why would a customer buy outside of the big brands like amazon/ebay/whatever?

[manihatethis]

I've done a few things online and am now making my way into selling my own product developed using raw materials bought from alibaba. I just happen to ask myself some questions that I as a buyer would have if I happen to be in the market for something of that nature.

Whenever I buy something may it be clothes or electronics, I'm always thinking of a few sites to check out before committing to a purchase. Along those lines, why would my customer want to buy from me if something similar ( popular item that can be sold without a brand ) can be bought from ebay or amazon. This thought is keeping me from pursuing this next project of mine.

It's apparent that most of the businessmen here sell to other webmasters and the kind of products being sold are actually services and digital goods that wont cater to a broad demographic outside of IM. So how should I proceed? at my current volume there is no way I can sell on amazon with it's crazy fees and make a profit. On my own it would be different.

Anyone here sell stuff besides weightloss?

 

[trust256]

As much as I like Amazon, I don't make all my purchases there. Look at it from this point of view. There are tens of thousands of retail sites out there, selling clothes/electronics/purses and all kinds of food and consumable products. And, none are available with Amazon. As good as Amazon is with the trust factor, they also lack the personality that you (as an individual webmaster) can bring to your product site.

Go the opposite direction as Amazon and take time to personalize your website. Let your site visitors get to know who you are (as the seller); tell them something about how you source the product, the work that goes into product creation. Take time to create a good backstory for each product. In this way, you will be making an emotional connection with the buyer, rather than trying to be yet another amazon style mass merchant.

This is the same technique used on high end luxury goods websites and with local shops who still compete head to head against the big giants like Walmart.