New Online Toy Soldier and Model Shop - Looking for input. (1 Viewer)

[Wright's Collectables]

Hello,

As the title suggests we have just started our own online toy and model shop. Having had some traffic from this forum, I thought it would be a good idea to ask for your input and advice.

As with any other research, let me first present the background information.

We have only recently left university and the current economic climate being what it is, didn't look promising for jobs. I and my partner have always been collectors of toy soldiers and farm models, so we thought we'd have a go ourselves. There being no better time than the present.

We don't have the funds for full market research etc, so we would really appreciate you taking a bit of time to answer the following questions.

I appreciate some might fall better in another forum area, but I didn't want to fill the forums with threads!

We are interested in trade fairs etc, however it seems necessary to have a "card machine", which costs a small fortune (especially if your just starting out). A relative of ours suggested taking a laptop and a mobile internet dongle and asking customers to pay for the products through our own store and paypal. If you were asked to do this, would this be agreeable to you? Or do you all take ample cash?

We currently stock Forces of Valor, WBritains and a little known toy soldier manufacturer named "Easy Model" (they make toy soldiers of comparable quality to Forces of Valor). What WBritain range is most popular? After Britains what is the most popular toy soldier manufacturer?

Ebay specifically, how many of you use the "lowest first" tool. It seems some of our items are being passed over as they don't have "free delivery", despite being cheaper!

Thank you very much in advance for your help, we really appreciate it.

We made the website ourselves and are still combing through it for problems and improvements.

Wright's Collectables

http://www.wrightscollectables.co.uk

 

[theBaron]

We are interested in trade fairs etc, however it seems necessary to have a "card machine", which costs a small fortune (especially if your just starting out). A relative of ours suggested taking a laptop and a mobile internet dongle and asking customers to pay for the products through our own store and paypal. If you were asked to do this, would this be agreeable to you? Or do you all take ample cash?

I don't know about the others, but I take cash. I have seen a very few merchants here who take a card plate to shows, and I think it's for the same reasons you note, merchant credit card handling fees can be prohibitive to many. As a former banker, I agree.

We currently stock Forces of Valor, WBritains and a little known toy soldier manufacturer named "Easy Model" (they make toy soldiers of comparable quality to Forces of Valor). What WBritain range is most popular? After Britains what is the most popular toy soldier manufacturer?

Well, I imagine that you're going to get "King & Country" as one of the most numerous responses, judging from the content of our forum

Ebay specifically, how many of you use the "lowest first" tool. It seems some of our items are being passed over as they don't have "free delivery", despite being cheaper!

Personally, I don't use it. I look at the item first, and then see what the starting/current bid is, and the shipping charges. If I want it badly enough for my collection, that weighs more heavily in the decision to bid.

If you could swing a deal and pick up the old Phoenix castings and/or molds that Soldierpac had, I think you might find that there is a market out there for those items, too.

Best of luck, prost!
Brad

 

[Wright's Collectables]

Thank you Baron for your reply.

In response to those who emailed us. I didn't mean to step on anyones toes. We were just looking for input, where best than a forum of collectors. Maybe that was a mistake, I apologise.

Anyway, I'll remove the link to the website.

Best Regards.

/edit: I can't seem to remove it myself.

 

[The Military Workshop]

I am biased being a dealer with a shop however I don't think having 9 Britians items on a web page makes you a Toy Soldier dealer yet.

In order to grow your business without having a shop you are going to have to attend a lot of shows to build up a customer base.

Regards
Brett

 

[Wright's Collectables]

I am biased being a dealer with a shop however I don't think having 9 Britians items on a web page makes you a Toy Soldier dealer yet.

In order to grow your business without having a shop you are going to have to attend a lot of shows to build up a customer base.

Regards
Brett

Without a doubt. As a dealer yourself you know how hard it can be to get stock.

Its still a work in progress, I guess it will always be.

Hence why we wanted to know more about trade fairs.

Thank you again for your reply.