Help needed

[Hughes05]

Hi,

Hope you are all well. I could do with an 'expert outsiders' point of view in relation to my online store. Hopefully some of you guys could help.

I have opened an online store about a month ago, selling official football merchandise and equipment. I have created my own website via wix, tried to keep it basic and also mobile friendly (could probably be done better) however I believe it serves it's purpose. To help drive traffic to the website, I have a business facebook page with just over 500 likes and I update the content regularly. I also write football related blogs probably once a week to offer a bit of free value and content to my audience.
I have experimented with purchasing facebook ads, which in terms of reaching the target audience, they have been successfull. However the ROI is non existent.

I didn't want to get involved on sites such as ebay to begin with. Due to the profit margins being next to nothing, I believe the service I provide via the website and social media platforms would sway people over. I have now slightly lowered the price of my products on the website and I gave ebay a trial run with a few items. I have still not sold any via the website but with ebay I managed a small amount. With my budget I cannot really compete with the small profit margins on ebay, which is why I was so against it, hence trying to put the value in for the customers elsewhere.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post links to the facebook page or website, but I'd love to know where i'm going wrong? Is it something obvious that i'm completely missing, I'd love to know your opinions. I'm sure many of you know first hand the struggles of just starting out and maybe some of you hit the ground running.

Any of your responses are truly appreciated.

Ryan

 

[Nochexman]

Hi Ryan. Just for completeness, are you using analytics to identify whether people are coming to your website and if they do how much time they spend, which pages do they go to, etc? Your post doesn't make it clear whether you are successful at driving traffic to your website or not, or whether 'the problem' is with conversion, once they get there.

 

[fisicx]

Wix is your problem. I don't even need to look at the site. Escape the clutches of Wix and all other website builders and invest in a proper ecommerce platform.

And the blog and the FB business page aren't going to help sell stuff, but that a different matter.

Don't use Wix.

 

[Hughes05]

Hi Ryan. Just for completeness, are you using analytics to identify whether people are coming to your website and if they do how much time they spend, which pages do they go to, etc? Your post doesn't make it clear whether you are successful at driving traffic to your website or not, or whether 'the problem' is with conversion, once they get there.

Hi, Sorry on not being as clear as possible. I have used google analytics but probably not as in depth as I should of. As I only started using it just under 2 weeks ago, I was going to let the reports build up for me to have a clearer picture on what is working and what isn't.

 

[Hughes05]

Wix is your problem. I don't even need to look at the site. Escape the clutches of Wix and all other website builders and invest in a proper ecommerce platform.

And the blog and the FB business page aren't going to help sell stuff, but that a different matter.

Don't use Wix.

Thanks for your reply. Could I ask why wix is the problem? I understand having a professionally designed website would probably be a lot better however the quotes I had were never really in my budget. So I have tried to do the best with what I have got. I can see you are not a fan of any website builders but surely there has been many successfull stories using these?

I just try to link the facebook page in within the webite. So I post regular content related to football, including posts now and again about the products I have for sale. I did a basic fb advert on one of my products which had around 1,200 likes in the 3 days it was sponsored for, however like I say, it still had zero ROI. Do you only see my issue being with using wix? If I stopped using that, do you believe I would then start making sales?

I don't mean to sound abrupt, I'm just eager to learn what mistakes I'm making and how I can fix them. I hope you don't think I don't value your feedback because I do

 

[fisicx]

Wix limits just about everything you want to do. Even the most basic functionality needed to run a successful eCommerce site are missing form the wix page structure. As you have discovered you aren't making any sales at all despite getting people onto the site. If you want to make sales you need to change the site and this is very difficult with wix.

I don't know what sort of quotes you have had but setting up a simple ecommerce site with wordpress could be cheap as chips or you could use a hosted solution like shopify where you pay monthly but get everything done for you.

The reason I'm not a fan of site builders for a business site is because you don't have any real control or you have to pay for the features that come free with most other platforms. People use site builders (like wix, weebly or webs) because they are easy. But that ease of use means the site is rarely successful. If you ran the local mustache financiers club then wix would probably be OK. But not if you want to sell football merchandise.

And FB likes count for nothing. I'd put money on most of those who liked something will never even visit your site.

 

[Hughes05]

Wix limits just about everything you want to do. Even the most basic functionality needed to run a successful eCommerce site are missing form the wix page structure. As you have discovered you aren't making any sales at all despite getting people onto the site. If you want to make sales you need to change the site and this is very difficult with wix.

I don't know what sort of quotes you have had but setting up a simple ecommerce site with wordpress could be cheap as chips or you could use a hosted solution like shopify where you pay monthly but get everything done for you.

The reason I'm not a fan of site builders for a business site is because you don't have any real control or you have to pay for the features that come free with most other platforms. People use site builders (like wix, weebly or webs) because they are easy. But that ease of use means the site is rarely successful. If you ran the local mustache financiers club then wix would probably be OK. But not if you want to sell football merchandise.

And FB likes count for nothing. I'd put money on most of those who liked something will never even visit your site.

I appreciate the advice. I did have a look at shopify prior to choosing wix but the reviews I looked at had wix down as better customer service, easier to get in touch with etc. But I fully appreciate your suggestions. I will have a look at word press, but is that not a website builder also?

Also I agree that most of the likes wouldn't of looked at the website, how ever as it was an offer on one of my products, aimed at a certain target market, it did generate some traffic, albeit with no conversions.

Thank you for your advice, I will have a look at wordpress now

 

[fisicx]

Don't trust reviews! Wix and others are very good at pushing down bad reviews.

Wordpress could be regarded as a site builder in the very broadest sense in that is comes ready packaged. But the reality is you have free hand to do just about anything you want. You can change ever single tiny thing and have access to thousands of plugins and themes and a huge army of people in the support network. The learning curve is very steep but most people get the hang of the basics in an hour or two.

What you do need to avoid is drag and drop theme builders. Choose a very simple theme and develop that. As you want to sell things my advice after installing wordpress is to install the woocommerce plugin and a free wootheme. This will let you get all the products on the site along with a working shop. Once you have got everything imported you can then start playing with different themes. If you get stuck, just ask for help here or on one of the many wordpress forums and support sites.

 

[Clinton]

I believe the service I provide via the website and social media platforms would sway people over....I have still not sold any via the website but with ebay I managed a small amount. With my budget I cannot really compete with the small profit margins on ebay,

What's your USP (Unique Selling Point)?

Good service?

On a product that sells based on price rather than on quality of service?

That, sir, is your problem.

 

[Hughes05]

Don't trust reviews! Wix and others are very good at pushing down bad reviews.

Wordpress could be regarded as a site builder in the very broadest sense in that is comes ready packaged. But the reality is you have free hand to do just about anything you want. You can change ever single tiny thing and have access to thousands of plugins and themes and a huge army of people in the support network. The learning curve is very steep but most people get the hang of the basics in an hour or two.

What you do need to avoid is drag and drop theme builders. Choose a very simple theme and develop that. As you want to sell things my advice after installing wordpress is to install the woocommerce plugin and a free wootheme. This will let you get all the products on the site along with a working shop. Once you have got everything imported you can then start playing with different themes. If you get stuck, just ask for help here or on one of the many wordpress forums and support sites.

Many thanks. Your advice is gold. Can I not transfer any of my previous site over? Like the product list. I have hundreds of items for sale on the site. Also with my domain name registered, can that just be switches over to wordpress also?

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Why exclude ebay? They will get a little more traffic than you can arrange and you do not need to focus on price - sell on value!

 

[fisicx]

Can I not transfer any of my previous site over?

Not easily. There are some paid services that will do this for you (Google CMS2CMS) but if that's not possible then your only real option is to copy and paste all the content.

Also with my domain name registered, can that just be switches over to wordpress also?

Yes, this is easy and only takes a few minutes to do if you have a decent registrar

You are going to need hosting - there are some cheap deals out there but I'd advise paying a bit more for a decent UK based host. But avoid the big nationals, they are cheap because support is often rubbish.

 

[antropy]

With my budget I cannot really compete with the small profit margins on ebay

But how is having your own website not competing with eBay? Both eBay and your website are on the internet right? Have any of your customers never heard of eBay? So both your site and eBay are about 5 seconds away from any customer.

It sounds to me like the problem is that you haven't been able to buy stock at cheap enough prices to be able to sell for a decent profit.

 

[Hughes05]

What's your USP (Unique Selling Point)?

Good service?

On a product that sells based on price rather than on quality of service?

That, sir, is your problem.[/QUOT/]

Having a fans football needs all under one roof so to speak. Let me give you an example. If your a fan of teams such as Arsenal, Liverpool, Man United etc. There is sections on my website with all merchandise and equipment dedicated to that specific team. Where as with ebay or other sites, you might see a couple of Chelsea items you like, but from different sellers. So the P&P would add up for every item you buy from a different seller and the hassle could put them off. It's everything under one roof with an added service.
So do you suggest lowering the prices?

 

[Hughes05]

Why exclude ebay? They will get a little more traffic than you can arrange and you do not need to focus on price - sell on value!

I'm just not in a position to compete only on price. I understand your point with the traffic, it is a very fair point. How do you suggest I sell on value? Most customers only look for the cheapest item?

 

[Hughes05]

What's your USP (Unique Selling Point)?

Good service?

On a product that sells based on price rather than on quality of service?

That, sir, is your problem.

Having a fans football needs all under one roof so to speak. Let me give you an example. If your a fan of teams such as Arsenal, Liverpool, Man United etc. There is sections on my website with all merchandise and equipment dedicated to that specific team. Where as with ebay or other sites, you might see a couple of Chelsea items you like, but from different sellers. So the P&P would add up for every item you buy from a different seller and the hassle could put them off. It's everything under one roof with an added service.
So do you suggest lowering the prices?

 

[Hughes05]

But how is having your own website not competing with eBay? Both eBay and your website are on the internet right? Have any of your customers never heard of eBay? So both your site and eBay are about 5 seconds away from any customer.

It sounds to me like the problem is that you haven't been able to buy stock at cheap enough prices to be able to sell for a decent profit.

Yes I completely understand that. On ebay you have to really know what you want to purchase before you actually go on right? Well most times out of ten. Where as with my website, because the stock is all under one roof, if they were on the website, they might see another item from the same football team that would be of interest to them. It is a wide range of products, from mobile phone cases, to drinks bottles, back packs etc.

Also your last comment is a fair one. However, i'm not in the position to bulk buy stock. I was hoping to initially run it on a drop ship basis and then purchase the popular items on a more bigger scale.

What do you suggest? Thanks for your response by the way.

 

[fisicx]

But do people buy a range of items or do they buy a shirt this week, a mug the next and a poster the following month?

I've just looked on ebay and the are some big sellers with thousands of footy items for sale.

 

[Hughes05]

Why exclude ebay? They will get a little more traffic than you can arrange and you do not need to focus on price - sell on value!

I wasn't really in the position to be able to only compete on price alone. I wanted to be able to offer a more personal service through my website that I don't believe you can get through ebay. I completely understand regarding the traffic. How can I sell on value? If most of the customers on ebay only every purchase the cheapest option?

I really do appreciate your response.

 

[Hughes05]

But do people buy a range of items or do they buy a shirt this week, a mug the next and a poster the following month?

I've just looked on ebay and the are some big sellers with thousands of footy items for sale.

I believe they buy in ranges. From personal experience. That's why I thought I could make the extra sales just from everything being under one roof. If your a Chelsea fan and you want the latest backpack, you might also be interested in the new matching bootbag, drinks bottle, ball, pump and more to go with it.
Yes there are some big sellers on ebay. I specifically try to cater for the 'top 4' prem teams.

Do you suggest listing on ebay and competing solely on ebay? Any advice is more than welcome.

 

[Shopclicks]

Where as with ebay or other sites, you might see a couple of Chelsea items you like, but from different sellers. So the P&P would add up for every item you buy from a different seller and the hassle could put them off.

Open an eBay store and put all your products 'under one roof'. You'll get far better value out of that than you will from a Wix website with no marketing budget.

 

[Hughes05]

Open an eBay store and put all your products 'under one roof'. You'll get far better value out of that than you will from a Wix website with no marketing budget.

I appreciate your advice. Do people actually click onto ebay shops? From personal experience it's just a know what you want to buy, then select the cheapest option, type of thing. Once you have purchased or before you go the checkout, could ebay then take you to the shop for you to have a look around at the other products in relation to that football team?
I'm not too familiar with the specific shops on ebay.

 

[Clinton]

Having a fans football needs all under one roof so to speak.

That's already been done. Thousands of times. Try this. There's nothing unique, special or new about your idea I'm afraid. Not only has it been done before, it's been done so often before that it's hugely competitive.

You've entered one of the most competitive markets and are taking on established eBay and other sellers who enjoy price advantages because they buy in bulk. And you're attempting to compete with them using a Wix store and no big marketing budget? I would suggest you re-evaluate your plans.

 

[fisicx]

I believe they buy in ranges. From personal experience.

That's how you do it. That's not necessarily how everyone does it. Market research is important here.

Do you suggest listing on ebay and competing solely on ebay? Any advice is more than welcome.

As @Clinton advises, you are competing against some big companies with big marketing budgets, you chances of winning customers from them are very slim. People are very savvy whem they buy online. If they see a backpack on your site they will quickly look for the same product at a cheaper price and buy it at that price. So unless you are selling something you can't get on eBay or some other footy site you ain't gonna make any money.

This doesn't mean you can't be successful, it just means you need to rethink your product ranges or your marketing strategy.

 

[Hughes05]

That's how you do it. That's not necessarily how everyone does it. Market research is important here.


As @Clinton advises, you are competing against some big companies with big marketing budgets, you chances of winning customers from them are very slim. People are very savvy whem they buy online. If they see a backpack on your site they will quickly look for the same product at a cheaper price and buy it at that price. So unless you are selling something you can't get on eBay or some other footy site you ain't gonna make any money.

This doesn't mean you can't be successful, it just means you need to rethink your product ranges or your marketing strategy.

One thing I have done recently is re-word the products, instead of copying it from the same suppliers listings like I noticed a lot of other competitors were doing. Not sure if ebay would pick up on that, but I worded it in a way that people would be able to relate to more.
None of the product I supply are unique, it's the same as in any football market, it's like you say just being able to get them at a cheaper price to then compete on price. But I do honestly believe if I can get a decent marketing strategy in place and drive more people to the website, they will go back to the site and also tell a friend. It's the easiest option for people I believe.

In terms of marketing strategy, what do you suggest? Also my apologies on maybe not being as clear as I can. I know myself what I want from the website and how I believe it can be a success. Also why I believe it's different in it's own way. I just can't always word it correctly. It might sound like i've had no thoughts or planning going into it, but like I say I'm just not the best technical communicator on here.

I notice you create websites?

 

[fisicx]

Get help. If marketing is your strength then get help with the other things you need to do.

One thing you could do is group the items to sell as gifts. Or maybe do referrals - 25% off your next order if you refer a friends type thing.

What you need to decide is if you want to sell on ebay/amazon/gumtree etc or if you want to go it alone on your own website. Once you are clear about the direction you want to take things will begin to fall into place.

 

[Clinton]

From our private conversation you've been telling me about the great content and advice you have for young footballers.

That's all good but doesn't necessarily contribute to selling club gear. It's a different, er, ball game. Followers you collect in that activity are not highly targeted customers with disposable income. If you already have a following there I suggest you find something for that market i.e. expand your offerings to that market,

Marketing: Maybe a prize for the best photo someone sends in of their amateur club kit. Or the best story. Or find a kid who's ill and would like to meet his football hero. Then make that happen for him. Do something to promote girls' football. Not a lot of people doing that. If you lack money you can make up for it with creativity to get PR and get noticed.

 

[Shopclicks]

I'd argue the point that you have to be price competitive to flourish on eBay. It's simply untrue, both in my experience and observation. What you need is stock on hand, cheap or free postage, a smart listing strategy and an after-sales enticement to visit your website (not Wix). People do visit and use eBay stores for multiple purchases and you can create loyalty to keep them coming back.

If you can create a USP or fill a niche market, it's going to help but do as @fisicx suggested and get yourself a proper ecommerce website. Use eBay to drive traffic to the site because in your sector, it will be the most cost effective marketing tool. I'd suggest that SM is a great avenue for a small budget too, but unless you're spectacular & prolific, you're wasting your time.

 

[Hughes05]

Get help. If marketing is your strength then get help with the other things you need to do.

One thing you could do is group the items to sell as gifts. Or maybe do referrals - 25% off your next order if you refer a friends type thing.

What you need to decide is if you want to sell on ebay/amazon/gumtree etc or if you want to go it alone on your own website. Once you are clear about the direction you want to take things will begin to fall into place.

Some of the items I stock are already gift sets. However, I did think of doing maybe a bedroom themed 'hamper'. As I have stock in duvets, rugs, pillows, curtains etc, I can get also get plug socket 'skins' or wall light stickers and maybe put them all together to create a certain clubs football themed room. I wasn't sure if it would be worth doing but now that you have suggested it also, it could quite possibly be.

I would prefer to sell just on my own website, however I am well aware of the traffic ebay comes with, especially for marketing budgets like mine.

 

[Hughes05]

From our private conversation you've been telling me about the great content and advice you have for young footballers.

That's all good but doesn't necessarily contribute to selling club gear. It's a different, er, ball game. Followers you collect in that activity are not highly targeted customers with disposable income. If you already have a following there I suggest you find something for that market i.e. expand your offerings to that market,

Marketing: Maybe a prize for the best photo someone sends in of their amateur club kit. Or the best story. Or find a kid who's ill and would like to meet his football hero. Then make that happen for him. Do something to promote girls' football. Not a lot of people doing that. If you lack money you can make up for it with creativity to get PR and get noticed.

Yes I have realised that a lot of the audience who are keen on my content are the younger market, who like you say do not have the disposable income. I believe the interest for my products from this certain audience are high, however it's then relying on them to then go and discuss with there parents/guardians, which as a parent myself, I know how much attention I pay or don't

The marketing ideas you have are brill. I have currently in stock some Premier League balls which gained a lot of interest but not sales. So I could probably use them as a marketing tool instead to gain a bigger audience. But I still then need them to buy. Which in a lot of your opinions the downfall is through having wix and not another platform?

 

[Hughes05]

I'd argue the point that you have to be price competitive to flourish on eBay. It's simply untrue, both in my experience and observation. What you need is stock on hand, cheap or free postage, a smart listing strategy and an after-sales enticement to visit your website (not Wix). People do visit and use eBay stores for multiple purchases and you can create loyalty to keep them coming back.

If you can create a USP or fill a niche market, it's going to help but do as @fisicx suggested and get yourself a proper ecommerce website. Use eBay to drive traffic to the site because in your sector, it will be the most cost effective marketing tool. I'd suggest that SM is a great avenue for a small budget too, but unless you're spectacular & prolific, you're wasting your time.

I can have stock on hand using a drop shipping method with one of the suppliers I use. I could then probably compete with the low prices, but obviously the profit margin would be a lot less. However, I suppose if I sell 10 things at just a £2 profit margin using a drop shipping method where I don't need to handle anything myself, it's still making more than selling 1 item with a £6-7 margin.

 

[fisicx]

But I still then need them to buy. Which in a lot of your opinions the downfall is through having wix and not another platform?

Yes

 

[The Byre]

I'll make this nice and simple for you - marketing costs time and/or money.

ebay gives you instant marketing for a rather modest fee of about 10% or a bit more. That is waaaaay less than what you pay outside of ebay. There are many products for which marketing costs account for half of all revenues. Turnover £1m, marketing £500k.

To say that you will exclude all Amazon, ebay, Gumtree, etc. platforms is to decide to not sell.

There is a rather clever guy selling wood-burning stoves that he imports from Roumania. He has his own website and shop and he moved hundreds of wood-burning stoves of all sorts, types, sizes and colours every month.

But he also has an ebay shop - but gets many of the first-times buyers to jump over and use his shop, as there is a link at the bottom of his ebay page. He started on ebay. Love it or loath it, but you cannot ignore it - and compared to getting your own shop to feature in the way that you can on ebay, it's still a bargain!

I buy many building materials from a guy outside Birmingham and I buy direct from him. But I found him on ebay!

There are some shops that can live outside ebay, Amazon, etc., but they have been around for about 15 years or more and have a massive advertising budgets to maintain that position.

 

[Hughes05]

I'll make this nice and simple for you - marketing costs time and/or money.

ebay gives you instant marketing for a rather modest fee of about 10% or a bit more. That is waaaaay less than what you pay outside of ebay. There are many products for which marketing costs account for half of all revenues. Turnover £1m, marketing £500k.

To say that you will exclude all Amazon, ebay, Gumtree, etc. platforms is to decide to not sell.

There is a rather clever guy selling wood-burning stoves that he imports from Roumania. He has his own website and shop and he moved hundreds of wood-burning stoves of all sorts, types, sizes and colours every month.

But he also has an ebay shop - but gets many of the first-times buyers to jump over and use his shop, as there is a link at the bottom of his ebay page. He started on ebay. Love it or loath it, but you cannot ignore it - and compared to getting your own shop to feature in the way that you can on ebay, it's still a bargain!

I buy many building materials from a guy outside Birmingham and I buy direct from him. But I found him on ebay!

There are some shops that can live outside ebay, Amazon, etc., but they have been around for about 15 years or more and have a massive advertising budgets to maintain that position.

Thank you, it is very much appreciated. I'm not sure why, but I was under the impression that you couldn't promote or link your website in with eBay. I thought there were rules that stopped you mentioning it in private messages etc. Maybe this is not the case, as you know more thsn I do. I'm not sure why I thought this was the case.

Thank you once again for your response, I am taking note of the advice your all giving me.

 

[Shopclicks]

I'm not sure why, but I was under the impression that you couldn't promote or link your website in with eBay.

Technically, that is correct but you will see sellers get away with bending the rules. Generally with eBay, nothing happens until someone reports a policy violation.

However, the biggest advantage that goes with making an eBay sale is that you have that buyer's email address and you can encourage them to visit your site via the product you send them. Enclosing a personalised message inviting the buyer to visit your website and receive a 10% promotional discount on their first order is one way (that's probably not going happen if you're drop-shipping). Following up with a newsletter or promotional email to keep them interested will also help.

There's plenty of information on the net about turning eBay customers into website customers.

 

[webgeek]

Facebook is the place to market if you've got product to giveaway.

Give away team merchandise and mention such on the forum associated with that particular team.

Give away tickets and mention such on the forums associated with those teams.

The more regularly you give things away, the more activity you'll have....

 

[Hughes05]

Facebook is the place to market if you've got product to giveaway.

Give away team merchandise and mention such on the forum associated with that particular team.

Give away tickets and mention such on the forums associated with those teams.

The more regularly you give things away, the more activity you'll have....

Which then over the long term would lead to more sales? I have thought about doing more giveaways, which I have done but solely for charity. However would it sometimes put people off buying because they think in a few months they maybe able to get the same or similar items for free? But I do agree that the more activity around your site or connected platforms will lead to more and repeat business.

 

[Hughes05]

Technically, that is correct but you will see sellers get away with bending the rules. Generally with eBay, nothing happens until someone reports a policy violation.

However, the biggest advantage that goes with making an eBay sale is that you have that buyer's email address and you can encourage them to visit your site via the product you send them. Enclosing a personalised message inviting the buyer to visit your website and receive a 10% promotional discount on their first order is one way (that's probably not going happen if you're drop-shipping). Following up with a newsletter or promotional email to keep them interested will also help.

There's plenty of information on the net about turning eBay customers into website customers.

That's great advice. I do send out occasional newsletters through email marketing, but like you say, with every purchase you also gain an email address. Much appreciated.

 

[fisicx]

There is just so much bad advice in that post I don't know where to start. Safe to say, it can be ignored. Is 64 posts in 9 years the record?

 

[Yeongwonhi]

We all know that Amazon and eBay are just but some of the eCommerce giants. I see no risk in trying eBay if you would like, for a start.

And yes, you were right - people usually go to these places to check up on what they are wanting or trying to buy. And honestly, it usually isn't about the lowest price. People tend to buy from those who have established reviews, otherwise, reviews are useless.

Also, in place are categories to help sort out your stuff to those who really are looking for it.

So go get your products out there. You wouldn't lose nothing by giving it a shot.

Best of luck!