Advice on Sales!!

And fill the picture with the product, not background.

Amar - our newsman here says your boss sucks if he doesn't let you go home from work.

First I carried on from where I'd got to on the merchants list, then decided to go to the bottom of the list, so I'll be working my way back to the top from there...

Rhaorth Antonelli - Rha! Designs, Jeogori

I have to say I'm quietly impressed. Your store has come on a long way since my last visit - quite some time ago now. It's nicely laid out and all your items are placed in categories, which makes things much easier to find what you're looking for.

If I have to find anything I would change, then I can only think of one thing... bring your store teleporters and your gift card system into the front store room. That way people can see as soon as they come in that you have other areas to visit too, and can buy gift cards for a friend if they think your store would be to their liking.
Mind you I'd be surprised if people aren't buying your gift cards just to get the 20% discount on everything they buy! Just a thought.


Madeline Chariot - Maddyville/Forever Charmed, Jinsil

Well, what can I say. Here's a girl after my own heart. I love your place Madeline, you've done so much with such a small place and still have a few spare prims to play with too! Everything is nice and structured, products are kept in categories and are well presented. The outside space is well laid out and appealing too. And to top it all off you're even giving away a top quality freebie, nice!

I only have one complaint here... what a shame we are in competition with each other! Although I suppose I'm aiming more at the lower prim market really (furniture especially). I'll really have to put in a bit more effort

My first review goes to Prawnyloks

Writing as I go there...

TP in: Landed in sunrise or sunset (never can be sure on my viewer). Draw distance at 64. Landed facing the entrance. Particularly like the logo on the planked floor right in front of me. Very nice touch.

Looking around before entering: I tend to cam around quite a bit when I first land someplace to get my bearings, especially at 64 draw distance sometimes things take a bit to rez. Not here. Images, signs, products all rezzed VERY quickly. (HUGE pluses for that for those of us with slower computers using older viewers!!)

To my right I immediately see the new residents kit (more gold stars for that....I love Lucrezia's kit and love seeing it offered), 2 $1L coffee tables, a free shop logo T-shirt (tried to access it, but then realized there was a plate of glass so need to go inside to get that - another good idea I never thought about...the person has to actually enter the shop instead of grabbing-and-leaving, and a box with an interesting graphic on it labeled "Friends of PP Designs - Click for lm." Both the graphic and who these friends are made me curious. Time to enter the store.

Inside: Walked straight forward to a large sign indicating Help & Information - and it was all of that and more. Sign spelled out precisely all needed information on how to purchase an item, the perms, offering to come rez prefabs prior to purchase if customer desires. Also stating a PP Designs voucher (gift certificate) is included with each purchase! Oooo, so I make a purchase AND get a gift certificate!!!

Kudos galore on excellent customer service from this one sign. But wait...it says at the bottom for more info and lm, click the sign. Doing so I received a notecard. I didn't think the customer service could get any better (and I hadn't even viewed the products yet!) but it did. I won't go into detail about the card, you all have to go see it for yourselves, but it amplified the info on the sign, gave an overview of the concept of the designs, explained how the gift certificates work AND!! I LOVED this:

"Fed up of people asking you where you are from? Then why not buy
one of my Nationallity T-Shirts and let it help with your introduction.
SL™ top 8 countries now available."

(An online indicator was next to the Help & Info sign - so far, I'm LOVING this place.)

What a great idea. Nothing particularly to do with the store that I could see, but expanded the appeal. Gotta get one.

Walking around: Displays clean and crisp - very orderly and well-placed. (Did I mention I had NO rezzing issues here?)

On closer inspection of the signs for the prefabs I noticed text that said "Touch this card for a notecard to help you decide if this building is for you." That's interesting - I'm used to clicking and checking edit or buy...but indeed there was a "Touch" option on the pie menu which provided a wonderful card giving the specifics of the prefab - prims, footprint, etc. I LOVE that!! I'm horrible at figuring out if something will fit on a given piece of land so this is invaluable info.

A new item is well identified as such and I see a tp to the prefab platform, but I want to continue to view the rest of downstairs. And where are those t-shirts? *grins*

Ahh, continued walking to the right...and there they were...ok...let's see...America...ah there it is...ok let's see....$50L for the shirt with a $10L gift certificate inside. I normally wouldn't pay that much for a t-shirt, but I liked the concepts of offering the shirts and the gift certificate and I'm patriotic, so snagged that.

(Had a nice chat with Jojogirl who arrived while I was reviewing and also saw another shopper drop in while I purchased the shirt.)

Turned around to check out the items I had seen when I first arrived from outside. Clicked the box for the "Friends of PP Designs" and received a lm that I will check out at a later date, got the freebie shirt and continued to the other side of the first floor.

Again, great clean, crisp layout of the furniture...especially liked how the various colors are listed on the signs. Was inspecting those when my "fellow reviewer" came over and said I just HAD to check out the lamps. WOW!!!!! Very unique and 1 prim!!!! I was told more colors were upstairs so I headed up the ramp.

The same clean, spacious layout I have now come to associate with this store which blends well with the low-prim functionality. Being a minimalist...I just LOVED this...and yep, more of the cool lamps.

Back downstairs to take the tp to the prefab platform. Nicely blocked out space with grass base. I'm assuming that is where the owner would rez prefabs upon request so tp'd back down to the store.

Sat down on one of the couches to complete my notes and was put into a nice pose (without poseballs showing) instead of the default SL sit.

Overview: A+ for this store. No doubt about the product and every imaginable source of help and then some is provided for the customer. Clean, crisp layout - the type of store I personally prefer - clean and uncluttered with open space. Bonus points for the gift certificate idea as well as offering nationality t-shirts - a little "surprise" where unexpected. (If you add more nationalities...may I put in a bid for Ireland *smiles*)

Wow, I'm stunned! It really was worth waiting for my first review
I do try my best to offer a quality customer service, after all if a customer leaves feeling confused or ripped off then they're not likely to come back or tell their friends to. I get a nice warm feeling whenever I'm able to help out in person.
I just hope everyone is as kind as you've been Czari!

Some review...short and to the point LOL

Maddy - LOVE your store and stuff...almost missed that you had an upstairs tho...might want to make the tp device into a standing sign just in case others are like me. And on the furniture package signs...some dont have the prim counts listed which is always important to me anyway.

Prawn - Ok, im dense, but i tried to walk through the clear walls on each side of the entrance lol...i just didnt see them. I saw that you have only sets for your furniture and i love to buy things individually, so one chair etc...might be something to consider offering. The most innovative things that REALLY got my attention in your store were those COOL lamps! If you have any other ideas for lamps floating around in your head definitely bring them out! Those are truly something that stands out from the crowd...and i would pay more for them too. While i can find tons of couches etc in SL, it is hard to find really cool and different lamps and yours are great!

Saku - Great store, impressive build and clothing! Loved it all...the only thing i was looking for was some directional info at the entrance to tell me which way to go for what types of clothing....i tend to be impatient and just want to zoom in on what i am shopping for....Really beautiful place, great ads, i could go on... but you get the idea lol

3Ring - Love the mall and love your stuff...nuff said.

Skell - Your creations and how you present them are just exquisite! Only two things i would love to see...more of the items out of the box and higher prices...There is a perception in RL and SL that something too cheap must be cheaply made...you could easily increase your prices x5 and still be less than other designers of your caliber. one friend has had the experience that when she actually increased the price of her clothing it sold better than when it was cheaper. Your things are on par with the best in SL!

Nissa - Your stuff looks great and sales signs are wonderful. But for me, i will only buy furniture if i can see some out of the box...and i believe most folks are like that. In my early days of selling i did both and now will not sell any home decor item that is only in a box...it just does not sell as well as out of the box. Even a few items so I could see the quality would push me over the edge to make a purchase of things that are only in the box.

Miles - Love it...great stuff!

Ok ill do some more later...jojo

Thanks so much Prawnyloks and Jojogirl for your reviews, really great to hear you like the store, I will work on that tp pad Jojo, it is very likely that people miss the upstairs, these reviews are great because it really opens your eyes on what other people see. I will work on adding prim info on my items also.

Thanks again

Hi folks, ty prawny

just one comment, the giftcards, sadly they are not popular, I have tried positioning them in different places and no one seems to buy them, so I am considering removing them, and putting the metacard script back into the boxes. When I was using the metacard I was getting sales from folks using their card, so it did work (more so than the giftcard)
once I decide I will send out a notice to my group that if anyone still has a card use it now before I change it (with at least a weeks notice)

amar I never wanted you to stop using the logo, I think you misunderstood my PM. Folks I simple asked her that if she were going to rip the logo apart, to do it privately, as I did not want to see something I done destroyed (as I was noticing how 3ring kept wanting to change and/or remove the logo) I wish you luck with your logo creation and if you decide to continue to use the logo I sent, as I mentioned in the PM, I am completely totally ok with that.
which brings me to this....

If you really like something, don't change it because others might tell you to.
If you see something you do not like, but obviously the owner does, don't try to convience them to change it

the thing is... we can not please everyone, and this thread is to try to help us please as many as we can, however the first person we need to please and make happy is ourselves. If we change something that we really liked, to something we do not like as much, will we still be happy? Will we be motivated to move on?
I know personally I would not be happy or motivated.

(I will use logo's for an example because that is what is on my mind at the moment)

I really like my logo, and I feel it fits me, and if someone said they did not like it and wanted me to change it, would I? Nope, it is my mark, my logo, and I like it.

another logo comes to mind, Eceletic's, with the paint splatter. What if someone told E to remove the paint splatter because it did not work with a specific background, wouldn't that basically be changing the logo? (sorry E, yours stuck in my mind)

sorry if I am rambling on, just my head is throbbing and was surprised to see amar saying she would stop using the logo, when I thought she thought it was really good and liked it.


oh.. I am not doing any more reviews, or making logos for others.
no more reviews because I can be blunt sometimes and I do not want to anger anyone because my view might be a bit harsh
no more logos, because it does hurt a little when I see the logo being picked apart or seeing the owner being told to not use it

Thanks JoJogirl for taking the time to look at my store. I am actually in the process of filling one of those rezzers for the furniture, its one that will only sell individual pieces untill I can afford the set one or the additional boxer. So I decided to offer individual pieces and then people can 1, see what my items are like 2, buy individual pieces and 3, save when they buy a set. So bear with me on that as its not a quick process ('specially with my 2 year old dragging my arm every 2 seconds), but it will get done as I too, like you, like to 'see' furniture, unless it is from a store i know I can buy from the box.

But again, thank you for reviewing my store and giving me your honest opinion, those are the ones I value the most!

I think maybe I should add some logos to those windows. I have seen a few other people trying to walk though them on the odd occasion. Just don't want to go overkill with the logo!



Can't really say why I hadn't thought of that. I do have one couch and chair available that way upstairs, but I'll definitely have to make more available as separates too.



Well I am actually working on some more lamps at the moment. Hopefully I'll find time to get them finished soon.

Thanks for taking the time to visit me, it's much appreciated

Mickey - wonderful store! wonderful interior groupings! that is totally the way to sell furniture! when i did resales i did the exact same thing right down to the glasses on the coffee table, so i LOVE you sense of style. My only criticism would be that you dont NEED to be reselling...you own items are so lovely and unique that you can sell them all on their own! Wonderful!

eclectic - such creative things! I had to buy some...lol...my only advice is the twisted earrings dont show up on the sign well at all and some of the smaller items, like the stud earrings i would have liked to have seen the detail with a larger pic...but overall GREAT. Your hair and jewelry and accessory designs are very very nice!

kess - love that you have demos for your jewelry! i tried some and bought because i could see them on...great idea! Store is great, photos are great etc...great work!

ralektra - LOVE your info signs! very easy to read with good info. had a much easier time seeing the detail of the clothing on signs where there was not as much in the background. When you imd me after I bought something that was a very nice touch...

Ok i think i have covered everyone, but if i missed anyone's store just im me and ill be sure to do it soon....

I have to say again...this is generally a very talented group with some awesome designs....i was surprised to see such low traffic numbers for some of the land when such wonderful items are in the stores. That tells me that what is lacking is not signs or better designs or even photos, but MORE MARKETING...so jump on it! Your stuff deserves to be seen!

I plan to use the idea E told me and that is utilize the freebie groups

she totally took me by surprise last night LOL

I was in my workshop minding my own business taking ad shots (or trying to, just one of those days not sure which poses to use)

when I started getting a lot of notices about ppl joining the subscribe o matic group... I was like.. huh? that is weird. (do not get multiple joins like that, usually one or two when a couple friends are shopping and join)

well I pulled up the mini map and OMG I was floored... I sat, staring, open mouthed... What the hell is going on was my first thought. heh

I checked the map, there were over 30 people in my store!!
I had not seen that many ppl in the sim since my club was first opened and I was having events. (even my neighbour in the sim came over to see what was happening, she was saying same thing, have not seen this many ppl in a LONG time (almost 2 years))
so, then, E sends me an IM.. says oh yeah. hope you do not mind, we sent out a notice to a freebie group about a freebie we have out and plugged your store too...

mind!!! HELL NO!! so, now after chatting with her and her partner, I am gonna try the freebie groups and redo some prices, do a secret sale (which I totally misunderstood how they worked LOL) was planning to do that today, but lo and behold... nature decided against it (body is fighting me today, too much pain to try to concentrate much)

also, please excuse the disjointed comment, hopefully they make sense.

oh regarding secret sales (in case anyone else is misunderstanding them as I did, or maybe they are done the way I thought, but I like this idea better hehe)

ok first off, don't laugh...

I thought secret sale was just that, a secret, so I did one and only told my group.. I guess they do not share secrets much cuz it was a flop (I did it everything half off, via refund because too much to rescript stuff)

then, after talking to E, her version of a secret sale, is secretly mark down a few items to 1L to 50L or so, depending on the item, then announce it to the world (or at least the groups that allow it)
people will have to find the secret items that are for sale, so it gets them looking at your stuff

I like her version better than the version I thought LOL

I feel like such a ditz heh

anywho, I am off, need to lay down, I will check back in later

good luck everyone

/me giggles at Rha... damn your posts today made me smile heheheh. And nope I dont mind the comments about my logo And the paint actually work on just about all textures underneath as we played around with it before going with it. My logog was actually created by a verrryyyy talented friend of mine who has an amazing way with logos. I am no good with that side of things but she is. I gave her concept words and we slowly played to created the E! logo. If you dont have a head for logos IM me and ill give you her name. She works with you to create something truely unique and gives you all the files for your logo (like the paint on a white background and a transparents one, same with the swirls, both together the logo etc etc) All in emails for me to just throw on photoshop and add to my stuff.

Heheheheh yes a secret sale works better when peopel knkow about it. If you have a group of 3000 membersthen sure a secret sale you just tell the group about might work (but even then i would be enlisting a friend to whisper it in those freebie bloggers ears). Freebie groups for me are FREE marketing. It costs me nothing to send a notice out. Fro last nights one (which was for my partners stuff not mine) I made around 400L in sales..... that may not seem much... but it was to a small satelite store with only 10 items for sale and the maxamium price for anything is 50L ... so 10 sales later Plus I now have around 200 peopel with the LM to my mainstore. Annnd the purpose of last nights notice wasnt even about me. My partner and I were hoping to plug Rha a little bit more than anything.

I would like mroe info about fashion Consoidated though?? Joining costs nothing so im not sure about this fee you all tlk about?? Do they charge yu a fee to send notices or soemthing??



JOJO - Thank you so much for your lovely comments. nd yeh I need to update the board for those twisted earrings. I will get onto that in the next week or so I am so damn busy this week

You guys with these clothing freebie blogs are making me jealous...do you know of any other than honeybear's for home decor and furniture?

okay more information on freebie blogs and groups peoples pretty please

Thank you for the very nice review, Jojo....I'm afraid that I won't be able to write one for you.

When I go there, I get distracted with shopping.

Oh wait.....maybe that's a review. hehe

thanks E, oh check your email, I sent you something

you did better in sales than I did, then again, my prices are prolly a bit high for freebie hunters (which is another reason I am thinking about a total revamp on prices and such)

I saw someone mention once about how it better to have 10 sales at 5L each than 0 sales at 50L, and I agree, being I am getting nearly 0 sales at these prices, I need to rethink it

does anyone use a formula for prices? like x item costs x amount for the uploads and then it has x pieces etc for a grand total of x for the price?

ohhh crap E, your email bounced back, not sure why (I used the email you sent me in the pm's)

JOJO Freestyle and FABFREE are both great and there are often notices for furniture which i check out.They rarely blog the freebie furniture but hell i have never been blogged by either, just sending the notices. But the notices yeild great results for me. For furniture i would guess less... but still definately worth a go.

The two biggest groups are Freestyle

http://slfreestyle.blogspot.com/

(search freestyle in world to join or ask em to add you... then im creamy to send notices)


And Fab Free

http://fabfree.wordpress.com/

(search fab free in world or ask me for an invite and IM Cherlindrea Lamont to send notices)


Thereare other freebie blogs around includiing honey's

http://freesecond.blogspot.com/


I often make upfolders and drop them to bloggers in the hopes of being blogged. No luck so far but i can keep trying

E i am familiar with those freebie blogs for clothing...but when you say "notices" what do you mean.

I got lucky with a couple blog posts, was fun seeing my stuff blogged
did not increase sales but was still fun to see it

also, one day I was in my store and noticed someone taking a lot of pics, I asked her why, she said she was putting them on her blog *HUH* o.O OMG someone was blogging me
well of course I offered the ad pics to her, but I think she liked taking the pics

she showed me her blog (this was months and months ago and sadly I lost the url) and it was so cool, it was my first time seeing my stuff blogged. (had to used a translator as it was not english) hehe

so... ya just never know, someone might be blogging you and you not even know it

in world freebie groups

you send out a notice (which is what she did last night) and ppl literally flock to the store to see and get it

(sorry E I answered for you LOL)

oh!!

what ever happened to the idea about the um, sign or dispenser or something like that that would network the stores together?
did anything ever happen with that?

I was thinking if it were possible (and if it were I would gladly host the server for it)

but.. if it were possible to have an ad board, that would show a texture and when clicked would give out that store's lm (the one belonging to the texture shown)

if it were something that was networked, one person could host the server, and the rest would get kiosks to display at their store, and then those who want to be in it, would just submit a pic and lm, to be added, as well as place the kiosk in their own store

sort of like a blog ring, but with stores...

or an ad exchange type thing,,,
I just dunno if this is possible or if it is already being done

Rha I never base my pricing on how long it took me to make something or upload costs etc. I base my prices solely on what the market will bear for similar items. The way i look at it, those are one time costs for you, but the more you sell at a lower price the better chance you have of making that amount back and more.

With that said, it seems that the folks that I see selling a ton of clothing have price points in the range of 50-350L. Above that and they are looking for few sales...most are well established, have amazingly complex designs and prob did not start out at those prices. I also know from a friend with a successful clothing biz that when her dressed were priced at 50-150L she sold many less than when she increased the prices to 150-350L. Once they were more in line with the market pricing, she was considered to have quality valuable items and they sold better.

In my store I have also, worked "up" to my prices. I wanted to start low and then see what customers would pay. As they bought certain items, I improved them with better textures, more features, etc. which rate a higher price. But, and this is a BIG but....I still have items at the original prices that I started with. So there is a whole range of prices and as my skills have increased and my product quality has, I have priced more items ar higher prices.

My suggestion for anyone attempting pricing...go around and see what the successful stores are pricing their items at that are similar to yours...and also test the prices with friends. Ask them for feedback, if they would pay that amount for that item etc. Then try to be in that middle to lower end of the range you determine.

My 2 cents - jojo

Rha...so how to get the ability to send out the group notices...does someone verify that you are a vendor before you join the group? etc...