Does this make any sense ?

[PrintingandPri]

It seemed like a good idea at the time . . .

I've worked in the printing industry for 25 years. I've always wanted to own and run a bookshop.

So . . . www.printingandprinted.com was conceived, an attempt at combining the two.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, now, maybe not so much. So far it's been "less than successful".
Am I barking up the wrong tree ? Is it too big an area to try to cover ? Is the website & design too difficult to fathom ?
I think technically it's OK, everything works.

For the purposes of comparison, I've started a very simple online bookstore at www.campsiebooks.com

Which, if either, would you focus on, which has the best prospects ?

Any and all opinions and/or design & marketing suggestions would be very welcome.

Thank you in advance. Ronnie.

[GreatLight]

Both look good, but I would keep them separate,
How many people go looking for a secondhand book and want printing at the same time? or vice versa..

I would separate them, but you can always put an ad or two on each in a block perhaps that can link one to the other .

From a marketing / SEO point of view they are 2 different areas, so would benefit from being targeted separately as well.

I can't speak for what would be more successful, running 2 or more sites is more work, but is better than watching daytime tv....

[Neil]

Definately separate - however can't remember the last time i bought a book that didn't come from amazon!

[PrintingandPri]

Thank you Graham & Neil. The initial idea was to sell anything "printed" (books, artwork, framed pictures, ephemera, etc) along with having a print website. It is slowly dawning on me that this doesn't quite work. The domain name "printingandprinted" will have to go and 2 separate websites makes much more sense. Whether either would make any money is a whole other question. Thanks both again.

[Terry]

Definately separate - however can't remember the last time i bought a book that didn't come from amazon!

I have to agree. Separate sites. I too have never in recent years bought book from anywhere other than Amazon - which is a crying shame for the small business online book sellers :-(

[PrintingandPri]

Thanks Terry, Yeah most people will just go straight to Amazon unfortunately. It's gonna be such a lot of work listing books in the wee site ( www.campsiebooks.com ), not sure if it's worth the effort.

[amberpumpkin]

arent you better just listing your books on amazon? yes they take their big cut but you have no card processing fees, no hosting fees, quick to list, big audience and they do the marketing for you

[Terry]

Thanks Terry, Yeah most people will just go straight to Amazon unfortunately. It's gonna be such a lot of work listing books in the wee site ( www.campsiebooks.com ), not sure if it's worth the effort.

I really feel for you - if only people realised the work and effort small business owners put in, to just make a living. Perhaps try listing the books on Amazon - test the waters, see what happens, and if you manage to still make a profit after their charges

[PrintingandPri]

Hi Amber & Terry, Thank you both.
I've been on Amazon selling books for a few years and although they do sell, Amazon (like Ebay), take too big a chunk.
I'll probably carry on with the books site ( www.campsiebooks.com ), because the running costs are tiny and give that a go. Both the print industry and the book-selling industry can do well online but both would benefit from a real life shop, however that's too big a step for the moment anyway.
I'll separate the printing from the printed and carry on anyway.
Thanks both again

[hiutsuri]

With books or virtually anything you need to specialise you can't compete as a general seller.
Where do you add the value?
Are they items you can't buy anywhere else?
Are they products which are difficult to list for technical reasons eg variant number?