What do these names have in common: Sears Roebuck, JCPenney, Montgomery Ward. Besides being some of the best-known retailers in U.S. history, at one point in time they were primarily mail-order businesses.
Selling via catalog can seem daunting. The postage! The shipping! Returns! But the right product mix in an attractive printed format can move mountains, and make you piles of money.
Covered in this business start-up guide:
1. Mail-order business start-up
2. Controlling mail-order business costs
3. Advertising your mail-order business
4. Rules and regulations of the mail-order industry
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Setting up a basic mail-order business
Besides a home office and simple computer and telephone gear, you'll need space for inventory, depending on what you sell. But foremost you'll need a product that people want.
I recommend: Most mail-order business owners buy goods from drop-ship companies, which wholesale, keep inventory and deal with shipping and handling for you. Some big drop-ship providers for the mail-order business include
SMC,
Doba,
DropShipDirect and directory
Go Wholesale. See the Business.com directory on
mail-order business fulfillment and
mail-order business software.
Advertising your mail-order business
Most of the business costs of a mail-order business are quite low and controllable. Except advertising, which is the lifeblood of the business. Pick your medium carefully to maximize profits.
I recommend: If your product is of narrow interest, advertise in cheaper, narrow-interest media like newsletters and topical Web sites. But you also should consider direct mail to specific customers from mailing lists. The U.S. Postal Service has a page on running a
mail-order business. Pick up tips and lists from
DirectMail.com and compare price quotes at
Direct Mail Quotes. Business.com has more
direct mail providers for mail-order business.
Keep mail-order business costs down
Printing will be a big part of your mail-order business costs. Finding and pricing a printer is central to maintaining profitable growth. Unless you want to advertise your home address, you'll need a rented P.O. box as well.
I recommend: Check out discount Web-based printing companies, like
Small Business Printing,
Printing for Less,
Print Globe, and
Print Center USA. Some choices for mailbox rental include, of course, the
U.S. Postal Service,
The UPS store, and a new breed of virtual mail services which scan your mail and send it electronically, like
Remote Control Mail and
Mail Link Plus.
Dealing with mail-order business customers
Selling through the mail seems like the ultimate low-stress kind of career. But if you make enough customers unhappy, watch out!
I recommend: Keep up with mail-order business best practices via
The Direct Marketing Association and the trade group, the
National Mail-Order Association. See as well the
Federal Trade Commission rules on the mail-order business.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Choose your mail-order business product carefully. It should be small (easy to mail) and in-demand. You might think crystal chandeliers would be nice to sell, but novelty keychains would be a better choice.
- The best mail-order business products are those that people want to buy regularly but cannot find easily in retail stores. Peruse other mail-order business catalogs for general ideas, then go from there.
- Constantly test mail-order business ads in A-B splits: Try one pub, then another, repeating different style ads until you get a response, the toss out the weaker publication or ad copy and try again.
The official source of Starting a Mail-order Business is
the Starting a Mail-Order Business page at Business.com
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