Setting up online store to sell die-cast cars, vehicle related t-shirts, etc.- tips?

[berettafan]

First- Wayne if this is not an okay post please delete.


Second-
I am looking into setting up a website to sell die-cast cars (1:43 & larger) as the main product line and would also like to use it to sell related t-shirts of my own design. My web guys tells me it will run about $400/yr to maintain and maybe $1,000 up front for design work and helping me get bank/credit card accounts set up (site would have a shopping cart).

All told it looks like i will need about $3k or so to get started which is a not insigificant sum to me (i see it as $3k worth of stainless tool chest, Disney vacation for family, etc).

My question for anyone already doing this (or any web retail bsns) is what might i expect in sales volume. I understand how to look at cars in restaurant parking lots, bags coming out of brick & mortar stores, etc. but the whole internet thing is a bit intimidating. Could be 100 sales/day or 1.

I am also getting into wedding photography and will be using the same corp so that cost will be shared ($300 yearly filing fee, etc).

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

Erik

[RickM]

When your site is built and ready for business who will know it's there? That's the key.

Many have opted for a service like Yahoo stores because there's a built-in community that can be funnelled from there home page portal to their shopping site. However, this option is quite costly with expensive monthly fees and quite a bit of competition. If you opt for their credit card processing package get ready to bend over big time.

There are many options available to attract customers to a site. None are inexpensive if rolled out to a considerable audience. These include partnering with related businesses, pay-per-click programs, search engine placement, banner advertising, Spam mailing etc.

I'm sure others will chime in with their experiences as well.

Good luck!

[stomachmonkey]

Stop. Call me.

Sending PM.

And no it won't cost you any money to speak to me.

Scott

[berettafan]

Thanks all. There certainly is a lot of work involved.

Wayne-sorry i didn't pm you first.