Mail Order Mania: Basic Answers to Basic Questions

By Tamera J. Swan

MAIL-ORDER MANIA
BASIC ANSWERS TO BASIC QUESTIONS


This little guide is written for the novice. Plain, straightforward information is provided concerning starting and operating a mail-order business.

The author explores basic tenets concerning getting started, estimating your financial needs, seeking information and advice, choosing your product and advertising and marketing your business.

For the individual who has a desire to start and manage a mail-order business but who has a limited business background, this is your basic primer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 4, 2005
• ISBN: 9781465331458

Book preview

Contents

INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF MAIL ORDER

PART I

PART II

PART III

PART IV

PART IV

PART V

PART VI

PART VII

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF MAIL ORDER

Mail order was traditionally used by individuals who lived in remote areas and did not have access to many goods and services. Thus, the success of Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward, to name a few, became successful in meeting the needs of this particular population. One could purchase just about anything imaginable through their catalogs. Today, many of the old players have been intimidated by hordes of young upstarts who continue to dazzle their readers with their fancy catalogs and unusual merchandise. Mail order is by no means dead. Many of today’s mail-order catalogs are specialty catalogs as opposed to the general-merchandise catalog like Sears and Montgomery Ward.

In seven out of ten households in America today, very few adults have the time it takes to go shopping during the day. The mail-order catalog has become an important mail item. Today, everyone buys through the mail. The merchandise is presented in a new and exciting manner. People who used to hesitate before purchasing large ticket items through the mail are now ordering everything from artichokes to computers. Catalogs have also become a convenient way to shop, providing you can wait for the merchandise to arrive. Just fill out the order form, mail it, place your order through the Internet, or place your order over the telephone. You never have to leave your home. There is nothing to indicate that this trend is going to change.

People are also beginning to realize that mail order can be a very inexpensive way to shop. The cost of merchandise purchased through the mail can be considerably lower because the mail-order entrepreneur does not have to pay for overhead items such as a large sales force, a retail location and all the expenses associated with running a retail establishment. Mail order today is bigger and better than ever before.

WHY MAIL ORDER?

Why are you interested in mail order? With any new venture you enter into, there must be some preparation. You should understand from the very beginning why you have chosen that (mail order) particular activity. Have you researched the industry and do you understand the rules and regulations that govern it? Are you financially able to start the business and sustain it until you begin to make a profit? Just because you start your business from home with virtually no overhead, there will still be expenses to allow you to keep going and expand. Do you have any business experience? If you decide to maintain your day job, if you are employed, how much time will you be able to devote to this business? Is this going to be a real business, or simply a hobby? Carefully research and review the findings to assure yourself that this is what you want to do.

You have heard it said that mail order is a business you can enter with no previous experience and start in your spare time with little capital. This is true to a certain extent. In mail order, you can start with limited capital and expand your profits quickly, but you do need to understand the basic principles. To be successful, you need a good-selling product and a winning ad. You must understand where to run your ads. If you have a catalog, make sure you have a good mailing list. When I started my first mail-order business years ago, I lost quite a bit of money mailing catalogs to a list that was not profitable. Knowing when to run your ad and how to time the mailing of your catalog are key factors for success.

Running your ads at the right time in the right medium and mailing catalogs are the two most important steps to success. The placement of your ads is not only to sell your product but to build your mailing list of mail-order customers. For example, there are times when profits from your ads are very small. Don’t be discouraged when this happens. You place ads not only to sell your product, but also to build your mailing list of mail-order customers. The grocery business does this all the time. They run ads and advertise products almost below cost to attract customers. These ads are called lost leaders. This means the ad is lost as far as profit is concerned. The product cost $0.95, but you only advertised it for $0.98. If you have a good product, you could still make a little profit and have a real winner. However, in most cases, the ad may have been successful, but no profit was realized and it was run at a loss. But you secured lots of