badmintoncentral, any plans going into business?

Discussion in 'Forum Feedback' started by angelus_2012, Dec 17, 2002.

  1. angelus_2012

    angelus_2012 Regular Member

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    i have a plan for badmintoncentral.com
    why don't the webmaster turned badmintoncentral.com into an alternative badminton e-market site (selling rackets, grips, strings..etc) besides staying as a badminton information gateway.
    btw, keep badmintonforum as a forum ..thanks
     
  2. bigredlemon

    bigredlemon Regular Member

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    That sounds like a lot of extra work that may or may not pay off. It'll also fundamentally change the nature of badmintoncentral/forum. If kwun wants to open up a badminton eStore, i think he could. Call it something like BadmintonStore.com make it part of the "group" of sites. But keep them seperate like badminton foum and badminton central are. If they are integrated, as you say, it'll become a store with a forum, rather than a forum with a store.
     
  3. angelus_2012

    angelus_2012 Regular Member

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    its a good idea... since they are regular visitors of this site that may be visiting the eStore and keep kwun :)
     
  4. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    I have no question about the popularity here. However, business requires a lot of $$$ and energy to keep up with. I believe that Kwun already working at full time, may not really have any extra time to be the "boss". :D
     
  5. Unknown

    Unknown Regular Member

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    it is not an easy job to run an ecommerce business, first, you need to have resources to get your inventory, one of the factors that attract a lot of traffic to your web site is because you have a lower/competitve price compare to others. second, you need to have certain amount of money to pay for the monthly merchant account fee and etc. third, you need to invest time and effort to keep the store running. then, you will receive a lot of questions on your products, and you need to handle all the RMA - Return Merchandise, and etc, so much work to do.
     
  6. bigredlemon

    bigredlemon Regular Member

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    How about a referal system? I.e. get some amount of money for sending some amount of traffic/people to a badminton eStore? Minimal work, and should offset some of the costs of the site. I doubt it'd pay much though, as ad rates are pretty low right now. Probably $10-100 a month?

    I used to run a web site with about 100,000 visitors a month. Only got ~$20 for it. I shared the server with 200 other web sites, so hosting only cost $20. Worked out nicely :).
     
  7. angelus_2012

    angelus_2012 Regular Member

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    with the popularity of this site, kwun could made a site of bidding, same as eBay.. where antique rackets can be sold from some badminton elites.
    maybe, kwun would be happy with badminton eStore than his work. (what's his current job?)

    eBay, no offense nor anything..whatever:D
    p/s: as a start, set up a badminton eStore banner (from any site do) and start earning commisions from the site. i've seen badmintoncentral.com been ad-free (good news & bad news)
     
  8. bigredlemon

    bigredlemon Regular Member

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    I think he'll get paid more at his current job than working for BF. Although he has expressed tedium at his current job, and wanted to get involved in something more badminton related.
     
  9. NL-player

    NL-player Regular Member

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    I think the forum is very good and good alive too (compliments to kwun and the other designers).
    Fact is that there isn't a good estore on the internet and another fact is that real Yonex rackets are half the price in Bangkok in comparison to where I live - Amsterdam.
    I know a couple of Estores (www.advancedrackets.com) but very expensive...

    That's all...
     
  10. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    With the heavy import tax and business tax, and "ladder" system in business, its very possible that the dealers are forced to double the original price to earn profit.

    In Europe and N. America, we are facing the same problem. The only solution so far, is to get "connection" in Asia, and see anyone can bring back several good rackets. However, u will take some risk on "no warranty".
     
  11. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    you guys are so nice. always thought about my financial well-being. ;)

    at this stage, i have no plans to turn badmintoncentral.com into a commercial endeavor. mainly due to the lack of time and as many has pointed out, the potential low reward/effort ratio.

    for now, i will just spend my free time playing badminton and sleeping.
     
  12. Shoulderpain

    Shoulderpain Regular Member

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    Just my opinion, but one of the reasons I really like this site is that it is NOT SELLING ANYTHING. When you start mixing in sales...it sometimes all goes down the toilet. Let's keep this pure and about the game and those who enjoy it.

    Only my opinion.
     
  13. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    ShoulderPain is correct. if anyone remembers the babbling i originally put in BC erm... 3 years and 364 days ago, i emphasized that BC will be a non-commerical site. meaning, we will not try to commericalize the BC website by banners, etc. the piece of babbling is no longer there, but the philosophy still remains.

    in fact, this has been true until today, 1 day from BC's 4 years anniversary.

    however, while so far life is still good, it remains true that running a website costs time and money. one day we have to figure out a way to remedy the approx US$40/month burn rate that BC/BF incurs. and if there are any future expansions to the website, the cost will be higher.

    while BC/BF is a website for badminton fanatic, it makes sense for the badminton fanatics to support the website. many sites do that by means of advertising banners and subscription fees. i don't like those things myself.

    an alternative will be allow voluntary sponsorship of the website. meaning, whomever wants to sponsor money to the website, I will use the money to keep the website running. if there are extra, we will put it in for future operation expense. if we are short, then i will just patch up the difference.

    i think this is the best way to approach it as all sponsorship are voluntary thus we impose no pressure on anybody. i have seen other discussion sites do this with success and i believe it will work for BC/BF too.

    i have explored the logistic of this path a little bit and it is indeed very possible. however, currently, as there no urgent need for it and i have just been too busy working and playing badminton, i haven't implemented it.
     
  14. JChen99

    JChen99 Regular Member

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    Who's paying for these costs rite now Kwun?
     
  15. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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  16. Shoulderpain

    Shoulderpain Regular Member

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    Ouch! I would support any sales that would allow you to cover your costs!
     
  17. Nic

    Nic Regular Member

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    what about BC charges 5% off any transactions that done successfully throught the Market Place forum? :p

    of cuz only apply to seller. :D
     
  18. angelus_2012

    angelus_2012 Regular Member

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    anyway, kwun.. thanks for bc and bf.. they're both the greatest badminton sites on earth!
     
  19. wilfredlgf

    wilfredlgf Regular Member

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    The Mozilla Foundation is not a profit driven organisation as well, their funding comes from public donations just as BF/BC/BR is, but yesterday, I saw that we can actually do some simple merchandising.

    http://www.mozillastore.com/products/clothing
    I was interested in the plush toy, a red panda doll. I want one!! :)

    Since that we already have Google advertisement here, I'd say maybe we can try to include merchandise into the equation. How about a Cheung action figure or a shuttle plush toy? I don't think it detracts from our stand as a non-profit badminton fanatic website.

    Of course, there are hundreds of people manning Mozilla Store but we can start by... selling them off bluejeff's shop, no?

    p/s - And yes, the thread is two years old but it's still relevant.
     

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  20. bluejeff

    bluejeff Regular Member

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    That's fine with me :)
    But I think I got an easier way to do it.

    Why don't we, tell all members of BC to send a $1 USD to Kwun's house (or could be done by PayPal). Come on, $1 USD is like nothing either your are rich or poor. So, since we have thousands of members, Kwun will get something like $1000+ for sure, and that should cover the cost nice and easy.

    Selling the goods of BC also works good, but with necessary efforts.
    Plus, there will be some risks of "what if no one buys it", and the manufacture cost will be an issue.
    So far, I think selling the BC shirts could be an OK option, but you will have to deal with customer's support. What if people return the shirt for exchange to different sizes?....etc. Lots of labor involved.


     

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