Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Yet another blogshopper complaining about her blogshop experiences.
From the Ann Rant blog: http://annrants.blogspot.com/2010/09/hais-yet-another-unpleasant-blogshop.html
From the Ann Rant blog: http://annrants.blogspot.com/2010/09/hais-yet-another-unpleasant-blogshop.html
| Hais yet another unpleasant blogshop experience.. @ Thursday, September 23, 2010 | ||
| I'm going to share with you all about my unpleasant experiences with blogshops. So far, out of 4 - 5 clothes I have ordered online, I have met with 3 unpleasant experiences already. So... for me, online shopping isn't really enjoyable. In addition, some clothes I ordered from online I only worn them once. Cos from the net, what you see and the actual piece is really different. May look good on the model, but when you wear ah... it becomes a piece of rag. PLUS, some may look perfect online. But you totally cannot wear them one. All about angle and hiding all the flaws! For example this:  Very chio hor? Still comes with free belt and the outer jacket is attached with the top. So no need so mafan buy 2 pieces separately. Thought I had a good deal man. Then when it came,  In front not bad. What about behind?  Where got people wear cardigan and wear the belt OUTSIDE the cardigan one? Retarded much? And FYI, the cardigan and the top are TOGETHER as one piece, I cannot separate the two pieces and tie the belt under the cardigan. Damn it. And you see that little black thing protruding out from the left side? That's the end of the BELT which I cannot find any 'holder' on the belt to stop it from sticking out. Who the hell wears a belt around the waist but has the end sticking out like that? Which explains why I can't find any backviews for this piece of top. I feel so scammed. ): So people, please make sure you email and ask for more details/pictures of the top you're going to buy. If not you're going to regret. Blame it on me for wanting all-in-one tops. I figured it would be better if I shopped around more buying separate pieces... --- Next, the really mad + fucking pissing thing is that when the stocks are WRONG.. FIRST INCIDENT I ordered a dress from a blogshop, preparing it for CNY outfit. The blogshop was introduced by a friend because the blogshop owner was my friend's friend. So I thought okay no problem I can help her friend also ma. So just browse browse and look, hmm. A dress caught my attention! Told my friend to help me order so my friend just SMSed the blogshop owner directly. When the piece came, it was a wrong dress. I asked my friend how come it's not the one I wanted? She said she had no idea. I went on to clarify with the blogshop owner stating that it's the wrong piece. Her attitude was darn rotten and she told me she had sent out all the pieces to other people and this dress was the only piece left, therefore it had to be MINE. I told her it's not mine and that my friend helped me with the order through SMS, therefore no Black & White (email) to prove. She said she had deleted the SMS and so I had no chance to prove that I was telling the truth, EVEN WHEN MY FRIEND TOLD ME SHE ORDERED THE CORRECT DRESS. Man that sucked hell much, I gave that piece of dress to another friend who was interested, for free! Because I was so mad I didn't want anything to do with that piece of fucked up dress. And the blogshop owner posted my Handphone number in her blog saying that I'm in the blacklist lol. Had to threaten her with the law and posting of private information online to make her censor my last two digits of my phone number. I learnt that one shouldn't buy from a blogshop just because the owner is linked with you through a mutual friend. So don't think you're doing a good deed by helping your friend buy things, things get so ugly when problems arise. And please ah, DIE DIE MUST ORDER IN BLACK AND WHITE!! Even if the owner is your friend or your friend's cousin or friend's friend, BLACK AND WHITE. REMEMBER. SECOND INCIDENT ... which just happened today, is from a blogshop I saw through facebook, and it is quite reputable for it's name. I shall not disclose it but it looks almost like 'Vic____'s 5 cents'. Some people may figure that out but hmmm I'm not posting it. ^^ (can MSN me ask if you really want to know) I ordered this top online since mid July. Paid up and she responds quite quickly too. Told me that the top should be arriving by end July. So I waited and waited. Until end July still no news. I waited again till start of August. I messaged her and asked if the stocks are arriving. This time she told me mid August. I wasn't in a rush to get the top, so I'm okay with it and just waited. Mid August came and no news yet! I didn't contact her, I just waited and waited. Wait until end August! I messaged her and asked about it. She told me 'reaching soon, will message you when the stocks come.' I was quite happy. So I waited and waited. Until September came and there were still no news. I waited till MID SEP. I messaged her and asked. She told me 'Taiwan is having holidays now so no workers to deliver it here.. So sorry.' I'm STILL OKAY WITH IT although I'm abit unhappy. But nevermind since I'm not in a rush, I just wait. From July until Mid Sep she has been dragging and dragging. Being such a nice customer and not wanting to stress the owner, I just quietly wait and wait. Here comes today, 23 September. She finally messaged me. 'Hi ann, you've ordered a top from me. But the supplier give me the wrong stock. Can you choose within these 3 tops? Top A Top B or Top C?' Feeling cheated, because I waited 2 months plus for a god damn shirt and I just want that shirt, I replied: Do you know how hard is it to control my temper and not scold her and still REQUEST (not DEMAND) for a refund? Here's what she said: 'Sorry. Can't. Top C is Mickey Mouse too, but different style. Hope you can take that piece. Cos my supplier said can't refund. Really sorry.'Me said: 'But my size dun suit that kind of top. I think since this is not my fault then you should be responsible for it? Cos I really dunwan other pieces. I don't think it is fair for me to wait so long end up I have to choose a top I don't even like. If you were me, will you be happy?'I have to emphasize that I did look at the other top but I really don't like it. And I really don't think I should be the one suffering the consequences for a mistake which I didn't play a part in at all. Ok maybe the only mistake was ordering from her. Anyway, her reply:
What to do? People t & c also state liao. Blame yourself for not reading la Ann. Make so much noise for what? People help you bargain 1 hour plus for refund liao you still want to stress people meh? Bo bian lor I anyhow choose a top and give my sister liao lor. If she don't want maybe I just hang it in wardrobe let it rot or I post online see who want I give for free lor. Lesson learnt: See more, buy less. Fuck blogshops. | ||
This article from About.com does a good job in explaining Facebook stores.
Facebook store owners in Malaysia do not seem to use the e-commerce apps on Facebook, but they just make stores out of their own personal pages. This article gives a clue as to why this is so... everything boils down to $$$ and the boutique owners just want to cut costs.
Questions:
1. Do small entrepreneurs view Facebook as a no-cost online retail option that is similar to what blogs provide?
2. Are the characteristics of FB stores similar to those of blogshop businesses for Malaysian and Singaporean microentrepreneurs?
From http://marketing.about.com/od/socialmediamarketing/a/Social-Commerce-With-Facebook-Stores.htm
Social Commerce with Facebook Stores
Facebook reports most visited website on the internet beating out Google for the first time. Obviously as merchants and online marketers we are trying to capture this traffic. I've never been one to promote "selling" via Facebook. I've always viewed those online using Facebook are more than likely not sitting there with their credit card in hand, but my thoughts on this are changing. Facebook has the ability to segment and market in a way that most websites can't. You can really target your marketing message to those that
would have an interest in your product or service.
Marketing on Facebook is advancing daily and the latest and my most favorite tool today is the Facebook stores. What is a Facebook store? A Facebook store is where businesses can incorporate a shop within their Facebook Fan Page. I love this idea. It makes the most sense. A Facebook user doesn't have to leave their beloved Facebook to purchase an item. It's convenient, easy and targeted.
Now, with that being said let me say that there are options that are inexpensive and others that come in on the pricey side. Price tends to be determined on whether you want users to be able to purchase within Facebook or seamlessly leave Facebook to purchase directly from your online store on your website. I lean towards the store that allows users to purchase directly from Facebook, but being the first Holiday season that this feature seems to be available I'm hesitate to sink a lot of cash - I'd much rather try the inexpensive route to measure the return on investment before sinking a large amount of my budget in something that really lacks case studies to show the effectiveness. I may be the only one who thinks this way and because of that I've pulled in rates for 3 different companies that offer Facebook store options, so that you can decide what works best for you.
ShopFans
I must admit from the look of ShopFans by Adgregrate Market I thought I had found the premier Facebook store, but digging a little deeper proved me wrong. Their showcase store StyleQ was not operational, every time I tried to view the store it would not connect. Surprisingly today I could finally access it. I love the way it looks and I'm impressed with the capability to not only shop via the ShopFan store, but being able to checkout without ever leaving Facebook is equally impressive. ShopFan works very different from the other two I've showcased for you, they price off a production fee plus they want a revenue share. They were not very eager to tell me their pricing and I was a bit put off by their lack of helpfulness - guess they don't need any customers.
Summary: Great model, but lacked the customer service that I desire when it comes to vendors. If you just want a great store and don't care about service I'd select them, but make sure they give you some type of guarantee regarding the functionality of your store. If I was not researching stores I would have given up the first time StyleQ didn't connect.
Milyoni, Inc (Million Eye)
I must admit this was the hardest business name to not only remember, but to pronounce before seeing the phonetics guide. I won't judge them on their branding, because that's not what this article is about. Milyoni offers great looking Facebook stores that allow your fans to checkout right on Facebook. The problem I had with them is you have to drive your customers to an application within Facebook the store is not embedded into your own FanPage. This in my opinion is not optimal. A downfall, but I'd still consider them a great option as long as you think that sending users to an application won't confuse them. An example of their Facebook store is the UFC Fan Shop. They can have your Facebook store setup in as little as 3 days and their customer service was very helpful in answering my questions. This option is still a tad pricey, but my instincts tell me they are more than likely significantly less than ShopFans. You can expect to pay a fee ranging from $2200 to $15,000 plus a 5% transaction fee. Pricing is based on number of fans, number of payment options, features and support levels.
Summary: Still a bit on the pricey side and not sure whether or not leading users to an application outside of your Facebook fan page is the best option. I do think they provide better customer service based on my own experience when compared to ShopFans, but just be sure it's the best economic decision for your business.
ShopTab
ShopTab seems to be the easiest and most cost effective to setup, but I do struggle with the fact that ShopTab takes your fans off of Facebook and onto your own ecommerce website to checkout. I don't think this is a deal breaker especially if you are just starting out and want to see whether the return on investment is worth having a Facebook store. My biggest concern is that you may see a drop in conversion with the transition from Facebook to your own store, but for a solution ranging from $10 to $20 per month it could be worth the risk to try a Facebook store without sinking a lot of cash. ShopTab bases their pricing on the number of products. Their $20 option can handle up to 3000 products. An example of the ShopTab store is Aleratec.
Summary: I'm not thrilled with moving users from Facebook to another website to purchase, but the price is worth the risk to see if your users would be intrigued enough on Facebook to purchase via your ecommerce site. The risk is low here and it will give you a general idea on whether or not your users are interested in merchandised products via Facebook.
Facebook store owners in Malaysia do not seem to use the e-commerce apps on Facebook, but they just make stores out of their own personal pages. This article gives a clue as to why this is so... everything boils down to $$$ and the boutique owners just want to cut costs.
Questions:
1. Do small entrepreneurs view Facebook as a no-cost online retail option that is similar to what blogs provide?
2. Are the characteristics of FB stores similar to those of blogshop businesses for Malaysian and Singaporean microentrepreneurs?
From http://marketing.about.com/od/socialmediamarketing/a/Social-Commerce-With-Facebook-Stores.htm
Social Commerce with Facebook Stores
Three Popular Facebook Store Options
By Laura Lake, About.com Guide
Facebook reports most visited website on the internet beating out Google for the first time. Obviously as merchants and online marketers we are trying to capture this traffic. I've never been one to promote "selling" via Facebook. I've always viewed those online using Facebook are more than likely not sitting there with their credit card in hand, but my thoughts on this are changing. Facebook has the ability to segment and market in a way that most websites can't. You can really target your marketing message to those that
would have an interest in your product or service.
Marketing on Facebook is advancing daily and the latest and my most favorite tool today is the Facebook stores. What is a Facebook store? A Facebook store is where businesses can incorporate a shop within their Facebook Fan Page. I love this idea. It makes the most sense. A Facebook user doesn't have to leave their beloved Facebook to purchase an item. It's convenient, easy and targeted.
Now, with that being said let me say that there are options that are inexpensive and others that come in on the pricey side. Price tends to be determined on whether you want users to be able to purchase within Facebook or seamlessly leave Facebook to purchase directly from your online store on your website. I lean towards the store that allows users to purchase directly from Facebook, but being the first Holiday season that this feature seems to be available I'm hesitate to sink a lot of cash - I'd much rather try the inexpensive route to measure the return on investment before sinking a large amount of my budget in something that really lacks case studies to show the effectiveness. I may be the only one who thinks this way and because of that I've pulled in rates for 3 different companies that offer Facebook store options, so that you can decide what works best for you.
ShopFans
I must admit from the look of ShopFans by Adgregrate Market I thought I had found the premier Facebook store, but digging a little deeper proved me wrong. Their showcase store StyleQ was not operational, every time I tried to view the store it would not connect. Surprisingly today I could finally access it. I love the way it looks and I'm impressed with the capability to not only shop via the ShopFan store, but being able to checkout without ever leaving Facebook is equally impressive. ShopFan works very different from the other two I've showcased for you, they price off a production fee plus they want a revenue share. They were not very eager to tell me their pricing and I was a bit put off by their lack of helpfulness - guess they don't need any customers.
Summary: Great model, but lacked the customer service that I desire when it comes to vendors. If you just want a great store and don't care about service I'd select them, but make sure they give you some type of guarantee regarding the functionality of your store. If I was not researching stores I would have given up the first time StyleQ didn't connect.
Milyoni, Inc (Million Eye)
I must admit this was the hardest business name to not only remember, but to pronounce before seeing the phonetics guide. I won't judge them on their branding, because that's not what this article is about. Milyoni offers great looking Facebook stores that allow your fans to checkout right on Facebook. The problem I had with them is you have to drive your customers to an application within Facebook the store is not embedded into your own FanPage. This in my opinion is not optimal. A downfall, but I'd still consider them a great option as long as you think that sending users to an application won't confuse them. An example of their Facebook store is the UFC Fan Shop. They can have your Facebook store setup in as little as 3 days and their customer service was very helpful in answering my questions. This option is still a tad pricey, but my instincts tell me they are more than likely significantly less than ShopFans. You can expect to pay a fee ranging from $2200 to $15,000 plus a 5% transaction fee. Pricing is based on number of fans, number of payment options, features and support levels.
Summary: Still a bit on the pricey side and not sure whether or not leading users to an application outside of your Facebook fan page is the best option. I do think they provide better customer service based on my own experience when compared to ShopFans, but just be sure it's the best economic decision for your business.
ShopTab
ShopTab seems to be the easiest and most cost effective to setup, but I do struggle with the fact that ShopTab takes your fans off of Facebook and onto your own ecommerce website to checkout. I don't think this is a deal breaker especially if you are just starting out and want to see whether the return on investment is worth having a Facebook store. My biggest concern is that you may see a drop in conversion with the transition from Facebook to your own store, but for a solution ranging from $10 to $20 per month it could be worth the risk to try a Facebook store without sinking a lot of cash. ShopTab bases their pricing on the number of products. Their $20 option can handle up to 3000 products. An example of the ShopTab store is Aleratec.
Summary: I'm not thrilled with moving users from Facebook to another website to purchase, but the price is worth the risk to see if your users would be intrigued enough on Facebook to purchase via your ecommerce site. The risk is low here and it will give you a general idea on whether or not your users are interested in merchandised products via Facebook.
Blog + Online Store
Here is another model that uses a click store complemented by a blog.
The rationale is simple. The blog site focuses on content that supports the e-commerce site. Blogs are good in the sense that they offer an opportunity for great SEO- relevant content will drive traffic to the site and this will of course help the online store.
The main difference in these two sites is again the shopping cart feature as well as the membership account feature in the online store.
The online store for this doggie-oriented site: http://www.poshpuppyboutique.com/
The blog that supports the online store- http://poshpuppyboutique.blogspot.com/
I have come across of pet-boutiques like this one, so this is another big thing in the US.
The rationale is simple. The blog site focuses on content that supports the e-commerce site. Blogs are good in the sense that they offer an opportunity for great SEO- relevant content will drive traffic to the site and this will of course help the online store.
The main difference in these two sites is again the shopping cart feature as well as the membership account feature in the online store.
The online store for this doggie-oriented site: http://www.poshpuppyboutique.com/
The blog that supports the online store- http://poshpuppyboutique.blogspot.com/
I have come across of pet-boutiques like this one, so this is another big thing in the US.
How to Market and Manage an Online Fashion Store
This is a piece that talks about how to manage a fashion boutique. It is relevant for owners of fashion boutiques who are usually driven by a passion for their trade but may not be entirely deft at the business end of things.
From: http://smartshoppingtips.blogcashbiz.com/4566/creating-an-online-fashion-store/
There is a great deal more to managing a successful online fashion store than loving fashion and having excellent fashion sense. In order to keep turn a profit, a good business is essential. Before a person starts setting up their website, they need to sit down and create a business plan. After creating the plan, you need to go over it again and again to make sure that you have considered any and all potential problems.
It does not matter if you have the latest fashions, great prices, and a wonderful customer service program; if people do not know about your online fashion store, the business will fail. It does not matter if you are running a brick and mortar boutique, or if your fashion boutique is exclusively online, you have to put together a marketing plan.
Fashion is always changing. What is hot one season, might never be trendy again. It does not matter if the boutique is online or if it is in a mall, if the owner does not know what is trendy, the business will fail. Not only does the boutique owner need to know what is currently in style they also have to be able to guess what types of clothing and accessories are going to be coming into style.
A good manager knows that just because an item is the height of fashion, does not mean it is a good match for their customers. It is important to remember the budget and general style preference of the fashion stores average customer.
Marketing is critical to the success of your online fashion store. The webmaster with a good marketing strategy is the webmaster that will stay in business. Since the future of the fashion store depends on web traffic, the best marketing plan is one that will increase their search engine optimization.
The really great thing about improving the search engine ranking of the online fashion store is that it is something the webmaster can do on their own, they do not need to worry about coming up with the extra funds to hire a marketing expert. What the webmaster needs to do is set aside some time and use it to create a blog.
The best way to increase the online boutiques SEO is to fill the entire website with lots of keyword rich, relevant articles. Not only will the articles improve the boutiques visibility, they will also give your customers an excuse to visit the boutique over and over again. Becoming an active member of several different fashion discussion boards is a fantastic way to let potential customers know about your websites existence.
In order to obtain greater assistance not to mention tips that’s related to Ladies Vest Top along with Womens Winter Coats check us out.
From: http://smartshoppingtips.blogcashbiz.com/4566/creating-an-online-fashion-store/
Creating An Online Fashion Store
Sep.22, 2010 in Clothing
It does not matter if you have the latest fashions, great prices, and a wonderful customer service program; if people do not know about your online fashion store, the business will fail. It does not matter if you are running a brick and mortar boutique, or if your fashion boutique is exclusively online, you have to put together a marketing plan.
Fashion is always changing. What is hot one season, might never be trendy again. It does not matter if the boutique is online or if it is in a mall, if the owner does not know what is trendy, the business will fail. Not only does the boutique owner need to know what is currently in style they also have to be able to guess what types of clothing and accessories are going to be coming into style.
A good manager knows that just because an item is the height of fashion, does not mean it is a good match for their customers. It is important to remember the budget and general style preference of the fashion stores average customer.
Marketing is critical to the success of your online fashion store. The webmaster with a good marketing strategy is the webmaster that will stay in business. Since the future of the fashion store depends on web traffic, the best marketing plan is one that will increase their search engine optimization.
The really great thing about improving the search engine ranking of the online fashion store is that it is something the webmaster can do on their own, they do not need to worry about coming up with the extra funds to hire a marketing expert. What the webmaster needs to do is set aside some time and use it to create a blog.
The best way to increase the online boutiques SEO is to fill the entire website with lots of keyword rich, relevant articles. Not only will the articles improve the boutiques visibility, they will also give your customers an excuse to visit the boutique over and over again. Becoming an active member of several different fashion discussion boards is a fantastic way to let potential customers know about your websites existence.
In order to obtain greater assistance not to mention tips that’s related to Ladies Vest Top along with Womens Winter Coats check us out.
Monday, September 20, 2010
The question: WHY aren't there blogshops in other parts of the world (especially places where e-commerce is well developed, like the USA), probably finds some answers here in this piece about the growth of online boutiques in the US.
This piece focuses on Milwaukee, but the interesting things are the increasing popularity of online boutiques as well as the use of online retail aggregate sites like Etsy.com as a platform for individuals to participate in EC.
Thus, niche boutiques are highly contextualized entities, as the form of their operation is very much dependent on where they are.
So, this is evidence that in the US, blogs are not the vehicle for cheap and easy commerce but sites like Etsy are.
From: http://www.avclub.com/milwaukee/articles/whatever-happened-to-indie-retail-in-milwaukee,44854/
Janelle Gramling
This piece focuses on Milwaukee, but the interesting things are the increasing popularity of online boutiques as well as the use of online retail aggregate sites like Etsy.com as a platform for individuals to participate in EC.
Thus, niche boutiques are highly contextualized entities, as the form of their operation is very much dependent on where they are.
So, this is evidence that in the US, blogs are not the vehicle for cheap and easy commerce but sites like Etsy are.
From: http://www.avclub.com/milwaukee/articles/whatever-happened-to-indie-retail-in-milwaukee,44854/
Whatever happened to indie retail in Milwaukee?
Local designers go from the physical to the virtual marketplace
Janelle Gramling Milwaukee might not be the first city that comes to mind when thinking about fashion hotspots, but with the handmade boom that began in the early ’00s, the city saw a surge in the number of local designers opening up their own shops. Storefronts that had sat empty for years in Milwaukee’s hippest neighborhoods had fresh coats of paint and signs welcoming customers to purchase everything from soap to jewelry to clothes made right here in town.
One of the first DIY stores in Milwaukee was Fashion Ninja, a boutique and clothing line created by Arika Ikeler. She began designing in 1997, and opened her boutique in the heart of Bay View in 2002; soon, she began teaching sewing and design classes. Ikeler’s DIY attitude helped launch a community of designers with the necessary knowledge to create their own clothing brands. Fasten Collective graduated from years of selling at indie craft fairs and farmers’ markets and opened a storefront in Bay View. Paper Boat Boutique and Gallery, which was operated by Faythe Levine and Kim Kisiolek, featured handmade designs from all over the world. The General Store in Riverwest created a showcase of local designers next to its gallery walls. The growing number of stores was welcomed by exploding demand—fashion shows began popping up at rock venues and art galleries, and wearing handmade designs became a badge of Milwaukee trendiness.
And then, slowly, Milwaukee’s DIY boutiques started closing. Now, many of them exist only online.
What happened? Economic fluctuation definitely took its toll on independent businesses in the last few years, but many designers cited fatigue as their main reason for shutting down their boutiques. Now the Internet has allowed them to sell their wares without the overhead of running a store. Free from the hassles of operating a physical retail space, designers can concentrate on the new frontier of personal Internet shops hosted by sites like etsy.com, where they can work from the comfort of home, in their underwear if they want, and keep their own hours. Even Ikeler has pulled the plug on her retail space and now operates online. “I love the Internet—I liked my boutique,” she says.
Tina Poppy, who runs an online boutique called Violetville Vintage that specializes in luxurious one-of-a-kind finds, thought about opening a brick-and-mortar store, but didn’t want to compromise what she was interested in selling to cater to a particular area. “Online, you have access to the entire world,” Poppy says. “Your chances of finding that one person out there who’s in love with this one particular dress in this one size and one color is a whole lot better.”
“I think that online shoppers are all about the feeling they get when they sit down at their computers and look at a website,” says Janelle Gramling of Little Ocean, which sells clothes made from vintage and recycled fabrics. “Your product is a photograph of your design and the story you write around your business. Shopping, whether it’s online or in person, is about feeling connected with the designer and that connection comes from the story behind the materials or the process used to make an item.”
DIY boutiques helped make some of Milwaukee’s most vibrant neighborhoods feel all the more vital; now that many of them are gone, a void has opened. While the Internet has made it easier for local designers to make a living, not everyone has left brick-and-mortar retailing behind. Levine has plans in the works to open a pop-up boutique this October in the back of Sky High Skate Shop (2501 S. Howell Ave., 414-483-2585), and other designers still dabble at selling through venues like Sparrow Collective (2224 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) or Fischberger’s Variety (2445 N. Holton St., 414-263-1991). Fashion Ninja has been recently appearing Saturdays at the East Side Green Market, and Vanessa Andrew—co-founder of Fasten Collective and the designer behind Penny Spencer and Madam Chino—has sectioned off part of her studio to create a retail space called Look Nook, which she opens to the public on Saturdays. “I think it’s nice to be able to talk to people who are shopping in your store and develop a relationship with your customers in person,” Andrew says.
The new phase of Milwaukee’s creative community seems to be more about time and balance than the starry-eyed ideals that many realized are difficult to accomplish in a 24-hour-day. Still, it’s nice to know that you only have to log on to see that local designers are still flourishing.
One of the first DIY stores in Milwaukee was Fashion Ninja, a boutique and clothing line created by Arika Ikeler. She began designing in 1997, and opened her boutique in the heart of Bay View in 2002; soon, she began teaching sewing and design classes. Ikeler’s DIY attitude helped launch a community of designers with the necessary knowledge to create their own clothing brands. Fasten Collective graduated from years of selling at indie craft fairs and farmers’ markets and opened a storefront in Bay View. Paper Boat Boutique and Gallery, which was operated by Faythe Levine and Kim Kisiolek, featured handmade designs from all over the world. The General Store in Riverwest created a showcase of local designers next to its gallery walls. The growing number of stores was welcomed by exploding demand—fashion shows began popping up at rock venues and art galleries, and wearing handmade designs became a badge of Milwaukee trendiness.
And then, slowly, Milwaukee’s DIY boutiques started closing. Now, many of them exist only online.
What happened? Economic fluctuation definitely took its toll on independent businesses in the last few years, but many designers cited fatigue as their main reason for shutting down their boutiques. Now the Internet has allowed them to sell their wares without the overhead of running a store. Free from the hassles of operating a physical retail space, designers can concentrate on the new frontier of personal Internet shops hosted by sites like etsy.com, where they can work from the comfort of home, in their underwear if they want, and keep their own hours. Even Ikeler has pulled the plug on her retail space and now operates online. “I love the Internet—I liked my boutique,” she says.
Tina Poppy, who runs an online boutique called Violetville Vintage that specializes in luxurious one-of-a-kind finds, thought about opening a brick-and-mortar store, but didn’t want to compromise what she was interested in selling to cater to a particular area. “Online, you have access to the entire world,” Poppy says. “Your chances of finding that one person out there who’s in love with this one particular dress in this one size and one color is a whole lot better.”
“I think that online shoppers are all about the feeling they get when they sit down at their computers and look at a website,” says Janelle Gramling of Little Ocean, which sells clothes made from vintage and recycled fabrics. “Your product is a photograph of your design and the story you write around your business. Shopping, whether it’s online or in person, is about feeling connected with the designer and that connection comes from the story behind the materials or the process used to make an item.”
DIY boutiques helped make some of Milwaukee’s most vibrant neighborhoods feel all the more vital; now that many of them are gone, a void has opened. While the Internet has made it easier for local designers to make a living, not everyone has left brick-and-mortar retailing behind. Levine has plans in the works to open a pop-up boutique this October in the back of Sky High Skate Shop (2501 S. Howell Ave., 414-483-2585), and other designers still dabble at selling through venues like Sparrow Collective (2224 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) or Fischberger’s Variety (2445 N. Holton St., 414-263-1991). Fashion Ninja has been recently appearing Saturdays at the East Side Green Market, and Vanessa Andrew—co-founder of Fasten Collective and the designer behind Penny Spencer and Madam Chino—has sectioned off part of her studio to create a retail space called Look Nook, which she opens to the public on Saturdays. “I think it’s nice to be able to talk to people who are shopping in your store and develop a relationship with your customers in person,” Andrew says.
The new phase of Milwaukee’s creative community seems to be more about time and balance than the starry-eyed ideals that many realized are difficult to accomplish in a 24-hour-day. Still, it’s nice to know that you only have to log on to see that local designers are still flourishing.
Retail Software for Facebook Stores
There are a number of e-commerce software that help retailers set up store fronts on Facebook.
This article mentions ShopIgniter, buit others like Pavyment, Alvenda and BigCommerce have been around for a while now.
From the Tech Crunch website: http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/13/shopigniter-helps-retailers-set-up-shop-on-facebook/
There’s no doubt that Facebook could one day operate a massive digital mall in the future, allowing users to buy clothes, electronics and other goods from within the social network. ShopIgniter
is helping make this a reality by powering online storefronts for retailers on Facebook.
ShopIgniter offers a software that allows retailers to essentially build sleek storefront on Facebook, giving users the ability to add new products, pricing, options, categories, collections, brands, and more in a branded Facebook application. Buyers can post reviews and complete a transaction directly within the Facebook store. And ShopIgniter also allows retailers to offer group based promotions, private access sales, online coupons and more. Plus, ShopIgniter also powers web-based e-commerce platforms apart from Facebook.
You can see Sound Earphones’ ShopIgnitor-powered site here and Facebook page here.
The startup, which has raised $3 million from Madrona Venture Group, faces competition from Alvenda, Payvment and BigCommerce.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Market wire: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/ShopIgniter-Introduces-Most-Comprehensive-Set-Social-eCommerce-Solutions-Companies-Any-1319633.htm
PORTLAND, OR--(Marketwire - September 15, 2010) - ShopIgniter, a provider of innovative social eCommerce solutions, today announced the introduction of its social eCommerce engine through a family of products built for companies of any size, from growing e-tailers to large consumer brand companies selling online.
Ecommerce and marketing executives now have access to eCommerce technology that can help them extend their reach and monetize their social media efforts. As social media enables consumers to connect to companies and products through trusted relationships instead of impersonal searches, ShopIgniter is helping companies activate their networks with a flexible set of solutions built from the ground up to optimize social media. From building stores within Facebook to delivering intelligent, comprehensive eCommerce solutions as well as a social eCommerce engine that works with existing enterprise eCommerce platforms, ShopIgniter is helping companies make their commerce social.
"ShopIgniter's platform is intuitive, enables me to manage my complex inventory needs, as well as helping me to grow my business through Facebook and social media," said Michael Matossian, CEO of SoundEarphones.com, the largest one stop shop for ear phones and headsets. "Facebook has become as important as search engines for our business growth. It is only natural that we should be selling within Facebook, and ShopIgniter has enabled to not just sell, but activate our networks within Facebook."
ShopIgniter eCommerce solutions used by companies of all sizes include:
Pricing and Availability
ShopIgniter products are available now on a subscription basis, starting as low as a few hundred dollars a month.
About ShopIgniter
Founded in 2009, ShopIgniter is a rapidly growing, social eCommerce software company funded by early Amazon.com investors Madrona Venture Group. Headquartered in Portland, OR, ShopIgniter helps companies of any size activate their social network to extend their reach and generate revenue through social eCommerce efforts. ShopIgniter has an entire suite of flexible offerings, from Facebook stores with a social promotion engine including couponing, coupon referrals, group based promotions, private access sales and flash sales, to a comprehensive eCommerce Platform that includes the social promotion engine and Facebook store, to a social eCommerce Engine for companies with an existing eCommerce infrastructure.
With hundreds of customers and growing daily, ShopIgniter meets the social eCommerce needs of a variety of companies including retailers, brand manufacturers and their interactive agencies. More information can be found at www.shopigniter.com.
This article mentions ShopIgniter, buit others like Pavyment, Alvenda and BigCommerce have been around for a while now.
From the Tech Crunch website: http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/13/shopigniter-helps-retailers-set-up-shop-on-facebook/
Leena Rao Sep 13, 2010
There’s no doubt that Facebook could one day operate a massive digital mall in the future, allowing users to buy clothes, electronics and other goods from within the social network. ShopIgniter
is helping make this a reality by powering online storefronts for retailers on Facebook.ShopIgniter offers a software that allows retailers to essentially build sleek storefront on Facebook, giving users the ability to add new products, pricing, options, categories, collections, brands, and more in a branded Facebook application. Buyers can post reviews and complete a transaction directly within the Facebook store. And ShopIgniter also allows retailers to offer group based promotions, private access sales, online coupons and more. Plus, ShopIgniter also powers web-based e-commerce platforms apart from Facebook.
You can see Sound Earphones’ ShopIgnitor-powered site here
and Facebook page here. The startup, which has raised $3 million
from Madrona Venture Group, faces competition from Alvenda, Payvment and BigCommerce. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Market wire: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/ShopIgniter-Introduces-Most-Comprehensive-Set-Social-eCommerce-Solutions-Companies-Any-1319633.htm
Sep 15, 2010 12:30 ET
ShopIgniter Introduces the Most Comprehensive Set of Social eCommerce Solutions for Companies of Any Size
Products Offer Flexible Solutions Enabling Companies to Generate Revenue and Extend Their Reach From Their Social eCommerce Efforts
Ecommerce and marketing executives now have access to eCommerce technology that can help them extend their reach and monetize their social media efforts. As social media enables consumers to connect to companies and products through trusted relationships instead of impersonal searches, ShopIgniter is helping companies activate their networks with a flexible set of solutions built from the ground up to optimize social media. From building stores within Facebook to delivering intelligent, comprehensive eCommerce solutions as well as a social eCommerce engine that works with existing enterprise eCommerce platforms, ShopIgniter is helping companies make their commerce social.
"ShopIgniter's platform is intuitive, enables me to manage my complex inventory needs, as well as helping me to grow my business through Facebook and social media," said Michael Matossian, CEO of SoundEarphones.com, the largest one stop shop for ear phones and headsets. "Facebook has become as important as search engines for our business growth. It is only natural that we should be selling within Facebook, and ShopIgniter has enabled to not just sell, but activate our networks within Facebook."
ShopIgniter eCommerce solutions used by companies of all sizes include:
- Social eCommerce Engine: A flexible, enterprise grade platform that integrates with a company's existing eCommerce infrastructure. This solution helps companies to make their eCommerce efforts social with features including a Facebook store, reviews, and a social promotion engine including couponing, coupon referrals, group based promotions, private access sales, flash sales and more -- all integrated to back-end inventory and order management.
- eCommerce Platform: A comprehensive eCommerce solution for companies looking to move to next generation technology. This includes robust inventory management, intuitive administration, streamlined location intelligence as well as complete social features including a Facebook store, reviews, and a social promotion engine including couponing, coupon referrals, group based promotions, private access sales, flash sales and more.
- Facebook Store: For companies of any size that want to enable transactions from within Facebook's community of 500+ million users. ShopIgniter enables companies to control products, pricing, options, categories, collections, brands, and more in a fully-branded Facebook application. Users can complete the transaction directly within their Facebook store. This offering includes the social promotion engine including couponing, coupon referrals, group based promotions, private access sales, flash sales and more.
Pricing and Availability
ShopIgniter products are available now on a subscription basis, starting as low as a few hundred dollars a month.
About ShopIgniter
Founded in 2009, ShopIgniter is a rapidly growing, social eCommerce software company funded by early Amazon.com investors Madrona Venture Group. Headquartered in Portland, OR, ShopIgniter helps companies of any size activate their social network to extend their reach and generate revenue through social eCommerce efforts. ShopIgniter has an entire suite of flexible offerings, from Facebook stores with a social promotion engine including couponing, coupon referrals, group based promotions, private access sales and flash sales, to a comprehensive eCommerce Platform that includes the social promotion engine and Facebook store, to a social eCommerce Engine for companies with an existing eCommerce infrastructure.
With hundreds of customers and growing daily, ShopIgniter meets the social eCommerce needs of a variety of companies including retailers, brand manufacturers and their interactive agencies. More information can be found at www.shopigniter.com.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
TYPES of E-commerce sites
In doing this project, I have come across a number of different types of online commerce sites. Here is a listing of these sites. There are probably some others, like Etsy, but I will have to figure out how to categorize them before listing them here.
EC site/Dotcom
EC site + brick store
EC site + blog
Blog only (non-EC)
Blogshop
Blogshop + brick store
Blogshop + blog
C2C auction store
C2C auction site + EC site
C2C auction store + brick store
C2C auction store + blogshop
Facebook store
Facebook store + EC site
Facebook store + blogshop
Facebook store + brick store
This means blogshops are just one type of Internet outlets that can be used for e-commerce. As the Web evolves, new ones emerge, as can be seen by the rising popularity of Facebook stores.
How are all these different from each other? I would need to write up some attributes of each so that we can see the distinguishing features, so that their respective uses and relevance in different contexts can be established. This will enable an better understanding of why so many types of retail outlets exists and why different ones are popular or embraced in different contexts.
EC site/Dotcom
EC site + brick store
EC site + blog
Blog only (non-EC)
Blogshop
Blogshop + brick store
Blogshop + blog
C2C auction store
C2C auction site + EC site
C2C auction store + brick store
C2C auction store + blogshop
Facebook store
Facebook store + EC site
Facebook store + blogshop
Facebook store + brick store
This means blogshops are just one type of Internet outlets that can be used for e-commerce. As the Web evolves, new ones emerge, as can be seen by the rising popularity of Facebook stores.
How are all these different from each other? I would need to write up some attributes of each so that we can see the distinguishing features, so that their respective uses and relevance in different contexts can be established. This will enable an better understanding of why so many types of retail outlets exists and why different ones are popular or embraced in different contexts.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Blogshop Reviewers talk about Blogshops
Blogshop reviewers play a major role in the blogshop-sphere. Here is an article that interviews a number of them who are quite prominent in the blogshop scene.
NOTE: There is a strong sense in which blogshops are synonymous with e-commerce in Malaysia.
While online shopping came on the scene with the dotcoms in the 1990s, they were not big in Malaysia then. There were some e-commerce sites dedicated to e-commerce, and a handful of auction and online community sites like Lelong and Lowyat that provided spaces for e-commerce (usually C2C), but online shopping then was still insignificant (I need to research deeper into this to get some statistics about the early days of e-commerce and online shopping in Malaysia to get a confirmation on this).
Therefore, do blogshops represent the e-commerce/online shopping revolution in this part of the world?
In other words, are we having our own 'version' of e-commerce, one that is fueled by cost-free blogshops instead of typical e-commerce sites from the dotcom era?
From the Sun2Surf site: http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=51748
Shopping redefined
ABOUT a year ago online shopping was a bizarre idea to many of us who until today still prefer to get shopping done at malls even though shopping convenience is only a few clicks away on the computer. It was a new concept which took a while to sink into shoppers’ minds while having to get used to receiving shopping items through snail mail. This however did not stop blogshop and e-boutique owners from establishing a "buy and sell" community on the wireless sphere. Today, based on statistics provided by four individuals whom have been actively keeping tabs on these businesses online which are based in Malaysia alone, the number has risen to more than 2,000 sites.
As for A Shopaholic’s Den (www.ashopaholicsden.com), a reviewer who many regard as the pioneer who kick-started blogshop review sites, Soh Yien Yee, 22, continues to keep readers informed with the latest updates posted by blogshops although she is now a full-time events management executive. However, Soh noticed several downsides of the current reviewing trend as compared to when she started back in 2008.
Updated: 11:25AM Mon, 13 Sep 2010
NOTE: There is a strong sense in which blogshops are synonymous with e-commerce in Malaysia.
While online shopping came on the scene with the dotcoms in the 1990s, they were not big in Malaysia then. There were some e-commerce sites dedicated to e-commerce, and a handful of auction and online community sites like Lelong and Lowyat that provided spaces for e-commerce (usually C2C), but online shopping then was still insignificant (I need to research deeper into this to get some statistics about the early days of e-commerce and online shopping in Malaysia to get a confirmation on this).
Therefore, do blogshops represent the e-commerce/online shopping revolution in this part of the world?
In other words, are we having our own 'version' of e-commerce, one that is fueled by cost-free blogshops instead of typical e-commerce sites from the dotcom era?
From the Sun2Surf site: http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=51748
Shopping redefined
 |  |
Pung Sha-Lene | Michelle Ong |
Yes, you read it correctly. There are more than 2,000 shops online and the figure is rising. You begin to think, there are so many physical shops out there which you cannot actually cope with, how can you keep track of these additional shopping avenues? Well, this is where blogshop reviewers come to our rescue. The majority of us would assume, how hard can it be to manage a blog site, but think again, with information overload from existing blogshops, the new emergence of blogshops and not forgetting continuous requests for new blogshops to be featured, it is not an easy task to juggle.
Some have been successful whereas many have shut down without a trace. Similar to how you do your research online with regards to what is the best buy of a certain item through reviews, the blogshop review sites serve the same purpose for online shoppers. But which do you actually want to read and believe before you make an investment on an item?
REVIEW WITH A DIFFRENCE
"There is no competition among us blogshop reviewers. At least from my side, I don’t see that we are competing. My observations show that blogshop reviewers complement each other in the blog-sphere as there are too many blogshops to keep track of and due to that, I feel that there is no way that I can list all of them," explained Pung Sha-Lene, 22, of yourshoppingkaki.blogspot.com, who is a student majoring in journalism and communications at Monash University in Bandar Sunway.
Introduced to online shopping in 2009, Sha-Lene is the host of Your Shopping Kaki blogshop review site where she provides firsthand shopping experiences and tips. It was not something which was planned, but simply because she enjoyed writing and loved the convenience of shopping online.
"Your Shopping Kaki takes on a different approach where readers get insights to where or why I’ve purchased certain items. Each review is written in an article form where I feature blogshops I’ve purchased items from instead of telling someone about what other blogshops have without purchasing anything from them. I also feature other shops in my review site and blogshop owners are most welcome to share links on Your Shopping Kaki where readers can locate certain items which they’re looking for," added Sha-Lene.
MOTHER OF ALL REVIEWERS
 |  |
Soh Yien Yee | Sara Khong |
As for A Shopaholic’s Den (www.ashopaholicsden.com), a reviewer who many regard as the pioneer who kick-started blogshop review sites, Soh Yien Yee, 22, continues to keep readers informed with the latest updates posted by blogshops although she is now a full-time events management executive. However, Soh noticed several downsides of the current reviewing trend as compared to when she started back in 2008.
"When I first started the review site, it focused on helping friends and fellow shoppers locate items which they could not find at their usual shopping spots or if they were avid online shoppers and were looking for something in particular. On my site I share about what’s in and where shoppers can purchase them online and tips on shopping efficiently online. At times I would also be reviewing products if there are requests," said Soh.
"However lately, I’ve noticed that there are several review sites which are set up solely for profit-earning purposes. I think it is unethical to do so especially when you have just started the review site and have not even gained credibility or traffic. To immediately post up advertisement space just doesn’t fit the picture. We’re supposed to be sharing knowledge and not profiting from others’ knowledge," expressed Soh.
ROLL-ING IT RIGHTThe number of blogshops kept growing and so did Michelle Ong’s review site, shoppingroll.blogspot.com since the 20-year-old wanted to list down as many blogshops in the blog-sphere. Still Ong needed to do regular maintenance work where she monitored the activity of blogshops to see whether or not they were constantly updated in order to be "kept" on Shopping Roll.
"I started shopping online in 2006, way before people even heard about buying things online. So you can imagine the amount of shops I explored on the Internet. I didn’t start the review site immediately but instead only started in 2009 when more and more shops were available. In fact, the database in Malaysia has grown to about 2,200 blogshops on my count. Initially starting with two blog rolls, I have nine today!" Ong further elaborated.
"As a shopper myself, occasionally I do go around investigating if certain blogshops are providing good services or whether they are honest in dealing with shoppers. Apart from that, on Shopping Roll, you will notice that I have a ‘Looking For’ column where shoppers can post items which they are looking for and I will try my best to help them locate them. At the same time, blogshop owners can also exchange information through that column by matching items to a shopper’s request," added Ong.
SHOPPING EFFICIENLY
Just like any shopper who was new to the idea of shopping online, Sara Khong, 24, the host of the fashiono.my site, was once clueless about the hype of doing shopping without driving to the mall.
"I only started shopping online a year ago and I knew nothing about it. I had so many questions; How do I make a transfer via Maybank2u? How to place an order? What does COD means? What other boutiques are available online? I couldn’t find any site which have all that I wanted to know. So I decided to start a site which not only tell girls where to shop online, but how to shop online," said Khong.
Preferring to regard it as an "online fashion" review site, Khong reviews only blogshops in Malaysia and goes by the tagline: "An online shopping guide and fashion review site for Malaysians." Although she has written about various blogshops in Singapore, Khong stated that she prefers to focus on Malaysia’s e-commerce sites and readers.
"Starting this site not only educated me as it also helped many clueless online shoppers like me earn some pocket money and make friends with other entrepreneurs. Seeing that things were going on well, I’ve decided to put looking for a job in the legal department aside and give myself a shot at running this review site as my full-time career. I’ve found three wonderful writers who are really into fashion to help me. I am also planning my new e-commerce site, www.zikkos.com that sells accessories," added Khong, a law graduate.
INTENSE COMPETITION
With the increasing number of blogshops in the market, there is definitely intense competition to grab a bigger market share. Keeping this factor in mind, blogshop reviewers make it a point not to compare the price of items or products in different blogshops.
So, are you an online shopper yet? Or have you been wanting to try it out? If you have qualms about shopping online and did not know where to look for answers, check out the blogshop review sites here and shop away!With the increasing number of blogshops in the market, there is definitely intense competition to grab a bigger market share. Keeping this factor in mind, blogshop reviewers make it a point not to compare the price of items or products in different blogshops.
Updated: 11:25AM Mon, 13 Sep 2010
RM26 Scams
Considering the size of blogshops and their transactions, scams are a major issue even if the amount under question is RM26... or RM10.
This blogshop owner (who is herself a customer) takes a couple of 'scammers' to task on her blog. This is how they deal with fraud (warning: coarse language)
From: http://instocksforbabes.blogspot.com/2010/09/blacklisted-shame-on-you-btch_11.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Loh Qi min
School : River valley high school
lohqimin@hotmail.com
Number two slut.
SHE IS THE OWNER OF THE HTTP://SPIKEMYNOSTRILS.BLOGSPOT.COM and http://xoxolullabys.blogspot.com!
NICHELLE LOW!
90050844 OR 82504654.
Its still operating and alot of people is buying from her.
However, the number of people who are waiting for reply is increasing well!
SHE SCAMMED MY $10. OK, I KNOW ITS NOT ALOT BUT STILL M.O.N.E.Y RIGHT?!
I bought a white cardigan from her, then not long afterwards, i transfered the money to her bank acct. She said she is mailing out, ok i waited patiently. BUT WTH? Up till now, after 2 months, i didnt even get single item from her? She said her friend mailed to the address, not its return to them. SO SHE SAID SHE WILL MAILED OUT ASAP AND CORRECTLY! YES, SHE SAID SHE MAILED? BUT I DIDNT GET ANY SHYT?
She said she will refund money to me if i want, and she say its just $10, i do not need to keep rushing her until liddat? After that, she promised that she will transfer the money by 15th July.
@ 16July, when i msg and called her again, her phone number was not in service anymore? Guilty or wad? So changed your phone number? OK, then went to her blogshop again, she said that she changed her phone number. However, no matter how i spammed calls or smses to her "new phone number" , she refused to pick up nor reply to my msg. Wad does this show? You guilty bcos YOU SCAM MY MONEY.
Karma turns around , and will bite you back. Just wait and see. I will lodge a police report to you!
This slut is also blackisted by :
1) http://thlady-closet.blogspot.com
2) http://cw-dinosaur.onsugar.com
3) http://jelliesandroses.blogspot.com
4) http://paperbags-avenue.blogspot.com
5) http://jelliesandroses.blogspot.com/search/label/blacklisted
6)http://stepabc.weebly.com/hell-of-shame.html
and more.
This blogshop owner (who is herself a customer) takes a couple of 'scammers' to task on her blog. This is how they deal with fraud (warning: coarse language)
From: http://instocksforbabes.blogspot.com/2010/09/blacklisted-shame-on-you-btch_11.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blacklisted ; shame on you! B!tch.
Name: Loh Qi min
School : River valley high school
lohqimin@hotmail.com
Number : 97752462
Email : th-maximumhearts@hotmail.com
blogshop: http://clear-your-wishlist.blogspot.com
Current blogshop: http://your-shoppingchapter.blogspot.com
Personal blog:
Email : th-maximumhearts@hotmail.com
blogshop: http://clear-your-wishlist.blogspot.com
Current blogshop: http://your-shoppingchapter.blogspot.com
Personal blog:
http://hearts-.tumblr.com/
Seriously, she is a kindhearted people but i dontknow how she ended up scamming!
Previously, i have bought some items from her and the items is OOS so she refunded me my money asap! Wow, after that, i trusted her as a decent girl. But who knows?
I bought a FBT and a cartoon tee from her. and wad the hell, both items' supplier ran away. Ok, at that point of time, i put alot of trust on her cos she is the one who msg me first about the status of the items, and yes, she promised to refund me asap.
Fine, i dont press her very tight, as i believed she needs time as well. However, after quite a long time, i msg her again when can i have my refund? She replied asap. Okay, so afterwards, we arranged a meetup at woodlands. I turned up and after waiting her for a freaking long time and spammed her with calls and smses, she pick up and said she just woke up?
Nvrmind, i told her since she is one who didnt turn up, she should come to my convenience. Yes, she agreed. We arranged the meetup few days later. I arranged the time around the morning, i turned up again and i was rushing to school. P/S: Its on a holiday! She said she is coming alr, but so long, yet i dont even see a single soul of her?
FINE, I FLARED UP! I asked her to mail the money thru concealed cash. She dont do bank transfer -,- Ok, she said she mailed out. Yet, i dont received a single cent from her nor the envelope?
She said its lost or either i've received yet i claimed i have not. If i have received, will i keep pressing you for the $26 like crazy woman liddat? and wads more, she said its mailed by her parents. Fine, so i said i demand a explaination from her parents. She said her dad is working till 11pm, from the morning as well as her mom.
HEH? EVEN WEEKEND LEH! SINCE HER PARENTS IS SO BUSY, HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSE TO MAIL YOUR "ENVELOPE THAT CONTAINED MONEY?" PLEASE WHERE IS THE LOGIC? THEN I FOUND OUT SHE SCAMMED ALOT OF MONEY FROM OTHERS TO HER.
KARMA TURNS AROUND, ONE DAY YOU WILL GET YOUR RETRIBUTION. DONT WORRY.
SHAME ON YOU ! >< Beware .
P/S: OTHER BLOGSHOPS HAD ALSO BLACKLISTED HER TOO.
Seriously, she is a kindhearted people but i dontknow how she ended up scamming!
Previously, i have bought some items from her and the items is OOS so she refunded me my money asap! Wow, after that, i trusted her as a decent girl. But who knows?
I bought a FBT and a cartoon tee from her. and wad the hell, both items' supplier ran away. Ok, at that point of time, i put alot of trust on her cos she is the one who msg me first about the status of the items, and yes, she promised to refund me asap.
Fine, i dont press her very tight, as i believed she needs time as well. However, after quite a long time, i msg her again when can i have my refund? She replied asap. Okay, so afterwards, we arranged a meetup at woodlands. I turned up and after waiting her for a freaking long time and spammed her with calls and smses, she pick up and said she just woke up?
Nvrmind, i told her since she is one who didnt turn up, she should come to my convenience. Yes, she agreed. We arranged the meetup few days later. I arranged the time around the morning, i turned up again and i was rushing to school. P/S: Its on a holiday! She said she is coming alr, but so long, yet i dont even see a single soul of her?
FINE, I FLARED UP! I asked her to mail the money thru concealed cash. She dont do bank transfer -,- Ok, she said she mailed out. Yet, i dont received a single cent from her nor the envelope?
She said its lost or either i've received yet i claimed i have not. If i have received, will i keep pressing you for the $26 like crazy woman liddat? and wads more, she said its mailed by her parents. Fine, so i said i demand a explaination from her parents. She said her dad is working till 11pm, from the morning as well as her mom.
HEH? EVEN WEEKEND LEH! SINCE HER PARENTS IS SO BUSY, HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSE TO MAIL YOUR "ENVELOPE THAT CONTAINED MONEY?" PLEASE WHERE IS THE LOGIC? THEN I FOUND OUT SHE SCAMMED ALOT OF MONEY FROM OTHERS TO HER.
KARMA TURNS AROUND, ONE DAY YOU WILL GET YOUR RETRIBUTION. DONT WORRY.
SHAME ON YOU ! >< Beware .
P/S: OTHER BLOGSHOPS HAD ALSO BLACKLISTED HER TOO.
Number two slut.
SHE IS THE OWNER OF THE HTTP://SPIKEMYNOSTRILS.BLOGSPOT.COM and http://xoxolullabys.blogspot.com!
NICHELLE LOW!
90050844 OR 82504654.
Its still operating and alot of people is buying from her.
However, the number of people who are waiting for reply is increasing well!
SHE SCAMMED MY $10. OK, I KNOW ITS NOT ALOT BUT STILL M.O.N.E.Y RIGHT?!
I bought a white cardigan from her, then not long afterwards, i transfered the money to her bank acct. She said she is mailing out, ok i waited patiently. BUT WTH? Up till now, after 2 months, i didnt even get single item from her? She said her friend mailed to the address, not its return to them. SO SHE SAID SHE WILL MAILED OUT ASAP AND CORRECTLY! YES, SHE SAID SHE MAILED? BUT I DIDNT GET ANY SHYT?
She said she will refund money to me if i want, and she say its just $10, i do not need to keep rushing her until liddat? After that, she promised that she will transfer the money by 15th July.
@ 16July, when i msg and called her again, her phone number was not in service anymore? Guilty or wad? So changed your phone number? OK, then went to her blogshop again, she said that she changed her phone number. However, no matter how i spammed calls or smses to her "new phone number" , she refused to pick up nor reply to my msg. Wad does this show? You guilty bcos YOU SCAM MY MONEY.
Karma turns around , and will bite you back. Just wait and see. I will lodge a police report to you!
This slut is also blackisted by :
1) http://thlady-closet.blogspot.com
2) http://cw-dinosaur.onsugar.com
3) http://jelliesandroses.blogspot.com
4) http://paperbags-avenue.blogspot.com
5) http://jelliesandroses.blogspot.com/search/label/blacklisted
6)http://stepabc.weebly.com/hell-of-shame.html
and more.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
How blogshops do advertising
Here is an example of a blogshop that understands the power of the Internet (and working with peers on the blogosphere) to leverage a COST-FREE promotional campaign.
The idea is simple: Give away some items or discounts to buyers if they would write and link the blogshop to their own blog(s) or websites.
This ensures that the blogshop's link/URL is spread all over the Web. Chaffey calls this Online PR.
From: FASHIONISTA- YOUR FASHION PARADISE blog: http://f--ashionista.blogspot.com/2010/09/roulailai-wallets-state-colourdesign.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The idea is simple: Give away some items or discounts to buyers if they would write and link the blogshop to their own blog(s) or websites.
This ensures that the blogshop's link/URL is spread all over the Web. Chaffey calls this Online PR.
From: FASHIONISTA- YOUR FASHION PARADISE blog: http://f--ashionista.blogspot.com/2010/09/roulailai-wallets-state-colourdesign.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcements !
Are blogshops < E-commerce dotcoms?
There is evidence of perceptions among online sellers in Malaysia/Singapore that blogshops are lower in rank compared to e-commerce dotcoms.
This is an example, from an e-commerce site called Summer Dolls (http://www.summerdoll.com.sg/news/9/Please-Do-Not-Compare-Summerdoll-To-A-Blogshop!.html) that found it necessary to devote a whole page to differentiating themselves from blogshops:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please Do Not Compare Summerdoll To A Blogshop!
"Just a feedback, being an avid online shopper, I think your dresses are priced way too high (as compared to other blogshops who also self-manufacture)!"
Other blogshops? (I also scoff at the term "self-manufacture" coined by blogshops.)
My reply:
"Hi xxxxxxx,
Thank you for your feedback. I would like to explain that the pricing is due to the following reasons:
1) www.summerdoll.com.sg is not a "blogshop". It is a website whereby shoppers may shop and make their purchases immediately due to the shopping cart facility. The website costed about $3000+ to build and about $280 every year to host.
2) Apparel on the multiple blogshops found here only come in one size, a "free" size, which is not consistent and varies from design to design. (Have you considered why they only "self-manufacture" them in a "free" size? Perhaps they are not really designed and sewn by them but rather *gasp* cheap mass market clothes bought from China/Bangkok?) Moreover, fabric used is usually the inferior kind manufactured in China which is thin/see-through and was dyed with inferior dye, leading to much lower cost of fabric but also much lower quality in the apparel. Such apparel often shrink/run in the wash (for a good example, look at the poor quality of Forever21 clothes). In contrast, fabric used to sew my label designs are imported from Japan and Korea, which cost more but are of higher quality.
3) It costs much more to design and sew your own unique apparel than to buy ready-made clothes from China/Bangkok.
4) Unlike a "blogshop" which does not have any overheads, I had a boutique in Holland Village for a year and my new boutique in Millenia Walk will be ready in June 2010. Pricing does factor in the cost of rent, and prices of apparels on the website have to be consistent with store prices. Prices of all brands with physical shops are always higher than "blogshops", no matter which brand, due to the honest fact that rent has to be paid. (The few shops in Far East Plaza, Orchard Central and Wisma which sell dresses at $29.90 all sell dresses which are made cheaply and are of EXTREMELY poor quality. Maybe teenagers do not mind wearing cheap thin see through dresses made by the hundreds but other women do mind.)
The benefit to shoppers is that they are able to try on all designs before purchase, unlike purchasing from a "blogshop" where, if one is honest with oneself, most of the purchases are usually unsatisfactory/does not fit/of inferior quality/was not what you expected/looked nice in the photo but not on you. Most die-hard blogshop shoppers will never admit this but this is the feedback their mothers give me, that most of the purchases end up not worn/thrown away.
5) Lastly, Summerdoll customers are more discerning shoppers who would rather own a few good quality dresses, of which only less than 20 in each design is sewn, than a hundred poor quality mass market dresses, where each design is sewn in the hundreds and chances are high you will bump into another woman wearing the same apparel. (It also costs much, much more per dress to sew very few rather than hundreds in each design.)
I hope you will understand that I do not earn a higher margin per dress compared to these blogshop owners. Due to the direction in which I have chosen to go, I do not compete with blogshops for the teen market."
I do not wish to be harsh with my reply but honestly! I am just so sick of having to explain the obvious! I have decided that life is too short and I will just say whatever needs to be said.
Another thing which I have just remembered while typing this entry, I have extremely satisfied customers from Shanghai who shop at my shop. The feedback I receive from them repeatedly is that the idea that it is much cheaper to buy dresses in China is a misconception, and that only the lousy quality apparel are cheap in China. They tell me that dresses in China of similar quality to my designs cost more in China than in Singapore, which is why they always wait to do their shopping at my shop when they are here in Singapore.
I may regret this entry tomorrow and remove it. Then again, I may not.
(Out of curiosity, do other local designers also receive emails telling them that they are too expensive, you know, "compared to other blogshops"? I would love to see the look on their faces. I mean, you guys do realise that Summerdoll designs are much cheaper compared to other local designers, right?)
This is an example, from an e-commerce site called Summer Dolls (http://www.summerdoll.com.sg/news/9/Please-Do-Not-Compare-Summerdoll-To-A-Blogshop!.html) that found it necessary to devote a whole page to differentiating themselves from blogshops:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please Do Not Compare Summerdoll To A Blogshop!
Posted on 21st Dec 2009 @ 6:26 PM
I am sick of the (admittedly few) people who complain that the pricing of Summerdoll designs is too high and should be lowered to those of "blogshops". I shall replicate here my reply to an email I received, in which I was told:"Just a feedback, being an avid online shopper, I think your dresses are priced way too high (as compared to other blogshops who also self-manufacture)!"
Other blogshops? (I also scoff at the term "self-manufacture" coined by blogshops.)
My reply:
"Hi xxxxxxx,
Thank you for your feedback. I would like to explain that the pricing is due to the following reasons:
1) www.summerdoll.com.sg is not a "blogshop". It is a website whereby shoppers may shop and make their purchases immediately due to the shopping cart facility. The website costed about $3000+ to build and about $280 every year to host.
2) Apparel on the multiple blogshops found here only come in one size, a "free" size, which is not consistent and varies from design to design. (Have you considered why they only "self-manufacture" them in a "free" size? Perhaps they are not really designed and sewn by them but rather *gasp* cheap mass market clothes bought from China/Bangkok?) Moreover, fabric used is usually the inferior kind manufactured in China which is thin/see-through and was dyed with inferior dye, leading to much lower cost of fabric but also much lower quality in the apparel. Such apparel often shrink/run in the wash (for a good example, look at the poor quality of Forever21 clothes). In contrast, fabric used to sew my label designs are imported from Japan and Korea, which cost more but are of higher quality.
3) It costs much more to design and sew your own unique apparel than to buy ready-made clothes from China/Bangkok.
4) Unlike a "blogshop" which does not have any overheads, I had a boutique in Holland Village for a year and my new boutique in Millenia Walk will be ready in June 2010. Pricing does factor in the cost of rent, and prices of apparels on the website have to be consistent with store prices. Prices of all brands with physical shops are always higher than "blogshops", no matter which brand, due to the honest fact that rent has to be paid. (The few shops in Far East Plaza, Orchard Central and Wisma which sell dresses at $29.90 all sell dresses which are made cheaply and are of EXTREMELY poor quality. Maybe teenagers do not mind wearing cheap thin see through dresses made by the hundreds but other women do mind.)
The benefit to shoppers is that they are able to try on all designs before purchase, unlike purchasing from a "blogshop" where, if one is honest with oneself, most of the purchases are usually unsatisfactory/does not fit/of inferior quality/was not what you expected/looked nice in the photo but not on you. Most die-hard blogshop shoppers will never admit this but this is the feedback their mothers give me, that most of the purchases end up not worn/thrown away.
5) Lastly, Summerdoll customers are more discerning shoppers who would rather own a few good quality dresses, of which only less than 20 in each design is sewn, than a hundred poor quality mass market dresses, where each design is sewn in the hundreds and chances are high you will bump into another woman wearing the same apparel. (It also costs much, much more per dress to sew very few rather than hundreds in each design.)
I hope you will understand that I do not earn a higher margin per dress compared to these blogshop owners. Due to the direction in which I have chosen to go, I do not compete with blogshops for the teen market."
I do not wish to be harsh with my reply but honestly! I am just so sick of having to explain the obvious! I have decided that life is too short and I will just say whatever needs to be said.
Another thing which I have just remembered while typing this entry, I have extremely satisfied customers from Shanghai who shop at my shop. The feedback I receive from them repeatedly is that the idea that it is much cheaper to buy dresses in China is a misconception, and that only the lousy quality apparel are cheap in China. They tell me that dresses in China of similar quality to my designs cost more in China than in Singapore, which is why they always wait to do their shopping at my shop when they are here in Singapore.
I may regret this entry tomorrow and remove it. Then again, I may not.
(Out of curiosity, do other local designers also receive emails telling them that they are too expensive, you know, "compared to other blogshops"? I would love to see the look on their faces. I mean, you guys do realise that Summerdoll designs are much cheaper compared to other local designers, right?)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Teen owned blogshops
These are blogshops owned by teens.
Just for Fashion at http://justforfashio-n.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html
Owner's name is Joey, aged 13 from Singapore.
She is a seller and a supplier.
Teen Stop: http://teens-stop.blogspot.com/
Three co-owners, all 14 year-olds
Based in Singapore
Teen Station: http://teensstation.blogspot.com/
Based in Malaysia
Affordable Station: http://affordablestation.blogspot.com/
Based in Malaysia
Shopaholic Teens: http://theshopaholic-teens.blogspot.com/
Based in Singapore
Just for Fashion at http://justforfashio-n.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html
Owner's name is Joey, aged 13 from Singapore.
She is a seller and a supplier.
Teen Stop: http://teens-stop.blogspot.com/
Three co-owners, all 14 year-olds
Based in Singapore
Teen Station: http://teensstation.blogspot.com/
Based in Malaysia
Affordable Station: http://affordablestation.blogspot.com/
Based in Malaysia
Shopaholic Teens: http://theshopaholic-teens.blogspot.com/
Based in Singapore
Three sisters launch own fashion label
From the SUN Daily: http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=51511
They started out with a blogshop in 2008: http://mimpikita-clothes.blogspot.com/ which ran for about 6 months before they moved to a full EC website: http://mimpikita.com/index.html.
Now they have a brick store, and they have their own label and do their own production.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dream come true.
> Three sisters pool their resources to launch their own label, Mimpi Kita
NOT over the top, not over embellished and neither are they over emphasised. If you have had enough of tacky and excessive details seen on your outfit, it is probably time to update your wardrobe to create head-turning fashion statement with selections at Mimpi Kita.
Just that and no funky or quirky name?
Yes, it does translate as "our dream" and it is a dream come true for three sisters, namely Nurul Afidah Zulkifli, Amirah Hanis Zulkifli and Fatimah Ani Syahira Zulkifli, who started their online boutique in late 2008. Although all three girls do not have formal education in fashion designing, their span of creativity stops at nothing especially when they have inherited artistic abilities from their father who is an architect and mother who has a talent in designing her own clothes.
"It has always been our dream to own a boutique like this where we get to explore on designing our own fashionable collection of clothes, shoes, bags or accessories even. We have tried making almost everything but have decided to focus more on a clothing line and a leather handbag line too," expressed Nurul, 28, who has a masters in electronic engineering and is heading her two sisters in the designing team.
Initially only operating as an online boutique selling mostly casual wear and home decorative items, Mimpi Kita was a mere hobby and leisure time-based business. It was only a space for the sisters to rant their creativity before it grew to have more shoppers purchasing from their blogshop. They also received requests to transform the business into a full-fledged boutique. This got the sisters thinking seriously and they started to plan out a more fashion and designer-driven clothing collection.
"We finally found a space we can call our boutique this year in February. Work is done at ease as now we have a workshop where our seamstress can work on custom-made or tailored orders. Mimpi Kita will be entering its second year now specialising in casual wear, traditional or festive wear and most recently we have ventured into bridal wear where we cater to full Malay wedding ceremony attire," added Nurul.
The majority of boutiques which we come across would most likely be equipped with self-designed accessories as well, but maybe not this one. Not that they are not capable of it, but the sisters instead have decided to channel their focus on handbags.
"We’ve tried making accessories, but the production process was too tedious and time consuming. So, we opted to out-source the accessories. Our handbag line, Hush, is a collection which features only leather varieties which include water snake skin, python skin, lamb skin and several other types of leather selected based on the bag designs. Up to date, we have made 30 pieces of bags and we’re coming out with more," explained Amirah, 26, a business graduate.
Inspired by ideas based on each sister’s individuality, the label’s design direction follows traits and attributes which are reflected on the types of outfits, cuts and even fabric choices. Calm and toned elements represent Nurul, colour vibrancy belongs to Amirah and playful notes reflects the 23-year-old Fatimah who is the youngest of the three sisters. All three of them may have different design directions, but Mimpi Kita’s clothing line always emphasises a modern and edgy twist.
"We are in many ways glad that we three have different characters which complement each other to strike a balance in terms of design direction to keep the clothing label interesting and ever evolving. Customers who are interested can either drop by our boutique located at 21, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar or call us at 03-2284 8302 for custom-made or tailoring bookings," stated Fatimah.
Custom-made clothing includes baju kurung, dresses, tops and skirts where prices vary according to the materials chosen. Customers can also drop by the boutique to select their preferred cloth or bring their own. If you are not looking for custom-made services, ready-to-wear is also available at the boutique. Prices start from RM80 onwards.
They started out with a blogshop in 2008: http://mimpikita-clothes.blogspot.com/ which ran for about 6 months before they moved to a full EC website: http://mimpikita.com/index.html.
Now they have a brick store, and they have their own label and do their own production.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dream come true.
> Three sisters pool their resources to launch their own label, Mimpi Kita
 |
from left) ... Amirah Hanis, Nurul Afidah and Fatimah Ani Syahirah. |
Just that and no funky or quirky name?
Yes, it does translate as "our dream" and it is a dream come true for three sisters, namely Nurul Afidah Zulkifli, Amirah Hanis Zulkifli and Fatimah Ani Syahira Zulkifli, who started their online boutique in late 2008. Although all three girls do not have formal education in fashion designing, their span of creativity stops at nothing especially when they have inherited artistic abilities from their father who is an architect and mother who has a talent in designing her own clothes.
"It has always been our dream to own a boutique like this where we get to explore on designing our own fashionable collection of clothes, shoes, bags or accessories even. We have tried making almost everything but have decided to focus more on a clothing line and a leather handbag line too," expressed Nurul, 28, who has a masters in electronic engineering and is heading her two sisters in the designing team.
Initially only operating as an online boutique selling mostly casual wear and home decorative items, Mimpi Kita was a mere hobby and leisure time-based business. It was only a space for the sisters to rant their creativity before it grew to have more shoppers purchasing from their blogshop. They also received requests to transform the business into a full-fledged boutique. This got the sisters thinking seriously and they started to plan out a more fashion and designer-driven clothing collection.
"We finally found a space we can call our boutique this year in February. Work is done at ease as now we have a workshop where our seamstress can work on custom-made or tailored orders. Mimpi Kita will be entering its second year now specialising in casual wear, traditional or festive wear and most recently we have ventured into bridal wear where we cater to full Malay wedding ceremony attire," added Nurul.
The majority of boutiques which we come across would most likely be equipped with self-designed accessories as well, but maybe not this one. Not that they are not capable of it, but the sisters instead have decided to channel their focus on handbags.
"We’ve tried making accessories, but the production process was too tedious and time consuming. So, we opted to out-source the accessories. Our handbag line, Hush, is a collection which features only leather varieties which include water snake skin, python skin, lamb skin and several other types of leather selected based on the bag designs. Up to date, we have made 30 pieces of bags and we’re coming out with more," explained Amirah, 26, a business graduate.
Inspired by ideas based on each sister’s individuality, the label’s design direction follows traits and attributes which are reflected on the types of outfits, cuts and even fabric choices. Calm and toned elements represent Nurul, colour vibrancy belongs to Amirah and playful notes reflects the 23-year-old Fatimah who is the youngest of the three sisters. All three of them may have different design directions, but Mimpi Kita’s clothing line always emphasises a modern and edgy twist.
"We are in many ways glad that we three have different characters which complement each other to strike a balance in terms of design direction to keep the clothing label interesting and ever evolving. Customers who are interested can either drop by our boutique located at 21, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar or call us at 03-2284 8302 for custom-made or tailoring bookings," stated Fatimah.
Custom-made clothing includes baju kurung, dresses, tops and skirts where prices vary according to the materials chosen. Customers can also drop by the boutique to select their preferred cloth or bring their own. If you are not looking for custom-made services, ready-to-wear is also available at the boutique. Prices start from RM80 onwards.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Why aren't there more bl9ogshops for men?
Here are a couple of interesting thoughts, from the Hardwarezone Forums:
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/archive/index.php/t-2892204.html
Especially this reply from yswrox:
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/archive/index.php/t-2892204.html
Especially this reply from yswrox:
here are two group of guys when it comes to clothes. First group are the bo chup kind, they don't really bother about what they wear. This is the group that won't shop online, thus will be unapplicable to your blogshop. Second group are the kind who care about quality, and good quality more often than not is branded. Thus, this group will also be unapplicable to your niche market because they will only go for brands. So even if your clothes are of good quality, their mindset is already set to believe no brand = poor quality. It's not that there aren't blogshops for guys, but quite often they don't get enough business to survive. I shop online, but I prefer to buy from sites that I'm familiar with and those that are reputable. Like urbanoutfitters and asos. People have bad impression of blogshop apparel's quality. | |
Friday, September 3, 2010
You got to declutter, honey!
This is a very good blog post and advise on the blog interface- how to present your online interface to your customers.
From: http://www.prettyandunder40.com/2010/08/situation-1-ever-walked-into-retail.html
Situation 2: Now try imagining one of those shops which is cluttered to the brim. It's still bearable as you know that some gems may be hidden under and you know you'll find it if you dig deeper and longer.
Situation 3: Lastly, try imagining a shop where you'd find some fancy clothes around but the biggest distraction isn't the fact that it's packed with clothes but BANNERS - 2' x 6' banners of other shops.
Now, most of us can identify with situation 1 and 2, but definitely not 3. Not in the malls that we see. But may I just point out that a blogshop is also a retail shop. And I guess we are no stranger to the fact that as blogshoppers, we are bombarded with banners (or some call it link buttons) and of other shops and review blogs.
For the past few years, I realized that there are more blogshops in the www than ever. I've heard people singing praises and amazement on how blogshop owners can manage a business using merely a blog. And as the numbers increase, blogshop owners find that they are getting lesser of the pie. To increase sales and traffic, they do what they can to shout their presence, and this includes exchanging links/buttons/banners.
Today I'm asking the blogshop owners to DECLUTTER their shops. I know I'm making an audacious statement. I'm not suggesting that you should hire a professional website designer to whip up a cleaner website. And please, I'm not asking you to remove all the link banners/buttons. I'm saying that you may want to reconsider the placement of the banners and links you put in your blog.
I have a few personal reasons to this. And you may want to hear me out:
Reason 1: You want shoppers to spend more time looking at your products and NOT be distracted by other banners
Banners can turn out to be a distraction, especially the flashy ones. If you ever walk into a shop, your intention is to see what they have in stock, and eventually buy it. But imagine yourself walking into Topshop and find La Senza, Guess, Marc Jacobs and Vincci banners in the shop, you'd bound to be distracted. You'd probably find yourself studying the banners and spend lesser time in adoring the clothes there. The same will translate in the blogosphere.
Reason 2: The more successful blogshops are those who are least cluttered
Off my mind, I can tell of 2 blogs who are successful and have carved a name for themselves. Moreover, they get repeated customers. At Phat Culture and Shopaholics Unite, you'd find that their sidebar is filled with stuff that matters to them - about them, contacts, labels/tags, terms and conditions, twitter, and postal rates. Keep it simple and your potential customers wouldn't get a headache.
Reason 3: Do not feel obliged to link all the reviewers in order to get a review from them
Personally, I don't believe in favors like this one. I have heard of reviewers who'd only review the blogshop IF their link button/banner is in that blogshop. Having your clothes featured in another's blog is important. But you can be clever about it too. Create a PAGE in your blog where you can list all the reviewers in it. That's the art of decluttering.
Reason 4: A cleaner-looking blog gives you the allowance to price your products higher
The idea is not selling it cheap and sell more. Your goal is to sell it at a higher price and sell more. A simple illustration - some are willing to pay slightly more for your Char Kwey Teow at a fancy cafe though they know that the same dish will cost lesser at any kopitiam (hawker stalls). It's comfort and appeal that we want. Why do some prefer to shop at Bangsar boutiques when you can most probably get the same thing in Sungei Wang? Comfort and appeal again.
The purpose of this post is to help blogshop owners to increase traffic and sales. No ill intentions to anyone at all. After all, as humans, aesthetic appeal is important. So what should you do?
Solution: Don't stop exchanging links, find a way around it
May I reiterate one last time, I'm not asking anyone to stop exchanging links. I know some of you are wondering what can you do? Make use of the 'Pages'. Like what I do here.
I consider myself a social entrepreneur and I have a list of banners where people can click-to-donate. So, I created a page to compile them all.
See, you can still have them all by decluttering.
I know there are some who beg to differ and we welcome your comments. Ultimately, we want to see all blogshop owners succeed and build a business that thrives. Adios.
From: http://www.prettyandunder40.com/2010/08/situation-1-ever-walked-into-retail.html
You got to declutter, honey!
Situation 1: Ever walked into a retail shop and you find racks with clothes of all kinds hung on it. Yeah, pretty typical.Situation 2: Now try imagining one of those shops which is cluttered to the brim. It's still bearable as you know that some gems may be hidden under and you know you'll find it if you dig deeper and longer.
Situation 3: Lastly, try imagining a shop where you'd find some fancy clothes around but the biggest distraction isn't the fact that it's packed with clothes but BANNERS - 2' x 6' banners of other shops.
Now, most of us can identify with situation 1 and 2, but definitely not 3. Not in the malls that we see. But may I just point out that a blogshop is also a retail shop. And I guess we are no stranger to the fact that as blogshoppers, we are bombarded with banners (or some call it link buttons) and of other shops and review blogs.
For the past few years, I realized that there are more blogshops in the www than ever. I've heard people singing praises and amazement on how blogshop owners can manage a business using merely a blog. And as the numbers increase, blogshop owners find that they are getting lesser of the pie. To increase sales and traffic, they do what they can to shout their presence, and this includes exchanging links/buttons/banners.
Today I'm asking the blogshop owners to DECLUTTER their shops. I know I'm making an audacious statement. I'm not suggesting that you should hire a professional website designer to whip up a cleaner website. And please, I'm not asking you to remove all the link banners/buttons. I'm saying that you may want to reconsider the placement of the banners and links you put in your blog.
I have a few personal reasons to this. And you may want to hear me out:
Reason 1: You want shoppers to spend more time looking at your products and NOT be distracted by other banners
Banners can turn out to be a distraction, especially the flashy ones. If you ever walk into a shop, your intention is to see what they have in stock, and eventually buy it. But imagine yourself walking into Topshop and find La Senza, Guess, Marc Jacobs and Vincci banners in the shop, you'd bound to be distracted. You'd probably find yourself studying the banners and spend lesser time in adoring the clothes there. The same will translate in the blogosphere.
Reason 2: The more successful blogshops are those who are least cluttered
Off my mind, I can tell of 2 blogs who are successful and have carved a name for themselves. Moreover, they get repeated customers. At Phat Culture and Shopaholics Unite, you'd find that their sidebar is filled with stuff that matters to them - about them, contacts, labels/tags, terms and conditions, twitter, and postal rates. Keep it simple and your potential customers wouldn't get a headache.
Reason 3: Do not feel obliged to link all the reviewers in order to get a review from them
Personally, I don't believe in favors like this one. I have heard of reviewers who'd only review the blogshop IF their link button/banner is in that blogshop. Having your clothes featured in another's blog is important. But you can be clever about it too. Create a PAGE in your blog where you can list all the reviewers in it. That's the art of decluttering.
Reason 4: A cleaner-looking blog gives you the allowance to price your products higher
The idea is not selling it cheap and sell more. Your goal is to sell it at a higher price and sell more. A simple illustration - some are willing to pay slightly more for your Char Kwey Teow at a fancy cafe though they know that the same dish will cost lesser at any kopitiam (hawker stalls). It's comfort and appeal that we want. Why do some prefer to shop at Bangsar boutiques when you can most probably get the same thing in Sungei Wang? Comfort and appeal again.
The purpose of this post is to help blogshop owners to increase traffic and sales. No ill intentions to anyone at all. After all, as humans, aesthetic appeal is important. So what should you do?
Solution: Don't stop exchanging links, find a way around it
May I reiterate one last time, I'm not asking anyone to stop exchanging links. I know some of you are wondering what can you do? Make use of the 'Pages'. Like what I do here.
I consider myself a social entrepreneur and I have a list of banners where people can click-to-donate. So, I created a page to compile them all.
See, you can still have them all by decluttering.
I know there are some who beg to differ and we welcome your comments. Ultimately, we want to see all blogshop owners succeed and build a business that thrives. Adios.
Home-based Internet businesses
Here is an article about home based Internet businesses.
The writing is not all that great.
From: http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com/2010/08/why-risk-with-home-business-internet-marketing-ventures.html
Blame it on Robert Kiyosaki and other enterprising people who built their future and fortune by getting into business. Nowadays, most people maintain a positive outlook that the way to a better life is by establishing a business. Well, actually there is nothing wrong with encouraging people to delve into business. After all, more businesses in a country mean that there is a greater chance of making that country’s economy stronger. That is why as days go by, more and more people are turning to home business internet marketing options to augment their monthly income.
And the good thing that comes with the changing environment and societal landscape is that people are able to take advantage of the platform that the internet provides. It has been used since time immemorial to support human activities such as shopping and paying of bills (there are now online shops and online payment of utility bills), why not utilize it in setting up a business?
Online marketing seems to be the best idea that was conceptualized at the turn of the century. The next thing people know is that eBay and Amazon are already selling things on the internet, both brand new and hand-me-downs. Soon, other companies also utilized the internet to expand their operations. Fast food restaurants now have online ordering systems, flowers can now be purchased online and have it delivered to whomever it is intended for, and also online boutiques set up by individuals who might be manufacturing their own products for sale or simply reselling things that they bought on bulk.
Home business internet marketing may appear in various forms. Some people make their own products using their house as a workplace. This is true especially among people who want to establish small-scale businesses with the internet as a medium for ordering. Chefs and cooks are already exploring the possibility of marketing the food they cook online. People who make homemade soaps or liquid detergents can also market their products online. And even garage sales can now take place in the internet.
With this kind of sideline job, people are able get additional income without leaving their current occupation. And the beauty of online marketing is that it is not as time consuming as setting up a business by renting a physical office and selling wares over there. With an online store, all that businessmen need to do is to find a nice website name, take a picture of their products, post the price for each product, and wait for people to respond to the advertisements in various websites. The business person can attend to the responses after he gets home from his day job. This gives people the leeway they need to continue their occupation while starting a new business.
With the following strengths of a home business internet marketing activity, it is definitely a must-try for people in need of another income-generating venture. There are many kinds of online business that can be set up—all that entrepreneurs have to worry about is in choosing which one to implement.
The writing is not all that great.
From: http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com/2010/08/why-risk-with-home-business-internet-marketing-ventures.html
Why Risk With Home Business Internet Marketing Ventures?
Last Updated on Saturday, 28 August 2010 11:18 Written by admin Saturday, 28 August 2010 11:18
And the good thing that comes with the changing environment and societal landscape is that people are able to take advantage of the platform that the internet provides. It has been used since time immemorial to support human activities such as shopping and paying of bills (there are now online shops and online payment of utility bills), why not utilize it in setting up a business?
Online marketing seems to be the best idea that was conceptualized at the turn of the century. The next thing people know is that eBay and Amazon are already selling things on the internet, both brand new and hand-me-downs. Soon, other companies also utilized the internet to expand their operations. Fast food restaurants now have online ordering systems, flowers can now be purchased online and have it delivered to whomever it is intended for, and also online boutiques set up by individuals who might be manufacturing their own products for sale or simply reselling things that they bought on bulk.
Home business internet marketing may appear in various forms. Some people make their own products using their house as a workplace. This is true especially among people who want to establish small-scale businesses with the internet as a medium for ordering. Chefs and cooks are already exploring the possibility of marketing the food they cook online. People who make homemade soaps or liquid detergents can also market their products online. And even garage sales can now take place in the internet.
With this kind of sideline job, people are able get additional income without leaving their current occupation. And the beauty of online marketing is that it is not as time consuming as setting up a business by renting a physical office and selling wares over there. With an online store, all that businessmen need to do is to find a nice website name, take a picture of their products, post the price for each product, and wait for people to respond to the advertisements in various websites. The business person can attend to the responses after he gets home from his day job. This gives people the leeway they need to continue their occupation while starting a new business.
With the following strengths of a home business internet marketing activity, it is definitely a must-try for people in need of another income-generating venture. There are many kinds of online business that can be set up—all that entrepreneurs have to worry about is in choosing which one to implement.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)