Finally giving online sales a shot

After shying away from selling online for many years we have finally decided it was time to take action. I looked into a fewb options for setting up a web store. First, I tried creating a store through one of our apparel distributors. However, this was too time consuming between trying to load all of the images and then load the logos onto them. Next I looked at what Pay Pal had to offer. It was not bad, they are a trusted site and have reccomendations for sites where you can build your store. I stopped short of exploring this option when I found the right match. Basically, I was able to find a company that does team apparel order websites. They had all of the images I needed and all I had to do was send them the artwork and specific instructions on the layout. It took some time with these guys but after a handful of revisions we got it right.

Within my web stores the customers have many different apparel and color options. I even have a feature that allows customers to make an item sport specific. For example, if they wanted a Bayside Wrestling t shirt instead of a Bayside Tigers shirt it can be done (excuse the Saved by the Bell reference). The other great thing about the web stores is not having selection without a ton of inventory. Thanks to a handful of quick and reliable apparel suppliers, we are able to have most items in the shop within a couple of days. Then we simply make up the logo on the Versacamm and the order will be ready to go. No way I'd be doing this without the flexibility and time saving features it has.

Now onto phase 2, promoting the web stores and getting the word out. I will let you know how that goes!

P