I'm a maker of s*x toys, mainly glass. I'm taking the next step of getting a website for retail and wholesale.

Question

I'm hoping for advice about starting the website and what it means to have adult content on a site, also the e-commerce aspect of it is a mystery to me.

Answer 1

You know... I hate that - people will judge, but rather than move on to another question, some people feel the need to stop abd take the time to impose their opinions. How sad!

Anyway, while I feel its lazy of me - the response I made to another question fit the bill.

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I own a online shop, and I can help you in that arena:

Start off by doing some research for companys that offer turn-key adult stores. These companies will host, and maintain you site, as well, in some cases, serve as a distributor by providing a inventory of products you can use on your site and offer drop shipping services.

Some people will try and tell you that you're locked into using THAT one company as a distrubutor, but I actually use three different distrubutors, *none* of them are my Turn-key company - I use them *only* for hosting my site because I wasn't a fan of their perfomance as a distributor. *You* will always be in control of what your website carries and the prices you charge.

You'll pay a set up fee, and mine even applied a template so I was technically ready to go - and if that company provides a large inventory- you can select the products you wish to carry, make adjustments to the template to customize it and go live. You still need to do the background stuff - set up a domain name and a business/tax licence - whatever your local laws require as well as a Credit card processor, and a business bank account. I'm not saying its a snap, but its isn't a Herculean effort either.

About dropshipping - This is a wonderfull alternative to actually having to warehouse a lot of stock yourself: Someone orders a "Rabbit" vibe, you put in the order to your distributor, for a small fee, they send it out to your customer for you. Its worked quite well for me.

The real difference between stores is the marketing- market your business, pass out cards, throw events, demos, whatever - your customer base will be all local at first but eventually but at time goes, you'll get a more diverse base. I live in Maryland and I recently vacationed in Vegas. In checking out the "other side" of Vegas I went into a shop and ran inot one of MY business cards. Marketing works. Also - research all you can about your stock - the more you know and can talk about, the more people trust you as a business. I've sold products while having a freindly conversation about toys - without really meaning too!

The biggest snag I had was getting a Credit Card processor. With CC processors getting tough on Adult content, some (many)companies have been downright n**i-ish, even dictating what a cleint can sell or not sell.. even giving me grief about the packaging of the products, which I had nothing to do with, and demanding that I "fuzz out" any nudity on the product images - and I carry over 1000 different products! I use Linkpoint - I recommend them *highly* - they don't give you c**p or take you through the ringer like many other processors do. They handle transaction on my site AND and point of sale transactions we do at a toy party or event. I was on vacation and I did business with just my laptop! You could use PayPal... but they have an inconsistant stance on Adult businesses. One Paypal auditor looked at our site and cancalled our account, another looked at it with no changes and reinstated us... and that LAST thing you want is they way you get paid being left up to the personal opinions of a stary auditor on any given day. You'll pay less per transaction as well. This is vital, because chosing a company that might revoke your account can leave you dead in the water and out of business.

Good Luck - and I hope this helps you.

Answer 2

I can't help with the e-commerce aspect, since I've not done a lot of retail work online.

However, I am in the business of doing product review and promotion for adult companies online.  I deal with a number of the 'big boys' such as Eden Fantasys and Adam&Eve.

If you're looking for a place to promote your products, stop by and take a peek.  There is contact information on site if you're interested.

Shasta

www.shastagibson.com

Answer 3

I can help you with your questions, I offer free websites to retailers, you can visit us at www.adultimporter.com but since you are a manufacturer I recommend you visit www.geografixx.com, this company handles all of our accounts, I would say he has designed, hosted and marketed about 7-10 of our websites weekly, all of them are adult retail shops, He will handle all aspects of your website, including shopping cart, hosting, merchant account. By the way email me your information I would love to see some of your products!

Answer 4

I can give you a good site for analyzys: www.desiresecrets.com

Answer 5

You will surely NOT make your parents very happy.  If you were my child I would be terribly ashamed.  If you are that skilled I am sure you can find something much more legitamate to manufacture.  God Help U.