Category Archives: Shopping

Starting Your Own Online Shop

Vendors today have the good fortune to have access to a world-wide audience and consumer base through the wonders of online shopping. So many consumers appreciate the ease and convenience – not to mention affordability – of shopping online that many will seek out prospective purchases first through internet retailers before ever going to a local brick-and-mortar store. Sellers can take advantage of this vast target group by setting up an online store through websites that offer assistance or tutorials to expedite the process, and to give sellers’ products the most professional and distinctive presentation possible.

Setting up your online store

When prospective sellers want to create an online store with 1ShoppingCart, there is a sales team available to maximize exposure and put the items being sold in the best possible light. Features afforded to sellers will vary depending on the site assisting with the store, yet some may offer ways to track buying patterns or reward regular customers that further increase business and profit margins for those utilizing such services. The costs are far below what it would take to set up even the most humble store-front in the community, yet the potential is huge. Furthermore, it gives even sellers with very limited inventory a vehicle with which to sell their product.

Businesses’ Online Presence

If you are proposing to own and operate your own business, you should already be aware that opening your doors to the public is only the start of the whole affair. There’s also the whole matter of actually selling enough of your goods and services to stay in business long enough to recoup your initial investment.

Website for stores

If you manage to last that long, there will then come the matter of advertising. After all, it’s simply not enough to be in possession of the world’s largest and most comprehensive stock of wine or tomato juice. You’ve got to be able to make the public aware of that fact.

At the end of the day, you’ve got to have a presence on the web, so that people sitting at home can log on to your official company website and see for themselves what goods and services you have to offer them.

Of course, before you put up a site on the Internet, you’ve got to have a name in mind. It’s an excellent idea to first check available domain names at Register.com. This will give you an excellent idea of what names are available and which ones are taken. From there, you can go about registering your domain and getting your site up on the web.

Once you have your domain name picked out and your site registered, you can get it hosted by a team of professional experts who specialize in such matters. An excellent choice for web hosting is Register.com.

Multiply is Closing Down by May 6, 2013 : A Look Back

Ever since I experienced the convenience of shopping online, especially for cosmetics that I already trust, I never looked back. My first ever online shopping experience was through Multiply.com back when you have to manually contact the online seller for the transaction. Now that Multiply is closing down on May 6, 2013, it’s a sad day, but I completely understand this business decision.

Multiply Marketplace is closing down on May 6, 2013

Many people were saddened by the news that the social networking part of Multiply was closing down. I was one of the many Multiply bloggers and users who enjoyed connecting with people on their site before the social media giant Facebook opened its doors.

When I learned that they were transforming their website to a local online marketplace, I was excited. I was even one of the bloggers who went to their press event where they made the announcement. When they went through a redesign, I thought they’ll continue to grow from there.

I remember buying my first gadget online from DB Gadgets – my Canon IXUS 220HS (I lost it just this year 🙁 ). Since then, we bought 2 more gadgets from them.

My Canon digital camera that I bought from DB Gadgets

Yeah, I WAS one of those people who name their gadgets. 😀

I was introduced to my top favorite online beauty store, Digital Traincase, through their Multiply store. Thankfully, they have moved on to their own e-commerce site after the recent issues.

Multiply has helped many online sellers and internet shoppers at the same time. They provided a venue for both to connect in a secure and comfortable (familiar) environment. Before the server issues in the past weeks, transactions went on smoothly on my end.

Multiply Marketplace closing down is a huge opportunity for online stores, but a setback for many online sellers who depended on Multiply for their business to run. I’m sure they’ll find a new venue to sell their products.

To everyone at Multiply, thank you and we wish you all good luck! 🙂

You can read more about this news here.

5 Black Friday Tips for Gadget Shoppers

Black Friday gadget shopping tips

One of the most anticipated shopping day of the year is coming – Black Friday 2012 is on November 23rd, a day after Thanksgiving! This is the BEST time to shop for those highly coveted gadgets like laptops, desktop computers, gadgets and other electronic devices.

With that said, I’m sharing some very useful tips for all of you who are planning on some Black Friday gadget shopping this year:

 

Black Friday Gadget Shopping Tips

 

1. Research for the best Black Friday deals and compare prices!

This is one of those days when retail stores mark down their items, even their most popular products, at surprisingly low prices. With that said, however, it is important that you do your research on the best deals you can find so you can maximize your shopping budget.

Also, it’s important to compare prices. This way, you can focus on that store with the best prices.

 

2. Know the store policies on returns and warranties.

For gadget shoppers, this is the most important tip of all. Make sure you’ve done your research. Most stores set a shorter period for return deadlines, so avoid the hassles by finding out about their return policy beforehand.

For warranties, don’t forget to check or ask. You might be rejoicing about a purchase that saved you a significant amount of money without knowing that the warranty policy is different from the regular priced ones. Well, this doesn’t really apply with popular gadgets, but just to be sure, ask.

 

3. Is it worth the hassle?

After comparing prices, it’s also important to know if the regular prices of the items you want are remarkably higher than the Black Friday prices the stores are offering. If it’s just a few bucks of savings, think about the hassle of waking up early, lining up and bracing the Black Friday crowds. Is it all worth it?

 

4. Look for early bird shopper discounts.

There are many stores that offer early bird shopping discounts as early as the week of Thanksgiving. Some offer early discounts online. Again, remember the importance of doing your research.

For Black Friday 2012, here are some of the popular retail stores that are offering early bird shopping deals:

  • Walmart starts their first Black Friday Sale at 8pm on Thanksgiving. They also announced a 10pm sale on electronics and another sale by 5am the next day.
    Walmart also made an announcement that those who are in line by 10pm and 11pm on Thanksgiving Day will get their most popular items:
    Apple iPad 2 for with Wi-Fi plus a $75 Wal-Mart gift card for $399
    Emerson 32-inch LCD TV for $148
    LG Blu-ray player for $38
  • Sears stores will open at 8pm on Thanksgiving and will stay open until 10pm on Black Friday. Additionally, those who are members of Sears loyalty club Shop Your Way can avail of the early bird specials online as early as November 18, 2012!
  • Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Best Buy will open at 12 midnight after Thanksgiving.
  • Lord & Taylor will be opening at 10am on Thanksgiving.
  • Kohl’s announced that online shoppers will be able to buy all early morning specials on November 21, 2012 and all day on Thanksgiving.

 

5. Shop online.

Some stores like Apple have been known to give out the best deals on their products at their online stores than retail stores or official distributors. So, again, do your research and compare prices in-store and online. If the price difference is not significantly high, then why bother waking up early and lining up, right?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Have fun shopping! I’m planning on buying a new laptop this year. How about you?

Related Black Friday Articles: