Many people over the years have asked us, so what happens to all the clothes and shoes you guys buy and process?

Selling any product including "iPhone cases" on websites with high competition like Ebay is surely not an easy mission. There are hundreds of sellers on Ebay and other websites who are already selling cases. If you need to get some sales, you need at least one of the following: 1. High reputation, reviews or feedbacks on the website that you are selling on. 2. The product that you are selling must be unique in some way or simply not found anywhere else. 3. If your products are featured at your own website, then that website of yours must be ranked properly online and marketed decently around social media networks. In your case, a possible approach would be to create your own website to sell your products on or work as an affiliate marketer for other big sellers in exchange for commissions. Depending on your budget, you need to draw the right plan around. If you have a good budget to invest in your business, then creating a website for yourself is a must. Otherwise, you need to rely on other websites and seek to provide unique or special products to get an edge around. Hope that helps!

That depends on how differentiated you are from existing products and if having your product next to a dozen competitors on a shelf will help sell it. Do customers need to touch it to see why it's different/better? If not, brick-and-mortar might not be necessary, at least initially. Warby Parker overcame this issue by making their glasses easy to return. Try on a few frames and return the ones you don't want.

I have several years of experience in marketing and optimization in the eCommerce space for one of the largest online jewelry retailers in the U.S. I also have several year of experience working with online retailers that operate under a subscription models. In order to answer your question, you will need to consider the following: Will your subscription revenue generate enough income to maintain the operational strains of this business model and be profitable? If you do not know the answer to this, you need to work backwards to arrive at the monthly pricing for your subscription service. Some things to consider: 1. Cost associated with operational logistics like shipping and fulfillment (assuming customers have to receive and ship the jewelry back to you) 2. Carrying costs associated with holding on to inventory on consignment. (assuming you will not own the jewelry outright) This may come with other contingencies like having to carry insurance and the operational aspects that will help you handle recovery of lost / unreturned inventory, etc. 3. Costs associated with building a transactional platform that is built for the monthly activity you will have with a subscriptions service. If you take Macy's for example, most customers place online orders 4 times per year or so. In your case, the nature of your model requires a different platform as you will be taking recurring payments, arranging returns, maintaining credit card / payment information, etc. In short, its a different animal that your startup eCommerce type platform. If you'd like to get more details or insights I'd be happy to hop on a call and chat.

I live in Brooklyn, NY, which is a really fertile ground for small business retailers. My experience speaking with a lot of the shop owners is that they simply don't have the resources to maintain an online presence. Just keeping the brick and mortar operation running consumes most, if not all of their time, especially if the are also creating and producing their own products. For many that I do see take a shot at e-commerce retailing, they may get Shopify/Squarespace site set-up, then just run out of steam to keep it going. One innovative, in-between approach that I've seen one of my favorite shops take, is to actually focus on using a single social media channel, Instagram, and maintain an e-commerce function through it. (See @peopleof2morrow on Instagram)

Your brand must conjure associations beyond the clothing itself. Fabric is only fabric. Attractive design matters, but market competition is enough to drive down prices. If you intend to ask a premium, then your product line must SUGGEST more than it literally is. Eventually, certain brands reach maturity and can point to an established reputation or high-profile adoption by the rich and famous. But you can start out by honing a brand "story" that captivates attention. Parts of that story are visual; others are verbal. Naming -- which is a large part of what I do -- is crucial when it comes to instantaneous unconscious communication. The right name tells your story for you on first contact with investors or consumers. Thereafter, it echoes in the mind, resonating with associations people bring to your product from their own experiences. Those associations add value. This is true whether you're a luxury brand or a maker of upscale outdoor gear like Patagonia, which takes its name from rugged South American highlands. In addition to your brand name, I would recommend paying close attention to all of your written copy. Make it unified and stylish ... in whatever way best fits your product line and intended audience.