Let’s face it. It’s not easy for small brick-and-mortar retailers to survive. They face the threat of ecommerce, particularly in terms of convenience and potentially lower prices. (And yes, bidorbuy is one such “threat”.)

So, if you own a small shop, perhaps selling vintage clothing, or antiques, or beads… what are you to do?

Go online, we say. And by “online” we do not mean that you should simply have your own web site.

We mean, join bidorbuy.

Why? Well, there are thousands of web sites in South Africa. In 2008 (we could not find more recent data), some put the figure at about 26,000. Who is going to see your web site in that multitude? The answer is – practically no one, not unless you are prepared to pump thousands of Rands into advertising in order to attract visitors. Plus, you’d need to accept a variety of payment methods; have in place infrastructure capable of handling lots of visitors; tweak your site for mobile devices…

On the other hand, when you join bidorbuy you get:

• presence on a high-traffic site;
• variety of selling tools, including credit card gateway for select sellers; and
• sophisticated, always-evolving technology.

All that, for a very reasonable fee: up to 5% of the selling price of your merchandise. (There can be additional fees; for example, sellers who decide to accept credit card payments pay the standard bank commission; sellers who want to advertise on bidorbuy pay enhancement fees, etc.)

That does not mean that you should not have your own website; on the contrary. Just make sure not to insert a link to it into your bidorbuy listing. That is not allowed. Vice versa is fine. You may have a link to bidorbuy or to your listings on bidorbuy on your website. What’s more, you may even earn affiliate money that way.

Nor does your presence on bidorbuy it mean that you should close your brick-and-mortar store, if you already have one. There will always be shoppers who love to rummage through the merchandise and to touch it. Actually, most often, you will find that one and the same person likes to shop both online and “for real”, especially in those quaint little shops with unique merchandise and an engaged proprietor.

And how would you go about putting your goods for sale on bidorbuy? This quick-start list will give you a basic idea. For a more in-depth experience, peruse the relevant Help section pages.

And if you live in one of the centres that we regularly visit, make sure to come to one of our Selling Seminars. There’s no better way of making your business online-ready. As one of the recent participants says:

“The bidorbuy seminar really ignites a vision of what is possible on this amazing platform, not to mention clearing up all the finer details.”

Welcome to the bidorbuy world of selling!