Build a Niche Store Review

Build a Niche Store is a $97 piece of software which helps you create Ebay affiliate stores on your own domains.  Now, if that doesn't have any meaning to you - here's what gets everybody all excited when they use this thing.  Build a Niche Store basically lets you downplay the whole "Ebay" part of it, so that the end result is a 100% fully customized online store that looks just like a store of your own products.  But true to form, BANS does also let you play up the Ebay part of it if you want.

Ebay has never been a feature of my life.  I find it tedious and it gets more complex as the years go by.  But I also realize that I am in the minority here.  So, if someone like me can like BANS, then anyone can.

 

In fact, I'll just cut to the chase and tell you that I'm kind of in love with Build a Niche Store.  See, I just came out and said it.  In fact, I don't usually market products on sites bearing my own name.  So it's got to be pretty cool for me to do so.

A "Nothing" Experiment on a Throw-Away Domain

Okay, so I had a spare domain floating around called http://www.assassins-creed.info.  I figured I would experiment with it, since surely there would be Xbox 360 products on Ebay that I could use to populate the site with.

Keep in mind, I had zero great aspirations for this.  It was purely an experiment.  Take a look:

Now, because I'm not a real Ebay fan, I minimized the "Ebay" aspect of it.  But you can still see that that listings have "Sale Ends" and "Buy It Now," so to anyone with half a brain it should be obvious that this is an aggregated store.

Great thing is the top banner - an image that I threw together on Microsoft Paintbrush and inserted.  It makes it look more like a "real store."  Build a Niche Store lets you add Google AdSense automatically, so you don't need to deal with the code.  The left-side navigation is automatic, too.  The content is all mine, though.  So, Build a Niche Store is a good balance between "we'll do it for you" and "DIY."  I can't think of any other way to describe it.

The Build a Niche Interface

To get into and work with Build a Niche Store, you have to be online.  First, you need to install some BANS files on your web host (more on that later).  But once installed, all you need to do is get online like so:  http://www.YourDomainHere/admin/

 

Build a Niche Store Admin Area

After you get in, this is what you see.  The links on the right are simply external links to resource materials - they don't pertain to your site.  Everything on the left controls your site. 

 

 

• View Store - It just takes you to your web page; in this case www.assassins-creed.info
• Home - That's where you are now.  Also called the Admin area.
• Template- We will get to this later.
• Ads - there is where you put in your Google AdSense ID number so you can run money-making ads.
• Store Pages and Content Pages - The "heart" of your Build a Niche Store interface.

Click on Store Pages and you go to a sub-menu.

Store Pages Sub-Menu:



And finally, click on "Edit" for Xbox 360 games, and you come to the most important screen.

 

This is where everything happens.  You set the title here (in html, it's the <title> tag, the meta keywords tag, and a short description.  The description is what shows up in the search results description, so it's pretty important.  Finally, there is a WYSIWYG editor where you can add content.

 

Now, back to the Build a Niche Store Admin area.  There is a link to Templates.  You get a choice of 9 or so templates.  Here is what one of the choices looks like:

 

 

BANS Installation Process

The only snag - not even a snag, let's call it a "semi-snag" - is that the installation process is not like a hot knife through butter.  You buy Build a Niche Store, it's 11:00 pm, and you expect to have a site live by midnight.

Not so.  Remember, you do need to install files on your web host.

Also, installation is an exacting process.  Tough?  Not at all.  I use the word "exacting" very carefully.

What I mean is that you have to follow the installation instructions - perfectly.  Exacting.  Build a Niche Store provides an amazingly detailed, accurate, and literate User Manual that you really should read.

 

Don't know a single thing about search engine marketing or publishing web sites.  Don't fear.  The BANS User Manual starts at the very beginning.  In fact, it starts before the beginning:

 As you progress, you find tons of illustrations.  You don't need to improvise.  You don't need to adapt.  Simply follow the instructions as you would if you were assembling a bicycle or an IKEA table.

One Huge Tip - Do Not Skip Instruction Steps

In fact, I found that whenever I got lost or things were not working, it was because...

I Had Skipped a Step in the User Manual

Yes, I thought I knew how to do it.  I "improvised."  I "adapted."  But what I should have done is follow the Build a Niche Store manual to the letter.

How Much Money Can You Make from Build a Niche Store?

Remember that Build a Niche Store is simply a tool.  It is what you make of it.

Choose a great niche, and you'll make good money.  Choose a low-paying niche, and you're out of luck.

And - a website, no matter how good, doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get traffic.

Still, let's look at my dumb, off-the-cuff experimental Assassins Creed Megastore BANS store.  I signed up for the Ebay affiliate program on Commission Junction, one of the oldest and most reputable affiliate programs out there.  Also, I already had a Google AdSense account set up.

Let's say a product sells for $100.  If Ebay's profit of that $100 purchase price is $10, then you get half of Ebay's profit.

So look at a few of my Assassin's Creed commissions.  The middle column is what Ebay made.  The right column shows what I get out of it.

Ebay makes $2.18, I make $1.09.  And so on. 

 

Go for Higher Paying Niches...Duh

Copies of Assassins Creed for Xbox 360 are inexpensive.  So, after Ebay gets its cut...  After Ebay gives half of its cut to you...  You're left with a much smaller percentage.

It's pretty obvious that higher paying niches are the way to go.  Especially if you want to do pay-per-click such as Google AdWords or Yahoo! Search Marketing.

But I suppose the "glass is half full" way to look at it is this:

I tossed off an Ebay affiliate site in 20 minutes.  Then I forgot all about it.  But it's still making me money. 

Imagine what you can do if you really push!  You can:

• Toss off ten, twenty, or even 50 "nothing" sites.  "Set it and forget it."  Then watch the money come in via many income streams.
• Make one really good site; do all the SEO;  get backlinks, etc.  Make it your baby.

The possibilities are endless. 

Build a Niche Store:  Pros and Cons

In conclusion, I'd have to say that if a total Ebay moron like me can fall in love with Build a Niche Store, then it has endless possibilities for lots of other people.

Pros

• An insane fan base.  You should see their forum.  Very active.  Post a message and someone will respond within an hour or so.
• It really is, like they claim, "addictive."
• Once you get it installed, it's so easy to use.
• Forces you into better SEO (search engine optimization) practices.
• Lots of resources materials.
• Intelligent creators.  Yes, the two brothers who made BANS are pretty dang smart, and it shows in the software and the documentation.
•  Takes advantage of many income streams - Ebay affiliate signups, AdSense, your products, etc.

Cons

• Build a Niche Store does require that you have a web host.  (though they do help you get one, and help you figure it out).
• Installation is tricky, as I outline above.

Is Build a Niche Store a Scam?

No.  Categorically no.

Build a Niche Store is sold through Clickbank, which is known for marketing some scammy products (get rich quick, weight loss, etc.).  But Build a Niche Store categorically is not a scam.  It's a very reputable product, and in fact I'm surprised that they do sell through Clickbank. 

Oh well - I've got my affiliate links set up, in case you buy Build a Niche Store through my site.  So I guess I can't criticize Clickbank too much!