Selling Online Today - Inspiring Chats With Successful Ecommerce Sellers

Adrian is from Blackpool and is the founder of The Ink Squid. Together with a small team, Adrian specialises in selling compatible ink and toner cartridges for brand-name printers. Having been in business for over 5 years the company have established themselves on multi-channel platforms such as Amazon and eBay as well as their own eCommerce website.  

Rob from Parade Antiques sells items in the area of collectibles, memorabilia and antiques. Based in Plymouth, the business was established in 1997. Around five years ago, Rob started the Company’s eCommerce business alongside friend and business partner Alex. Parade Antiques trade through their own website and through eBay and are based in an old early 18th century warehouse near the waterís edge of Plymouth.  

With over 15 years in the business Andy has perfected his selling technique on online platforms such as eBay, Amazon and his own website. Printer Basics is located in Cheshire UK and was originally a mail order service but was updated to a eCommerce website as the times changed!  

Alasdair has been trading ink cartridges online since 2009 through eCommerce platforms such as Amazon and eBay and through his own website badgerinks.co.uk. He is based in East Sussex with a small team around him. Alasdair has recently started a bricks and mortar business alongside his thriving online business selling brands such as Canon, Epson and Lexmark.  

Michael is a Northern Irish trade man that runs Kenco Spares and been operating since 1960 and since then started an eCommerce business in 2002 selling on multi-channel platforms such as eBay and Amazon. As well as having an online eCommerce store Michael also has a bricks and mortar store also called “Kenco Spares” in Belfast that has everything to do with domestic spare parts for most appliances such as Kenco and Dyson, dish washing machines, dryers etc.  

Ellen from Scuba Choice sells everything to do with scuba diving and started her eCommerce business in 2011 with her father, she is now running the multi-channel eCommerce business with 8 people on a day to day business all from starting from business from scratch in the garage.  

David from Run Active has 2 aspects to his website, one is for the performance running market and his second eCommerce business expands into the niche market for his other multi channel site Muddy Kit for people that endure the tough muddier events & races. As well as running successful eCommerce websites David also owns bricks and mortar stores which supplies to the casual jogger to cross country.  

Brendan from Homeline Furniture was started by his father by creating a bricks and mortar store in 1991 in County Tipperary, Ireland and evolving into the world of eCommerce multi selling covering your house needs from top to bottom.  

Roisin from F.R. Cathcart Ltd is a special person I helped way back set up their now booming eCommerce website, and have massively progressed since then and I hope will continue to do so! The F.R. Cathcart Ltd business started 40 years ago as a brick and mortar store in Northern Ireland and they supply everything from home and garden to hardware and building supplies. The store mainly sold building supplies until the credit crunch occurred, so as a family business they decided to diversify what they offered and delved into more a of a lifestyle store.  

Ecommerce business Lente Designs has been running for over 6 years by herself with casual staff over busy periods, Lente Designs started very slowly running 3 days a week. The couple not happy with their day to day jobs decided to plunge into making their own business. Taking a risk and taking out money on their credit card and buying fabrics to make their own designs for the niche market of iPad & tablet covers, designed by themselves along with help Lente Designs aims to provide quality cases for a little cost as possible.  

Andrew runs Engineers Mate with 3 other directors, starting in 2011 the eCommerce business is relatively new, they have 2 branches; one in Dudley and one in Halford, they also have 2 trade counters as well as trading on multi-channel platforms such as eBay, Amazon and their own website. Starting with their first order on 28th August 2012 they planned for the business to be completely online on their website, but then delved into eBay and Amazon to expand their eCommerce dominance.  

Michael has been in the supplement business for approximately 11 years starting way back in 2004. Finally in 2008 he took the chance to buy out the owner of the company so he could pursue his own eCommerce adventures. In 2011 he took the chance to open up a store in East London which runs alongside their own multi-channel websites and has now been running for 4 years and it’s been very successful. The family run business focuses their lives around health and fitness so the company is a joy for them to work with.  

D for Dog began life in June 2004 as a dog photo gallery and shrine. Jenny Prevel took inspiration from her dogs Boycie and Berkeley to grow the site considerably since then to include dog news, events, articles and funnies, plus deaf dog information, a friendly dog forum, and of course an online shop for dog accessories.  

Duke Gifts is all about printed personalised gifts, there’s now a lot of people doing a similar thing, but when Simon started it was all about his graphic design being the best of the best! All of the products on the site are made by Simon himself, and then printed onto physical items such as mugs, teddy bears, bottles, money boxes… Just a whole host of items. You won’t find these items anywhere else in the world, they are totally unique. The company now sells over 200 items a day starting in February 2014, so the company has really set off “Snowball” start.  

DJM Direct is based in Nelson, Lancashire and many years ago Jay worked for a small business in Huddersfield and sold DIY products, contracts etc. In 2004, after experimenting with different products and finding the right products, they decided to move into to a 10,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Lancashire and continued expanding and looked for other means of selling and went onto Amazon, their own eCommerce site and in 2013 they expanded the warehouse to 20,000 sq. ft., and have turned over 2 million last year and have started their own brand just over 12 months ago.  

Daniel started Shellac Nails in November 2012 with help from an Enterprise Ireland New Frontiers Course which works with start-ups. Initially planning to supply medical statistical data to global pharmaceutical companies. He had a talent for sourcing products from external markets and with a hint that Shellac Gel was the next best thing to hit the market, Daniel took the plunge to start his own Shellac Nails business.  

Chris from MyBadgeApp had a day to day job but decided to plunge onto making a side eBay business for some extra cash, starting from purchasing a £100 badge maker and some tough work, he now has over 30,000 total sales. Ranging from nearly every type of button design available Chris runs a successful eCommerce business. He made his eBay store in 2005 but didn’t actively use it for his MyBadgeApp business until 2012 to the point where he takes 1000 orders a month easily.  

Red Herring Games was started by Jo in 2007 in Grimsby and built from the ground up. Red Herring Games is a fascinating business all to do with mystery murder, dinner events, party accessories, gifts, bits and pieces, and it was all because she wanted to raise money for her own coffee shop!  

Hardware Ireland was started by Alan and is now seen as the online presence of Expert Hardware, Crumlin. They have been serving their local area for the past 15 years from their store, but have recently taken to the internet to expand their eCommerce service!  

Gavin from The Cuties and Pals sells bespoke children's luggage sets. Gavin and his wife Susanne started  their business after coming up with the idea of making more colourful luggage with pretty designs, and through doing research they found that there was very little in the children’s market for luggage. They have been trading for over 6 years now in various channels.