Scrapbooking online store?

i am wondering, if i were to open an online scrapbooking store with really great low prices, a whole variety of products both old and new and barely any knowledge on the materials, how sucessful will my business be?

Scrapbooking online store?
Those are ingredients of a successful retail store -- except for your comment "barely any knowledge on the materials."





An online store is unlike a traditional store where you can put the materials on shelves and let customers inspect and look at it and decide if the material is what they want. An online store relies on great pictures and SALES COPY -- meaning the description of the product, what is the size, what is it made of, and other selling points of the material. If you don't know what the material is and possibly suggest ways scrapbookers can use this (e.g. material is great for decorative painting or for use with journaling).





One important consideration is whether you can actually get low prices for your online store. There's been a great debate in the scrapbooking community where suppliers PREFER to sell to traditional merchants and make it hard for online sellers to purchase from them. I hope you won't encounter this bias against online sellers.





Scrapbooking may look like a hobby a bored housewife might indulge in, but apparently it is big business. A study conducted by Creating Keepsakes magazine in 2004 called “Scrapbooking in America”™ (SIA) http://www.simplescrapbooksmag.com/press... survey showed :





- Annual sales of scrapbooking industry is at $2.551 billion, representing a 27.8 percent increase from 2001.


- There are 4.4 million new scrapbooking households since 2001, for a total of over 26 million households and 32.1 million scrapbookers.


- Spending on scrapbooking supplies by households that scrapbook has increased 6.3 percent to $96.76 annually since 2001.


- Almost one in four, or 24.5 percent of U.S. households, participate in the hobby of scrapbooking, with Western states showing the most households involved in the hobby (between 26–31 percent of households).





Palo Alto has a sample business plan for a scrapbooking company, but it is not free http://www.paloalto.com/ps/bp/samplebusi...
Reply:probably good, if you advertised it well enough.
Reply:As long as you have the desire to learn about the industry you'll be working in, you will have a good shot at success. I have worked in various industries over the years that I knew nothing about but day by day I learned more and more from my customers. At 18 I worked in a hardware store. What did I know about plumbing, replacing glass, mixing paint??? As I talked to the people around me, talked to vendors, talked to customers, I began to learn so much ... and you will too. The most important thing is to make sure that your customers know about your products and services. Having the greatest website in the world isn't going to generate any cash unless scrapbook enthusiasts know about your business and those really great low prices and whole variety or products you are mentioning. Get a business plan together to determine how successful you will be. Consult with the Small Business Association, link below, who will work with you FREE.

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