Questions for everyone outside of the USA

[marusia]

Hiya,

I had a few questions for everyone outside of the US (since you'll be the one I'm catering to...)

I recently got an account with NYX, Coastal Scents, and Sigma. In a couple months, I'm going to have my site up and running offering just about everything that they have...

With that being said, I need to take into account a few things, and I'd like some input please!

1.Out of the three, which would you be most interested in?

2. Is there anything from Coastal scents that interests you other than the palettes?

3. Is this something you'd be telling other internationals about once you find the website satisfactory?

4. How likely do you think you'd be to try a site catering to these products if you didn't know much about the company running it?

5. Where would be the best places to advertise? (I don't know many international websites.

)

6. A coastal scents palette in the US costs 24.95. It will cost me about 10-11 dollars to ship one. Would it be better to price everything with the shipping already included? For instance, offer the palette for a flat $36USD with free shipping?

I'm asking all these because I will be starting with a limited budget and want to get it started off the right way. After reading so many times in the Specktra community that you can only buy these products on Ebay, I thought I'd give it a go. Do you think it could truly take off, as long as the site is clean and easily navigable? Is there any advice you'd be willing to share?

I know these are a lot of questions, but I'd sincerely appreciate it if anyone takes the time to answer these questions!!!

I'm really looking forward to getting this started so that way you can have a dedicated place to return to instead of finding products at different prices or having to wait a week to bid on an item.

 

[dietcokeg]

1. NYX

2. Coastal Scents brushes and gel liners

3. Absaloutely, iam all about spreading the word if i find a website i like, espically one that sells brands that arent offered In Ireland

4. It depends, i always look out for reviews from customers and what not, ifs its not established or not enough people like it and are happy with the service i wont try it.

5. Beaut.ie – The Irish Beauty Blog Cosmetics, Makeup, Skincare, Reviews, News and Previews biggest beauty blog in ireland

6. No i tihnk that would be confusing, espically when you buy more then one product and they all have their individual shipping price added on, ill like to know the price of one product and then calculate the shipping after.

Hope that helps!

 

[xFlossy]

1. Nyx for sure!

2. I would like to try their pigments and gel liners

3. Absolutely! If I found the customer service great and the products, I would be more than happy to forward on business to you.

4. Usually thats the way I go about things lol. I bought from heaps of different companies online and am usually happy with them, without doing any research.

5. That one, I don't know. There are a few popular beauty blogs floating around. Could also try beautyheaven - Australia's Leading Beauty Destination. Or there is my blog hehehe *shameless plug*

6. Yeah, that would make it easier for me.

 

[Susanne]

1. NYX

2. Brushes from Coastal Scents

3. yes

4.

5. Kiss And Makeup: Aigua Media?s fabulous beauty blog: product news & reviews, video how-to guides & celebrity beauty

6. I would prefer prices without shipping being included. When I get more than one or two products, I want the shipping be added in the end.

 

[anita22]

1. Sigma

2. Not really. My impression of Coastal Scents is that the products are fairly generic, "your-name-here" products.

3. Definitely.

4. While it's not strictly essential, the more I know about the company and the person behind it, the better. Reading the experiences of other people who have bought from there helps, and also getting to know who is behind the website (e.g. if they have their own blog, for instance).

5. Agree with Beaut.ie if you want to reach people in the UK. If you can also spread word of mouth on the Vogue Australia beauty forum, that would be a good way to reach Australiasian customers.

6. As long as it's really clear on your site that shipping is "free" (included) then that's OK for me. The only thing for you to consider though is that if people are searching the web by price, they may not look at your products if the price seems high at first glance (since Google and other search engines don't necessarily pick up on the fact that the price includes shipping).

 

[angi]

1.NYX - particularly the jumbo pencils

2. No, they seem a bit generic

3. Yes, it is also something that I'd be willing to back up on boards

4. It doesn't bother me as long as the reviews are good and I know that what I'm getting is genuine.

5. Maybe do some promotion via your ebay site and listings? I know that I found the two best UK MAC sellers via purchases from their ebay and links from there to their stores.

6. I think that this would be quite difficult to do. If someone buys a palette and a lipstick, for example, would the shipping be charged separately for the lipstick? When looking to ship internationally you absolutely have to have clear - and easily accessible shipping charges - the first thing that puts me off buying from international sites is not being able to find out the shipping charge. If you can't put a flat rate on things such as the palette - make sure this is clearly listed on the display for that item- with the details for how this fits with other shipping -e.g. shipping being $11 for that one item - but all other small items can be shipped with it for free. International people are also going to appreciate that $11 for shipping a palette is not excessive - I've been quoted $10 for shipping of a MAC paint before!

 

[BayouPointe]

6. If it costs you $24.95 and $10-11 to ship and you would charge $36 shipping included, you wouldn't make a profit. You need to figure in your profit before setting prices.

 

[marusia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BayouPointe 6. If it costs you $24.95 and $10-11 to ship and you would charge $36 shipping included, you wouldn't make a profit. You need to figure in your profit before setting prices.

That's not what I meant.

It retails in the US for $24.95. I'll be charging the same as the site. I just sold a palette yesterday, and after the envelope, bubble wrap, palette, label, and weight of the free NYX eyeshadow, it was 17 oz, which is $11.78...if I'm going to be selling these all the time though, I'd rather invest in cardboard boxes so they can weather international travel. I figured anything that doesn't weigh much, I wouldn't really need to factor in shipping costs. If they buy more than one item, it will balance itself out. So far I'm getting the general consensus that NYX is the most coveted out of the three. I'm getting the catalog in the mail soon, so I'll have to see what kind of pricing they have. Sigma's wholesale cost was pretty hard to swallow. Coastal Scents was a lot better. Hopefully NYX is even better LOL.

Thanks for all the feedback!!!

 

[InspiredBlue]

Coastal scents is a middle man for most of the stuff they sell, from what I've seen.

The palettes cost only a couple of bucks on ebay, if one buys from a chinese seller. The only reason CS is selling a single one of those at that price is because people either don't know where to look, or are "scared of chinese producs" (when all the palettes are de facto made in china).

As for brushes, I think they get a lot of them from Crown Brush. So getting merchendise from Crown directly seems like a better idea.

 

[marusia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by InspiredBlue Coastal scents is a middle man for most of the stuff they sell, from what I've seen. The palettes cost only a couple of bucks on ebay, if one buys from a chinese seller. The only reason CS is selling a single one of those at that price is because people either don't know where to look, or are "scared of chinese producs" (when all the palettes are de facto made in china). As for brushes, I think they get a lot of them from Crown Brush. So getting merchendise from Crown directly seems like a better idea.

I was actually thinking about that this morning...but I thought maybe since people were more comfortable with Coastal Scents name, it would be better? Yeah, I'm pretty decent at hunting down wholesalers. Importers on the other hand, I'd have to have an interpreter so I could find the sites I need. Crown brush, huh? Great advice, thanks so much!! I'll see if I can hunt them down.

 

[marusia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by angi International people are also going to appreciate that $11 for shipping a palette is not excessive - I've been quoted $10 for shipping of a MAC paint before!

That's ridiculous! I can ship something that light for less than $2 worldwide. People who inflate shipping charges drive me crazy.

 

[angi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marusia That's ridiculous! I can ship something that light for less than $2 worldwide. People who inflate shipping charges drive me crazy.

I know! I don't mind realistic costs - but that was just excessive. That particular one was ebay - it was a rare item too - I don't think the seller took into account that with exchange rates etc international sellers would be more likely to bid higher - by inflating postage rates she just put me off bidding completely!

In terms of the generic stuff (i.e. the stuff that Coastal Scents sells as the middle man) if I was placing an order for something I wanted, and you had a selection of cheap generic things etc then it'd be likely that I'd throw a few of these in just to try them- having no name wouldn't put me off- as long as reviews on them were ok.

 

[marusia]

Personally I wouldn't doubt it if they were charging because they have to physically go down to the post office, fill out customs forms, etc. (Their time-which is still really silly.) I'm trying to figure out the most cost effective way to send internationally. Right now I'm using International First Class via USPS, but I'm wondering if there's a way I can integrate it so that I can do everything from home...I haven't found anything yet via google, but there's got to be a way since most major businesses send internationally without having to go to the post office for every order.

 

[InspiredBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marusia Personally I wouldn't doubt it if they were charging because they have to physically go down to the post office, fill out customs forms, etc. (Their time-which is still really silly.) I'm trying to figure out the most cost effective way to send internationally. Right now I'm using International First Class via USPS, but I'm wondering if there's a way I can integrate it so that I can do everything from home...I haven't found anything yet via google, but there's got to be a way since most major businesses send internationally without having to go to the post office for every order.

It is completely ridiculous what excuses some ebay sellers come up with. One charged me $8 extra on top of the USPS shipping cost (they print the postage cost on the shipping label, so it is really obvious..). When I sent her a message about it her answer was that that was for "handling" i.e. the packing materials and her going to the post office. The only thing is her domestic shipping was $1 or $2. If her handling costs are $8 per package, she must be loosing a lot of money on her domestic orders.

 

[angi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marusia Personally I wouldn't doubt it if they were charging because they have to physically go down to the post office, fill out customs forms, etc. (Their time-which is still really silly.) I'm trying to figure out the most cost effective way to send internationally. Right now I'm using International First Class via USPS, but I'm wondering if there's a way I can integrate it so that I can do everything from home...I haven't found anything yet via google, but there's got to be a way since most major businesses send internationally without having to go to the post office for every order.

Hmm.. that is a good point.. you are both wise and fair! I still don't like, nor agree with people charging you for their time/ petrol etc though - especially if they've not averaged the costs out across all items being sold (or planned their items to average out accordingly!)

I've done a quick look on google for you - all of the questions that are asked are quite old, but are of the concensus that it can't be done direct through USPS without going to the post office (unless this has changed!)

I did find this site though - Welcome to Stamps.com - Print Postage from your PC today!

with the limited knowledge that it gives without signing up (and obviously, not understanding the intricacies of the US postal system), it looks like it might be worth a look, especially if you get busy on the site (because it costs $16 a month)

 

[marusia]

I actually signed up to that site less than a month ago thinking I'd be able to print first class international...nope! So, now I have to call them and get it canceled. I'm thinking my best bet is just to ask the post office when I go shipping packages today. I usually ship through paypal. Some days I sell 15 things and need to ship them, and it's free. The international shipping is only a pain because I have to go fill out the customs label. I did order some of them though so I can do it at home, and that's not a problem at all. One of the PO women though, every time I go in there and need something so I can send internationally, she acts like I'm asking for her firstborn. Seriously, if something is such a pain that you aren't comfortable doing it on a daily basis, then that shouldn't be what you do for a living.

As it stands, I just won a 24,000USD lot the other day from a really high end retail chain. (Perfumes, Clarins, and Urban Decay makeup). I will probably post a couple things on here, and the rest on ebay and amazon. Once that's sold though, I'm probably going to be sinking most of that profit into buying NYX, since that seems to be the most popular right now.