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Hi

I was wondering what people look for when buying stuff online? I am thinking of setting up a site just for tents and wondered if anyone had any good experices or bad ones that they would like to share in the hope that I dont make the same mistakes!

thanks H

Not sure what your question is

I look for the same online as I would offline.

Right gear for my use, good value, decent make, decent aftersales, pleny of free advice.

There is the obvious, price and ease of use; plus recommendations from others.

However, the one thing I find missing form most sites is more photos and sometimes video - i.e. what it looks like inside, how it pitches.

Sometimes it is very hard to tell if two bedroom pods are seporated by just a flimsey curtain or a full on zipped screen. How it pitches, inner or outer first is rarely shown (and valuble).

So really, it is just good information on the tents and equipment - consistant across all the makes sold.

Also have a look at the wynnster web site - it has a useful "look at a glance" page showing the details of all thier tents in a matrix. Which is very useful - imagine this for all the tents you had on offer, it would be excellent.

Also one on how not to do (and waste money), look at Outwell's 3D computer generated fly-overs for their tents. About as useful as.... well something not very useful. When I was looking at a Montana, I wanted to know how the bedrooms were set up - it shows you nothing of this. Same with how the entrance to the side porch worked and so on. Real videos are the thing (and not like Outwell's videos either!), plus lots of inside photos of detail, not just one or two of the outside, but how the that toggle is fastended, how the bedrooms connect, how the cover drops over the window.

I doubt many of the web sites actually put their tents up, they just sign the deal, take the std photos and put them up for sale - a site that has its own photos means it actually has looked at what they are selling. Consequently, it would give me more trust of that site.

Actually, if you want something unique to sell on the basis of - sign a franchise for some of the more interesting european, or even US, tents that are not currently available in the UK (other than as an import with little or no support).

• DeWaard
• Ransted
• Eureka (US and European)
• US Colemans
• Kelty
• Sierra
• Trekker
• Skandika

Here goes:

1. Entire transaction end to end online, with clear pricing and a fair approach to the cost of delivery.

2. Clear statements on returns and warranty processes

3. Good quality pictures & descriptions

4. Customer reviews

I made the mistake of buying on ebay with no camping or tent knowledge whatsoever.  I bought an 8 berth tunnel tent relatively cheap but one gust of wind and I will lose it.

It would have helped me if there had been a link to a website like UKCS where I could have received unbiased opinions and advice. 

But if you are only selling quality then word of mouth will get around and if you can offer advice to customers as to which tent is best for them irrespective of your profit margin then you will do very well.  How soon are you thinking of starting as I am looking for a tent at the mo.

I think you have raised 2 points there 1, is that you want to physically see what you are getting and 2, is that the net is not the most secure place to shop.

If I felt secure on the site and I wanted the goods then I would buy them, part of the fun is seeing what you have got.  For expensive items like tents etc then I would like third party advice but getting it from a shop or online I don't see any real difference.