Pricing and Marketing input needed

[Jayhawks]

I am wanting to start selling m401 here locally because of the up coming smoking ban.

I was thinking about offering a MEGA STARTER KIT and would like some opinions on it.

Mega Starter kit will include:
M401 starter kit with 2 batteries 1 atomizer, wall charger, 5 prefilled carts

Then I would add the following to make it MEGA

1 extra Battery
1 Extra Usb Charger
1 Extra Atomizer
1 extra carrying case
1 10ml bottle of liquid

I havnt decided on a price but it will be below $100

What do you all think?

 

[CaSHMeRe]

Jay ... If you are going to sell, please develop some sort of business plan. I understand you want input from members, however, THEY aren't the ones running your business.

You think McDonalds goes to customs and asks them how to price their burgers?

just my $.02 cents bud ... Price it accordingly and let the market judge for itself on the pricing ...

 

[Jayhawks]

I'm not in this to be a BIZ and make my living. Just offering something that smokers around my town might enjoy.

 

[CaSHMeRe]

Exactly Jay ...

In YOUR town ... No one can better judge how to price something in your individual market than YOU Pricing looks good bud, no doubt about it and you should have no problem moving product!

 

[Jayhawks]

THanks Cash thats what I wanted to know. I just want to be able to move the product..


Oh and its Budette

 

[Jammi98]

Just so you have a frame of reference, Katy at The Smokeless Shop - sells a starter kit similar to that.

 

[CaSHMeRe]

Hey Jay ... no problemo bud ...

Remember ... Face to face/Direct sales, people normally pay a premium for. If all you are going to do is direct, I would probably add 20-25% on top of what you think is an "online" fair price

Just so you have a frame of reference, Katy at The Smokeless shop - sells a starter kit similar to that.

And her sales are mostly internet sales I would imagine

 

[]v[icr0-kn0x]

Jayhawks, I'm also contemplating on the doing the same, but I'm doing my research also. I had done my search around my town and I'm also going to be talking to some friends and family and see if it's worth to capture other parts of that market. Like Steve said, create a business plan before you start. Luckily I had already taken some business course (as it's part of my degree) and I'm still going through the motion. This is the best approach before actually spending a single cent.

 

[Obi Wan]

dont want to sound negative but to sell as a hobby and make some extra money isnt as easy as it might sound.
if you do the research or have experiance then it might be a good idea.
but to do it legally theres alot involved.
licenses,,hiring an acountant if needed,,paying weekly or monthly 941,s on any salary taken,,sending earning reports,tax forms,sales tax forms and end of year forms even if you dont do a profit.
then theres fines and penalties for anything thats late or any numbers or reports that have even the slightest mistake.
just my opinion but if you do it as a side project to make extra money you can get in trouble fast and if you can do it all out full time like maybe Steve at puresmoker then it may be well worth it.
and as he knows it takes alot of time and hard work.
again,, not trying to be negative and you may already know about the things i wrote.

 

[Obi Wan]

one other thing,,lol
the reason i wanted to reply is because i speak from experience.
i owned a small machine shop for 10 years.
had some good years and some not so good.
i closed it a year ago because of slow sales etc,, i enjoyed some years of having my freedom and when i made enough to pay my bills,mortgage,,etc..
but im happy now to have a great job and i dont miss the stress and hours..lol

 

[riddle80]

Here's a thread I started a while back with marketing advice and things to avoid.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...scussion/6026-marketing-advice-suppliers.html

Might want to check it out to help avoid common mistakes and mistruths . Good luck!

 

[]v[icr0-kn0x]

Obi Wan, I've been in business for myself for a while also and although I haven't gone on as long as you have, I know what your talking about. It's from this experience that I have learn the ropes now and know how to follow through a little bit better on things. Like you said, one has to take the time and dedication to get it right. I'm also about to get out of the line of business that I'm doing, but would still like to venture on to do something different on the side.

 

[Jayhawks]

My brother owns his own MFG company and his wife is an accountant so those bases are covered if need be. Man I just want to be the avon type lady LOL

 

[stephenrowley]

What I suggest you do before making any capital investments, is to approach some already existing electronic cigarette suppliers and ask them if they have a affiliate commission set-up, in a nut shell you get paid by the resellers for taking orders, if that's all great and things start to snowball and you getting regular clients on an on going basis, then the next big step is to source your own supplies and import the product yourself.

 

[Momof3]

I am a potential face to face customer for you, as well as the converts I'm slowly but surely gathering. I am comfortable with online ordering and unless I just had to have something right now, I would probably purchase from someone competitive out of state. It would have to be an equal to better deal for me to go with you and pay the tax. Much as ordering from Amazon. Search with them and then buy from their supplier. KWIM I'm cheap though.

As a former small business owner, taking something you love to a business level can truly suck all the joy out of it. Not to mention the fact our government seems to be littered with idiots.

If you're just eying wholesale stuff and thinking how nice it would be for you and your friends to pay less, customize and have all this stuff on hand, but are turned off by the minimums, consider a co-op. Fairly straight forward and a lot less hassle. HTH

 

[FlufferNutter]

Jay, I understand what you want to do. You want to, on a small scale (at least at first), turn people on to e cigs. You can do this and sell kits without much hassle. I wouldn't worry too much about a business plan unless you are going to start asking other people to fund your venture. But if you are planning on ordering 500-1000 dollars worth of stuff from CT or someone else, I wouldn't worry about it much. You will probably sell most of it to people you already know. I have a Janitorial business that i started 3 years ago with an initial investment of less than 1,000 bucks. It is now a 100k a year business and I never had a business plan. You just have to be smart. By the way, what did you end up finding out about that one supplier?

 

[Jayhawks]

Yes flutter, thats exactly what I have in mind. Just want to make sure I can keep a supply for my local area and then if I have some extras I will offer them on here.

I have made up a mega starter kit and have gotten good response about it locally so I ordered up some things. If it all works out better than I expect then I might consider doing things different.

 

[Bulldog44]

I am a potential face to face customer for you, as well as the converts I'm slowly but surely gathering. I am comfortable with online ordering and unless I just had to have something right now, I would probably purchase from someone competitive out of state. It would have to be an equal to better deal for me to go with you and pay the tax. Much as ordering from Amazon. Search with them and then buy from their supplier. KWIM I'm cheap though.

As a former small business owner, taking something you love to a business level can truly suck all the joy out of it. Not to mention the fact our government seems to be littered with idiots.

If you're just eying wholesale stuff and thinking how nice it would be for you and your friends to pay less, customize and have all this stuff on hand, but are turned off by the minimums, consider a co-op. Fairly straight forward and a lot less hassle. HTH

How dare you insult idiots by comparing them to people in the government! Idiots have the capacity to eventually learn.

 

[Momof3]

How dare you insult idiots by comparing them to people in the government! Idiots have the capacity to eventually learn.

Yes, you're right. I do apologize. I just have to stop reading the paper. Get to hollering too much and it'll run down the battery on my pilot.

 

[Bulldog44]

Yes, you're right. I do apologize. I just have to stop reading the paper. Get to hollering too much and it'll run down the battery on my pilot.

HA HA, yep I only buy newspapers for sports the comics and the crossword, jumble, sudoku, and cryptoquote. I go online for most of my news.