Making a living from girl stuff

大学生网上卖化妆品淘得金饭碗

Li Wanyuan, 25 International relations major, 2007 Shandong University graduate Project: online shop Star-up capital: 10,720 yuan

A YEAR and a half ago, like most men in the world, Li Wanyuan went dizzy whenever anyone talked about girls` cosmetics. Now he`s making a living from them.

回想1年半前，李万源（音译）还像大多数男性一样提起女孩们的化妆品就觉得晕头转向。而如今，他已将其作为自己的工作。

Li got his first job after graduating in 2007 as a salesman for a Shandong company.

2007年，李找到了毕业后的第一份工作：在山东一家公司做销售。

He quit the job about half a year later when he saw that it wouldn`t give him room to develop.

然而，半年后，他认识到该工作没有发展的空间，于是便毅然辞职。

He was attracted by the idea of Internet selling, and decided to set up his own online shop, with the idea of developing it into a regional shopping site later.

那时的他对网络销售很感兴趣，于是决定创立一家自己的网店，希望有朝一日能将它发展为一个区域性购物场所。

"Girls are obsessed with being beautiful and they`ll never stop trying, so the cosmetics business will obviously go far," Li explained.

李表示：“爱美是所有女性共同的特点，她们永远不会放弃追求美丽的尝试。由此看来，做化妆品买卖肯定会成功。”

Li opened his "University Graduate`s Online Shop" on March 19, 2008, on Taobao.com.

2008年3月19日，李在淘宝网上创立了他的网店——"University Graduate's Online Shop"。

He did not stock any goods at first and only provided photos and descriptions of the goods available.

起初，他只在网上提供可出售商品的照片和描述，并不备货。

Every day, he took a bus to get the cosmetics people ordered that day.

因此，他每天都要乘坐公交车去采购顾客当天购买的化妆品。

For the first half month, he sold his goods at a loss to increase sales and credit.

开店前半个月，他亏本出售商品，借此来提高业绩和信誉度。

New sellers don`t have a credit record at all, and buyers tended to trust those with a good record.

这样做的原因很简单：新卖家根本没有信用记录，而多数买家都倾向于根据信用记录来决定是否信任卖家。

He gradually figured out which products sold and which didn`t so his next move was to spend 600 yuan on the popular ones.

随着时间的累积，他发现一些商品很受欢迎，而其他则不然。于是，他决定在这些受欢迎商品上投资600元。

To establish a good customer base, he opened a VIP service -anyone who bought anything became a VIP member.

为了建立一个良好的客户基础，他开通了VIP服务：凡购买商品者均可成为VIP会员。

That qualified them for a 2 percent discount on their next purchase.

VIP会员购买商品可享受2％的折扣优惠。

In addition, he often enclosed free samples with any order, in the hope that people would try the product after trying the sample.

此外，他经常为买家免费附赠样品，希望她们在体验后购买该产品。

For the first two months, he earned nothing at all but his credit and reputation were looking better.

这样下来，起初的两个月虽然他的收入几乎为零，他的信用和声望却上升了不少。

By the third month, Li made about 1,000 to 1,500 yuan.

到了第三个月，李的收入在1000到1500元左右。

However, the loose capital was becoming a problem that trouble him just as it did other online sellers.

然而，和其他在线卖家一样，他开始面临蚀本问题。

The rule of online transactions is that a seller does not get paid until the customer gets the goods.

按照在线交易规则，买家在拿到货物后才付款。

Deliveries took about a week, meaning that there was a week delay in the payment process.

而货品投递需要花费一周左右的时间，因此付款也要延迟一周。

To keep his business running, Li had to cut the purchase cost.

为保证生意的正常运营，李不得不降低进货成本。

One solution he used was his credit card that allowed him a 5,000-yuan overdraft.

他采用的一个方法是用信用卡结算。他的信用卡透支额度为5000元。

Li has also spent 1,000 to 1,500 yuan a month on Taobao`s advertising service.

此外，李每个月花费1000至1500元在淘宝网上做广告。

This "direct link" allows a seller to link its products to a keyword search.

这个“直接链接”能让卖家通过关键字搜索链接到他的商品。

When customers search for a specific word that the seller has a link to, the seller`s products will appear on a list of recommendations.

一旦卖家所添加的链接与顾客搜索的关键词相吻合，他的商品就会出现在网站的推荐列表中。

That service, Li says, contributes at least 50 percent to his volume of transactions. He made about 5,000 yuan, the last month of 2008.

李透露，这项服务为他带来一半的交易量。2008年最后一个月，他交易所得为5000元。

His gross income for this past February was 8,000 yuan, so Li plans to do more to stock goods.

今年2月份他的总收入达到了8000元。由此，李计划进一步扩大采购规模。

Here are some suggestions for anyone looking at starting an online shop:

给欲开网店的你一些建议：

1. Make sure there`s a ready market before you start stocking your goods. Take at least a month to study the market.

1. 备货前，确保你有一个现成的市场。至少花一个月的时间做市场调查。

2．A good reputation is everything for an online seller. As a newcomer with no credit record, you may have to sacrifice profits to boost your score.

2. 对网上卖家而言，声望决定一切。对于没有信用记录的新手而言，你可能需要牺牲利润来提高分值，赔本赚吆喝。

3．A VIP membership is one good way to form a bond with customers and help you establish a good customer base.

3. VIP会员制可以有效粘合顾客，从而帮你建立强大的客户基础。

4．Keep up with the times so that you always know what the most popular goods are.

4. 要与时俱进，你总得了解什么东西现下最流行。