Where do independent retailers meet on the web?
January 29, 2010 9:45 AM   Subscribe

What are the good, helpful, substantive websites where independent retailers hang out and share information?

You know - the usual request - AskMe for the local guy. Not places trolling some marketing gimmick with a discussion board or two, sponsored by American Express/Bank of America, or with some business-related political agenda a'la NFIB. Instead, looking for places where someone can post questions or browse discussions about stuff like point-of-sale software, small biz management, negotiating leases, store hours, small budget marketing, e-commerce for the small guy, etc... and where the conversation is intelligent and mostly non-ranty like MeFi. (AskMe's great for this, too, but there's that pesky one question/week rule).
posted by webhund to Work & Money (3 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Have you looked at sites like IndieBound and BALLE?

A family friend wrote this book which has a companion podcast and blog. Maybe those could give you some more ideas.
posted by Madamina at 10:09 AM on January 29, 2010


The Etsy forums are pretty good for this.
posted by divabat at 1:53 PM on January 29, 2010


My trade association forum is rather stinky and dead. Last month my business partner posted a complaint there about one of the big boys in the industry stealing our mailing list. Since, we've established solid relationships with a bunch of similar businesses via pm and e-mail and we are counterattacking said big boy in several productive ways. A little public whining and people with similar troubles will contact you.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 3:16 PM on January 29, 2010


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