TUECOM websites are standalone open-source based ecommerce
websites that are strategically created to serve retail tobacconists. They are designed to be solely owned by
retailers, unlike websites that are part of larger ecommerce platforms (ie.
Square, Big Commerce, Shopify, or others).
The importance of site ownership in the highly regulated and ‘card not
present’ tobacco industry cannot be emphasized enough. Tobacco retailers have been (and will
continue to be) deplatformed and debanked with devastating results and zero
legal consequences to the service providers, bankers, and shipping
industry. In addition to these
existential challenges, premium tobacco mail order in the US is dominated by
vertically integrated cigar/tobacco manufacturers who compete directly with
brick-and-mortar retailers.
Tobacconist University (TU) believes that retail
tobacconists are the keystone of the luxury tobacco industry. To that end, we must develop products and
services to empower retailers, helping ensure the preservation and prosperity
of our industry for generations to come.
We know that building a healthy mail-order business is essential to
brick-and-mortar survival, yet you cannot do it alone. The TUECOM project brings together decades
worth of industry specific ecommerce and retail tobacconist expertise to create
a cost-effective solution designed specifically for tobacconists. TUECOM customers also benefit from avoiding
the mistakes and wasted time and money that have brought us to this point.
THE PROCESS
Your TUECOM website can be launched in as little as four to six weeks and will
require minimal initial effort on your part.
Our websites are ‘plug and play’ with all of the bells and whistles
necessary to compete in the modern online world: that’s the good news. Getting started is not that different from
registering for a certification. After
half of the payment is made, we need your domain info, logo, address/phone,
social links, etc… Then we have a quick onboarding meeting to explain the process
and set up expectations. Approximately
four weeks later the second half of payment is made and we have a launch
preparation meeting when the design is done: getting you ready to start your
online business.
With decades of experience at our backs, we know these are
the services you will need to compete in the online world. Accounts will be opened in your name, under
your control, and be charged to you after the first year. In addition, an @gmail.com email account will
be created for you to help you manage it all; and we will be here to advise as
you need us.
THE PACKAGE
The package of services we have created is a great beginning to a long-term
business endeavor. Sites like these can
easily cost between $15,000 to $50,000 and require hundreds of hours of your
time even before they launch! In order
to deliver this to you, we have streamlined the development process to get you
up and running as quickly as possible.
After your site is launched, we recommend you spend a few months getting
acquainted with the technology (we are here to help), uploading inventory,
having your customers test the site and envisioning and implementing your
business practices. After that, there
are countless upgrades and enhancements that you can deploy.
IN CLOSING
The online luxury tobacco business is nothing like brick-and-mortar
retail. Your hospitality, store
quality/location and face to face customer service are not the primary
ingredients to success online. There are
many more challenges and skill sets involved with premium tobacco ecommerce
that you will have to learn and work at to be successful. First, you will have to spend time uploading
your products and maintaining your online inventory. After mastering the learning curve of your
website, you will be able to start competing in a marketplace that is driven by
pricing, discounts and customer rewards.
To be successful online you must communicate consistently and provide
extraordinary value to your customers on a regular basis: simply because all of
your competitors are doing the same. It
will take a lot of time and effort to keep the business thriving and pay the
estimated $4,000 annual fixed costs we have outlined for you. And sadly, you will be competing with many of
the manufacturers whose brands you are helping to build at the retail
level!
If your clientele consists mainly of people who live within
driving distance of your shop, it may not be worth investing in an online
business. On the other hand, certain
retailers will have a special competitive advantage in the online space. If your store gets travelers, tourists and
infrequent customers who are just passing through town (like college towns,
near sporting centers, commuter/business hubs, tourist traps, etc..), you may
have the necessary advantage to build a profitable mail-order business. The higher the number of ‘out of towners’
that frequent your store(s), the more likely you are to build relationships
with them that can continue online. If
you can build in-person relationships that continue online, you have a
competitive advantage!
TU PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
I have spent more than a decade and more money than I can count trying to
create the TUECOM program. Sadly, I
don’t know that I will ever get my money back, and surely not my time. In fact, I wouldn’t do it all over
again. But with a little luck, lots of
failures and a ton of hard work, we have persevered. In the process I have learned that the cost
of running an online business is absurdly expensive and the big companies like
it that way. It actually pains me to
think that ecommerce is cost prohibitive to most premium tobacco
retailers. I mean, you have to pay
$2,000 a year just to the privilege of being able to process credit cards. It’s
an absolute racket and robbery! But we
cannot just sit back and let the big boys reap all of the rewards and decimate
the local tobacconist.
TUECOM will empower many tobacconists to take their business
to the next level and keep their customers before they are captured by the
megalithic online retailers. These sites
will allow many to extend the reach of their stores and businesses, allowing
them to thrive well into the future. It
pains me to know that the costs will be too high for many mom-and-pops, but I
also know that this is the simplest and most cost-effective way to empower
retail tobacconists online. And the
irony of trying to preserve brick-and-mortar retailers by empowering them to
compete online is not lost on me. It’s
just a fact of life, like unfair and inconsistent state OTP taxes, smoking
bans, vertically integrated manufacturers dominating mail-order, etc…
Lastly, we are only making these sites available to TU
Certified Tobacconists, with priority given to CRT before CCST. We are limited to the number of sites we can
put out per month so allocation is on a first come first serve basis. If you are a TU Certified Tobacconist and are
seriously interested, please email jorge@tobacconistuniversity.org
or call 609.651.2311
______________________________
Jorge Armenteros, CMT
President/Founder
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