Scam Site?

I can see where you're both coming from - especially as we're already on the subject of scam sites. The fact is that for the next couple of months until we both finish Uni, we're students, so it's not really feasible for us to run a shop full time and do a degree at the simultaneously so we can't really provide a business address or landline. If you check back in a few months time, we are hopefully going to be moving into a premises so we should be able to look a lot more legit I appreciate that it's unprofessional to not have a landline or business address.

As far as validating who we are, you're welcome to come say hello when we are there in May in the meantime, we were featured in the paper a few weeks ago which hopefully adds a bit of credibility?! http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2013/03/14/huddersfield...

Thanks! Nick.

I wouldn't either. If I came across that site on the Web I'd avoid it like the plague. No verifiable address and only a mobile phone number. No thanks

Well you shouldn't have setup an online shop until you're ready and compliant with the e-commerce regulations. You could have got round it using auction sites but even with those you'd need to show a business address. Surely you do have an address? It doesn't have to be that of a shop.

John K

We do have an address that the business is registered to - my home in Leeds. We both live in Huddersfield as students and that is why we have a market stall there. We're not allowed to broadcast our student address down on the website by our landlords request.

I think there's a reason why a lot of students don't start businesses! It gets quite complicated

Nick, when you have your new shop up and running why not start a new thread on the forum and let us know what is happening?

We can be all be a bit cynical and very wary on here and sometimes justifiably so through personal or work experience.

They are a good buch really

Glad to see you returned to answer the criticism.

Dave

Do you not have a family members' address you could use in the meantime? They could scan/copy onto you any correspondence and maybe handle phone calls for you until you can deal yourself? There are also free phone alternatives you could set up that have a local to you number, yes free.

John K

... very oten there is some really good advice and support as above from John.

Dave

I certainly will, and post a few shelves full of Pentax gear too.

I don't mind anyone who is wary of us at all - I totally understand that from an outside perspective it may not appear to be reliable information that is presented. We're just starting up, so it stands to reason really. I'll certainly see what information I can add to the website to make it stand up more to scrutiny.

I did check our eBay listings, and the registered address is actually on there - so I will go ahead and add that onto the website somewhere, and I'll look into an alternative phone number, thanks John.

I think once we get a shop set up, we will look much more professional.

Please keep us updated and good luck Nick.

Once you get past the cynicism we aren't that bad a bunch of loonies!

And anyone who acknowledges the fact that Pentax are still alive and very much kicking needs all the support we can give.

You speak for yourself, I'm trying very hard to lose the Mr Nice Guy image


Business address yes, landline? I doubt very much that anyone gives a hoot about landlines now, if it wasn't for broadband connections I doubt that many people and smaller businesses would bother with them.

If you need a beginner's guide to the e-commerce regulations, here's such a document from the DTI themselves: link

I trust all this photo trading isn't interfering with your Uni studies

John K

Our BT Telephone Directory (which includes business no's)
gets thinner every year

So's the number of open shops on the high street.

I do.

A landline is connected to a physical address and helps give confidence that the address listed is real and inhabited.

I checked out the address on a web shop once and google maps showed it as some derelict property. on another occasion it was farmland.

Added registered address to website, and just checked the contact details of other businesses that will be in the same building as us when we move - they all have landline numbers which is a good sign

Thanks to all posters - especially the critical ones, as it's given me an insight into what potential customers perceive about the website.