[eggfriedrice]

I run a small online store, we focus on a particular niche tech, LoRaWAN. It's specific enough (at the moment) that there aren't many other folk in this area.

We started out with Shopify, but that's actually really limited in functionality unless you spend many $100s per month on apps to add basic stuff (like VAT handling). We switched to a self-hosted shop, which feels totally old skool but is working out pretty well. We're happily charging cards and shipping stuff all over the world.

Our thing is knowing the products and providing support, so I think that has some value. If you want a boxes shifted cheap then Amazon's your answer. Anything cleverer, then specialist retailers still have some real value.

[hanoz]

Got a link? Having gone from zero to keen this afternoon as a result of the "Crazy LORA ranges" post, I'm interested in acquiring a ”The Things Node" or if possible a cheaper device which will let me test if my nearest Things Network gateway is in range.

[eggfriedrice]

https://connectedthings.store/gb/

We don't have the Things Node yet, but we do have the Things Uno (EU) which is a really handy dev board for experiments.

[hcheung]

How do you handle the logistic? Using third-party storage and shipping? Creating and running self-host shop is not difficult, but I found the logistic of handling inventory and shipping that tie you up.

[eggfriedrice]

It can take a huge amount of time, but actually, that bit I won't outsource yet. We do it all in house.

A friend of mine with a similar business in a different field tried outsourcing that a few years ago and it didn't work well, I didn't really understand why until I started.

We sometimes pre-configure gateways and devices for customers, so we need to pull them off the shelf and work on them first, then pack all the other stuff they ordered into the box and ship it. It's invaluable having the stock close to hand.

My solution - hire someone to help with the logistics.