One Blogshop Reviews Another

Blogshop owners have varying degrees of influence in their area.  In fashion, a blogshop owner's collection (those with handpicked stocks) reflects her personal tastes.  Thus, some buyers may be attracted to a particular blogshop because the blogshop's collection is in line with their personal likes and styles. 

This puts blogshop owners in a position of influence, akin to that of celebrity fashion designers whose styles and designs influence the fashionista masses.   

The type or degree of influence a blogshop owner can exert can take on the following forms:

• as a fashion consultant/expert to buyers
• as a fashion reviewer
• as a blogshop reviewer

From: http://ai-kiyomi.blogspot.com/2011/03/reviews-on-blogshops-ive-visited.html

Reviews on Blogshops I've visited.

* Word heavy.

Hi everyone !

Here is a review on the Singapore's blogshops that I've visited.

Hmmm, I myself have a blogshop but I'm still an online shopper.

I love the stuffs that I can buy online and also I'm a lazy girl that is lazy to go shopping.

As a shopper, I also understands how other shoppers feel.

So here are some review on blogshops.

SGLady.com (Review)
I rate this blogshop 2.5/5
Why only 2.5 ?!

Ok, they have super fast delivery.
But some items are just so lousy !
*WARNING : Please do NOT buy cosmetics/beauty tools from here.

I regretted buying things from here because it does not help,
eyelashes I bought from there, totally dirty and cheap.

But seriously heed my advice, you can buy stickers or notepads or boxes.
BUT NOT COSMETICS. You will regret 200000%.

Okay, I don't want to talk too much about it.


BEST BUY WORLD sg.bestbuy-world.com (Review)
I rate is 4/5

Ok, prompt delivery but delivery fee is expensive.
Bought BRA from here and others.
BRA size not very fittable.
But all the others are great.

Good quality and branded stuffs.
I love it.

Rosebelle.org (Review)
I rate 4.5/5

Where does the 0.5 goes to?!
It went to the expensive price of the products.

Other than that, everything is nice, pretty.
Prompt delivery and e-mail updates.

That's all for now, I might just do up a few more ! =D

Posted by Kiyomi Lim at 3:31 AM 0 Comments

Blogshop or Shopping Cart?

E-commerce application providers would love for blogshop owners to adopt their applications, but the fact is that many established and successful blogshops have done well keeping to their blog format.

As the following article notes, the key difference is that blogs are not designed to support a business.  Yet, it remains amazing how they have become the standard platform to start businesses for the many amateur online entrepreneurs in this part of the world. 

From: http://www.100webhosting.com/blogshop-or-hosted-e-commerce-website-with-shopping-cart-which-to-choose/

Blogshop or Hosted E-commerce Website with Shopping Cart – which to choose?

By

jasmine

– March 18, 2011Posted in: E-Commerce

Everyone wants to sell something nowadays, be it the young girl out of school, the small-time entrepreneur who works from home or the working professional who seeks side income. With the influence of the Internet coupled with the availability of various platforms and tools today, anything ranging from clothing to multi-vitamins and pets can be sold online, all from the comfort of the home without having to step outside anymore.

There are two ways that online entrepreneurs use to market and sell their wares. The first is to set up a blogshop and the other is to set up a hosted website with a shopping cart feature. A blogshop is a site that runs from a blog, usually Blogger or WordPress. In this instance, the URL of your blogshop will be either blogshopname.blogspot.com or blogshopname.WordPress.com, depending on the blog platform that you are using.

Of course, you could also use your own .com domain name on the blogshop which will make your blog look more professional and the blogshop address easier to remember and type.

On the other hand if you have a website hosted, you will have a simpler domain name which is easy to remember and easy to type. Both a blogshop and a hosted e-commerce website have its advantages.

Why Blogshop is Good?

1. Convenient and Easy to Setup

   Setting up a blogshop is easy. Just select the blog platform (Blogger.com or WordPress.com) you want, think of a name, check its availability, register it and you’re good to go. The setup is immediate and you can start posting photos and details of your items right away. Also, you don’t need to have any technical knowledge of maintaining a website. Thus, you can post, update and edit your blog anytime you want to.
   

2. Blogger and WordPress are FREE

   Blogging on Blogger or WordPress, as you all know, is free. By setting up a blogshop, you save on several fees that you have to come up with by having a hosted website. First, there is the domain name, which you need to register prior to having your website. There is also the website hosting fee as well as the need to purchase a shopping cart software (although there are free shopping carts available). You save on all these by running a blogshop!
   

3. Quick and Straightforward Communication with Customers

   Visitors are able to inquire, give feedback or place orders by leaving comments on the blog posts. There is also the option of installing a chat box where blogshop owners and their customers can communicate easily. However, there is not much control on how these chat boxes will display and will work, because they are designed for general use and not specifically for doing business online.

However, I think that a hosted website with a shopping cart gives a business leverage because of the following reasons.

Why a Hosted e-Commerce Site with Shopping Cart is Better?

1. Delivers a Brand Image and Easy Access

   For starters, having your own domain name represents your business well. It is easy to access and remember your website, besides giving customers confidence in your business. Having your own domain indicates that you mean business. To me, I wouldn’t have confidence in dealing with blogshops. With the simplicity in setting a blogshop up, they are just everywhere and I don’t know if the person behind them are serious about the business, reliable or trustworthy.
   

2. Real-time Credit Card and Paypal Payments

   This is one great advantage that a blogshop doesn’t have. A hosted website powered by a shopping cart software is able to accept credit card transactions through a payment gateway such as 2Checkout and iPay88 (Malaysia’s most popular online payment gateway that accepts credit cards, Paypal, Maybank2u and many others). The site can also integrate PayPal easily. Having a shopping cart gives your business an edge because customers are not only able to pay for large purchases easily but are also able to shop online in a more secure manner with the SSL and other security measures.
   

3. Better Business Management

   Most shopping cart software come with a myriad of features that were created to make business management a breeze. These features include the real time calculation of sales tax, discounts, and shipping cost. Orders, catalogs, inventory and shipping orders can also be managed at ease with the assistance of the shopping cart.
   

4. Delivers Auto-responders

   With auto-responders, you can send automated replies and emails to your customers, affiliates, suppliers and prospects easily. By defining an auto-reply and creating multiple mailing lists, your emails will go out automatically to the intended recipients. You can even improve the deliverability of the emails by engaging a third-party auto-responder service. Just imagine if you have to manually send these emails without this auto-responder feature. Most of your time will be spent on emails instead of focusing on your business!
   

5. Search Engines Optimized Pages

   Do you know how to get more traffic from Google or other search engines? The average entrepreneur out there most likely doesn’t have this knowledge and using Blogger or WordPress doesn’t help much. But you don’t have to worry about having SEO pages if you have a shopping cart because it provides a search engine friendly environment that will lead to a better ranking on popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo! Search and Bing.

What Shopping Cart do you Recommend?

We strongly recommend CS-Cart shopping cart. It is a really good shopping cart software which is very affordable yet features-rich. CS-Cart is suitable for any online e-commerce sites, such as a fashion or clothing site, a website selling mobile phones, a watches site, and many others.

For more details, check our complete CS-Cart review.

What about Web Hosting?

Now that you have chosen a good shopping cart software, what about the web hosting? We recommend GreenGeeks. Their Eco Site hosting plan costs as low as $4.95 monthly and it comes with a whole lot of features designed for an e-commerce website. On top of that, you can use a discount coupon which will get you $30 discount instantly!

Check out details on our GreenGeeks review.

Editor’s Advice

A blogshop is convenient and needs little effort in maintaining but as its name indicate, they were meant to be just blogs and do not have any features that support a business. Someone who is just starting to dabble in online business and intends to keep it as an additional source of income can remain using blogshops hosted on Blogger or WordPress.
However, if you are serious about being an online entrepreneur, a shopping cart on a hosted website is the better bet for you for the reputation and features that it carries for your business.

Blogshop Suppliers

The whole blogshop concept is built on cost.

It works because blogshops can deliver lower costs than established channels, like brick retailers or the major e-commerce websites.  Therefore, owners must be able to find supply sources that provide costs lower than that in the mainstream market.  This raises the position of blogshop suppliers as a most critical factor for blogshop success.

From: http://hubpages.com/hub/BlogshopSupplierSingapore

Singapore Blogshop Suppliers

By dressesqueen

Singapore Blogshop Suppliers

In blogshop industry, the most importan success factor is suppliers. Blogshop owners hold this information sacred because if their blogshop suppliers are discovered, other blogshops can then buy directly from them.

Owning a blogshop is the best way to earn money online! The main problem in starting a new blogshop is finding the perfect blogshop supplier. The blogshop supplier must supply blogshop products low cost enough for you to earn a nice profit, yet the quality of the product must be good enough. The suppliers must also be reliable and not cheat your money. One good wayis to see how well they design their website, the amount of effort they spend to make their webpage look professional. They must also have a .com web address and not afraid of answering your questions with emails and contact information. If the blogshop supplier cannot do all these, DO NOT buy from them!

Let me tell you the big secret: www.blogshopsupplier.com is the best blogshop supplier you can get! I am distributing the important info because I have stopped doing my blogshop which earned me $20,000 monthly on a normal month.

Blogshop Supplier .com was my only supplier as they gave me the latest designs from Taiwan/Korea/Japan/HK at the best prices around, and has a low minimum ordering quantity of 15 in total, and also free import shipping. The owner Lilly is soooo nice and I love how she work so closely with me. This is the best best best deal I can find in Singapore, and trust me I spend so much time searching Singapore and even Malaysia for blogshop supplier and finally found Lilly's Blogshopsupplier.com. OMG i was so happy!

Initially I had all sorts of problems with my suppliers! Those people from C*** P**** were very unfriendly, too much, must take S,M,L and have to order minimum 300 clothing from them! This is insane for new blogshop owners. They only entertain big blogshops who can afford to buy alot at a time. No new blogshop can start like this! Other suppliers were not reliable.

So I strongly really recommend Blogshop Supplier.com to you, they are really the best supplier that will help your blogshop launch and grow, just like mine. I have done it, and so can you!


Source:
Singapore logshop Supplierss
Blogshop Supplier

Blogshop Haul

This is an example of a 'HAUL'.  It works like this: someone goes on a shopping spree, buys (or hauls) a bunch of fashion items, and then share it all online.  It gives them a chance to dress up in what they have bought, take pictures and post on their blogs.  Sometimes they do this on You Tube.

In a way, they play the role of fashion consultants, or experts, and they get to show off their purchases.

From: http://cloverbeautyinn.blogspot.com/2011/01/massive-haul-from-singapore-blog-shop.html

Friday, January 21, 2011

Massive Haul from Singapore Blog Shop: Love, Bonito

Recently I have fallen in love with the clothes from a Singapore Blog Shop "Love, Bonito". Not only are the designs very trendy and cutting flattering, the prices are really REALLY reasonable too. The prices of most of their clothes range from SGD25-50. They carry a lower end range called "Love, Bonito", and a higher end range called "COVET". All their designs are original and the fabrics used are nothing short of excellent =) I buy most of my clothes from them now and here I post only some of my more recent purchases. I just made another huge order from them yesterday, and probably I will post some photos of that order when it arrives!

Byzantine Curve Dress in fuschia, SGD30, S size

COVET Charis Amour Dress in red, SGD45, S size

Red satin underneath black lace and mesh

Best Sunday Tog in cool blue, SGD28, free size

Labyrinth Maze Dress in Royal Purple, SGD29, free size

Au Courant Shrug in cream, SGD28, free size

Love, Bonito usually launches a new collection every week, and when they do, some designs get SOLD OUT within minutes! So if you are keen to buy their clothes, make sure you have fast fingers to add items to cart and fast internet connection! =)

10 comments:

Becky said...

All the clothes are really cute, but I specially like the last one

January 21, 2011 3:22 AM

Anna Crystal said...

You look so incredibly cute and you have a fantastic taste!

January 21, 2011 4:21 AM

ashura said...

Thank you Anna, I am flattered =)

January 21, 2011 5:28 AM

Steph said...

they look so cute on you =D especially the second && last one ~

January 21, 2011 8:33 AM

나니 said...

LOVE the exotic look of the first dress. SUPER pretty : D

January 21, 2011 8:47 AM

InsideOut Elle said...

these are adorable! I LOVE the first one especially ;) sexy~~

January 21, 2011 11:29 AM

Sophie-Lou-J said...

aww you look super cute in all these outfits. I love the 3rd dress!! Sophie-Lou x www.sophie-Lou-j-says.blogspot.com

January 21, 2011 11:42 AM

mineral lipstick said...

Love the pretty dresses...and the crochet stole looks like a steal.It is elegant and multipurpose.It is nice to see the new fashions when dressing...the color combination and styles which are always evolving.

January 21, 2011 7:54 PM

Nic Nic said...

my fave no2 and the purple dress!! lovely picks :)

January 24, 2011 8:21 AM

Marina said...

so so pretty!!! xx Marina

February 2, 2011 5:36 AM

Post a Comment

So far, pretty much all the news of e-commerce stores setting up shop on Facebook involve the use of specialized e-commerce applications.

They are missing out on the blogshop types of stores on Facebook, that is the stores that leverage on the free-ness of the platform and which DO NOT USE applications that require payment.

(This notion suggests that a necessary characteristic to define blogshops is their COST-FREE aspect).

Secondly, it is interesting to note that blogshops are trying to do exactly what this article describes as expensive, slow and risky, ie building a shopping site outside of Facebook (or a C2C online market site like eBay, Etsy, etc).

In this sense, blogshops represent a shopping channel that operates outside of the mainstream/established systems.  Their owners undertake the difficult tasks of building the whole system from scratch mainly because they want to leverage on the COST-FREE benefits of a blog platform.  Collectively, they have thus far been able to circumvent many of the obstacles by creating a self-supportive eco-system comprised of various free  social media forms to effect a unique type of e-commerce.

At the same time, this article also confirms the inevitability of blogshops becoming or complementing  Facebook stores in the future as the giant social network continues to gain mass.

From: http://socialmediatoday.com/mattambrose/272418/why-facebook-could-dominate-next-generation-ecommerce

Why Facebook Could Dominate the Next Generation of Ecommerce

    Posted February 22, 2011 by Matt Ambrose

Day by day, Facebook’s tentacles continue to spread and pull in more of the web into its domain. Facebook Deals marked its step into the world of discounts and group buying. Now its got its sights set on the wider world of ecommerce. And its competitors need to be afraid. Very afraid.

The integrated Facebook store

Brands and businesses have been using Facebook to boost traffic to their websites for some time. Tesco earned £2 million last year through their Facebook fan page. All they had to do was post links in their newsfeed and then sit back and let users post ‘Likes’ and comments to share their offers virally.


But posting links isnt the only way to sell on Facebook. There’s now a steady stream of brands and businesses setting up shop and selling directly, without users having to leave the site.

The popular fashion retailer ASOS was the first to get the ball rolling, last month, with a fully transactional Facebook store. French Connection and Dove now have plans to follow suit. These are just the first pioneers of the many brands and businesses that are likely to follow.

Even the mighty Amazon isn’t too big to ignore Facebook’s potential. It recently bought Quidsi to help it launch Facebook stores of its own, so it can use the site as a sales opporunity rather than a direct competitor.

A social shopping experience that’s difficult to replicate

The reasons for creating an online store on Facebook are obvious: it has 30 million users in the UK alone, offers can be spread virally and it’s where people are spending large chunks of their online time.

Neither does creating an online store have to be expensive. Applications, such as Storenvy and ShopIgniter, make it relatively simple to add a store tab to your Facebook page.

Perhaps the key reason why creating Facebook store is a no brainer is because Facebook delivers a social shopping experience that is very difficult to replicate.

Trying to build a social shopping site outside of Facebook would be an expensive, slow and risky challenge. Not only do you have to attract users in their millions, but you also have to persuade them to start spending as much time on the site as they do on Facebook.

The fact is that Facebook has such a massive head start on its rivals (with 600 million users and counting) that it could dominate the world of ecommerce, let alone social shopping, in the years to come.

Another piece of evidence that fashion entrepreneurship provides great opportunities for women who aspire to do business on the Internet.

From: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/business-ideas-women-internet-4437.html

Business Ideas for Women on the Internet

by Miranda Brookins, Demand Media

Share | Share on Facebook Share on Google Share on Linked In Share on Twitter Share via Email

• Internet businesses afford women the opportunity to make money while working from virtually anywhere: home, local coffee shops, libraries and local business centers, among other locations. Starting an Internet business requires taking inventory of your skill set and interests to identify an opportunity that will not only pay the bills but also be personally satisfying. There are a variety of Internet businesses from which women can choose: helping keep busy professionals organized, selling homemade crafts and blogging about being a mom, just to name a few. The possibilities are limitless.

• Virtual Assistant

  Business owners can't always afford to hire full-time employees to assist with the various aspects of their businesses. From marketing and accounting, to filing documents and following up with customer inquiries, entrepreneurs have hectic schedules and limited resources. Women can start virtual assistant Internet businesses that allow them to work remotely to complete tasks for busy professionals. Tasks might include transcribing, setting up social networks, blogging and identifying online marketing opportunities. Startup costs for a virtual assistant business are relatively low; you need a home office, a computer and access to common office equipment, such as a phone, fax machine, copy machine and printer.

• Online Boutique Owner

  Women business owners can skip the costs associated with running a brick-and-mortar boutique by operating an online one. Find a niche that piques your interests and research suppliers and vendors who sell products you can purchase for resale. From baby clothing and accessories to beauty products, such as makeup and perfume, there's a wide variety of items you can sell at your online boutique. This Internet business is also suitable if you make your own merchandise, such as gift baskets, hair bows, makeup, clothing, accessories or jewelry. WomenEntrepreneur.com notes that startup costs for online boutiques are low and the hours are flexible but competition is strong. To be successful, it's important to keep organized. Set a budget that includes the cost for a web and graphic designer, a domain name, monthly web hosting and inventory costs.

• Blogger

  While many people blog as a hobby, there are a wide range of professional bloggers who have made a career out of connecting with audiences online. The web is saturated with content on topics ranging from running a household to running a business. But with branding, engaging content and support from advertisers and sponsors, you can make your blog stand out and attract a loyal readership. Take inventory of your interests to come up with ideas for your blog business. Determine your target market and identify the types of advertisers who may be interested in purchasing advertising space on your blog. You might consider a blog about parenting, quick meals for families with kids, how to run a woman-owned business, baby products or beauty products.

The Girl Next Door: Online shopping Part II: where to shop

Online fashion is a worldwide phenomenon.  The uniqueness of the online fashion scene in Malaysia and Singapore is that these are done on blogs.

From: http://media.www.umdstatesman.com/media/storage/paper1351/news/2011/02/23/Variety/The-Girl.Next.Door.Online.Shopping.Part.Ii.Where.To.Shop-3980758.shtml

The Girl Next Door: Online shopping Part II: where to shop

Charlotte Crowley

You may want to go get your copy of last week's column because you're probably going to need it for this week. After sharing some advice about having a hassle-free online shopping experience, I thought I'd share which online shops have drained my energy, time and bank balance over the last few years.

Up until a few years ago, the only sites you could order online from were those that already had physical stores. It was easy and it was convenient, and it is still popular today. Almost all physical shops today have an online counterpart, allowing shoppers to avoid the queues, changing room stress and over-crowded malls to enjoy shopping from their own homes. But over the last few years a new breed of online shops has emerged. These stores don't have physical counterparts, but exist only online.

This allows people to open online stores from their homes and in their spare time, giving us much greater diversity in what is available to purchase online. While previously small indie designers would advertise through word-of-mouth, they can now open their own boutiques at a click of a button. Here are some of my favorite online-only (or virtually online-only) shops:

ASOS.com

As Seen On Screen (ASOS) is the U.K.'s largest online-only fashion and beauty website that recently launched a U.S. counterpart. ASOS began back in 2000, where it prided itself on creating budget-friendly imitations of celebrity looks. Today the site is a haven of buys, featuring both UK high street pieces and designer duds. The site is constantly updated so there is always a new temptation with every visit.

Lulus.com

Lulu's is perfect if you have a girly, slightly Boho style. The site features hundreds of designers you won't find anywhere else, and all for reasonable (think Forever 21-esque) prices. They even have a vintage section for one-of-a-kind finds.

TopShop.com

Okay, not strictly online-only, but with only one store in the U.S. (in New York City), Topshop.com is the easiest way to get your dose of British style. Top Shop is a staple on the high streets of the UK, with its constant array of on-trend pieces and slightly quirky designs. The website allows you to browse both boutique and designer collections and often has some online-only treats to offer.

Modcloth.com

If your style is a little more vintage and edgy, then Modcloth is the place to shop. The site is a haven of quirky, retro-inspired clothes and gifts. The site prides itself on its unique pieces and features hundreds of indie designers.