July 9, 2008

Most of you know that I do website consulting through my company, and one of the great things about our process is that once we go through a project with a client, we are able to take the lessons learned from that project and apply them to the next one. In this case, we had built a sunglasses website about a year ago and now a close associate of mine is interested in developing a new sunglasses website, selling designer sunglasses online in a catalog format.

From our first project, we learned about all of the details needed for effective sales online, including what works (and what doesn’t work), what types of information to display, what kinds of policies need to be posted, and how the site needs to be updated. I highly recommend OSCommerce as your solution if you’re attempting to get your product-based inventory for sale online.

From a consumer standpoint, and as someone who does the majority of her shopping online, I want to emphasize you how important it is to shop around and find your products online if at all possible. For example, we found a cell phone battery in a brick-and-mortar store on sale for $85 but we found the equivalent online for $15 plus shipping! That’s a $60 markup… you definitely save money when you do just a little bit of research: if you’re not planning on actually purchasing online, then at least you’ll know a little more about the physical product you’re planning on buying. Recently I’ve also purchased cloth diapers from a supplier in Portland, cat meds from a supplier in Australia (!), and a baby sling from the wholesaler… all items that take more work to find here near my rural home.

My own sunglasses are for anonymity, style, and to shade myself from the rays, but they’re also there for fun and as an easy accessory. My husband always has his when we go out (we live in a very sunny place) and I have the pair that stays in the car for emergencies as well as a pair of prescription sunglasses: very practical and useful. Here’s us at the Colosseum (notice the gladiator!)

If you’re going to be purchasing online, make sure to get really good prices on the real deal. If you’re looking for womens sunglasses, check out Sunglass Warehouse, which offers a great selection of styles, shapes, and colors at unbeatable prices.