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In lugnet.loc.it, Pedro Silva writes:
> how to run a *small-scale* business
Some suggestions, as they come out of my mind.
Bricklink: if you want to setup a new Lego store, then BrickLink is probably
the best choice. It's cheap enough, and gives you a lot of ready-to-use
features that otherwise you should create from scratch, and it is widely
used by the Lego community. Paying for the service is easy, I do use PayPal
which is very convenient.
Shop: to put new items on a Briklink, as you have only to provide a few data
(a brief description, the price, and a picture, that can be also found
online). There's also a system for mass-uploading items, very handy if you
have plenty of set or pieces to be uploaded. Of course, you can compare
prices with the other shops: your buyers will do the same. Try and provide
as much informations as you can, and be very accurate. The presentation page
should be complete and accurate, too.
Tax: as soon as you run a small-scale biz, you don't really need to deal
with it. After all, you're just using a service that provides a convenient
way to exchange collectibles online, between private people, nothing more.
Be sure to declare a low or null value for anything you're shipping, or
someone will have to pay the custom fees.
Payments: unluckily PayPal is not available to us for receiving payments.
Specify in the Bricklink front page which payments are accepted, try and
give the user the most options (cash, check, etc.). Wait for the payment to
arrive before shipping if you've never dealt with the buyer in the past.
Feedback: it's very important, take care of posting and reading every single
comment, everyone will apreciate it. People will be asking informations also
by email, and again, try to be as clear as possible.
Shipping: that's the worst part of it all :-) I don't know how the postal
system is like in your country, but if you want to avoid the expensive
express couriers like UPS you'll have to deal for sure with delays and
packaging problems: weights, sizes, and so on. Especially if you ship
something abroad, which is the most common event. Try and get as much
information as you can from your local post office about the different
shipping options (insured, airmail, etc.). Your buyers will usually ask for
them, and for the cheapest way to send big packages :-) Remember also that
your packages need to be very strong in order to stand an international
shipment. Use a quantity of protecting material and a lot of tape :-)
Finally, take a look at the other shops. That's the easiest way to learn :-)
These are only a few notes about selling and shipping Lego. Please feel free
to email me (or post on loc.it) for any specific question. I'd be happy to help.
Ciao
Giulio
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Shop - how to run?
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| (This is especially destined to those of you who own bricklink stores, or any otyher type of online store to sell LEGO) Hi all! I'm thinking of starting a small shop to sell online LEGO, and thought of asking you to share some experience (because (...) (22 years ago, 25-Mar-02, to lugnet.loc.it)
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