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We've discussed selling sites and how to begin an online bookselling business. Now we get into a more advanced level that will propel a novice bookseller into the realm of the serious professional-a dedicated Web site.
Web sites can be expensive and time-consuming. My good friend Rita owns a candy shop in downtown Mystic and her site has been two years in the making. Our own sellusyourbooks.com site cost over $1000 and took more than 4 months to complete. This week we changed our bookstore site using Chrislands.com and after this experience, I can't see doing it any other way.
I was introduced to Chrislands through both bookseller Gary Nargi and Ina Steiner, so they came highly recommended. I visited Chrislands.com and took a tour of the portfolio of sites they developed - very nice but a basic design. A look however at Bowerybay.com showed the possibilities.
What impressed me most was the cost $200 to develop a Web page. The personnel (Lance) were very receptive to my suggestions. I had an idea of how it should look and the end result was nearly perfect. Two small changes that I could make myself using their form-driven page designs within the administrator's pages.
We'll go into the nitty gritty with Chrislands in a future interview with them. What I want to convey in this editorial is that having the tools to do bookselling online is only part of the process. Developing an identity, something that shows people what you have to offer and something of who you are is a step toward independence. By marketing your site, referring people to it, you will establish your own customer links and sales where all the proceeds are yours to keep.
As the selling venues jockey for top position they are also winnowing out some sellers who may have small inventories. An individual site can have as few as one book for sale or as many as you can afford to "store."
So don't be afraid to test the waters. Price is no longer prohibitive, and any eBay or book buyer queries can be referred to your pages for complete information. And if you take a good look at Gary's enterprising methods at Bowerybay.com, you'll see that your own site can make you money to boot.
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