wrong we were and could not even imagine what awaits us ahead!
We went through all the basic procedures for registering a store on the Market, prepared a price list with a small list of products and sent everything to check.
On the same day, a woman called us under the guise of a client, trying to buy one gadget. Basically, she was worried how she could pick up the goods by self-delivery, so she asked for details at the address to which she was working, etc. The call immediately seemed strange, although there were hopes that it was a real customer after all. In any case, after the call, a letter arrived that we did not pass the check, since it was not completely clear how we organized the pick-up point.
We immediately sent a detailed letter about our pick-up point, explaining that we do not have a retail point of sale, that we have an office, where, actually, a pick-up point is organized. The next day we sent the store back for review.
And here the real test began for us. Different people called as customers. At first the girl called, it was impossible to hear her, from time to time something popped in the phone. With great difficulty, I managed to record her number in order to make the call myself. Oh, miracle! When I called back, the audibility was already beautiful. I answered her questions about the product of interest, she thanked and took time out. The next call was in the evening from a man who kept asking me about low prices. I told the truth: the store only starts, so we attract attention. He formed an order, and we agreed on delivery the next morning at 10.00. The next morning, our delivery department in my face hit the road. I was a little nervous, because before leaving at 9.00 am I sent an SMS to a client with simple content that the order left the office, but no answer was received from him. However, I could not take the risk, because he asked to bring the goods to the specified address by 10.00. When I arrived at the address, I phoned the client, and in response, I heard that yesterday the goods had already been delivered to him and he was sure that we did it. I explained to him that he had confused something. He also explained to me that the goods had already been bought, and he deeply apologizes for making me go through the whole city. And an hour later, a letter came from Market, that the store failed to check again, since the OGRN is not listed on the site:
Naturally, we immediately made changes to the site and sent it back for review. And it all started over. The call from the "new client" and again I do not hear him in the phone, you can only make out 30% of what he asks. I politely ask for the phone number, on which it will be convenient for him to take a call, but this round turned out to be more complicated, since the client says that he is calling from a work phone and cannot talk on his mobile. I have to press the phone hard to my ear to hear at least something. The customer places an order and specifies the delivery time: again 10.00 the next day. In the order, he indicates the mobile phone, which I call back to confirm the order. In the morning, as before, I still can’t reach him and do not get an answer to SMS, but nevertheless, I leave: after all, this is a client! I arrive at the place earlier for 30 minutes and wait at the entrance. I was sure that this order was also a check, but there was a chance that an employee of the Market specifically wants to meet and see if I follow all the rules, for example, that there must be a receipt, that the goods are in packaging, etc. At 10.00 am, I call the client, but he decided to change his mind and for some reason forgot to report it last night. Well, I don’t get upset in principle, as I understand that I did everything right and come back to the office with peace of mind. On the way, the bell rings, but already official, from Yandex.Market, in order to clarify the category of the store and other details. I come to the conclusion that this is the last call and I have already been transferred to the clearance department. Joyful I go to the office ... And then the call. Again the man, again inquiries about the different goods, I politely answer all his questions. "Customer" is clearly worried that the price is below average, that the product may be a fake. I try to explain everything about prices, and about the exchange of goods. He says that he will think and hang up. After a few minutes, a letter arrives with the following content:
I am writing a reply asking me to comment on what exactly needs to be fixed. It turns out that we are completely denied, and to make other attempts to defeat Yandex. Market makes no sense. My hocks begin to shake, because in my head an understanding immediately arises that if we are completely “banned” by the Market, then this breaks all our plans. Then I remember about all the goods that were purchased for the range, and it makes me even worse. I start to call them, trying to understand what the problem is, I reread the letter several times. The partner is also in shock. We re-read the requirements for promotional materials. We start to cling to everything: in the line there were several products that came to us in a non-factory package, we indicated this in the item card, probably, an employee of the Market could have thought that the item was “gray” or fake. This is actually not the case.
Thus, we calm down a little and develop a further plan, since no one was going to give up. We removed all the goods from the assortment, which were unpacked, although there were no more than 4-5 such goods. Added information about the availability of goods in the card. And two weeks later we decided to go back for a check, but it turned out that functionally we in our office cannot even press the “Send” button. I call again and write to them. And the answer comes again that the store was rejected completely and that no matter what we did, nothing will change.
Well ... I have to forget about Yandex.Market. It was then that knowledgeable people told that there is no fair competition in the market and the Market works on the side of large players, from which it receives huge marketing budgets. And such stores as ours, which can afford to lower prices, since they do not have huge operating expenses for maintaining staff and endless storage facilities, they simply do not miss. The conclusion was unequivocal: we got into the wrong sector.
But these two weeks we did not sit idly, we tried other alternative platforms: they were easily placed on the Mail. Goods, and without any checks. Further, prices were set at the lowest level of the range, but within a month no orders were received from this site.
We also tried to stay at Price.ru. We sent them a price list, which was accepted by the support service. Then it was necessary to replenish the account, which was done. After all these procedures, we were assured that it now remains to wait for the appearance of goods on the site. Two weeks passed with periodic calls to them. But the product did not want to appear on the site. They assured us that the manager would contact us soon. When patience was exhausted, I wrote a strict letter that it was impossible to do this to clients and asking for instructions on how to withdraw the money back. Here, Price.ru already responded promptly and it turned out that our price list needs some work. But by this time our entrepreneurial optimism had dried up and we started the sales process. Sold out through Avito, the cry of an acquaintance about unprecedented discounts was cast. Actually, we are still engaged in this - we attach goods to good hands.
We made the following conclusion from the whole story: we didn’t calculate all the risks until the end, since we’ve put everything on Yandex.Market and we’re not ready for this scenario. Now we are sure that it is not worth opening a store in the “everything” niche; at the moment we are preparing to launch a new project, but in a narrower segment. And we calculate that sales should not be only through one platform.
Traditionally, it is customary to share successful stories, they say, it was very difficult, but we all survived and now we are a very successful company. I want to tell you the story of the creation of your online store "Tafigoods" without the happy. To be honest, I couldn’t start it, I was going to have two weeks either with thoughts or with spirit. After all, it’s not easy to admit your failures. In general, if my experience will be useful to those who are only at the beginning of the path, it means that I did not try in vain.
A little background. I worked as a clerk, sat in a cozy warm office, where you can always pour yourself a delicious hot coffee, received a salary at the end of each month, and in general everything was stable and good. But over the years you start to get used to all this and to appreciate less and less, there is a desire to jump higher and do something new. Having read various success stories on Habré, I came to the conclusion that you need to open your business. After all, the main thing would be the desire, so it remained to find a promising direction. Considering that I work in the logistics business in an American company, I didn’t think of anything else how to distribute anything exclusive from the USA. I began to look at different directions from sports goods to electronics and clothing. In the course of negotiations and correspondence with manufacturers, the idea came that it would make no sense to identify one promising direction, all the more so with any mistake the risks can be fatal, something like “don’t put everything in one basket”. As a result, I came to the conclusion that it is necessary to carry everything a little and sell, revealing the most interesting direction. In addition, since now there is a trend of all kinds of gadgets and various mobile stuff in general, then we will be more inclined towards this. The range of the store will consist of gadgets and accessories for them, household goods, outdoor activities, etc. We excluded clothes because of the need to have different colors and sizes, as well as smartphones and tablets due to the lack of margins, and in general, they are sold to everyone.
By this moment I had a partner, because I understood that great things can be done only by a team. So, we started with the following set: starting 600 thousand rubles, “a la” team, even a business plan was written, in which they tried to describe in detail all the stages, starting from purchasing and ending with sales and marketing. And most importantly - we had a great desire! The business model was simple: we buy various interesting products on Amazon and eBay stocks, and not everything. There was even an purchasing algorithm: we see something interesting in the stock, check for reviews on Yandex.Market (so that there is at least 4 stars), then the filter worked at a price: if it is two times lower, we buy. Then the goods were delivered to Moscow, and it must be admitted that this part of the whole chain of business was the best worked out. Since I have long been engaged in the logistics of goods from the United States, at the price and time we had clear advantages over competitors. Actually at the price we wanted to conquer the market. After all, we saw sales only and only through Yandex.Market, since, having basic knowledge of selling goods via the Internet (thanks to books and different courses), we came to the conclusion that it would not do much to rest on website optimization, as we planned to declare itself, perhaps, in the most competitive environment. Contextual advertising was expensive for us for the same reason, we could not interrupt the rates of the monsters of this market. Therefore, we had to be content with low-frequency queries, which we actively did. As a result, Yandex.Market was the most suitable tool for a startup with a click price of 3 rubles. After all, we could afford to put the lowest price in the range and customers would be lined up on the store's website. Everything seemed logical and we did not see in the theory any difficulties that we could not cope with.
')
In March of this year, we begin the practical part: we wrote a technical task, developed a design, a logo, etc. The developer of the site, having familiarized with the task, set the deadlines in 2 months. We were delighted with this alignment and decided that at the beginning of May we were opening up and laying a month for testing and corrections. Considering that the run-in would be quite enough for us, we decided to prepare for the summer season, especially since we could not open a store without an assortment. All March and April, we were engaged only in the site and the purchase of a minimum range for launch. The goods came literally in a week, but since the admin panel of the store was not yet ready, we compiled texts for future product cards. How to write lyrics? Something was transferred from Amazon, and as a result the original text was obtained, something was rewritten. A developer, meanwhile, wrote the code.
The store was planned to be made with a small chip: we divided the store into three departments. In the first section there were only four products at a price equal to the cost price, but the offer was available only one day. The next day, the goods went to the next department and the stock had already lasted 3 days, but at the same time the price was slightly higher. Three days later, the goods went to the third department, where there were no limits. In general, we considered that this stock system would attract visitors and outlined it in the business plan as the main element of marketing.
In April, I still managed to drive to the USA in order to distract myself and, as they say, “start a business with fresh forces.” Then came May, but we could not start the store, as the developer started having difficulties, which he carefully concealed. In the beginning, he told us that he understood incorrectly about the stock system, i.e. transfer of goods between departments, then he left the programmer, who led our store. And the developer announced new terms. For us it was a real shock. There was no point in swearing and making claims, as I would have to look for a new contractor. But there was no time for this, especially there were no guarantees that we would find better. In general, we are tuned to the new dates. And the next two months (June, July) we stupidly sat on promotions and caught suitable offers and “filled the store shelves” with goods. Finally, on August 4, we start up and take one month for ourselves to test and refine the rough edges. It should be noted, in case the developer of our site reads this article, he billed us at a 50% discount. This somehow reassured us and made it possible to purchase more goods. By the way, by this time we had already filled our entire warehouse with goods for the initial minimum range and our starting money was almost over.
Well, then the most interesting thing: the stage of registration and verification of our store in Yandex.Market. Honestly, we were sure that it was more a formal moment and Market’s task was to check the site for errors, etc. After all, we will become their customers and we will pay for each click, plus it was planned to conduct contextual advertising for individual products. But how wrong we were and could not even imagine what awaits us ahead!
We went through all the basic procedures for registering a store on the Market, prepared a price list with a small list of products and sent everything to check.
On the same day, a woman called us under the guise of a client, trying to buy one gadget. Basically, she was worried how she could pick up the goods by self-delivery, so she asked for details at the address to which she was working, etc. The call immediately seemed strange, although there were hopes that it was a real customer after all. In any case, after the call, a letter arrived that we did not pass the check, since it was not completely clear how we organized the pick-up point.
We immediately sent a detailed letter about our pick-up point, explaining that we do not have a retail point of sale, that we have an office, where, actually, a pick-up point is organized. The next day we sent the store back for review.
And here the real test began for us. Different people called as customers. At first the girl called, it was impossible to hear her, from time to time something popped in the phone. With great difficulty, I managed to record her number in order to make the call myself. Oh, miracle! When I called back, the audibility was already beautiful. I answered her questions about the product of interest, she thanked and took time out. The next call was in the evening from a man who kept asking me about low prices. I told the truth: the store only starts, so we attract attention. He formed an order, and we agreed on delivery the next morning at 10.00. The next morning, our delivery department in my face hit the road. I was a little nervous, because before leaving at 9.00 am I sent an SMS to a client with simple content that the order left the office, but no answer was received from him. However, I could not take the risk, because he asked to bring the goods to the specified address by 10.00. When I arrived at the address, I phoned the client, and in response, I heard that yesterday the goods had already been delivered to him and he was sure that we did it. I explained to him that he had confused something. He also explained to me that the goods had already been bought, and he deeply apologizes for making me go through the whole city. And an hour later, a letter came from Market, that the store failed to check again, since the OGRN is not listed on the site:
Naturally, we immediately made changes to the site and sent it back for review. And it all started over. The call from the "new client" and again I do not hear him in the phone, you can only make out 30% of what he asks. I politely ask for the phone number, on which it will be convenient for him to take a call, but this round turned out to be more complicated, since the client says that he is calling from a work phone and cannot talk on his mobile. I have to press the phone hard to my ear to hear at least something. The customer places an order and specifies the delivery time: again 10.00 the next day. In the order, he indicates the mobile phone, which I call back to confirm the order. In the morning, as before, I still can’t reach him and do not get an answer to SMS, but nevertheless, I leave: after all, this is a client! I arrive at the place earlier for 30 minutes and wait at the entrance. I was sure that this order was also a check, but there was a chance that an employee of the Market specifically wants to meet and see if I follow all the rules, for example, that there must be a receipt, that the goods are in packaging, etc. At 10.00 am, I call the client, but he decided to change his mind and for some reason forgot to report it last night. Well, I don’t get upset in principle, as I understand that I did everything right and come back to the office with peace of mind. On the way, the bell rings, but already official, from Yandex.Market, in order to clarify the category of the store and other details. I come to the conclusion that this is the last call and I have already been transferred to the clearance department. Joyful I go to the office ... And then the call. Again the man, again inquiries about the different goods, I politely answer all his questions. "Customer" is clearly worried that the price is below average, that the product may be a fake. I try to explain everything about prices, and about the exchange of goods. He says that he will think and hang up. After a few minutes, a letter arrives with the following content:
I am writing a reply asking me to comment on what exactly needs to be fixed. It turns out that we are completely denied, and to make other attempts to defeat Yandex. Market makes no sense. My hocks begin to shake, because in my head an understanding immediately arises that if we are completely “banned” by the Market, then this breaks all our plans. Then I remember about all the goods that were purchased for the range, and it makes me even worse. I start to call them, trying to understand what the problem is, I reread the letter several times. The partner is also in shock. We re-read the requirements for promotional materials. We start to cling to everything: in the line there were several products that came to us in a non-factory package, we indicated this in the item card, probably, an employee of the Market could have thought that the item was “gray” or fake. This is actually not the case.
Thus, we calm down a little and develop a further plan, since no one was going to give up. We removed all the goods from the assortment, which were unpacked, although there were no more than 4-5 such goods. Added information about the availability of goods in the card. And two weeks later we decided to go back for a check, but it turned out that functionally we in our office cannot even press the “Send” button. I call again and write to them. And the answer comes again that the store was rejected completely and that no matter what we did, nothing will change.
Well ... I have to forget about Yandex.Market. It was then that knowledgeable people told that there is no fair competition in the market and the Market works on the side of large players, from which it receives huge marketing budgets. And such stores as ours, which can afford to lower prices, since they do not have huge operating expenses for maintaining staff and endless storage facilities, they simply do not miss. The conclusion was unequivocal: we got into the wrong sector.
But these two weeks we did not sit idly, we tried other alternative platforms: they were easily placed on the Mail. Goods, and without any checks. Further, prices were set at the lowest level of the range, but within a month no orders were received from this site.
We also tried to stay at Price.ru. We sent them a price list, which was accepted by the support service. Then it was necessary to replenish the account, which was done. After all these procedures, we were assured that it now remains to wait for the appearance of goods on the site. Two weeks passed with periodic calls to them. But the product did not want to appear on the site. They assured us that the manager would contact us soon. When patience was exhausted, I wrote a strict letter that it was impossible to do this to clients and asking for instructions on how to withdraw the money back. Here, Price.ru already responded promptly and it turned out that our price list needs some work. But by this time our entrepreneurial optimism had dried up and we started the sales process. Sold out through Avito, the cry of an acquaintance about unprecedented discounts was cast. Actually, we are still engaged in this - we attach goods to good hands.
We made the following conclusion from the whole story: we didn’t calculate all the risks until the end, since we’ve put everything on Yandex.Market and we’re not ready for this scenario. Now we are sure that it is not worth opening a store in the “everything” niche; at the moment we are preparing to launch a new project, but in a narrower segment. And we calculate that sales should not be only through one platform.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/239741/
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