Name of your website?WholesaleCollegeTextbooks
Your name?
Sandy Themelis
Please give us a short summary of your website?
We are a leading merchant of US Edition and International Edition college textbooks.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I am very interested in technology and the internet and thought wanted to create a revenue stream for myself while helping college kids get their material at a fair price.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
This is my first official website and although it was established nearly three years ago I purchased it from the original owner 6 months ago.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
The original owner was interested in a meaningful name for the niche as well as making it search engine friendly for college textbook related keywords.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
We source books from all over the world including US and International Edition books and when we have the inventory you will pay one of the lowest available prices for your textbooks. International Edition textbooks are normally the exact same content as US Edition books but are typically manufactured in black-n-white and in paperback form to save on costs. We also pride ourselves on the customer support that we offer our clients.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
The goal is to keep and grow the site.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
I have 4 children in school and they are my priority, my husband is successful businessman and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to spend on initiatives such as this one.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would spend more time refreshing the look and feel of the site as well as building more strength in my keywords. All of our traffic is through organic search results and I would like to continue growing this area.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Continue the automation of the process without compromising on customer support and hire more people.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Overall not a lot of surprises, If I had to name two it would be the occasional return(these books can be heavy and expensive to ship) and tracking shipping logistics.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Finding additional suppliers that are reliable and well priced/
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
SEO for google including backlinks
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
It is more than a job when you own a site and you want to do well for your customers. I put more passion and focus than I anticipated.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
The site is 3 years old and I have run it for 6 months.
What is your website address?
WholesaleCollegeTextbooks
