Has anyone tried this online coffee shop?

wheresmycoffee

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Has anyone tried the coffee from this online coffee shop called lees-coffee-shop? I went to curetoncomm and then clicked on the Lee's Coffee Shop tab..
I came across it on Google & wanted to know if anyone has tried it yet? If so, how is it? The prices are really competitive!! So, I'm already sold on that end!
 

ensoluna

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I never try that one, but I would like to invite you to try mine @ ExoticCafeShop.com. Authentic specialty Colombian coffee direct from Colombia delivered all over the world.
wow.... this going to be very tough sell. here are the reasons.
1. the brands you are selling are very common "super-market" brands in Colombia. I used to buy them in Bogota supermarkets for our co-workers when I used to work for electronic company at way lower pricing.

I am guessing that you are buying them in bulk and selling them on line.
I can not imagine them being "freshly roasted" for overseas customers. EVEN IF they are roasted WHEN YOU GET AN ORDER, it will get old when your customer receives them. 15 to 20 days by postal service.

2. your sales pricing is very close to USA local roaster pricing with freshly roasted coffee. so you can not really compete in quality and pricing.

3. your web says "NO RETURN". well, even if you accept returns, if customer has to pay for the shipping, ...... forget about it.

Selling roasted beans from overseas to overseas just can not work in coffee business.
But people are keep trying..... never learn.
 

ExoticCafe

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wow.... this going to be very tough sell. here are the reasons.
1. the brands you are selling are very common "super-market" brands in Colombia. I used to buy them in Bogota supermarkets for our co-workers when I used to work for electronic company at way lower pricing.

I am guessing that you are buying them in bulk and selling them on line.
I can not imagine them being "freshly roasted" for overseas customers. EVEN IF they are roasted WHEN YOU GET AN ORDER, it will get old when your customer receives them. 15 to 20 days by postal service.

2. your sales pricing is very close to USA local roaster pricing with freshly roasted coffee. so you can not really compete in quality and pricing.

3. your web says "NO RETURN". well, even if you accept returns, if customer has to pay for the shipping, ...... forget about it.

Selling roasted beans from overseas to overseas just can not work in coffee business.
But people are keep trying..... never learn.


First of all, I really appreciate your comments as ExoticCafe is a recent enterprenur project. Comments from someone so experienced like you will be much appreciated for the progress of this project.
I would like to answer your comments one by one:

1.- You're right, this is a newly project with just few agreements with local roasters. In these initial stages, I'm keeping some well known options like J. Valdez (a not so specialty coffee) as they are a very popular brand (and cafes) locally as you sure know. The idea is to offer something familiar to the ones that, once visited Colombia, would like to continue getting that product.
You're always welcome to come to Colombia and get some good coffee in any supermarket or great cafe, that's an option. If someone not so lucky as you, want a good Colombian coffee, can order it from ExoticCafe.

I'm not buying coffee in bulk, precisely to avoid introduce more time from roasted to final client get it. With my business model, we have agreements with roasters to get what the customers wants when they want it.

2.- My offer will be more and more focused on Specialty Coffee direct from the origin country. The idea is to offer origin warranty vs someone in whatever country that said they roast "Colombian", "Guatemalan", "Kenyan", etc, etc coffee.
More than compete in prices, which I try to keep as competitive as possible, my value offer is:
a) Single point of sale to find Specialty Coffee (just Colombian at this moment).
b) Origin warranty as all products are origin certified (Café de Colombia) and packaged in the origin. Not something that someone roast and said is Colombian.
c) Variety as a goal. Not that much at this time, but new brands are added constantly.
d) World wide delivery.

3.- It's easy for someone that just deliver in-country, like US, to include the delivery costs in their costs structure and offer "free delivery and returns".

Hopefully my clients keep thinking different from you, and I'm respect you opinion and market knowledge, believe me. I'm not a roaster and I'm not selling bulky green beans neither which I'm agree is the big business around the coffee. I'm just a small online Specialty Coffee retailer.

Hope we can do business in the near future as one of my next milestones is to include Specialty Coffee from other countries, like Guatemala of course.

Best Regards!
 

ensoluna

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very good explanation and I thank you for taking time to reply on my previous posting.
And also, I really wish that you will be very successful on whatever you do.

there are very very few companies selling roasted beans directly from Origin countries to USA and other places. here are couple. And they are very successful companies, but they are very very big companies, employees ranging up to thousand people.

https://rdaltoncoffee.com/
Experience Britt's Costa Rica Gourmet Coffee

dalton coffee is from Antigua, Guatemala and cafe britt is from Costa Rica. they both are coffee "estates" that means they have own coffee farms / milling / roasting / packaging / exporting / and retail-on line sales...etc Huge companies that demand respects from others and customers around the world.
In Guatemala, I have known few companies (does not own farms, but small roasters) who tried to sell roasted beans to overseas consumers directly, however, almost everyone failed and they are just selling them locally at much less pricing.

I am not saying what you are doing is not right or has no future at all because I do not know your business plan.

Specially, for USA customers who are looking to buy "Specialty coffee", they will only buy from very fresh beans from local roasters or very reputable USA on-line distributors whom they trust completely. Very unlikely those "specialty coffee" customers will buy from overseas sellers. (and a lot of on-line USA sellers offer "returns", but of course, you can not offer this nor customers can not return back to you due to very high transportation cost...etc)

IF I WERE YOU, I would look for a distributor / on-line sellers in USA who can buy from you (either roasted bean in small q'ty or mostly green beans) and roast themselves and sell them in USA. However, that also isn't easy task.

anyway, that is my opinion. Just an opinion.
No matter what, I wish you luck and something good will work out soon for you.
 
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ensoluna

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By the way, if you are really trying to sell directly from Colombia to USA, you need something special that can attract customers.
there are few things that I can suggest to you.

1. work directly with Specialty farms and in your website, please put the farm photos, coffee, processing...etc

2. make association with someone or some company who is very famous around the world in coffee business (such as world champion Barista, cup tasters, or some famous coffee institution) and use them as marketing tool.

and if you have someone famous (preferably "Cupper") you can have him make some sort of espresso blend and use his name on the bag/label to promote the coffee.

3. sell something special that no other on-line people. some rare varietals, special processing beans...etc

4. Guarantee "freshness". Specialty coffee consumers DEMAND freshness in their coffee. You need to find a way to deliver the coffee to consumers within a week from the roasted date. This is one of the most difficult part and that is why many overseas coffee roasters/farms have their retail shops / on-line distributors in USA.

for now, that is all I can think of.
good luck to you.
alex
 

ExoticCafe

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Thank you Alex,

Very useful all the info that you share with me. Several things to take a look.
What I'm doing is totally identified with your second post. Looks like I'm pointing the right direction, and with a little good luck that you just wish, hope to find my way in this very interesting world.

Thanks a lot to take your time detailing those notes for me and the community, of course.

Carlos D.
 
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