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Originally Posted by simoned  Hi Guys
Im in the starting stages of wanting to set up an online store. What I do want to know is how to buy / ship in a cost effective way. Toys Stores for example how do they buy /sell /ship? I am assuming that the majority do not hold stock? Or do they?
Do you need permission to advertise someone elses good on your website?
All very new soooo many questions and I know they are probably simple questions but any information you can give me would be great. |
Hello Simoned,
If you are starting the business from stratch there will be lots of questions. Maybe this blog on starting an online business can help -
http://tinyurl.com/ykdv67f.
Online stores do work on different processes. Some will maintain a warehouse with stock and do picking and packing themselves. Or there is a drop ship model where someone else warehouses and you direct the pick/pack/ship advice to them. If the online business is also a bricks and mortar then in general they hold their own stock. Of the rest (pure online only) I'd say 50/50 hold stock vs drop ship or pass on orders to a wholesaler.
The best solution is very product dependant.
There are also services like
http://www.temando.com that can be very effective for getting best prices and service.
With respect to the second question it is an issue of both copy right and agent/distributor agreement. Generally is you are a reseller for a companies products they will give you permission to use product images and descriptions etc. If you don't have that permission then it could be breach of copyright to display the product on your website. If you buy products cheap overseas and resell via the web and there is a local authorised distributor in the market then you may very well have legal issues. You need to always be careful around any brands or brand names that are trademarked or copyrighted. Also taking images and content from other websites and just reusing it can be a violation of the copyright provisions.
Hope that helps.
John