>Hi John, >First off let me tell you, that your web site is the best site I >have seen yet.I am a wooden toy maker and am thinking about venturing my >buisness into the net. I am a little curious as to if it is worth the >extra money to do so though. If it is at all possible could you give me >a good guestimate off how much revenue your web sales bring you ? I >appreciate your help. >Joey   Joey,   Thanks for the nice complement. I too asked other online toymakers about their success on line before I ventured forth. Most were underwhelmed, but seemed positive. Yet, I am very pleased with my web sales. Whether you would be too is hard to say. I am a one-man-band so pleasing figures for me would disappoint a larger concern. I do expect growth as my site gets better known and the web itself expands. I get about 20-30 hits a day, some of which are surely search engines and other toymakers. I did most of the web site development so the cost has been very small in dollars, high in time. Recently, I sprung for my own domain name (woodentoy.com) and I strongly suggest you do the same. Success on the web is related to how much energy you put into promotion and you don't want to spend the energy only to have your ISP go under and be forced to change URL's. With your own domain you can take your site anywhere so your promotional energy is conserved. I wanted toymaker.com but Mattel beat me to it.   I follow several sites on "web site promotion" regularly and suggest you do the same. Also, pay attention to how to get high rankings on search engines. I also spend several hours per week promoting my site both online and through more conventional means. Since most of my work goes to repeat customers I suspect this load will lesson with time. Already, web customers are repeating orders.   I have had a successful mail order component of my business for years, over 60 %, and I would have been more hesitant without this experience. This gave me a bit of confidence in moving to the web, though I have had little success in selling my toys sight unseen or untouched before. Past success in the mail has been through word-of-mouth or repeat orders. But, the web has been different. Perhaps it is the freedom to add lots of details or perhaps its the color pictures. Something works differently than my black & white paper catalog. When you look around at various toy sites you will notice that some were written by hired "geeks" and it shows. Some others are very tasteful and it also shows. The pages with flashing Java and bright primary colors are not the atmosphere I wanted. Many html writers can do the code but have little sense of graphic design. Be careful if you are committing lots of dollars. I am learning both html and graphic design.   What kind of toys do you make? I think the uniqueness of your work will be an indicator of success. People seem to come to the web seeking the unusual or the hard to find. You have to distinguish your work: quality, price, design, etc. With the big toy companies and their off-shore factories I have little chance on price, so my unusual quality helps. My market niche is very small, yet seems large enough.   I wish you the BEST of success. I was going to say luck, but it is really hard work that pays. Sorry for the long response with none of the hard dollar figures you asked for. I hope it is helpful.   John