Online Coffee Shop (Q and A)

[Gkbb12]

Online coffee shop (Q and A)

I ran across this coffee forum and finally found folks that share the same interest! For the longest time, I have been wanting to branch out do something really cool, that I have a passion for which is coffee! I am wanting to start my own coffee shop online!! However, every business has its draw-backs, and selling online is no different. I am wanting Folks to slow down from the fast paced life even if it's just a second.....and enjoy life a little more! I believe sitting around and enjoying a cup of coffee has that effect on people! That's my reason for wanting to open up a wonderful website!

My concerns are where to purchase my coffee! I was looking for a distributor with a drop-ship option, but no luck yet! If anyone cares to share ideas on the business that would be wonderful! Thank you!

[Ads]

[MasellisCoffeeHouse]

Hi Gkbb12.
Im a distributor for Danesi which is a gourmet Italian Espresso. We would love to work with you. We currently sell our coffee online as well. We're proud to say we sell and serve only Danesi Coffee, because in our opinion its the best we've had which is the reason we started working with them. Check out our website for more info. http://maselliscoffeehouse.com/
Thanks hope to hear from you soon.

[crackofdawncoffee]

My question is this. How will you draw customers? Whats going to make me buy from you? Why your product over so and so's. I ask this..because w/o customers then you don't have anything. On finding drop shippers, call the company's that you want to carry and ask them if they drop ship there product. If they don't, then ask for the number to one of there distributors.

[champaigncoffeeco]

I can warn you from experience that it's tough to sell coffee online. Coffee appeals to two senses: taste and smell. Neither of those can be communicated online. I'm not sure if this is what you want to do or not, but maybe you should start by looking into home roasting and selling at farmer's markets. If there's no roaster already in the town you live in, you might be surprised how much coffee you can sell to local restaurants, diners, and grocery stores. I think most people who are selling a lot of coffee online are doing so because people are already familiar with the coffee they are buying. That's tough to do if you're online only. Good luck to you, whatever you choose to do. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

[Gkbb12]

Thanks for your suggestions! I have most the details worked out at this point i believe; however, I am at a cross with my next decision. Any suggestions on whether to have a private label on my coffee initially? Or find a distributor to put on my website?!

Once again, Thanks for all the suggestions!

[topher]

If your going to sell coffee online you need to be roasting your own to assure freshness. It is a brutal business...it can also be shady. Since you can't have them smell or taste your product its hard to gain customers. So how do you gain customers? You pay an outside marketing group. They put out deals to entice potential customers. Only problem is these customers are garbage...only looking for deals and usually drop the "deal" after they get their freebie. Then your in the hole Don't get me wrong I am going to jump back into the online biz again...this time I already have a base of customers who have and drink my coffee everyday. I am in no way trying to talk you out of this...It can be done. I worked for a company that sold an average of 80,000 lbs of coffee a month...just be warned that it is a hard road...

[expat]

And plan for a slow build because this won't happen overnight (well, unless you are a marketer extraordinarie, and then we need to talk). Don't quit your day job.

[MasellisCoffeeHouse]

Thanks for your suggestions! I have most the details worked out at this point i believe; however, I am at a cross with my next decision. Any suggestions on whether to have a private label on my coffee initially? Or find a distributor to put on my website?!

Once again, Thanks for all the suggestions!

In my opinion the best way to get customers is not to go out claiming to be the best, have the best, sell the best etc... I promise there will always be someone better, and everyone is looking for it. What you have to do is sell your passion, your dream, The "WHY" you are doing what your doing. Yes, we want our business to succeed and we want to make money, but that's not why we do what we do, The success of our business is the bi-product of what we are doing.
Just a quick example.. Danesi has customers all over the world, So why would people come to our website and buy coffee from us when its all over Amazon, Ebay etc... The reason we get from our customers is they believe in what we are doing. We don't just sell coffee, we spread the word of God. Every business card has scripture on it, Every Hat, Mug, T-Shirt even the Thank You cards we send with each order has scripture on it. We love coffee and we love God, So we combined the two and we chose the coffee we love to drink. Simple really once you think about it.

Hope that helps. Good luck & God Bless!

[TheCoffeeLocator]

Hi gkbb12
We set up a site (The Coffee Locator) that allows you to create your own coffee ecommerce shop for free - . It takes a few clicks to register. Fill out your details, add your products and away you go.
When finished, your store should look something like this example - Caffè Bonani, Italy - TheCoffeeLocator
All pages are optimized for search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing, helping boost website traffic.
It is a great way to start out your online business.
Best of luck!