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Ok, let me have it


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Once again, I'm asking for feedback. I am getting average of 823 uniques a day according to statcounter. Lowest day - 453, highest day - 1,040. Of this I have only had around 40 or so orders. I have checked my prices and they seem to be around what every one else charges. By manufacturer standards, we have to at least double our price and when you figure in free shipping, I am really not over charging at all. I figure some of my visitors are probably people looking for a free peek at girls in underwear, oh I should mention it's a lingerie site. In the middle of Dec., I got to #1 for my main keyword phrase of sexy lingerie, and to #30 for my main keyword which is lingerie. On MSN, I am pretty much the same since they use the same results, on the MSN beta, I'm still in the top 3 pages, so I'm still happy. On Google, I don't exist pretty much, not banned, but no where to be found, so I do adwords. The only thing I personally don't like are the little navigation arrows, and having to log in. I am working on those, although, I'm new at this and can't seem to figure little things out very well. I can do contributions but the PWA, kicks my butt,lol. Anyway, please take a look Lingerie.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Cyndi

Is it reality or just a dream, for some there is no difference.

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Once again, I'm asking for feedback.  I am getting average of 823 uniques a day according to statcounter.  Lowest day - 453, highest day - 1,040.  Of this I have only had around 40 or so orders.  I have checked my prices and they seem to be around what every one else charges.  By manufacturer standards, we have to at least double our price and when you figure in free shipping, I am really not over charging at all.  I figure some of my visitors are probably people looking for a free peek at girls in underwear, oh I should mention it's a lingerie site.  In the middle of Dec., I got to #1 for my main keyword phrase of sexy lingerie, and to #30 for my main keyword which is lingerie.  On MSN, I am pretty much the same since they use the same results, on the MSN beta, I'm still in the top 3 pages, so I'm still happy.  On Google, I don't exist pretty much, not banned, but no where to be found, so I do adwords.  The only thing I personally don't like are the little navigation arrows, and having to log in.  I am working on those, although, I'm new at this and can't seem to figure little things out very well.  I can do contributions but the PWA, kicks my butt,lol. Anyway, please take a look Lingerie.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Cyndi

 

Hello Cyndi,

 

I just took a look at your site and, apart from the girls which are beautiful wihout doubt :D , I do like the design. It might be pretty straightforward but it breathes the right atmosphere for your products and personally I don't like those overcrowded osC sites with too many bells and whistles, colors, flashing pictures etc.

 

Some small notes:

 

There is a typing error on your Shipping and Return policy page:

"Items can be returned within 14 days of reciept, provided they have never been worn" -> reciept should be receipt I guess

 

On your Website Privacy Policy is says:

" or when you purchase one our products. " -> missing the word 'of' in between 'one' and 'our'.

 

On this page I understand you might send emails regarding new products etc. without I, as a potential customer, being able to specifically opt-in for this which would immediately turn me away.

 

On your Terms and Conditions page you tell:

"No contract for the supply of goods will be deemed to exist between you and Stacie's Closet unless, and until, Stacie's Closet sends an email to you confirming that your order has been shipped. This confirmation e-mail amounts to an acceptance by Stacie's Closet of your offer to buy goods from Stacie's Closet and this acceptance is effective regardless of whether or not you receive the e-mail."

 

If I understand correctly there is no agreement until the goods are shipped. Isn't this odd ? Should it not be so at the moment you send a confirmation message !?

Customere like to be informed all the way so you should confirm an order mentioning also if the ordered products are available or not and when not what the time period will be when they can be available again.

 

I stopped reading from there as the language used is not for the faint of heart :D

I guess it is way too complicated for the casual visitor and potential customer and with the big competition in your sector I would simply go away.

 

$20 dollar flat rate for overseas shipping might be a shock to those overseas customers which want to order maybe one lightweight undy

 

You might look for a contribution or find a simple way to show stock availability with your products.

 

I hope you have something useful from these remarks. I don't think it is the shop by itself which leads to less sellings as you had expected/hoped for but merely the language, conditions etc. you have written down.

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Howard, thanks for the pointers. I wanted to keep the site neat and simple, sometimes less is more, especially with lingerie,lol. I never thought I'd rank well without all the text a lot of other sites have, but I guess you can. Thanks for the spelling tip, I can never spell receive properly, can't find spell check in HTML Kit,lol. I took out the part about being sent emails of sales and such. I did leave the rest of that part in because I have the recover carts installed, and do send emails in case something went wrong with the payment system. As far as terms and conditions, do I really need this? I had someone install oscommerce for me and they did all the legal stuff. I personally, don't understand it either, but thought it might be necessary, so I left it. As for the $20 shipping to other countries, that's what it costs. People usually want this stuff yesterday, so I ship it Gobal Priority. Sometimes, it actually runs more. Most of my competitors don't ship global and the ones that do, charge the same. As far as stock availability, I usually add to the description if quantities are limited, and what sizes, colors are sold out. The manufacturers are really good about keeping items in stock, and most do offer dropship for internet companies. This is a really nice back up to have.

 

Scott, this site went live the beginning of July of '04, so it's a fairly new site and still a work in progress. I wish I knew how much my competitors were selling, if there's a way to find out, let me know. Lingerie is a good business, even at my conversion rate, I'm doing ok.

 

I do know for sure now, I have some Peeping Toms,lol. Here's an email I received this morning, had to laugh.

 

"lingerie and gorgeous models... i hurt my back,and now i'm in a wheel chair.... so i'm trying to get things working again...... or as i like to say help me smile......can you please put me on your email list..........smiling Mike" and then this one a little later.

 

"thank you for helping me smile again..... thank you.. just looking today.....smiling... Mike"

 

I hope this is ok to post, just gives an idea of the lingerie industry, wonder if VS has to deal with this,lol.

 

Cyndi

Is it reality or just a dream, for some there is no difference.

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Hi Cindy,

 

Just to get the figures right,

do you have around 40 orders per day, with an average of 823 unique visitors per day?

 

// Fredrik

 

No, actually, 40 or so orders in the last month, with an average of 823 uniques a day.

Is it reality or just a dream, for some there is no difference.

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Howard, thanks for the pointers.  I wanted to keep the site neat and simple, sometimes less is more, especially with lingerie,lol.  I never thought I'd rank well without all the text a lot of other sites have, but I guess you can.  Thanks for the spelling tip, I can never spell receive properly, can't find spell check in HTML Kit,lol.  I took out the part about being sent emails of sales and such.  I did leave the rest of that part in because I have the recover carts installed, and do send emails in case something went wrong with the payment system.  As far as terms and conditions, do I really need this?  I had someone install oscommerce for me and they did all the legal stuff.  I personally, don't understand it either, but thought it might be necessary, so I left it.  As for the $20 shipping to other countries, that's what it costs. People usually want this stuff yesterday, so I ship it Gobal Priority.  Sometimes, it actually runs more.  Most of my competitors don't ship global and the ones that do, charge the same. As far as stock availability, I usually add to the description if quantities are limited, and what sizes, colors are sold out. The manufacturers are really good about keeping items in stock, and most do offer dropship for internet companies.  This is a really nice back up to have.

 

Hello Cyndi,

 

I don't know all the legal ins and outs for webshops but I would leave the terms & conditions as they are and you could have a second look at it with someone else at a later point to see if you can civilize it a bit.

Overseas shipments are expensive indeed but maybe you could offer a slower but less expensive shipping (maybe you already do but I haven't checked that) way also for those overseas buyers who can control themselves a bit longer :D

I didn't mention the obvious remarks as for how long you already are in business etc. as I guessed you took that into account yourself already.

Have you checked your ranking on the major search engines ? Do you advertise your website in local or even more widespread magazines sometimes ? I know it did give me some extra customers which justifies the extra costs for now. Making your website known and bookmarked by people is an important step.

If I were you I would add an About Us on the site and tell a bit of why, when and how you started this business. It gives an even more personal feeling to your site. Also, it can be tricky maybe with your clientele, add an address and telephone were people can reach you. Over here that is even mandatory.

Without overdoing it you might let your customers know why you are really affordable compared to your competitors so they should pick you (maybe with a little touch to the animated bunnies as you have a lot of wasted, from a commercialy viewpoint only, there).

Lot's of other things which just might give you that extra edge over the competition.

Hmm, a pitty my wife doesn't fancy these 'lightweight' things :D

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Hello Cyndi,

 

I don't know all the legal ins and outs for webshops but I would leave the terms & conditions as they are and you could have a second look at it with someone else at a later point to see if you can civilize it a bit.

Overseas shipments are expensive indeed but maybe you could offer a slower but less expensive shipping (maybe you already do but I haven't checked that) way also for those overseas buyers who can control themselves a bit longer :D

I didn't mention the obvious remarks as for how long you already are in business etc. as I guessed you took that into account yourself already.

Have you checked your ranking on the major search engines ? Do you advertise your website in local or even more widespread magazines sometimes ? I know it did give me some extra customers which justifies the extra costs for now. Making your website known and bookmarked by people is an important step.

If I were you I would add an About Us on the site and tell a bit of why, when and how you started this business. It gives an even more personal feeling to your site. Also, it can be tricky maybe with your clientele, add an address and telephone were people can reach you. Over here that is even mandatory.

Without overdoing it you might let your customers know why you are really affordable compared to your competitors so they should pick you (maybe with a little touch to the animated bunnies as you have a lot of wasted, from a commercialy viewpoint only, there).

Lot's of other things which just might give you that extra edge over the competition.

Hmm, a pitty my wife doesn't fancy these 'lightweight' things  :D

I was thinking of an about us page, but I never know what to write. I'm hoping my husband one day will do it for me. As far as our address and phone number, our merchant account requires it, and it does make the site more trusting. Like said earlier, we are at #1 on Yahoo since a month ago, within the first 3 pages on MSN beta, and of course on the first page of smaller search engines. We are hard to find on Google unless you search for Stacie, then I'm on page 1. I had 900 uniques today and 3 sales, so traffic is not the problem. I'm starting to think maybe it's just people looking for thrills, I don't know. I got another wierd email later today, not as bad as the first, but still a little obscene. Most of my customers are men, not that I was surprised. I should probably add 1st class shipping or something to other countries, but dealing internationally is a little risky, so I started off like the other companies. Maybe I could beat them in that market. I average about 1 overseas country a week, with usually 2-3 items in the order. As far as the animated bunnies, I just can't give them up. I used to have text next to them, but felt it took away from the overall look and feel. I have watched customers move around the site, so they do go past the first page, they just never put anything in their carts. They really don't look at the privacy and all that too much, except the "joke of the day", which I enjoy myself.

 

Thanks again for the pointers.

 

Cyndi

Is it reality or just a dream, for some there is no difference.

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Cyndi,

 

Nice site you have there. Still pretty stock OSC but it really turns out nice with the little tweaks you did. I like the slideshow you have on the index. I wasn't paying attention and flipping between windows and was a little surprised. And yes the models are beautiful I can see how you might get a lot of traffic passer-byes. Once again...great job.

I ♥ PHP/MYSQL/CSS

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Just ignore the lookie loos and keep on plugging away! You'll be amazed as to how many will remember your site being listed in yahoo searches and eventually go back to see what you have to offer. Once they see you 'have been around' for awhile.

Not sure what you are spending a month to keep it going and live, but I hope you are at least in the postive at the VERY least after 6+ months. But you have to realize, that being in a high ranking that early is very good also. Although you WILL drop down, you will get back up again. It's the luck of the search engine algorythms lottery so to speak :)

I hope you are seeing a trend that each month you get a BIT more. Soon, you will see another tread of double sales. This usually happens after about 1 year from what I can tell.

GL to you!

 

S

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Thanks,

I really don't have much overhead. My hosting company is only 8.95 a month, was 5.00 until I reached Yahoo and all. That's when I exceeded my bandwidth and had to move to the next plan. As far as stock, that's where the money goes. I usually keep a good amount of stock, but stuff that moves rather well, so nothing has really sat. I just geared up for Valentines Day, and don't want to see the credit card bill, I can only imagine. Business has picked up in the last day or so for Valentines Day, so that's good. I'm not set to give up yet, before this, I didn't work, and always wanted to start my own business. The internet is great for this, because start up is low. I have to say, sales did pick up a bit after I switched from PayPal to taking credit cards and processing them through ProPay. I hadn't been with them long enough to up my limits, so now I have a regular merchant account. Less work and it's actually cheaper in the long run. I guess it's just little things that mean alot, and usually over looked, like wording in your policies and accepting credit cards directly. I answer each email promptly and have gotten great comments about my customer service. So I hope you're right and people will remember me, and come back for the next special occasion.

Is it reality or just a dream, for some there is no difference.

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Hi Cyndi, I was just wondering..how exactly did you get to number 1 on yahoo?  was it through reciprocal links only?  Thanks!!

 

To tell you the truth, it was totally by surprise. The only SEO I've done is the meta tags and Header Tags Controller and reciprocal links. The thing is, if you look, a lot of my links are not really relevent, I was just trying to drum up traffic. The one thing I did try and stick with when it came to reciprocal links, was that they have a directory. I think that if you are on a page that is all the same theme, it has more weight. Not sure if this is true or not, just a theory I read. I also felt that it would be easier for their customers to find my link.

Is it reality or just a dream, for some there is no difference.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Cyndi, really nice site, well done and glad you are selling well.

Would you mind telling me how you got the main image on your index to fade form one to another? I could do this with an animated Gif but the file size would be too big. It looks like you are using .jpgs.

Thanks

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Barry,

 

I actually didn't do it. The guy who set up the site initially did it for me. I can send you my index code if you would like. PM me and let me know. Or actually, you can just click view source. But yes it is done with jpg.

 

Cyndi

Is it reality or just a dream, for some there is no difference.

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Thanks,

 

Things are picking up due to Valentines and I have had a few repeat customers lately. Right now with around 900 uniques a day, I'm getting about 2-6 orders a day, so it's getting better.

Is it reality or just a dream, for some there is no difference.

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looking at the source code and not the girls for a second, I can see why the search engines love it. I guess it goess with the territory that the majority of hits you get are from lookers, but as has been said, as long as your at least breaking even, it will likely only improve, lets face it, lingerie is never going to go out of fashion;)

K, back to the girls,lol

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Barry,

 

I actually didn't do it.  The guy who set up the site initially did it for me.  I can send you my index code if you would like.  PM me and let me know.  Or actually, you can just click view source.  But yes it is done with jpg.

 

Cyndi

 

I checked out the source, It looks like it's probably some java. I'm struggling with php so I'll probably leave that mod until "website ver.2", thanks anyway :)

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