Hello everyone... I'm going to be opening a new eCommerce Business specializing in Marine & Freshwater Aquatic Supplies & Foods. What would you like to see in the website that would personally attract your business from that of the competition. example: lowest prices (a given, special sales, customer support, etc. etc.) All suggestions are welcomed. Thank you.

I like the retailers who show you, in a section of their website, how they receive specimines and care for them once they get there. Knowing the livestock is well cared for and quarantined before it gets to me is important. Explain in detail what methods of packing and shipping are used and why.

Jimm, that sounds great and I would love to display the setup for the actual live deliveries however, I don't believe that I will be selling livestock or corals just yet. I'm going to focus more on supplies but based on your suggestion I would have it any other way.

I was also curious that alot of beginners to saltwater aquariums generally make mistakes that Rob covers on his Podcast. With Rob's permission I would love to create links pointing to each of the Podcast based on their topics so that newcomers to the hobby will know what to go on and how not to make mistake. just a thought. What do you think Rob and everyone? (Also the site will be a proud sponsor of the Talking Reef Podcast when its live!)

anyone can freely link to any of the podcasts under two conditions:
1.) the files must remain on the Talkingreef distibution servers,
2.) i request that you use the full link that i have in the respective post for each episode.
for example, the current podcast link is:
http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://podcast.talkingreef.com/audio/AeolidNudibranch-TR-Ep48.mp3

don't focus on the agressive prices alone. many of the big web sites get better pricing from the venders than even the largest of lfs. i say just run big promos on different key items different weeks or months, otherwise you will have to spend a lot of money to make very little. every online retailer claim to have the the lowest prices... i think it just doesn't impress anyone anymore. contentrate on service, information and reliability. i would personally try to sell harder to find products to avoid competetion and to avoid alienating lfs. my lfs friend tells me there are many products he cannot keep in stock, but would be willing to refer his clients to certain websites except that the customer would get upset about the much lower prices on every single item that he stocks in the store. there are just as many people who shop online because they cannot find a product or live too far from a lfs as there as people who shop online just to save money.

Fat Walrus, thank you for the advice. I will take it into consideration. Wouldn't it be nice to find those hard to find products at a greatly reduced price?

Fat Walrus, thank you for the advice. I will take it into consideration. Wouldn't it be nice to find those hard to find products at a greatly reduced price?
yes, great the hobbyist. but once you are the owner of a business, you must remember that even if you were non-profit, you have the responsibility to generate enough positive revenues to justify your exsistence. the fastest way to reduce your reason for business existence is to lower prices and start the next round of price wars.

Customer service, customer service, customer service! Things go wrong with everything, but if you can make it right, people will talk about you and suggest going to you for their stuff

Christensonjes, That is one thing that I take to heart. I can't explain how many times I have dealt with an eCommerce site or Brick and Mortar locations that the level of customer service is horrible. It's very difficult to find individuals that take their job seriously enough to provide the correct level of customer service to people.

Fat Walrus, you sound like a business person yourself. What do you do for a living if you don't mind me asking. I have worked in the financial sector in NYC for a couple of years and your comments/personality stikes me as one of those individuals.

ZeroKoolNYC, my job is to evaluate business plans and growth potential of new businesses before some very rich people decide to invest. i wish you the best of luck in your new venture and hope you do no make the same mistakes as many start-ups in forgeting that the answer does not lie in market share and and growth rate alone. how many people remember pets.com and petstore.com? those guys had hundreds of millions and the best beancounters money can buy.

Fat Walrus.... lead that path and I shall follow. That you for the suggestions and I will definitely head your warnings! :-)

ZeroKoolNYC, follow your own path and i will try to provide light where and when i can. by the way, i was born and raised in NYC so we do have some extra in common.

Zero,
Here are my thoughts. First of all I hate feeling like the seller is making additional $$ on the shipping charges. I don't mind paying a fair price but can't stand to feel that I am being gouged. Although few retailers do it I think the fairest way is to charge based on weight, not price. Even better, just build the shipping into the cost of each item and offer FREE shipping. If I have to go all the way to the checkout to find out how much shipping is you've lost me.

If I have to login to see prices I won't even browse. If you send me pop-ups I will make it a point to avoid your site. If you are a sponsor on a site like TR that I patronize I am likely to click through to your site. Please make the link to your site open in a new window so I don't loose my place. If you occasionally offer sponsored site members a special coupon that is even better.

Customer service is PAPAMOUNT. Prices should be fair but do not have to be rock bottom if you have good customer service. If I send you an email with a question about a product and you don't answer it or you answer with a form letter you've lost my business even if you are 50% lower priced than the competition. If, on the other hand, you answer my question and add another related bit that I didn't think to ask you will have a customer for life.

Also, I admire companies that stand up for their principals. For instance there is an electronics dealer that I patronize because their policy is to be closed on the owner's day of worship. Of course I can place an online order but I cannot call. I am of a different faith but I admire their standards.

CarmieJo, you nailed it right on the head...prices are not everything. its sad that person to person relationships have disappeared in today's age of mass-marketing and online retailing. shipping is actually how many online retailers generate additional income....you pay regular price while they actually have a volume discount. ever wonder why no retailer ships freight collect?

CarmieJo,

I echo your thoughts completely. Great post.

Zero,

Here are some things to consider. While some manufacturers will drop ship large items for you, many will not. On small items, such as a bottle or two of liquid additives, you have to have that on hand because those manufacturers sell in case lot quantities to distributers which in turn sell to you in smaller quantities. The manufacturers may or may not sell to you whether or not you're willing to buy in case lots. They will protect their relationship with existing distributers, who are buying thousands of dollars worth of product at a time, rather than risk alienating them for what might be a one time, one case buy from a retailer. There's a system of distribution already in place in the marketing scheme of the world. It's tough to get into on a small scale.

Something else, I hope you are well healed financially, going into a business, brick and morter and E-tail takes start-up money and if you plan on living off the profits you need to cover all your costs of doing business before you eat, pay mortgage, buy the car, take the wife and kids out for pizza, etc, etc. It isn't all gravey, there's hardship to endure.

One more thing, why should Joe Shmuck stop buying from Premium Aquatics, Marine Depot, The Cultured Reef, and all the other established E-tailers to buy from ZeroKool's Aquatic Supply? Price? I don't think so. Oh, you'll get the guy who shops on price alone to try you but, that guy is fickle as H#LL and will go somewhere else for a nickle cheaper. Trust me, I know. I've been in this business for a long time, retail out of my basement in the '60s, retail brick and morter in the '70s, wholesale in the '80s and '90s, now retired putsing with e-tail. Making a living? Hardly! Having fun? You'd better believe it! But your young and have financial needs that you must cover.

I do not want to discourage you if this is your dream. But I'd rather have you go into it with both eyes WIDE OPEN!!! 8-O

Read my tag line under my sig. It's there for a reason. If I can keep you from making one mistake, I'll be happy.

Dick

Walrus,

That is true and many consumers are not savvy enough to take this into account. For instance, I have found that, including shipping, purchasing a test kit online actually costs about the same as at my lfs. This is not to say that I don't order drygoods online I just have to save significantly over the cost of buying from my lfs. I am fortunate, my lfs is excellent they have outstanding customer service, give good advice and support our local aquarium club. Oh yeah, they also have a frag swap once a month and occasional equipment swaps.

Zero,
Here are my thoughts. First of all I hate feeling like the seller is making additional $$ on the shipping charges. I don't mind paying a fair price but can't stand to feel that I am being gouged. Although few retailers do it I think the fairest way is to charge based on weight, not price. Even better, just build the shipping into the cost of each item and offer FREE shipping. If I have to go all the way to the checkout to find out how much shipping is you've lost me.

If I have to login to see prices I won't even browse. If you send me pop-ups I will make it a point to avoid your site. If you are a sponsor on a site like TR that I patronize I am likely to click through to your site. Please make the link to your site open in a new window so I don't loose my place. If you occasionally offer sponsored site members a special coupon that is even better.

Customer service is PAPAMOUNT. Prices should be fair but do not have to be rock bottom if you have good customer service. If I send you an email with a question about a product and you don't answer it or you answer with a form letter you've lost my business even if you are 50% lower priced than the competition. If, on the other hand, you answer my question and add another related bit that I didn't think to ask you will have a customer for life.

Also, I admire companies that stand up for their principals. For instance there is an electronics dealer that I patronize because their policy is to be closed on the owner's day of worship. Of course I can place an online order but I cannot call. I am of a different faith but I admire their standards.

Carmie Jo, I completely understand and can relate to your needs. I agree with Fat Walrus that Customer Service is definitely as aspect of both retail and online eCommerce that has been increasingly failing to meet levels where the experience is on a personal basis. The goal of my website is to not only provide low prices for your food and supply needs but to provide the highest level of customer service and satisfaction possible. I want the reputation of my business to speak for itself.

As for shipping charges I will look into integrating personalized shipping cost based on each individual customers distance. You may have to login in order to start purchasing or placing items within your shopping cart but you will get personalized shipping cost based on the weight of individual items. This is however limited to the shipping services offered by individual carriers and the level of integration of their systems into my own. On this note could everyone advise me of what shipping carrier they would personally prefer? Example: FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc. etc... I have had alot of debate on this and would like to customize this based on the majority of customers and their preference.

As far as questions regarding products and orders. I will be personally overlooking the customer service aspect and can promise from this moment that each questions raised to the website will be personally addressed by myself and will not be a generic form that is filled out or repeated by customer service representatives. Each response will be tailored for the individual inquiring.


Also Bronx Professional Aquatics will be a proud sponsor of the Talking Reef website and will provide links to the Podcast for beginners and guru's alike that visit the Bronx Professional Aquatics website. Any other thoughts please feel free to drop them on this forum or E-mail me personally at BronxProfessionalAquatics@gmail.com

:p CarmieJo,

I echo your thoughts completely. Great post.

Zero,

Here are some things to consider. While some manufacturers will drop ship large items for you, many will not. On small items, such as a bottle or two of liquid additives, you have to have that on hand because those manufacturers sell in case lot quantities to distributers which in turn sell to you in smaller quantities. The manufacturers may or may not sell to you whether or not you're willing to buy in case lots. They will protect their relationship with existing distributers, who are buying thousands of dollars worth of product at a time, rather than risk alienating them for what might be a one time, one case buy from a retailer. There's a system of distribution already in place in the marketing scheme of the world. It's tough to get into on a small scale.

Something else, I hope you are well healed financially, going into a business, brick and morter and E-tail takes start-up money and if you plan on living off the profits you need to cover all your costs of doing business before you eat, pay mortgage, buy the car, take the wife and kids out for pizza, etc, etc. It isn't all gravey, there's hardship to endure.

One more thing, why should Joe Shmuck stop buying from Premium Aquatics, Marine Depot, The Cultured Reef, and all the other established E-tailers to buy from ZeroKool's Aquatic Supply? Price? I don't think so. Oh, you'll get the guy who shops on price alone to try you but, that guy is fickle as H#LL and will go somewhere else for a nickle cheaper. Trust me, I know. I've been in this business for a long time, retail out of my basement in the '60s, retail brick and morter in the '70s, wholesale in the '80s and '90s, now retired putsing with e-tail. Making a living? Hardly! Having fun? You'd better believe it! But your young and have financial needs that you must cover.

I do not want to discourage you if this is your dream. But I'd rather have you go into it with both eyes WIDE OPEN!!! 8-O

Read my tag line under my sig. It's there for a reason. If I can keep you from making one mistake, I'll be happy.

Dick

Thank you for the advice and I will approach this in a well though manner. Just to let you know I definitely am not quiting my day job just yet. This is more of a side venture and I will be taking everyone thoughts into planning the eShop well. As for the marketing scheme of things I have already managed relationships with numerous manufacturers so that bridge has been crossed. But I thank you for your thoughts. Everyone on here I hold in very high regards and I'm not a person to think I can tackle everything alone. You all will be the foundation as to what will seperate my business from the rest. Hey I might even have a coupon day for Talking Reef Members. What do you think Rob?

I prefer USPS because they deliver for the same price on Sat as on weekdays.

CarmieJo, thanks for the input. Anyone else feel free to chime in. Thank you.

Zero,

Maybe you could have a feature like some eBay sellers where you just enter your ZIP code to see shipping rates calculated.

ZeroKoolNYC, don't forget that most freight carriers charge by distance and DIMENSIONAL WIEGHT. it is easy to calculate the weight of an individual item but when you pack different products into one box along with bubble wrap or peanuts(don't forget to calculate packing expenses) it may change your shipping cost a lot. walmart.com lost millions because venders intentionally underestimated the dimensions of shipping crates of such things as rubbermaid sheds and hot-tubs.

Hello everyone, just wanted to let everyone know that www.BronxAquatics.com is almost ready to open for business. I'm estimating that I should be up and running within a week from today Tuesday, May 23, 2006. I will be dealing with various venders daily to keep adding to our selections and inventory. As always any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Zero,

How exciting. I am anxious to see the site once you are open for business. Best of luck.

way to go ZeroKoolNYC. you said you were going to do it and you're about to deliver. focus is half the equation for success. i wish and pray for good luck in your venture. keep us posted.

Zero,

How exciting. I am anxious to see the site once you are open for business. Best of luck.

Thank you CarmieJo, I know I have been kind of missing in action on the forum lately. I'm just trying to get things settled with the owning my own business, working a full time job, playing with my reef, and soon going to school. (What is sleep?) The basic website is up and running now just excluding products and such. Stop by and take a look. Let me know what your feelings are on it. Thank you for the support. :-)

way to go ZeroKoolNYC. you said you were going to do it and you're about to deliver. focus is half the equation for success. i wish and pray for good luck in your venture. keep us posted.

Fat Walrus, Thank you for the support and well heeded advice on my new business venture. One thing about us New Yorkers is that you can't say your going to do something and not follow through with it. :-) So take a look around at the basic website and let me know what you think. I'm open for reconstruction suggestions based on the needs of the most important people.... The Customers :-)

zero, see my PM.

Hello everyone, the store is available currently for limited business as our entire inventory is still being processed for the website. Also please remember to mention within the "optional instructions" area that you are a member of the Talking Reef website and a donation will be contributed to the Talking Reef website for your purchase. I expect to have our entire inventory online as of Sunday, June 11, 2006 As always suggestions are welcomed. Also I'm going to provide free shipping on all purchases as an Grand Opening special for the first month. :-)

Zero,

Congratulations!

CarmieJo, thank you. It is alot of work but how many people can say that their passion is what they do for a living.

good work Zero! congrats and best wishes.

Fat Walrus, Thank you. I haven't forgotten your advice and will be implimenting it soon as well. Thanks for everything.

BTW, I think it is great to have the Aquatics 101 tab.