Name of your website?Mamie's Rich Memories-Antiques & Collectibles
Your name?
Lizbeth Duda
Your Location (city, etc)
Farmingdale
Please give us a short summary of your website?
An online store featuring affordable antiques and collectibles. We carry a variety of items including vintage porcelain, pottery and glass general nostalgia. In addition we carry a large inventory of collector plates including plates based on the art of Norman Rockwell and Thomas Kinkade.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
We have been dealers since 1990 and first launched our site in 1998. After displaying our wares at local antique fairs, we decided to expand our marketplace through the Internet. We now reach a global marketplace and ship worldwide.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
Our first website was created in 1998 and listed some of our inventory. We have grown tremendously and now operate to sites with hundreds of interested items.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
Mamie Ricciutti was my grandmother and we named the business after her. She loved beautiful things, old and new, and her memory inspired us to continue her style.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
Our website is well-irganized and easy to navigate. The table of contents is divided into categories and our site map enables fast an easy search capabilities. All of our items are photographed and a short description accompanies each item. The buyer will always know what he/she is purchasing.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
Our goal is to ensure that prospective buyers find interesting and affordable items. We are profit-oriented but want each buyer to be happy with his purchase.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
This is a full time business for us and we are happy with the growth of the business. Looking to do better!
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
A higher budget would allow us to purchase higher end merchandise that we could present to the marketplace. We would like to expand our product line to include furniture, jewelry and high end antiques.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Yes but it would be a challenge to quickly hire and train additional employees to ensure customer satisfaction and product delivery.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
None to date. Costs have been manageable.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Perhaps the biggest challenge is buying items at the right price for resale purposes. Mnay antiques and collectibles are available but purchasing at good price levels is a challenge.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
We have optimized our website for keywords and have a very good standing in Google for certain products like Rockwell plates, Gone with the Wind plates, Thomas Kinkade plates and Avon Christmas plates. General antiques and collectibles are more difficult to optimize. We also run ads in Google and Yahoo search.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
More daily maintenance than we expected.
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?
Since 1998 and no end is predeicted at this time.
Do you enjoy you work?
Yes, we do! The field of antiques and collectibles is never boring. We love to go on buying trips, we love to sell items, and ultimately, we are making money on things we enjoy doing.
What is your website address?
Mamie's Rich Memories-Antiques & Collectibles
