Having an online store - my way!

January 20, 2008 7:56 PM

Expanding my coaching business to include an online store - need resources and input from the MeFi community...

With my online store, I'd like to offer tshirts, mugs, inspiration cards, calendars, bags, yoga pants, and e-books to start. At this point, I'm looking for on demand purchases rather than buying in bulk. I'm aware of Zazzle, Spreadshirt, and Cafe Press.

Here's where I need your help:
- I want the clothing and paper items to be sustainable/green. That means organic cotton, hemp, or bamboo. I don't think the companies I know about do this. Other resources?

- I already have a domain name for the store, and am creating the website for it through typepad. The sites (listed above) all seem to have the online store listed through their site. How do I set it up the way I want it - having a store, taking payments, having item on demand rather than bulk, being green, and through my typepad website?

- Would also like to add an amazon page, books I recommend, onto my site, where I would get a portion of the proceeds. How to do that?

Thank you!

posted by healthyliving to shopping (5 comments total)

Netsuite could help you part of the way, although you might find it a bit pricey.
posted by lunchbox at 8:00 PM on January 20, 2008

I'll answer the easy question: Amazon associate program is what you want.
posted by artifarce at 8:10 PM on January 20, 2008

Self-linking your business was totally unnecessary to the question and inappropriate here.

To host your own online store, you need a merchant bank account, some type of shopping cart software, and someone to handle credit card transactions.

I don't know the exact costs involved in the above -- it's been a while since I set one of these up -- but for very small startups it's not generally cost-effective. Most small startup websites are better off starting out using one of the pre-built systems like paypal or Google Checkout, which generally charge you a percentage of each transaction but have lower up-front costs.

For your amazon question, google "amazon referral".
posted by ook at 8:26 PM on January 20, 2008 [1 favorite]

Self-linking your business was totally unnecessary to the question and inappropriate here.

Yes. I wonder if a mod could remove the link?
posted by LarryC at 8:31 PM on January 20, 2008

Oops, sorry about linking my site. Truly didn't mean to break net etiquette. I'd take it out but I don't know how to do that. Thanks for your responses so far.
posted by healthyliving at 9:09 PM on January 20, 2008