Background: To enable some members to sell their personal items on the SHC forum, we had started the SHC online Fleamart. This Post begins each month, and members can sell their personal items. Jassmine Teo was leading this project. We started with no picture, and the IT guys have added picture capability to the Posts and later t the comments. The usage of this service varies from one to 5 items per month. Corporate or business items were excluded in the month online fleamart. The online fleamart had stopped recently due to inadequate response and lack of members volunteering to lead and follow up each month.
There was good interest among members for the physical Fleamart. From feedback, we had a few fleamarts, and the result range from so so to successful. The last fleamart was held at Civil Service Sports Club.
Last few years, we had feedback to set up and gather a group to buy and sell in bulk. The ideas toyed around, but there was insufficient interest. I guess the thinking was that it is easier to buy from the suupermarket, than to harnesss a group to buy in bulk. Maybe there is the logistic difficulty. But, we keep this idea fresh and on-going, and if the item is workable, let’s pick it up again.
There has always been interests by some members to sell their corporate items. The items vary. The members who are interested are those with products and services, ideally suited to seniors and their elderly family members. Various groups within SHC have met to discuss online selling; setting up a website, use of available shopping portals eg eBay, gumtree, etc. There were talks on delivery difficulties, collection of payment, and the type of products and services to be offered. But, I guess the various groups did not take off their ideas, due to varied interests, concerns with starting an online business as most of us are no long as young as we thought, funding and fear of the long process in setting up an online shopping business.
iShop@SHC, a SilverHairs Enterprise project for 2015
We are all still dreaming, even though we may be young. Well, if you have still the idea of running an online shopping business, dont give up., I think there is sufficient interest among some members, and I have asked my India guys to help set up a simple online shopping service called “iShop@SHC”. Due to the legality and business nature, “iShop@SHC” will be operated under SilverHairs Enterprise Pte Ltd. iShop@SHC will be a project of SilverHairs Enterprise, and is not intended to be a money losing project, unlike events and activities under SilverHairs Club which usually loses money.
Our India IT guys have just completed iShop@SHC. The project starts with Adult diapers, and today, it has only 4 items. The online shopping will be promoted in SHC and in newspapers and other media in Singapore. It features payment collections via paypal, credit card, ATM transfer and internet banking. The delivery portion is still in progress and limited; but I hope it will grow as we go along. URL SilverHairs-Enterprise.org.
A few members, who have their own products and services, have been discussing with me to use iShop@SHC. If you are interested to sell your products or services as a business, especially to seniors and elderlies, please contact me via Whatsapp. Think about your products or services, pictures, pricing, your competition, payment, banking procedures, storage of your products, orders handling, delivery and modes of communicating with your buyers and delivery team.
For a start, we have started with adult diapers, and the product identified is CERTAINTY Adult diapers, from Thailand. This is an operational service. If you like to run your own online shopping services under iShop@SHC, please understand the workings of the portal iShop@SHC.
Thank you to the members who have helped to test the service and offered ideas on test iShop@SHC.
Terence Seah
