Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 11:25:02 -0300 From: Dexter J <lamealameadingdongnospamlamelame.org> Subject: Re: Imports and saving money? - I need as much research as possible - cheers
Salutations: On 12 Apr 2004 03:24:38 -0700, Maguires Garage <jamesyboygnospamail.com> wrote: > I have recently set-up a website with my uncle. He runs an importing > business to the UK from around the world. > > I know next to nothing about the car business and my uncle knows next > to nothing about IT so we have come to a compromise over the site. > > One of my friends recommended news groups as an excellent forum in > which I could research the business and tap some of the expert > knowledge that is out there. It is hard to find the hybrid of car > experts and computer literacy through any other medium. > > I would appreciate it if you could have a look at the link below and > let me know what you think about the site - design, layout, > prices...........everything and anything! > > I can assure you that I am not touting for new business but am > carrying out research to provide my uncle with the best possible > chance of accessing the web market (which I've promised him). > > Thanks for reading this mail and I can only apologise to anyone that > thinks this is an inappropriate posting. > > Cheers > James > infonospamiresgarage.co.uk > http://www.maguiresgarage.co.uk Putting aside that Johannes is completely correct about SPAM, the site itself is OK. It renders without cookies or java and operates quickly enough to be respectable despite not apparently being hosted anywhere near Ireland (it's a schlund.de domain/ip range). I didn't bother with your search engine, but it would be hard pressed to go deeply wrong I suppose. I would provide *many* more pictures with the vehicle descriptions - interior(s), engine bay, quarter panel close-ups, dash view with engine running after warming up, perhaps a short streaming video with audio of the machine rolling around so as to confirm it's not smoking and sounds about right. Perhaps a counter-bid form as well. After that - you probably want to set it up so it sorts on price and/or model year and you will want to set up your vehicle descriptions as stand alone SSI pages so you can use them on e-bay without remaking the item. Currency conversions are a nice touch if you can manage it. At the end of the day, you will want to generally provide much more informational value on model lines you specialize in so as to make the site itself broadly more useful than a catalogue and thusly provide traffic based on public search engine returns and referral links rather than SPAM. Check out http://www.townsendimports.com/ or http://www.thesaabsite.com/ as excellent examples of a commercial sites with good informational value on their product lines. If, and I would strongly *not* advise this, you are planning to continue to pursue the NewsGroup to market your machines - you will want to *make sure* that you do not 'crosspost' again (this thread is an example of a crosspost). By their nature NewsGroups are specific interest and several Newsreaders are set up to ignore posts based on how many groups it was posted to. Finally - you would be well advised to get a deeper handle on shipping and import limitations by country and make sure it is attached to your vehicle description - perhaps as a CGI or Flash module. For example - several modifications need to be made if you want to import a VW Corrado into Canada in addition to an average of $1,100(cnd) in federal fees and taxes. At the end of the day - being able to purchase and import cars is not without appeal. There are several European model features that are not available in North America or Asia and vise versa. However, there are an overwhelming number of technicalities that should be covered if you want to be a 'serious' site in that line. Believe me, customers will appreciate the detail in advance. Personally - given the international nature of any website - I think it's a total cop out not to provide shipping detail and technical proviso's front and center. Presents the impression you have solid experience in the business. Cheers and good luck. -- J Dexter - webmaster - http://www.dexterdyne.org/ all tunes - no cookies no subscription no weather no ads no news no phone in - RealAudio 8+ Required - all the Time Radio Free Dexterdyne Top Tune o'be-do-da-day Tim Tamashiro - Be My Lifes Companion http://www.dexterdyne.org/888/164.RA
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