Shop StrawberryNET.com The world's leading provider of discounted designer
skin care, make-up, cosmetics, perfume and men's and women's fragrances. Ships anywhere in the world, and refunds any duty you may be charged.
Shopster Storefront A turnkey storefront solution
with some Canadian suppliers too... Updated: 18 April 2008
For notes on drop shipping and
marketing resources, see the eBizLogic Weblog
NOTES
Not designed for the inexperienced - advanced marketing knowledge a definite asset. Shopster says 25% of trial users go on to full membership.
Creation of unique design requires in-depth system familiarity and coding knowledge.
We recommend that you carefully read reviews by Paulson (2006) before signing up for the trial.
Aimed at U.S. market more than Canadian.
Shopster Storefront ...
Now an eBay Compatible Application
Founded in April 2004, Shopster E-Commerce Inc. provides a one-stop alternative solution for both netpreneurs and
affiliates alike. The company is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and, while there are some Canadian suppliers in the system,
most members market to the United States. More than 1,000 retailers worked with Shopster in beta-testing of their storefront
system, ensuring that the platform and processing procedures were rock solid by the official launch on 2 May 2006.
Shopster enables you to start a fully stocked storefront, with the products (and
pricing margins) of your choice, selected from among their stable of suppliers. You don’t have to source products to sell,
stock products, deliver products, provide customer service, apply for a payment system, apply for a secure gateway, or pay
for e-commerce software. You can start unlimited, targeted storefronts, selling products you select, without having to worry
about the backend.
Shopster policies have changed since I wrote my initial review of the program. There are now two plans from which members can choose.
While you can create a generic store in record time with the Shopster system, advanced knowledge of coding and
marketing expertise are assets. There are many useful features here, including cross-sell, coupons, multiple product feeds,
and other sales function, and Shopster is now providing more training to assist you.
We ship your customer’s orders directly to your customers.
Instantly accept Visa, M/C and PayPal.
Complete control over price and profits.
All fraud and dispute resolution included.
A selling community to help you succeed.
NEW Dropship Services, including List Manager for eBay.
Profits paid monthly.
Here's what you get...
Shopster provides you with a branded online store, stocked with products of your choice, selected from the 900,000 available
in their Virtual Warehouse. You market your store, and they fulfill all of your customer orders.
Prices ... TWO PLANS:
Monthly: One-time setup fee of $99, and pay $29.95 a month to maintain your hosting and business.
Annual: Pay $329.99 for one year (only pay for 11 months), and Shopster WAIVES the setup fee.
In either case you'll receive:
A World Class Storefront solution, with full hosting on fast servers, secure processing, product delivery on all orders, and monthly payouts on your sales.
Your choice of products from more than 900,000 in Shopster's Virtual Warehouse.
Browse Products:
The option to name your store as you choose — in a subdomain (example.secure2u.com) or your own domain name (example.com),
and use your own logo.
Why Shopster Dropship Services?
Access to a very large inventory of Dropship products.
Included for free with your Shopster subscription - no hidden fees.
Easy to use interface - checkout in seconds.
Shopster is now an "official eBay compatible application". Listing Manager for eBay enables you to have your products listed in an eBay auction and manage everything with a few clicks of the mouse. [Read more]
Order delivery and supplier management.
You only pay the wholesale price once you sell it - there's no risk!
Supplier inventory integration.
Advanced tools enabling you to:
fully customize your store, create custom and feature pages, set an unlimited number of product categories, automatic cross sells and best sellers,
choose US or Canadian currency, select which country your products are shipped from, plus the option to generate a data feed for shopping comparison sites;
manage your store, including searchable customer order history, customer search statistics, customer reviews, coupon creation,
payment system with secure checkouts and SSL, and fraud detection.
Full retailer support and Live Help for your customers.
Free updates, $50 in free keyword marketing with Yahoo! Search, and full access to Shopster’s community forums.
At left is a screenshot of the first page you see when you login (account references have been obscured). Navigation is
expanded in the screenshot shown above.
Although you indeed may be able to build and launch your store in about an hour, it helps if you (1) know or have a pretty
good idea what products you want to sell, (2) have some idea of the categories and sub-categories you want to set up, (3) understand
the concept of cross-sells, up-sells and margins, and (4) have a fairly advanced or intuitive appreciation of what you're
trying to accomplish.
The Shopster storefront solution is not a simple plug-and-play module. Once you've logged
in for your free trial, you'll see what I mean. The features are quite numerous, and, just as the successful orchestra integrates
the various instruments of which it is comprised, these features must be harmonized for the optimal operation of your store.
It is highly recommended that you read the Quick Start Guide, which provides a thorough overview and walks you
through the system. It's not rocket science, but it does require some thought. Excellent support is available, via help documents, Live Help,
email, and community forums.
In summary...
Shopster offers a robust system that is well suited to intermediate and advanced marketers. Sign up for a test drive.
My husband and I set out to find a business we could do online and
after a year or so dabbling in this and that we came upon Shopster and our search was over! Starting with the massive product
warehouse at our disposal, the remarkable value, and quality name brands of over 700,000 items to base our business around. We
are currently opening our sixth store with Shopster and seeing our stores grow each day! It is a truly amazing feeling when
you check your email everyday and see “You made a Sale!” The potential with Shopster in one word is UNLIMITED!
The Shopster management team is bar none the best group of people we have had the pleasure to work with. From their outstanding
support to their constant and creative ways of implementing new ideas and programs to their retailers, they have truly built
one of the best opportunities available to webmasters today. Whether you are a novice or expert in retail marketing you won’t
find a program with better member and management support nor an easier way of establishing a business you will be proud of for
years to come. When you join Shopster you join a family of awesome individuals with an appetite for success.
— Bob & Rhonda Pizor
Butler, PA
Testimonial
One thing that I wanted to comment about, is how extensive and significant the value is in the services that Shopster provides
to the store operators. For several years, I worked for Cabela's at the corporate headquarters in the Marketing department. So,
I have a very clear understanding of the direct merchandising business. Shopster's solutions to details such as product sourcing,
warehousing, inventory control, web development and hosting, merchandise fulfillment and customer service is such a vast
undertaking that there is no way that I could offer my online store with the same assortments and customer service on my own.
As a new web entrepreneur, what you offer is exactly what I've been looking for. It's a total solution to custom merchandising
and fulfillment. Kudos to you. Thank you, and I am looking forward to a long and successful partnership with Shopster.
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Copyright Richard Dagan 2000-2008
Richard Dagan 2000-2008