{"id":3007,"date":"2014-09-25T10:08:41","date_gmt":"2014-09-25T03:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/?p=3007"},"modified":"2026-10-01T01:18:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T18:18:18","slug":"e-commerce-startup-ban-sach-truc-tuyen-va-bai-hoc-thuc-te-thu-duoc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yup.edu.vn\/en\/e-commerce-startup-ban-sach-truc-tuyen-va-bai-hoc-thuc-te-thu-duoc\/","title":{"rendered":"E-Commerce Startup: Selling Books Online and Practical Lessons Learned"},"content":{"rendered":"
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E-commerce startup: Selling books online and practical lessons learned<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
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This article draws on author Thanh B\u00f9i's own experience launching an online bookstore and his e-commerce knowledge, as founder of the startup\u00a0bita.vn<\/a>\u00a0from March 2012 to December 2012.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Why Sell Books?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0There are 2 reasons:<\/p>\n

\u00a0First,<\/strong>\u00a0books were the product line we understood best at the time (we had previously worked at a company with a book publishing division).<\/p>\n

\u00a0Second,<\/strong>\u00a0books are fairly easy to sell. Unlike clothing or electronics, they are not complicated, requiring customers to try before buying and then after-sales warranties. With books, if you like & need them, you buy them.<\/p>\n

Once you have books, where do you source stock?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Because the entire team lacked experience, we had to figure everything out ourselves. We contacted publishers and book distributors in Hanoi to source books. Without enough capital to buy in large quantities, we tried to negotiate arrangements where we would collect books when orders came in. Fortunately, most publishers agreed to discounts of 30-35%. For distributors without Hanoi branches, to ensure a supply of their books, we negotiated with major Hanoi bookstores to buy their stock (specifically the bookstores around \u0110inh L\u1ec5). Naturally, the discount was lower (in practice, they gave us an additional 10% off the retail price).<\/p>\n

\u00a0So the Supply Is Secured. What Is the Implementation Model?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0After much consideration, we decided to adopt a traditional retail model, similar to Amazon, Vinabook, Tiki\u2026<\/p>\n

\u00a0We had secured supply and chosen our model. We began considering what differentiated our product from similar products in the same market<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0At the time, based on our experience using and ordering from other e-commerce websites, we identified the following points that would differentiate us:<\/p>\n