StonedMetalJewelry

I'm 41 going on 26. Twice as old as some of youWhen I was in my early 20's the concept of having a computer in one's home was a mind-blower! I was on the internet before it was called the internet, and I used real "floppy" disks - the 5&1/4" size that really were floppy A 240 megabyte hard drive was huge! There was no windows, the C:> prompt and typed commands were fun, because boy-o-boy were we smart that we knew those commands.

I'm from Chile. I live in the capital, Santigo. Here is summer now, I hate the sun right now =P, but i'm in vacations ^^.

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I would LOVE a little bit of sun! It has been sunny this week end and it is melting the 2 feet of snow we got a few weeks ago! Just a little bit more sun!

I like the idea of payment options, and customizing it....I think this is what I'm looking for ...... you say it's available via Xisto... would I look for Emporium or ecommerce scripting? guess I'd better get my request for hosting in.. so I can see what's here.Thanks much for the info, I do appreciate it!

I'm in the good 'ol US of A, Murfreesboro, TN to be exact, which is a little pimple 33 miles southeast of Nashville.  And Yes, country music is King down here.  And...If you don't listen to country music 24/7 in your 1989 muddy F150 pickup truck with your hound dog with at least 3 shotguns hanging up on a rack (that you personally carved with your very own genuine five foot buckknife that you gladly purchased at the local Co-Op) blocking your rearview window then you're definitely NOT considered to be a Tennesseean! ...... if I ever leave this place and go back up north to live I'll have to go through an intensive period of detoxification to get myself back to normal.  And I still may not even recover completely. Well, I think I've said my peace...

 

See Y'all up yonder,

 

Charlie Daniels

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"Hey!" all,

 

Another bit of American slang to teach you (sorry Charlie D, you asked for it ..)

 

This here fellow is what we call a Redneck. If you ever hear a Redneck joke y'all think of Charlie here.

 

I think there is a thread already on the forum for the same topic. At present I cannot give the exact url of the thread, But I will give later. I think we should not  try to not starting the same thread once again.

By the way I am from INDIA.

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OOPs sorry, but really, a topic like this can come and go because PEOPLE come and go. Some that answered before might be gone now, and others that weren't here before get to say HEY! Saying "HEY" is american slang for hello.

About taking pictures: Make sure you have something nice to put the jewellery on. Since you already have a "real" shop that shouldn't be any problem. But trust me when I say that a piece of jewellery layed out on a nice piece of velvet or something like that is going to sell much better than a piece of jewellery on a white background. Just as in your real shop, presentation is important.

 

Well I don't have a "real" shop, the business is making the stuff in a spare room set up as the studio, and selling it to freinds, co-workers, and taking some around to local shops - we live near lots of gift shops.

 

We do have the black velvet though, and picture taking has been a challenge because I've been trying to do this at night after my regular day-job, in poor light. Now it is the weekend, I'm going to try again in good daylight.

 

This is why I thought you should get someone else to fix the site for you, because in your first post you said you knew "basic HTML", from which I assumed the worst. But seeing that you've already done a site before this you might very well be up to the job.

Well I call it "basic" html becaue compared to the xml and scripts out there, wow. The site I did before looked a little less professional, but only because I had students working on it too, and it was student artwork and such that was the graphics. But it was clear it was a student/teacher effort, so when you know that, the less-than-perfect graphics are forgiven.

 

Get the "viewing" part of the website done first, let people visit the site and see all the nice things you are selling. When that's done, put it online. And then you can start making the online sales integration. And when that's finished you put that part online. 

So, you're saying, work in phases?

Phase one, make it pretty, but not selling yet.

Phase two, sell by sending checks or using their own paypal

Phase three, incorporate a shopping cart

 

?? This is what you mean? Sounds manageable this way.

 

What does <br> mean? (hahahaha just kidding)

 

Right now <br> means BBRRRRRRRRR it's COLD and we're getting a bunch of SNOW tonight!

Yah i hate 2 say it i would do that 2 or use one of teh preinstaled scripts such as PHP-Nuke really good program and  you can custoim masie it to your liking

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Oh yes, shortcuts like this I like alot. I don't intend to build the shopping cart and storefront from scratch. When I said I wanted to build the site myself, I just meant I don't want to hand over the whole project and have someone else put it all together. I'd be paying someone to customize those scripts, and still providing the photos and all that much of the work myself anyways.

 

.................and I'm beginning to feel like I'm spending more time talking than doing

 

I'll check out PHP-Nuke for sure, I'd heard of it but have not looked at it yet.

 

Thanks!!

I personally think it's a good idea to try this, and it's fun for you to make it work too...and about the houses example: yes, some may just view the houses and never return, but some view them and get interested <especially when it's not very expensive stuff you're slling> and may visit the real store...
I like the fact that you are willing to take a risk for this, it's like an experiment: you may have luck, and it may fail, either way it's a fun project to do (else you wouldn't do it would you?)

I think if you just use a basic html page (maybe some easy php scripts in it...) and for example the agora shopping cart system or another system like that, it could look professional.

one tip:
put alot of pictures on it, and an easy way to view them all, when viewing websites, the most fun thing is to view pictures of what they have (computer example) and then consider buying something; in the real shop, or online using paypal or anything.

good luck with it

---
i

Thank you ! yes! this is what I'm saying! Encouraging and good advice.

yes, I like basic html, with frames, I am comfortable with that. My challenge at the moment is taking pictures of jewelry. I have to catch daylight I guess for the digital camera.

I like some of the ideas here for showing them, but I have some work to do there for sure.

Thanks again, and keep warm - it is below ZERO here !!!

BRRRRRRRRRRRR ------

The only language I speak fluently is English. I took two years of Spanish in Middle/High School, but I've probably forgotten most of it by now. My, ah..., native language is Chinese. I can't speak it anymore though (or I probably could to save myself, but I'm too self-concious about it to really speak it.), but I do understand and can get the gist of most Cantonese and some Mandirin.

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Isn't that funny how self-concious we are about our voices. I would know alot more spanish if I werent' so worried about how it might come out - yet we don't seem to much notice how other people speak do we? They probably wouldn't much notice us either.

I'm not too far from you, StonedMetalJewelry. I'm at the Jersey Shore, where it is currently 19°F. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of this supposedly monstrous snowstorm, which could dump several inches of white beauty on our terrain (no school Monday, hopefully! Wear the jammies inside out!). Can't say there's much to do here in the winter, but it can get to be pretty hoppin' in the summer.

 

God bless New Jersey, the armpit of America.

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Hey, not too far at all! I go there for work on occasion (Parsippany)

 

Ah the storm! It promises to be a good one. Snowed in on the weekend! We'll all be snuggled up warm near the [computer]. (rather have a fire!)

I'm from Ireland.. Donegal, to be precise, it;s pretty cold and boring right now, as allways.. psh! and dark.. it's quite dark.
~_~

But, what gets me most, is the amount of idiots on the internet who seem to actually BELEIVE leprechauns are a race of people...

But surely the fairies exist! Say it's so! and so many with red hair and sparkly wings. Many many people believe in the fae, and that they, like the leprechauns, originated in your very own back yard

They say fairies are the protectors, the spirit guides, of nature.

As I browse these forums, it's clear this is a very global group! It's very fun to read what languages people speak, and sometimes glimpse a clue of where you live.Where do you live? How many countries are here together in this corner of cyberspace?I am in the state of Connecticut, USA. It is north-east USA, and six degrees fahrenheit today (-14 C)

It's freezing cold winter here (north-eastern USA) - and I do mean freezing. My mind wanders south, toward the warm places. My next vacation I want to visit Mexico.If you could go anyplace on earth this year, where would you go? Why? What would you want to experience when you got there? What would you bring home with you?

I took Polish in high school, have a best friend who speaks French, spent a month in Costa Rica last year ..................and still speak only English.I would love to learn Spanish for future trips to Latin America, but I don't know where to start. Maybe I'll take a night class? Polish? What was I thinking?

Is there a way to search the forums? I am looking for threads within this forum about the game(s) The Sims, but don't know how to look for it and don't want to look through all the messages. I will, though, if there's not a search tool.I don't have Sims 2 yet, wanted to hear about it from others

An online jewelry shop doesn't always have to have customers buying its products online. The website could also work as an online catalog, if a persons has likened a particular ring or necklace he or she could just call the store to purchase for more inquires or visit the store if he or she wants. this way he/she could as well save time travelling to the store. instead of going there only to find out that there is no jewelry that they would like to buy.

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There are LOTS of online jewelry shops. Tons of jewelry passes through eBay, I'll bet if you put it all in a truck there really would be literally tons.

 

Problem is, we don't have our own store. If we did, that would be cool, but we live very near places where tourists visit, so gift shops and places like that are a good option for us. My b/f has been out of business for 2 years for cancer treatments, and he's getting back to work now. I've offered to help with marketing. I know I have big ideas, and I have to be careful with OPM (other people's money). I'm researching and asking questions, and peeking at other jewelry sites. There's so much out there to look at, study, and I'm just asking questions on these forums.

 

Your suggestion to make it more a catalog, is where I'll start because I'm nervous about shopping carts and OPM, but I also don't want to lose sales by not having an easy option for people who want who want to buy.

 

so much to learn! Thank you

If you percieve some constructive critisism

Constructive? No.

Insulting and discouraging, yes.

Starting a message with "do you really think people will buy" my crap? They might. I'm willing to risk it.

Nobody wins if we don't encourage eachother. I'm staying on the forums because other people have been encouraging and very nice about giving advice.

Now go do your homework and leave the business stuff to the adults.

Opening an online store just for "another outlet" is not always the best idea.  You may end up just wasting a lot of time and resources for nothing.  The example of selling a house online just wouldn't work.  Yes, people goto the website to VIEW the house and gather information but they won't actually make the purchase online. 

 

How can you say that you don't see the relavence in me knowing the product before making suggestions?  The product is the most important thing!!  Your product has a target market which defines how you will set up your website (if at all) for online shopping..  You can't just say "some will buy and some won't".  You have to KNOW who will buy and who won't.

 

Let's say you sell jewlery that is cheap which would likely be targeted towards young teenage girls... They have a lot of disposable income and would be a good target market.  But, if you setup online shopping.. how many of these young teenage girls will have a credit card where they can use paypal or some other online payment??  They usually have CASH.  That means they walk into a REAL store and pay using paper, not plastic.  In this case, your website should only be informational with a simple payment method like money orders.

 

Knowing your target customers is one of the most important things.  Take another example, if your target is old ladys.  They have credit cards and probably have some money.  But, they don't use computers!!  How are you gonna get them to buy online?  In this case, you should not even use a website.

 

Now look at the computer example.. the target market is computer people.  They are usually comfortable doing things online.  In addition, a computer is a computer is a computer.  I don't have to try it on to see how it looks on me.  That's why computer online sales work (like books and cd's). 

 

Jewlery is not computers.. you can't make that connection.  Jewlery is part of fashion and people would probably like to see how it looks on them before buying it.  UNLESS you go for the cheap cheap and more cheap strategy.

 

And yes, paypal is easy... for you... but is it easy for the customer?  Again, you have to look at your customers.  How many would have a paypal account?  How many would go through the hassle to open a paypal account?

 

I'm just pointing out things you need to consider.  Going online is not simply throwing up a website.  If it isn't done right, it can end up hurting your business.  If you are experimenting, I would go with a different name.  Register a second company under the original one.  If you are serious about going online, I think there needs to be a lot of planning.

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Please stop attacking my efforts. Please stop being so negative and discouraging. I am not as STUPID as you are making me look. STOP!!! I'm sorry you have such a negative attitude but DON'T rub it off on me.

 

I am and will continue to be optomistic about my venture. WITHOUT the likes of you putting me down, talking down to me, and insulting my business. You sound like a 15 year old know-it-all.

 

Go offend somebody else, if it makes you big man on campus.

Have you ever seen the applets they use to sell houses via the internet? It lets you rotate and see everything from almost every angle. I would take this approach for jewelry, and establish a good policy. People were skeptical (and still are) to buy computer hardware off the net. People do it everyday from trusted sites like http://www.newegg.com/, and http://www.tigerdirect.com/.

 

What a cool idea! I never thought of that. I have to get good with taking the pictures first, that has become an adventure in itself - I'm trying to find a simple spot in the studio that will be consistent lighting, and simple. l want snapping the photos to become part of the assembly line - create, string, install ends, take photos, package. Working on making this a convient part of the process. I really really like that idea though, and it would add a touch of class to the site.

 

I know what you mean about buying hardware online, my friends will still go to the store and spend way more for a wireless router after watching me spend a fraction of the cost on tigerdirect. I've been using these sites for ages. Maybe I assume too much that people "will" buy some jewelry, but heck, if the ones that do will buy it from someone else if I'm not there, right?

 

Thanks for a groovy idea! I'll add that to my list of research topics.

do you expect people to buy jewlery online?  have you done any market profiling on people who buy jewlery?  I don't know if it's just me but I would not want to buy an engagement ring online.  I would like to see how it looks for real.  Big ticket items are rarely done online. 

Why so discouraging? I do belong here just like everyone else.

First, let me clarify: we're not making jewelry just to have an online store. !!! Just the opposite - the jewelry business is already there, the website is another potential outlet.

We're not selling engagement rings for thousands of dollars, we're selling cut, pounded silver, and semi-precious stones & beads. Some of it is art and some of it is simple beadwork. I shouldn't have to explain this in order to ask a few questions about building a basic website.

I had already decided to use Paypal until I learn more. I know my way around the internet and know that I also would not put my credit card number into an unknown void in cyberspace.

Thanks for your advice. and the answer is, yes, I expect people to buy jewelry online. I don't however expect YOU to buy jewelry online. There are people who will and people who won't. It's an experiment, I'm not expecting to get rich here, as I said - it's one more POTENTIAL outlet.

Though I like to do my own websites, since it helps me learn new things, I have to agree with bjrn, at least at first, if you're doing a website for a business let someone who has experience do it. *wishes I could plug myself for the job* 

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Hi spamlord,

 

Well one factor is cost - I've seen the prices and I just don't have iany money to pay someone I do have some knowlege and talent that I can utilize, so I'm going to go for it. I guess I shouldn't ask so many questions in the forums, makes me look something of an idiot and I really do know the basics, it's just been a few years since I built a site.

 

The business itself isn't hugely established, so I think I can fake my way through for a while

I think it was freewebhosts..... one of those that rates hosting sites. I chose Xisto though because of upgrade-ability. Being new I don't know what I'll need but it seems so easy to upgrade if I run out of space. I thought at first the forums might be hard to keep up with but everyone has been so helpful, I wouldn't do this again without the forums. I'm sure I'll get lots of answers as I continue to delve into the past topicsThanks for being Free too

"I love you" in different languages:

 

Spanish - Te quiero / Te amo

 

 

This is cool, I went all the way to Costa Rica twice last year and didn't learn how to say it in Spanish I guess I didn't run into the right Tico!

 

Forums aren't just for computer help, eh?!

If you have an "offline" business, want to go online, but have no experience of your own, I just have to say: Let someone else do it for you. Nothing is as off-putting as an unprofessional looking site for a business. I am guessing it's even worse for a business selling pricy items.

 

When I say "let someone else do it", I mean the setting up and technical maintainance of your website, probably also the design as well. What you really want is a well built site with a CMS so you can edit texts and lists of things you sell without having to know all techy stuff.

 

Just my 2 pence.

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Hey, Thanks for the advice, but one reason I'm embarking on this project is to learn a new hobby! I have built a different kind of website, for a non-profit agency, so the hosting was donated, and the design donated by me. I'm not new to the whole concept, just to e-business.

 

Letting someone else do it isn't my style. Buy a girl a fish, and you'll have to keep buying the girl a fish every day. Teach her how to fish, and she'll have all the fish she needs and some to share. It's a skill I want to have.

 

But thanks anyways

While you're building this new OS, can you make it less vulnerable to viruses, adware, spyware, hijacking, and all of the other little things that the internet lets creep into one's home via the phone or cable line? Lots of people like me are not good at knowing what to install or configure. My PC is a mess, because though I use some blockers, I didn't realize that my daughter was using IM without the browser so no protection was in place. Can't seem to clean it all up now.