e-Shop Owner Candy Law
Whether you’re looking for a paw-shaped USB drive, warming pillow or a pair of goggles, Candy Law’s e-shop on Yahoo’s bidding site has every random product you could think of. She tells Anthony Chan how, after just a year in business, she came to make $40,000 a month.
HK Magazine: When did you decide to set up your own e-shop?
Candy Law: I set up my own website in August 2009, and decided to turn it into a shopping platform for a few products. But I couldn’t sell them all, so I opened a Yahoo e-shop. My customer base soon expanded, and I became even busier from October to December, when customers buy gifts for festivals. I remember sending e-mails until 3am and waking up at 9am for work. In December, I decided to quit my full-time job.
HK: Where do you usually get these bargain products?
CL: At the beginning, I would buy funny items while traveling, say, a whole box of golden World Cup Coca Cola cans from Thailand. I had to hand-carry it onto the plane. But it was worth it since you can’t find them in Hong Kong. Now I mainly get the merchandise from the mainland. I purchase them from Yi Wu City in Zhejiang Province in China every three to four months, and I go to Guangzhou almost every month. I’ve been practicing my Putonghua since some Chinese manufacturers don’t use e-mail at all and I’ve had to talk to them on phone. I’m proud to say that now they understand what I’m saying most of the time.
HK: Have you had any bad experiences with bidders?
CL: I had one customer who wanted to pick up his products from the MTR station. I called him one hour in advance to confirm that he could really make it. He said yes, but when the time came, his mobile was turned off and he disappeared for the rest of the night. Eventually he stood me up three times before I couldn’t put up with it anymore. I gave him a poor customer rating on the bidding platform. That time, he replied promptly—by giving me a negative rating in return! There was another one who made me really furious. A customer asked me to deliver a whole bag of products worth around $1,000 to the Lok Fu MTR station, saying that he would meet me there after work. Normally I wouldn’t do it, but since he’d bought a lot and I had a family dinner in the area I agreed. However, when I arrived he wasn’t there. After failing to reach him with my phone, I called him from my family member’s mobile. When he realized who it was, he cut me off! The most embarrassing thing was that my family had to wait with me.
HK: Any particularly memorable customers?
CL: There was a secondary school student who bid for a hiker’s walking stick. He stood me up, and then used another account to bid for it again. When he called I could recognize his voice. He gave me another number and told me to call it if I couldn’t find him. When I dialed the number, guess what? It was his mom. She kept scolding me and said that she wouldn’t buy the stick for her son no matter what. I was busy at that time so I hung up, but looking back, it was really funny. I guess the kid wanted it so badly that he tried to use me to persuade his mother.
HK: How are sales these days?
CL: More or less the same. But there are more people doing the same thing as me who set their prices slightly lower. So if I price an item at $30, they’ll price it at $29. But for those who prefer mail delivery, customers will usually select me as I have a very really high rating on Yahoo. Actually, I didn’t even realize the business had skyrocketed at such a rapid speed.
Visit Candy Law’s newly opened store at Room B6, 7/F, Hou Ming Factory Building, Kwun Tong. Or browse her website at ecshop.yesmk.com.