Market research for a new online store

I've had a passion for bikes for a few years now and have always been good at finding good quality bike bits for myself at good prices, as well as being good with webdesign, so I've decided to put my skills to good use and start up a new sort of online bike accessory shop this summer. Now what prompted this was discussions I had with a few suppliers I recently met. I've subsequently negotiated a few deals where I can both pass the savings on and offer a safe and quick payment and delivery system.

I will initially sell small items at lower prices than a lot of the kit thats available to buy at the moment. Things like these (these are "safe" prices but they will definitely go down when I see evidence of demand!):

I also want to sell a range of cheap tools, which don't patronise, so the chain tools, crank pullers, all the sizes and fittings and bits to pull apart and put together bikes new and old alike.

What I want from you people, is to tell me what else you'd like to be able to buy without spending too much, so come summertime I can start negotiating wholesale deals and kick off the shop... All ideas are welcome!

Cheers

Those prices don't seem cheap at all, but maybe that's just me.

I can get Continental innertubes for £4 already, and factor in that loyalty schemes and almost constant discounts will nearly always remove 10% > 20% off of that price, and you look to be just another store, and not price compelling.

You're right to think that the easiest way to start is with consumables, but you're wrong to think that the prices you've mentioned are any better than what people could already achieve.

It's simple: If you're going to compete based purely on price, then it has to be impossible for someone to hit Google Shopping and immediately find cheaper. And they also can't be able to find cheaper on Wiggle, CRC, Evans, etc when loyalty discounts are factored in.

If you can't compete on price, then compete on niche and specialise in solely stuff for 1 market, but be complete. Accept that you've limited your market.

If you can't compete on niche, compete on service and quality, but accept that your margins will be eroded by the very thing that is your selling point as there is extra effort per transaction.

Or... compete on all three and be Hub Jub.

40 lumen LED headlight torch, with break-resistant rubber clasp: £7, free shipping.

you can get the 270 Lumen ones from HK for cheaper than this (£5), with a rear light as well. And some guy has started selling them in England for £10 delivered.

This is the feedback I want, what you guys want, how much you're prepared to pay. Depending on the wholesale prices I secure from contacts I currently have I should be able to negotiate some excellent deals, but you need to let me know what it is you'd like to see.

P.s. perhaps I was playing it safe with the examples! I can push the prices on those items down with relative ease with my current contacts and bulk purchase deals. I would just like to gauge what it is that people are after!

The 270 Lumens lights from HK are excellent value at £5 but have a long wait time, at £10 they're still excellent value. If you could achieve a mid-price point of the two, with uk delivery would be perf.

40 lumen LED headlight torch, with break-resistant rubber clasp: £7, free shipping.

you can get the 270 Lumen ones from HK for cheaper than this (£5), with a rear light as well. And some guy has started selling them in England for £10 delivered.

I think I know of those ones, and I can beat the second price with relative ease. The break-resistant rubber clasp and a more than adequately bright torch style headlight on the option I was considering, as a combination, was the emphasis! It was a response to a couple of threads on here where people were having problems with the clasps breaking. I was aiming to sell a kit that would overcome the problems of regular inexpensive lighting.

The 270 Lumens lights from HK are excellent value at £5 but have a long wait time, at £10 they're still excellent value. If you could achieve a mid-price point of the two, with uk delivery would be perf.

I'll take note of that, thanks! I find it tedious the way delivery is with online bike shops. I'm hoping to have a "free delivery on everything, whatever the price, within the UK" policy!

And here's the logo (unfinished):

ejiveo?

cliveo?

Haha, told you it was unfinished.

epivelo

I got the Pive bit. OPiveO?

Sorry, I'm a newbie and still in the nursery so I should be good!

I recently bought a set of traditional guaranteed squeal-free road brake pads and holders from Velo Orange in the US. Brake pad holder prices in the UK take the p*ss! They were $12 from VO.

And I'm seriously considering some of their metallic braid brake cable kits. There are VO resellers in the UK already, but they don't stock these little things which are, being VO, good quality. Basically VO impress me because they can be bothered to innovate with their own products and don't skimp on quality.

Lights I have a problem with, or rather I don't. Cheap LED flashlights and mounts from DX sorted me out. The quality is notoriously dodgy, the hardware on the mounts rusts, but they are cheap and I find it hard to believe anyone will compete with the Far East. If Epi velo is supposed to signify epicurean cycling products, you don't want to be selling this tat.

And here's the logo (unfinished):

Great logo, really nice!

epivelo

"The online bike shop that helps remove unwanted hairs" ?

I got the Pive bit. OPiveO?

Sorry, I'm a newbie and still in the nursery so I should be good!

I recently bought a set of traditional guaranteed squeal-free road brake pads and holders from Velo Orange in the US. Brake pad holder prices in the UK take the p*ss! They were $12 from VO.

And I'm seriously considering some of their metallic braid brake cable kits. There are VO resellers in the UK already, but they don't stock these little things which are, being VO, good quality. Basically VO impress me because they can be bothered to innovate with their own products and don't skimp on quality.

Lights I have a problem with, or rather I don't. Cheap LED flashlights and mounts from DX sorted me out. The quality is notoriously dodgy, the hardware on the mounts rusts, but they are cheap and I find it hard to believe anyone will compete with the Far East. If Epi velo is supposed to signify epicurean cycling products, you don't want to be selling this tat.

Awesome, thanks for the ideas! I've got quite a bit of planning ahead of me but I'm determined to produce something unique, that will provide affordable products that people are happy with.

I have quite a few innovative ideas. Some exist, some don't. Those that do exist tend to be notoriously expensive. I want to change that. Quality doesn't have to rip out your pocket.

The products I will be selling will not have been made by myself, but I have over the years bought a hell of a lot of inexpensive accessories. Some have been terrible, some have been just as good as something you can pay 20 times the price for. I will bring an inexpensive line of high quality tested products, which will prove their worth without leaving you in debt.

Epivelo will be nothing to do with selling off cheap, crap products. Being a cycling freak myself I want to create something where a lot of thought has gone into deciding what products a dedicated cyclist will want, with a particular emphasis on both durability at a price point that will beat what's already available.

"The online bike shop that helps remove unwanted hairs" ?

Repped.

My advice would be to get someone who knows how to address branding. Too little importance is placed on logos / your company image because you're not aware of how much this subliminally says about your service.
There are many designers on the forum, why not open a competition to get your logo designed?
Good luck with your business, be great to get an online shop that cares about it's customers a lot.

you've got a bit of a disconnect with your logo there fella - my tuppence worth… you're are introducing a made up word that people are going to find difficult to unravel in it's current state

make the 'e' wheel clearer - get rid of owt that causes the viewre to struggle with deciphering it as a letterform

THe 'l' into the 'o' just doesn't work - I'd suggest using a seperate l for the handlebars and leaving the wheel 'o' clean

You've got a bit too close to the logo - put that in front of 20 people and don't tell them what the name is and none of them will come back with epivelo - the closest you'll get is 'pive' I reckon

This isn't kicking the shit out of your logo but a few tweaks and suggestions to help your logo do it's job properly

And here's the logo (unfinished):

Haha, told you it was unfinished.

I am a work in progress.

How do you wax legs on-line?

Selling inner tubes online for £3 doesn't make sense when you can get decent branded ones in your lbs for £2:50

Selling inner tubes online for £3 doesn't make sense when you can get decent branded ones in your lbs for £2:50

I've taken down the little menu I put up, inner tube prices are causing people grief and confusion! Let me know your favourite brand and I'll see what I can do!

Well I'll get to work on the site and building my product list over the next couple of months and announce it here when its set to go, with a few crazy sale prices/giveaway type things, and freebies to the first purchases from the site. Watch this space!

Any more suggestions for products or classes of products you'd really like to see/have difficulty getting are welcome!

I personally rate Schwalbe. Specialized are crap. Not had problems with Bontrager but I don't know the price of those.

Selling inner tubes online for £3 doesn't make sense when you can get decent branded ones in your lbs for £2:50

where?

where?

I've taken the sample price menu down, it was not set in stone and I am still negotiating costs and amounts for bulk purchases!

I personally rate Schwalbe. Specialized are crap. Not had problems with Bontrager but I don't know the price of those.

Yeah I like Schwalbe. There's something about their balloon tyres too that appeals to me! I love the Lugano puncture protection 700c's, definitely selling those. But yeah I use their innter tubes religiously.

Selling inner tubes online for £3 doesn't make sense when you can get decent branded ones in your lbs for £2:50

they are near enough £6 round here, but I went into condor today and they were 10 for £20

and yeah the specialized ones suck balls

I am a work in progress.

That's actually a hilarious coincidence. Might just call my online shop Cliveo now.