View Full Version : any business ideas 4 e-commerce??
birdfoot
14-09-2002, 01:41
hi guyz, i hav tis ting in mind... those who r doing e-commerce pls don get offended... :) i kinda tink tat e-com isnt gonna wrk in sg...
a few points here (juz 4 discussion):
1. i tink there's a proximity prob... unlike in US where it's hard 2 get frm pt 2 pt, sg is realli small n most wld rather juz go 2 the place n get wat they 1...
2. there's stil a strong feeling 2wards insecurity when it comes 2 credit card payments... unless u order something frm other countries where u r forced 2 use ur card, else in sg ppl mite not wanna take the risk... i know tat security prob isnt realli true... but i tink tats stil a mindset of many singaporeans...
3. there isnt much variety of tings u can get in sg... wld u say, get a book frm a bookstore like borders? or wld u go online n order it?
alrite, wat im actualli getting at is... i tink e-commerce wil wrk well if one was selling imported rarities online... the rationale behind tis is:
1. ppl in sg definitely cant get it elsewhere... they r forced 2 go in2 ur site 2 chk out the products u offer...
2. wif tat, they may foot a upfront payment 4 orders 4 products which they r interested but r not immediately available... juz like amazon.com... in tat sense, they r forced 2 use their cards which they commit a transaction, hence, increasing probability of business sales... *of cos, they may cancel.. :P
3. sales of rarities spread fast amongst ppl... probability of more ppl who r interested coming 2 ur site is higher n ur site may become the one-stop 4 the community...
these r juz my ideas... do tell me wat u tink n pls tell me if u tink im wrong... :) i've oways been tinking of tis when i left my company... i've nvr done n e-commerce proj b4 but it was a usual discussion wif my colleagues... juz wanna know wat u guyz tink! :)
Heng Chai
14-09-2002, 02:45
It depends... Sigh... Its 3am now, no brain juice left to write a long essay, so I'll make my reply short until I get back on Sunday.
e-commerce itself is quite vague. e-commerce can mean anything from selling products via email to a full fledge shopping cart with integrated credit card payment systems.
Singapore generally is more conservertive. We still prefer cold hard cash, or cheques. Credit card online, not so much so locally, but more when we purchase from overseas. In US they use credit card all the time. That's how the US market for FULL e-commerce came about, and Singapore is "desperately" trying to follow.
I'll write more on this later on, meanwhile, just keep this thread going. *yawn*
birdfoot
14-09-2002, 02:51
wa... me stil hanging on manz... :) gonna stay up whole nite!! heheheheheh... anywayz, i agree wif ur pt... do u tink it wil wrk out eventualli?? im alittle skeptical abt it tho... btw, wat do u tink abt my concept? anyting wrong wif it?? im n anime fan n 1 ting i feel so deprived living in sg is tat many titles r not liscensed here becos of censorship board... well, the reason y i kept tinking abt tis was becos i had in mind 2 create n online shopping cart which sells vcd/dvd anime titles... theres definitely a community here in sg... n anime titles r hard 2 get... unless one manages 2 find 'friendly' vhs/vcd/dvd... there's oni 1 ting stoppin me frm doin so... n tats the censorship bd... :P
Heng Chai
14-09-2002, 02:59
Up whole night? Good luck to you, I need my sleep. :P
Ah.. Now you understand why I said e-commerce is vague. Are you going to do a fully intergrated shopping cart or only a simple shopping cart with manual handling of orders?
Bottom line: What level of e-commerce will you actually profit and gain customers for your business? Its no longer a technical/social issue but more of a business model issue.
Very tired now... I reply finish all the threads I'm suppose to need to sleep already. *Nite*
birdfoot
14-09-2002, 03:07
nite dude! :) post 2moro la... then u can put in the strong pts... hehehehe... hmmmz... ur post abit chim 4 me yar... actualli... i hav not fully understood the term 'business model' altho i hear it all the time... i didnt come frm the relevant qualifications, n i heng heng got in2 a consultancy where i wrk as a developer... so my tinking is abit layman when it comes 2 IT/any business... if any1 cld spare the patience 2 explain it 2 me, il b veri grateful! :) i tink its something i oughtta know but nvr took the initiative 2 ask back then... the intention of the thread is not oni 2 bring out ideas but oso 2 help me learn more abt e-com... :) keep it coming!!! :D
Heng Chai
14-09-2002, 03:10
*pokes royong*
Business man, come come, explain to her what I mean by business model and stuff. :)
Will post on Sunday. Tomorrow rest day, don't want to touch PC unless necessary.
birdfoot
14-09-2002, 03:14
eh... me male leh... heheheheh... kaoz... i feel humiliated... :P wil look 4wd 2 ur posts!! :) go n sleep now la... u've been procrastinating ur sleep! :)
Heng Chai
14-09-2002, 03:51
Haha. Sorry, mixed up with wildfire. Sorry sir.
Yes, I know. A lot of issues to settle before I go on my off day today...
wa... me stil hanging on manz... gonna stay up whole nite!! heheheheheh...
Got another owl here ;)
bf, why r u staying up?
:rolleyes:
birdfoot
14-09-2002, 04:09
wats bf?? lol... stayin late 2 read other forums lor... got nothin much 2 do rite now yar... u leh? :)
Updating some sites and a little surfing.
You can catch me daily after dusk :D and before dawn :o
ohya, forgot to answer
bf = BirdFoot ;)
:D
birdfoot
14-09-2002, 04:20
so desu ne... :P heheheh... u've got ur own site?
Check this out ;)
http://www.sgwebhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=429
earliest rest tonite, will be up whole nite tomoro, c u then ;)
birdfoot
14-09-2002, 04:28
cya dude! :)
E-Commerce might consist of few modules
1) Front End : Shopping Cart - Be it the shopping cart or catalog page that customer browse and buy their things...
2) Payment Gateway - After they brought their stuffs , they will be direct to a payment page, many online shop use some sort of payment gateway to process the Credit Card (CC) payment for them, example are 2Checkout, worldpay...where each of these companies will have their very own charges, and it is best to do some research before deciding which to use.
Not only that, for customer who had no CC, you might consider providing alternative payment method like cheque, money order..etc.
3) Logistic - Upon receive your order , and depending on what stuff you are selling, you will need to notify the relevant department in delivering the goods
And if you are selling things like software...etc which can be downloaded, then the customer will be direct to certain members page to download their stuff.
Of course there are many other things that is not mention like SSL (Secure Socket Layer) which enable you customer to submit their information safely.
SSL is a security protocol that provides data encryption, server authentication, message integrity, and optional client authentication for a TCP/IP connection. Because SSL is built into all major browsers and web servers, simply installing a digital certificate turns on their SSL capabilities.
I'm onto this thread... but now's not a good time for my LONG winded reply... I shall do this tonight... rushing off for a meeting right now ...
birdfoot
14-09-2002, 13:42
geez... 3 admins here liaoz... i starting 2 wonder if tis discussion is over-sensitive... lol... *kidding
chin, i juz chk out ur site... gd food 4 tot 4 me... :) does it take u lng 2 setup something like tat?
Okay.. I'm on to this at last... taken a couple of aspirins so bear with me if I get a bit off the point... must be the work of the <drugs> ...
Originally posted by birdfoot
hi guyz, i hav tis ting in mind... those who r doing e-commerce pls don get offended... :) i kinda tink tat e-com isnt gonna wrk in sg...
Why wouldn't e-com work in Singapore? In fact, I'm very optimistic that e-com will work and flourish in Singapore... it justs needs a little time to mature and some changes in the mind sets of the people. Give it time..... it WILL succeed.
Originally posted by birdfoot
1. i tink there's a proximity prob... unlike in US where it's hard 2 get frm pt 2 pt, sg is realli small n most wld rather juz go 2 the place n get wat they 1...
[/B]
Point noted. In US, it isn't easy to gain access to all the stuff you need. It's not like going downstairs and taking a 10-15 walk and you will be able to get all your stuff .... In certain parts of US, walking for hours will NOT get you anywhere ... not even a minimart ... so that's where online shopping takes over. It solves alot of the problems for these people ... they can gain access to all products and services that normally would not be in their reach.
In Singapore, everything is so accessible ... and you will be able to get all products and services fairly easily ... BUT wait, this doesn't mean that there isn't a place for e-com - look at all the stories about online shopping ... true, there isn't many SUCCESSFUL ones that make it to the media etc but there are those that are quietly making a mark for themselves. Some examples that I know of :-
- Online ordering system for minimarts / supermarkets
- Business to Business ordering systems
- Online purchases of personnel products i.e lingerie
- Online purchases of flowers, hampers, cakes etc
In Singapore, e-com will not survive on the same grounds as in US. It needs a whole new concept. Like what Heng Chai has said, it boils down to your business plan ... a plan on how your business will run, which market segement to target, who are your target auidence, what are their likes / dislikes, what is your pricing strategy, what is your marketing plan... I could go on and on about business plan etc ... but that's a slightly different topic so I'm leaving it out for now.
E-Com in Singapore cannot simply emulate that success of the US sites... it needs to be a little different. Think of it this way, in Singapore, everything is accessible so easily... why bother going online and making a purchase there..... but wait, here's where innovation and little bit of entreprenuership comes in... Change the scenario a little ... what if online sites only concentrate on what someone would not normally purchase from a walk-in shop... things like
(a) lingerie for wife / girlfriend - you would not expect a guy to waltz into a lingerie shop and start actively looking thru the products right ?
(b) flowers etc ... - a guy would normally ask the florist to deliver the flowers instead of holding a large bouquet of flowers, walking down Orchard Road to meet his girl...
(c) Products that are familiar to you. Example, you always buy a 40Kg sack of rice - Brand XXX from NTUC... now, if there is an online store that sells Brand XXX rice in 40Kg sack and they deliver to your home, would you want to purchase from them and the save the trouble of carting a 40Kg sack of rice home. The thing here is familiarity... if you are familiar with the product, you are more likely to purchase it online. It makes not difference whether you touch and feel the product. You already know the brand, the packaging, the feel, the touch....
These are just some of my thoughts... I'm sure you can come up with your own ideas...
Originally posted by birdfoot
2. there's stil a strong feeling 2wards insecurity when it comes 2 credit card payments... unless u order something frm other countries where u r forced 2 use ur card, else in sg ppl mite not wanna take the risk... i know tat security prob isnt realli true... but i tink tats stil a mindset of many singaporeans...
[/B]
Not true.... I use my CC for everything. It all boils down to consumer education. The local SG consumer usually do not know their rights are consumers or owners of CC. Example - What would you do if you find that there have been charges in your CC that you have not made ? Fraud ? Hardly... All I need to do is call the CC hotline, tell them about it and request them to do a chargeback. The CC company will do a check and if there is any hint of doubt that there is an error in the billing ... my money will get refunded. In the case of e-com, the risk of using the CC is on the SELLER not the Buyer... Consumers are so protect nowadays, its the SELLERs that run the risk.
For me, I'm very at ease using my CC - I know where I stand and have no fear in using the CC..... consumers need to be educated... that's all. Every security feature has a loophole. Nothing is 100% secure. Look at it this way, IMO, its easier to get a copy of your CC numbers from a local shop rather than from an online secured payment gateway. Imagine, at an restaurant, bill arrives, you flash your CC, waiter takes the CC and walks away... now for a couple of minutes, your CC is out of your sight... who is that waiter ? Could be a part-timer right ? He could take down a copy of your CC numbers right ... please, if his memory is good enough, he does even need a pen and paper, one look at your CC is enough... only a few numbers to remember... at least the first 4 numbers are always the same - VISA cards start with 4556 XXXX XXXX XXXX - it isn't difficult to remember 12 other digits right ? ... online everything is secure ... most online companies do not store CC numbers anymore... its only a matter of hackers being able to hijack your CC numbers while you key it into the ordering form... with a 128 bit encryption.... this is getting very difficult. Add to that, the need for expiry date and this gets even tougher.
All CC companies and banks are working on making the CC more secure for online trading ... so IMO - the technology is sufficient, it only requires user education.
Originally posted by birdfoot
3. there isnt much variety of tings u can get in sg... wld u say, get a book frm a bookstore like borders? or wld u go online n order it?
[/B]
Why ? Ease of use - What if I cannot visit the store ? I work from 7.30am to about 6.30 pm - go home for dinner and see my little boy.... so weekdays I hardly get a chance to go downtown. On weekends, town is so crowded... even tried carrying a 7-month old baby and try to look for books ? ... Don't even think of it. Without Borders and other online bookstores like the one from Funan, my life would be TERRIBLE.... Why isn't Clementi Book Shop online ? They are missing alot of business from me .... !
Originally posted by birdfoot
alrite, wat im actualli getting at is... i tink e-commerce wil wrk well if one was selling imported rarities online... the rationale behind tis is:
1. ppl in sg definitely cant get it elsewhere... they r forced 2 go in2 ur site 2 chk out the products u offer...
2. wif tat, they may foot a upfront payment 4 orders 4 products which they r interested but r not immediately available... juz like amazon.com... in tat sense, they r forced 2 use their cards which they commit a transaction, hence, increasing probability of business sales... *of cos, they may cancel.. :P
3. sales of rarities spread fast amongst ppl... probability of more ppl who r interested coming 2 ur site is higher n ur site may become the one-stop 4 the community...
[/B]
If you are selling rarities, you are simply forcing the issue. People would not have a choice but to purchase from you from whichever media YOU CHOOSE. However, my question is, how long can you sustain this ? How long can you be the only one selling this product ? How long before a competitor comes along ? People are great at copying ... see what has happened to the Bubble-Tea story... the bubble has burst .. Why ? Too many copy-cats ...
IMO - Ecom in Singapore will grow - it depends on how users can be educated in terms of security and how companies can innovate and provide services and products that would lead to online purchases. Copying and modelling after overseas success stories might NOT always be right. You will need to understand the local scene, the local mentality, how Asians think, how Singaporeans feel, their purchasing habits, ... apply some business rules, some innnovation ... you will get there ...
Trust me.... e-com will come good for Singapore one day... Its a matter of time ................................................
Heng Chai
15-09-2002, 23:40
birdfoot: Told you he's good. :D :cool:
A classic and accurate example. Why are you purchasing a webhosting package from a webhoster's site, paying via cheque/internet banking, and bringing all communication down to Internet level? Phone calls once in a while when email's not possible and that's about it?
Answer: Is it worth the time to go down to each webhosting company's office, grab their brochure, compare prices and plans, go back again to apply? The time spent is not worth the $10/month you're paying for it. Travelling costs?
Its so much more conveinient to just click order on the site, fill in your details and send the payment. Account activation within a week and your account is up. Simple, fast, effective.
That's an example of e-commerce, maybe a moderate example because I didn't include the processing of CC online. But communication practically takes place on the Internet, teleconversation only when required, and I believe face to face meeting? 0.
Any business can convert their normal commerce (real life, face to face) to e-commerce. How viable, how difficult? That's up to you to do your research and planning.
Originally posted by birdfoot
geez... 3 admins here liaoz... i starting 2 wonder if tis discussion is over-sensitive... lol... *kidding
chin, i juz chk out ur site... gd food 4 tot 4 me... :) does it take u lng 2 setup something like tat?
Dear Birdfoot
Are you referring to my hosting site or otherwise, cause I do admin many sites :)
birdfoot
16-09-2002, 01:38
ooo... so mani posts liaoz... alrity... my turn... wil write briefly 1st cos i playin game halfway... heheheh... :) i've been looking thru all ur posts... ur pts r noted... hmmmz... i agree wif wat royong has pointed out... wil tink abt it... however, i cant agree on the last part where u mentioned abt 'copy-cats' competing in business...
in business, there is nvr 1 company selling 1 authentic kind of product... sure there'll b copy-cats! :) its part of entrepreneurship... wat abt webhosting? there r like dozens of them out there in sg... but y is it tat in any form of business tat a few of the mani r earning more than the rest? its the differentiating factor... its how u do business... wat i pted out was if one was selling rarities but not limited 2 oni rarities... (i apologise, if u've misunderstood my pt) :) in fact, wat i tink is tat competition isnt 2 bad... there wont b a boom unless its a trend... bubble-tea is a trend... more 2 say, bubble-tea's history is quite lng... the 1 u referred 2 is a method of packaging n selling the tea... b4 tat, u had 2 visit some bubble-tea cafe... now u dont hav 2... :) but in any sense, i don find it relevant... :p
selling rarities wld increase chances of e-com wrking now... in fact, i tink tat wld help ppl get more acquainted 2 online shopping... acting as a catalyst... if no1 starts, who wil get 2 know? :)
chin, the 1 u posted in the forum of cos... :) cant rembr where it is on the forum tho... :p
alrite... gotta get bk 2 my game, frend is waiting... hope 2 c more views on tis! :)
birdfoot
16-09-2002, 02:40
sigh... now hav 2 wait again... so bk 2 posting... :p
okies... here goes nothing! :) well, i cld argue pt 2 pt on the posts u guyz hav posted... but lets look at the general overview 1st... there is definitely ppl interested in online shopping now... but frankly speaking, those r the minority 4 now... lets leave the big companies doin e-com 4 now... the webhosting blah blah blah companies tat sells b2b or watever... lets look at more of selling products like books, flowers, etc... things tat ppl wil likely buy 4 themselves... cos i tink tat is more relevant 2 the way of living...
e-com is definitely a convenience... in fact, i wld do shopping online myself... n hav tot abt selling some products online myself... juz like chin's sanguo-online (tis is wat i interpret as a rarity)... however, if we tok abt daily products... flowers n lingerie, i'd die 2 go n get it myself 2 prove sincerity (i know its childish... heheheh)... :p daily groceries, im not lazy 2 the pt tat i need them 2 b sent 2 my place (tho i m lazy in some ways)... hence, i wld oni do shopping online if its some product tat r more 4 recreation, like, games, dvds n so on... i wld get bks as well, if i don need it fast... :) n if u r selling a product tat grabs attention better than others, chances of wrking is higher...
i tink time, inconvenience, is not realli n issue 2 e-com in sg... as a matter of fact, its more like ppl r unsure, uncustomed, unknown 2 e-com... techies wil b more likely 2 know abt e-com... but how mani techies r there is sg? alot more ppl stil doesnt know abt much abt e-com... but as royong posted, its juz a matter of time... i'd agree on tat... as more ppl use it, e-com may flourish... however, tats another variable... wat i'd like 2 bring 2 attention is, wat i may wanna do, may not b wat every1 else wanna do... i may wanna purchase online, the majority may not... in fact, i cld take a whole day tinking y ppl do not wanna go broadband 4 faster access or learn some IT skills becos it benefits alittle regardless of wat industry u're in... the answer tat comes frm mani is: cos i don need it... familiar? :p
lets sidetrack alittle... wat do u tink wld help 2 educate buyers in sg? im kinda interested in doin e-com myself... of cos, selling rarities... is there any way u can tink of 2 accelerate it?
Whoa... with all the short-form used in your posts, its kinda hard to read ... but I will try....
Rariety-> Yes, I might have misunderstood you but the point I was trying to make was that, there isn't such a thing where you will have NO competition. If you can get the product, so can others. In fact, if you can manufacturer the product, so can others. So don't bank on rarieties... it will fall on you sooner than you expect.
Agree when you say "i tink time, inconvenience, is not realli n issue 2 e-com in sg... as a matter of fact, its more like ppl r unsure, uncustomed, unknown 2 e-com" - like I mentioned... User Education -> How ? Its very difficult. Its a mind-set problem. Not something that can be corrected overnight. Look at it this way, if you get to carry out a survey on online shopping, you will realise that the age group that are most likely to shop online are LIKELY to be under 30 years old. Why ? Because these are the ones that are more likely to be in tune with technology. They understand what can and cannot be acheived with technology, how to take precautions and how secure an online transaction can be.
Education is a very very difficult proposition. It cannot be achieved overnight and certainly, it takes more than just you and me..... national exposure is required and this requires the support of the Govt...
If you are trying to get onto E-com at this time, my suggestion would be for you to sit down and look at the target auidence. Are these people web-savy ? Do they know the difference between having a HTTP and HTTPS web page ? How willing are they to give off their CC numbers over the phone / fax / internet ?
birdfoot
16-09-2002, 09:19
damn... sorri abt tat... heheheh... i hate 2 spell out words cos it looks 2 formal... :)
agreed on the pt on competition... not tryin 2 insist on tis tho, but... i tink u may hav misunderstood my interpretation of 'rarities' as well... sorri, it oways happen 2 me... :P my interpretation is tat of 'a particular product tat is hard 2 get locally' while not in the sense of antique n stuff like tat... :) something like the difference between ****kuniya n popular bk shp... both selling books, but ****kuniya has n abundance of imported bk frm foreign countries... juz n example 2 describe my pt... :)
"Education is a very very difficult proposition. It cannot be achieved overnight and certainly, it takes more than just you and me..... national exposure is required and this requires the support of the Govt..." gd 1... i cldnt agree more... :) makes me feel disheartened sometimes... if oni there was something tat cld b done 2 it... -______-"
btw, r u by any chance a business analyst?? :)
Heng Chai
16-09-2002, 10:20
Originally posted by birdfoot
btw, r u by any chance a business analyst?? :)
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
birdfoot
16-09-2002, 10:32
err... is tat a rite or wrong answer?? any prizes 4 a rite ans?? :P
Heng Chai
16-09-2002, 10:38
I'm smiling at roy. :P
Wait for his answer. :P :P :P
To answer your curiousity... I'm ... NOT a business anaylst.
Have been trained somewhat in the field and would have been my career choice except, fate likes to reek havoc with me.
Now, my official designation is Network Engineering Manager ... although in reality, I'm a BAO-KA-LIAO Manager... I handle everything from backing up my engineers, to marketing, to R&D, to HR, to Admin, to Financial Control, to Stock Keeper...... sometimes I think the only place where I do not have a hand-in is the restroom - that is our Auntie's terrirority......
Before you guys start laughing ... let me clarify that I'm NOT technically very sound. Hence, some of the postings that I have put would reflect this truth. In fact, I do NOT have any technical certifications - something which I regret very much. All my technical skills have been learnt on the job. I dabble with Microsoft servers, Cisco Routers, Lotus Notes etc ... but hardly in any detail......... these are stuff that keep me alive by bringing me $$$ at the end of the month....
interest wise, I'm more into IT Management - specially on the Business aspect.... something like Business IT Management ... Fav topics include BPR, E-Com, ERP, ITM, PMS.... okay, I better explain the acroymns that I am using, else someone will go crazy..
BPR -> Business Process Re-Engineering
E-Com -> Electronic Commerce
ERP -> Entreprise Resource Planning
ITM -> Information Technology Management
PMS -> Project Management Systems
Web Hosting, Linux, RaQs are all recent cravings... a bit of work and a bit of play...
Heng Chai
16-09-2002, 14:21
PMS.... Sounds like.... :)
Originally posted by SG.GS
PMS.... Sounds like.... :)
Yes... that's the EXACT reason why I decided to put the FULL name instead...
Aiyo... these young men with ever growing libos ... get a hold of yourself.....
Heng Chai
16-09-2002, 18:26
:bangwall:
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birdfoot
16-09-2002, 22:52
lol... royong, ur academic situation sound realli similar 2 mine... i wonder if there r more of us out there... heheheheh... :p tats the 1 reality i hav 2 face when goin 4 interviews... they ask abt my background, n then tel me tat its not relevant 2 IT... i don hav any certs, all self-taught... hehehehehehe... but stil earning bucks! :)
I myself don't have any so call IT certs. I do have diploma in manufacturing from NYP.
All the web design and site creation stuff I had learn from Internet and books.
DoorKeeper
01-10-2002, 16:09
I won't talk about E-commerce, simply because it is too general a term. I used to work for a B2B player that calls itself an E-commerce leader, but even that is stretching it a bit.
We seem to be talking about online purchasing. If that is the case, then I am sad to say that it takes more than technology and education. The USA, UK, parts of Europe and Australia/NZ have a long history of buying from a mail order catalog. When the Internet came along, the catalogs simply became websites.
In these place, there is a lot of trust in the vendors willingness to take back any faulty goods delivered. Many offer a no questions asked refund policy.
When my Mac laptop was faulty, Apple UK came to my door step, collected my computer and returned it to me the next day repaired. And I bought this computer in Singapore ! On top of that, they give me an extended warranty for that particular failed component.
No wonder most of the world's leading brands come from the west. These people know how to produce a good product as well as to market in such a way that consumers trust their brands, however it is sold. So buying online is just using another medium.
Singapore can try to emulate this culture of trust and effective branding. But it is not going to be easy for local vendors who have not built a credible brand. Starting in Singapore is difficult. It is a chicken and egg situation.
And Singapore is small. A small base will not give you critical mass for your business to get past covering costs. If you sell 100 pieces of t-shirts a month in Singapore. You might be able to sell 10,000 pieces in USA simply because their population is 300 million, or nearly 100 times ours. And if you are selling online, the costs are the same.
Aspiring businessmen - look further beyond our tiny island.
birdfoot
07-10-2002, 06:51
hmmmz... you do have a point there as well... :) however, i tink that, though one would earn less in singapore thru online purchasing compared to in foreign countries, it doesn't mean that it wouldn't be successful... but, true enough... i agree bad customer service is gonna hinder online purchasing abit... :)
DoorKeeper, I couldn't agree with you more.
The mail catalog system failed badly in Singapore - Singaporeans just aren't ready to purchase items thru a glossy catalogue...
However as times goes by, I'm seeing a change... People are more willing to part their $$$ for the sake of convinence .. Hopefully this would spark the driving force needed to establish EC firmly amongst our fellow countrymen.
EC certainly extends the reach of any company but be forewarned that the extended reach does pose additional problems especially in terms of logistics and after sales support....
Heng Chai
08-10-2002, 00:17
Lets put it this way, Singapore u can get from one end to the other in 2 hrs. There really isn't a point to mail order unless the goods can't be viewed at all. Singaporeans generally kiasu, they want to see the goods, feel the goods, make sure its of good quality.
DoorKeeper
01-11-2002, 21:16
To top it all off, Singaporeans are starting to buy online. BUT from credible names in the USA and Europe. So E-commerce/online buying is taking off after all, but to the detriment of local businesses. It is going to be a long uphill climb, guys.
It will be long uphill climb ... but at the very least, we must all get started ..................................
EC is the way to go and let's be there when the "boat" arrives !
I have a payment solution and shopping cart already..but i need to know on how i can purchase a digital certificate and from whom ? any hosting company in singapore can provide me info and help...pls do so.....!!
thanks..!!
cheewahwah
22-11-2002, 01:26
personally i think it is quite difficult to replace retail business in singapore, because it is too small, buying things is very convenient. also shopping is actually a national past time. I have friends that always say nothing much to do in singapore, weekend go shopping and movie, not much choices. imagine you take away shopping from them then what do they do?
Minggeng
22-11-2002, 01:46
Dun wanna sound too silly... but I have an idea for e-commerce...
Dun realli know how it can work out yet, but my general idea is too sell comic content over the net, with micro-payment and the absence of printing costs, I can afford to charge my readers at most $1 per story. Might even remove the requirement of payment and make it more like a donation if they like what they read.
The donation model works extremely well in the US hence the paypal, amazon donate buttons. Personally heard of a no. of webcomic artists doing this full-time. They also run a lot of ads and have merchandise for sale, as well as sponsorships.
But when it comes to donations, maybe it won't work so well in spore.... :rolleyes:
This might work. But have you think of copyright issue? There are lots of free comic sites all over the net, so you need something different so that ppl are willing to pay you.....
haha.. well seriously e-commerce is really hard to do in Singapore because according to my client, 97% of buyers actually call them instead of using the online cart. They do log on to find information, which is probably the only thing that works in Singapore. Other than business networks and systems, web designing for cafes and small business advertising their services are your best bet.
alva chew
28-11-2002, 23:39
I once had a comic concept similar to minggeng's, but according to a comic fanatic friend of mine, the comic system in singapore is quite established and people like to hold the book in their hands more than reading online.
As for e-commerce, I think we are missing the point. With e-commerce, we should be eyeing the global audience. If you are just thinking of locals, there's no point in makin the investment.
That's probably the reason why we don't have so many big name companies from singapore that have a global presence.
your contact network has to be pretty good to do that.. unless you are marketing a product that isn't available abroad.
alva chew
29-11-2002, 10:59
Network has to be built then, if one is really serious about making it big. That's the hard work one should put in to succeed.
Nobody says it's an easy ride. :)
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