If You Are Feeling Nervous About Selling Your Creations Online …

We have now opened the doors of our new online marketplace to anyone who wants to sell their jewelry, beading, crafts or craft supplies online and we are allowing up to 500 new members to register for an online mall shop or professional e-commerce store (or both!)  so we can test things, fix things, and then we will open it again to everyone else.

We have also set up a “Sellers Forum” where mall shop and e-commerce store owners can go to report anything that needs fixing or improving.

Some of the emails we have received from some of our new members express questions or concerns that I’m sure are shared by others, so whenever we get one of those, we will keep the identity of the sender anonymous, but we will share our response here on this blog, in case you have a similar question or concern.

For example, I recently received this email from one of our new members through the forum:

“I have to admit i’m VERY nervous about starting a store. How do i know if people will want what i sell and sometimes give away? Do you have any advice for me? Anything will help. “

Below is my reply:

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Hi [name of member],

Part of the reason why we decided to offer professional stores without upfront costs was because our research indicates that, like you, many people would like to have a go at selling their creations, but are concerned that it may all end up being just a costly exercise.

We have decided to take a chance and offer a different business model, one where we won’t make money unless you make money.

To do this, however, requires a significant investment of time and resources on our part into providing training and support to our members, as well as a commitment to deliver a professional, quality vehicle that our sellers can feel confident using to grow their businesses online.

We are willing to take this path because we believe in creating a long-term “win-win” partnership for everyone involved.

The advice I can offer you, therefore, is to spend time getting very clear about the aspects of your business that you can control, such as pricing your items so that you can continue doing business or, if you are going to give things for free, knowing why you are doing this and for what purpose, where you will ship items to and how you will handle packing, shipping and delivery, how you will respond to customers, how you will write names and product descriptions that will sound enticing to buyers and do your products justice, etc …

After we set up the systems you will need to know how to get your stores up and running, we will start providing sellers with practical business training and information on how to effectively promote your store and your products.

Obviously, this is an ongoing learning process and a journey of personal growth and we can’t guarantee anyone’s success, because it is up to each individual person to decide what success means for them and what they want to achieve. However, as I said, we have removed the element of financial risk from the equation, so there really should be nothing to stop you from setting goals and then using the vehicle we are providing to you free of charge to achieve your goals, no matter what they are – it could even be to stick at it until you make your first sale online, then set bigger goals.

We have spent the last two years creating a structure where you can get all the support, advice and information you need … this is what BeadHuddle.com is for. Apart from the forum and other features that allow you to interact with other like-minded people, we also offer the “Auctions” section for those who want to start taking tentative steps towards selling their creations.

Now we are pushing the boundaries again by offering our new sites – BeadHuddleMall.com and BeadHuddleStore.com to anyone who is ready to grow further and a supportive, risk-free environment to help people move a step closer towards the idea of “doing what you love and getting paid for it.”

I hope the above helps to alleviate some of your nervousness.

Martin

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If you are feeling nervous about selling your creations online, then we have created the perfect vehicle for you – an online marketplace where you can sell your jewelry, beading, crafts or craft supplies online without upfront costs, and therefore, without financial risk. For more details, please go here: Sell Your Creations Online

Tagged as:  first-time seller · selling your creations online · starting an online business