This is my first time writing a review on Taobao, so it's kind of a commemoration. Up to today, I've been running my store for half a month, and business is still bleak. I've read many posts that say doing Taobao requires a lot of energy, but only after doing it myself did I realize that nothing is as simple as it seems. Before, I just thought that shopping online was convenient and saved time, selling things didn't require rent, and the cost could be very low. After these half a month, from being fully confident at the beginning to now feeling a bit discouraged, haha, it's really a 180-degree change.
When I first decided to open an online store, my family wasn't very supportive. Being in my senior year, not yet graduated, I had to do internships during the day, sometimes take classes at night, and deal with my graduation thesis, I really didn't have much time to spend on forums, but I did seriously reply to posts; I also didn't have much financial power to invest in advertisements. Every time I logged onto Wangwang, I received a lot of ads about boosting credit ratings, haha, they sounded great, but after careful consideration, I still refused. I just wanted to rely on honesty to impress buyers. My friends around me knew I opened a store, and they were watching and caring, occasionally asking how your store is doing? I know they all cared, but every time I answered them, it really didn't feel good inside. Sometimes I told myself, don't push yourself so hard, no one is forcing you, right? I just didn't want to give up, I just wanted to achieve my dream.
From childhood to adulthood, I have almost never done anything I truly wanted. As a child, I learned piano which I didn't like, went to the nearest junior high school, attended a key high school, and majored in English in university, haha. I can frankly admit, I only learned phonetics until sophomore year of high school, even though my foundation was very bad and I didn't like it, my English improved from the bottom to the top within two years. I just felt that I have never done what I truly liked. Saying this, many people might sneer, how many people in this world are actually doing what they love? I admit I didn't have enough courage to abandon everything and stubbornly chase after so-called dreams, because people always have to consider reality, right?
In these half a month on Taobao, I've invested quite a bit, put in a lot of effort, but the input and output are always disproportionate. Many people suggested that when starting out, I could sell virtual items, automatic shipping, no need to be online. But I wanted to enjoy the process, the process of interacting with each buyer. There were also friends who suggested I become an agent, but if I couldn't see the clothes physically, or understand them well, how could I describe them to my buyers?
Actually, I have reflected on this. The price of my clothes is already very low, almost no profit, but no one buys. I think it's because I haven't added consumer protection, and haven't done any advertising. It's like my little store is hidden in a very deep alley, no one knows about it, and even if someone glances at it, they wouldn't care. But adding consumer protection costs 1000, and adding直通车 (Taobao Direct) burns more money. Is there anyone who can tell me what I should do? I don't want to give up on Taobao, Taobao is a place where I can achieve my dreams.