Great day, coutesy of all those who have come before me... Thank you very much!

Thanks for the poll Vincent.

Yesterday was a sensational day. It was a good mixture of professional
and personal. Sometimes that`s a hard balance.

Thanks for asking Vincent!

After working for about 14 hours yesterday, and accomplishing a lot,  I hit the hay early for a great night of sleep.  Up early again today and already have a couple hours of work completed.  Have a fan-frickin`-tastic day!

- J.

I will soon be providing an email to people signed up to my eNewsletter titled, Guest List. This email will contain a short list of new product available on my website, as well as blurbs of what’s going on at my website. It will also likely contain a coupon for use at my online store. The question is, “How often can I email, an eNewsletter without being intrusive?”

Vincent,

I don`t think there is a "set" answer. A lot of variables such as your audience and your content. I subscribe to many, many newsletters, blog feeds, podcasts, etc - some are every week others once a month. Some would be too much even at every other week but are just right at once a month.

Why not poll your initial subscribers on the launch issue and see what they have to say? Ask them after they see the first issue how often they would like to receive your newsletter. Just an idea.

R@

Keycon
Great idea about an internal poll. That would also provide the opportunity to connect with my customers, rather then just "advertising" to them.

In  my last job, we had a newsletter and here are some of the finding that may help your North:

• Most important discovery: People actually allowed us to know how often we should sent the newsletter by their level of interest and feedback. How did we do it?
• We devided people into buckets; 1-those who asked to get it frequently (once a week); 2- people who want to receive it bi-weekly; 3- and people who want it once a month. There was always a group of new people and we sent it to them once a week and made sure to always have an option to how frequently they wanted to get it.
• We made sure that the optout button was as clear as it could be, and we made it very easy for you to unsubscribe. According to a research we conducted, this gave us credibility.
• We sure wanted to sell our product, but we took a journalistic approach in the newsletter by hiring an editor who wrote articles related to travel, and he was not allowed to sell our product. Again, research showed that people thought that was a very credible part of the newsletter.
• Lastly, readers tend to read your newsletter through to the end if you start the newsletter with a big picture. We hired a firm that conducted a research that showed that pictures incresed readership.

I hope it is helpful. If I remember anything else I will let you know.

I don`t try to sell  people in our newsletter.  I really focus on the newsletter providing good information that customers enjoy reading.  I also include a very short section on anything new (services, etc.), but overall, I try to provide a great service that customers like... for FREE!  It`s all  abou t trying to build value.   If they like reading it, they will keep your name in their minds  and hopfully pass it along to others if they REALLY like it.

jlukasavige... Great point. I am now brainstorming topics to write about in my eNewsletter... Thanks for the input...

That goes for everyone...

Thanks all.

Hello SuN contributors! I am posing a question regarding the cost of shipping. Not in terms of materials cost. I am talking about the actual cost of shipping. Everyone in the online retail business understands the impact of shipping costs. Shipping costs impact not only the purchaser, but also the business.

Any other comments would be helpful.

It seems that displaying a flat rate for shipping is much more interesting to shoppers than a real time rate situation. My next question is, does anyone believe there could be a lack of sales in my local area if a flat rate is used?

For example, a person living in San Jose, CA could receive a particular product for $5 shipping by using real time rates. After all, their destination address is close to the originating address. If using a flat rate, shipping the same item to a San Jose, CA customer could cost $10 because the same rate is being used to ship across the country (averaging out the expense). It seems to me that my own local customers would be turned off by this approach in shipping. What do you think about it? I would especially like to hear from local shoppers.

From an earlier post of CraigL...
Poll: SuN community focus group for pricing

Product Image Here

Description
What a fabulous piece! Shaped similar to an old jug without a finger handle, this vase is made from clay. The nature of the clay in this situation doesn`t allow for holding water. You will find this vase to be 100% handmade and then wrapped by hand in earthborn bamboo. There are two colors available, but each have the same dimensions. Colors available are shown below.

To start, this vase has a small mouth measuring only .75 inches (19.05 cm) in diameter. The neck opens quickly into a 6.75 inch (17.14 cm) diameter bell. Being slightly short, the bamboo wrapped vase stands only 12.5 inches (31.75 cm) tall. It`s great standing alone or with flowers, and can typically fit nicely into any entertainment center or shelving.

CraigL... I will hold some comments back for now, because I don’t want to influence new voters. But I will say, I agree about seeing how many people voted. It would be very helpful to know a participation level.

A larger comment will come from me after we get more participation.

I think you need more details in the description of why this vase is
special. Take out the part about holding flowers.

There is a company selling on ebay, NOVICA, that sells items from around
the world. They seem to be very successful. I think they do a good job of
relaying why their products are worth the amount charged.

http://stores.ebay.com/
NOVICA-Store     

Based on the description above, I would pay $13.99.


**edited to add NOVICA link. Yeah! it worked. :)

Now that I have given some time for people to respond... The rest of the story...

The situation presented (show image then name your price) isn’t really an effective gauge of value. If it were, there would be no way we could sell this product and earn profit. Pricing is like love. It’s all in the eyes of the beholder.

Our country is vast. It’s not the size of the Netherlands. We also have a large economy that cannot be measured by looking at one city within the walls of America. That means some people will find value in this product because all around them are mass-produced, highly manufactured decorative items. On the other hand, a farmer from Idaho may not be as interested in handmade, bamboo, or even a vase for that matter.

The reality is that this product is not a commodity. It is a luxury. A luxury item is to improve or give pleasure to a person, which might rarely indulge in that type of purchase. Or a person who wishes to be surrounded by objects that are not typical or mass-produced.

The vase shown is actually made from clay. Then hand wrapped in a continuous, thin strip of bamboo. The time taken to produce is roughly 1 hour of skilled craftsmanship. That doesn’t include wait time for drying or baking. The wholesale price for this item is just barely under $9.99. Think of how little the craftsman/woman is earning. It’s not much for an hours work. But it is great to have the human touch with no child labor.

Sometimes I think Americans need to reflect on what they are getting for the price they are paying for it. Wendy’s sells so many things on the menu for ¢.99. I can get full on $3. How can they do that? I can’t buy the same product in the store and make it for that price. Anyway… I enjoy eating at Wendy’s from time to time.

We sell this vase, and other similar products of this quality online, but also at a select number of tradeshows. The truth is, we sell this item (with wonderful customer comments) at a price of $29.99. I am not saying it is perfectly represented online. As a matter of fact, I appreciate the comments from drdesign. I will have to take a look at how NOVICA markets their product. I could probably learn something.

But this exercise was to discuss the realism of a focus group pricing forum.

Vincent -

Nice set-up!

I voted for $13.99 but knew when I was voting I could probably be persuaded to pay more for it if it filled a (luxary) need.  Since you have an online business, my not being able hold it, feel it and really get a sense for it`s craftsmenship truly plays a part in my decision to buy or not.  After I read your "rest of the story" - I  was easily persuaded to pay the $29.99 your asking for it.  I realized that it was the story behind the product that gave it that value.

I haven`t spent a lot of time on your site, living in a condo doesn`t give us a lot of room for these types of items, but do you tell this story with your descriptions?  For me personally, it would help me decide to click the "buy" button!  Maybe something to consider if you aren`t already doing it.

R-

Vincent -

I took a look at NOVICA`s site.  They have a bio for the artist of each item, I find this very compelling.  Just thinking that you may want to add something like this, it doesn`t have to be a personal bio, just the story behind that "item"...  It seems very well done.

R-

I agree with much of what`s been said. I do agree I need to write a more compelling description. It’s one of the million duties I have each day. I also see a lot of “review my website” requests. Including mine at two different times of my involvement with SuN. Let’s also keep in mind that some, maybe many, “review my website” requests may have an ulterior motive. It may be a ploy to get people to the site. (Although I don`t believe it`s very effective for making sales. Only for increasing page views.)

As for me, I am truly interested in making my business, and therefore my website, better. I think many have seen the comments applied to my site… some immediately.

All in all, I agree with CraigL. This was a great learning opportunity. Maybe I should post an ad on craigslists.org and see who is willing to do some description writing for low cost in my area. Heck. It could be out of my area, but they wouldn’t get to feel and touch the item, in order to get the true impact these decoratives make.

Ross... I checked out NOVICA’s site also. I noticed there was little product description and much more bio information on the artist. I thought that was great, just as you did. Unfortunately I do not always have a personal connection to the artists providing product. I wish I did… NOVICA is also teamed up with National Geographic. This shows how readily available the products are for them. I would like to incorporate many of their techniques, but I have to recognize they are my competitor and stand much higher on the ladder than I. Their website is what I want mine to become someday… soon maybe… Especially if I keep getting SuN to help me work out the kinks.

------
All in all, my supply is just below my demand. People have asked, “Why isn’t there more product for me to select from?” Because what I have fills my entire house already. It fills the garage, living room, dinning room and even the bedroom. Where would I put more product? And how would I find more product to replace sales, if the sales occur too fast? Of course that`s a good thing, but that’s just some of my problems in this business.

If I were selling common items like DVDs or Toasters, I could understand the effectiveness of a pricing forum. But even then… you cannot separate qualified buyers from the “I’ll take the lowest price option” type of people. ElidS admitted to voting on a price without interest of the item being discussed. We have to remember the old adage. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I am not saying products at elusivetreasures.com are trash to some. I am only saying products at elusivetreasures.com is treasure to many.

This poll is to gauge your true shopping habits. It has a bit to do with the post about “B.B.B. online membership?” When visiting a site containing a product or service you would like to buy, do you ACTUALLY investigate the site through the Better Business Bureau before buying? If there are no indications the website or business is a member of the BBB will you postpone your purchase?

Hopefully this poll will give us some real understanding of the BBB`s influence in shopping or trusting an online business.

Like it or not, people often compare what they give VS. what they get for Christmas. This is just a fun pole to see who got what.

This is not a question of proper English. This is a question of preference.

Question | What sentence is best?
Each of these sentences are very  similar. The difference is not indicated, to allow better reading. The difference is listed as the "Choice" you have to make.

A. Of all the many beautiful flowers Mother Nature has graced our planet with, perhaps roses are among the most admired.

B. Of all the many beautiful flowers with which Mother Nature has graced our planet with, perhaps roses are among the most admired. graced our planet.

The context is... This sentence will be part of a description to a product online. It seems minor, but this question will in part, set the writing tone and style for the rest of the site. The bottom line is, we want to make it easy for people to read. Speaking and reading  are perceived different when choosing to place trust in the person speaking, or writing.

Thanks for your honesty on this difficult, and personal question!

Hey Vincent -

I choose the second option for flow - but either way, I think you can simplify the sentence a little bit - e.g. :

"Of the many beautiful flowers with which Mother Nature has graced our planet, roses are perhaps the most admired."

I`m drawn more to choice "A", but then I like tulips more than roses.

Thanks for all your replies and insight. It has started quite the debate around here (my office). 

Hey Vincent,

I actually just got done taking a business english class...and one of the things that has become increasingly more obvious in business messages is losing the "extra" words that aren`t necessary. Not to mention...we have created a formal entity out of Mother Nature...so it is used in the form of a formal name...there-by negating the necessity to add in extra words (ie: with which). Soooo...according to my text book...A is actually the "correct" way to say it.

Hope that is helpful!

A- is GREAT.....B just seems too wordy. As a writer, my number one rule is SIMPLIFY!

 

www.makingabusinesshappen.blogspot.com

Thank you to all for your continued comments.

:)

The above poll says it all, but also... What is your outlook? Are you BUYING like you used to? Or has your purchases slowed too? What are you doing to return to normal sales levels, if you are seeing a drop?

Not for me it wasn`t. I started out good this year and things look if they aren`t going to slow down for  a few months

Thank you all for participating. 

In my world of business, I must save every dime and often opt for unconventional methods of reminding people about ElusiveTreasures.com. Sometimes they are crazy methods, but as long as it keeps bringing results, I keep trying new stuff!

Anyway… Let’s face it. When you’re interested in decorating your home, you just go to the mall. When your interested in a snack, you just go to the store. There’s a lot of stuff right outside your door.

Elusive Treasures provides quality earthborn & handmade creations. Although our product changes, at present we have a great selection of bamboo wrapped vases and wood flowers. Our products are often unique beyond the craft. Many are from other cultures and counties. Well you can read about us online and that’s not what this is… so let me get on with it...

Being small, we occasionally advertise in print, hand out fliers, attend tradeshows and events (when the costs are within our budget). I will continue with those methods of advertising as usual. Because I have access to the resource, I would like to start handing out cactus!

ElusiveTreasures.com provides free delivery in San Jose, CA on most of their products. During deliveries, I would like the driver (me ) to drop off a few small (3.5-4 inches tall with simple cup style dirt planter) earthborn cactus, along with a little card and a note of introduction. Oh... the delivery person (me ) will leave a cactus (and note) on the doorstep of the neighbors receiving the true product delivery.

Could you critique my advertising introduction? Rewrite it, look at my site and completely change it. The only rule is that you can only have about 75 words. It doesn’t have to be about free shipping, but I thought for a local campaign it was a good choice. I expect to deliver 20 plants a week.

Paper: Quality with some thickness
Size: 3.5”W x 4”H folded in half to create the card
Inside text:
____________________
Hello!
Elusive Treasures is having a great day. We just personally delivered one of our earthborn & handmade products in your area.

Did you know ElusiveTreasures.com provides free delivery to San Jose, CA with no order limit?

Although we have delivered a prickly little plant to you today, our wood flowers and pottery are our greatest treasures at the moment. We invite you to check us out!
____________________

It will be great hearing all your comments.

Great idea!

Vincent, I think this is a unique idea and hope it works for you. I took a moment to reword the last sentence:

Now that you have experienced a delightful, prickly surpise, we invite you to see our greatest treasures - wood flowers and pottery! Visit ElusiveTreasures.com and send a delightful surprise to someone you know today.

Hope that is helpful.

I think it`s a great idea and very well written.

boiseboys... Thanks... I think "no minimum order" is what it should be. Also, you are right... I could add a call to action as suggested.

JDawg... excellent excellent excellent. that`s exactly why I asked for your help. 

CookieMonster... I hold your opinions in high regard. So it is great to hear that comment from you. thanks.

Yay!!!  Again, I think you`ve come up with a grand idea. I`m anxious to hear how it works for you!

CraigL... I plan to work it like this... An order comes in a(through the net) and if it is addressed as Free Shipping (due to San Jose, CA location) I will also place a few promotional plants with nearby residences. So it should be seen as a complete surprise.

Um, well, gee, not that you mentioned it: Yes!! :)

CraigL... As always... great points.

After incorporating everyones ideas and opinions, I think I will make a few changes and call it done. I will start presenting these plants on all orders as of Monday. We`ll see how it goes.

I am also working on additional % off when entering a Coupon Code found on the note.

Thank you ALL!

For research, knowledge, or entertainment, we all read. How much of your day is devoted specifically to reading. Don`t count the time you were being distracted by you child asking for help with their homework. After all, that`s not reading for you... that reading for them. The same goes for other distractions. I mean really reading. Skimming is reading... but only add the times you`re really doing it. Don`t include the time skimming and devoting your attention to other things too.

Example
Reading the morning paper for an hour, before going to work.
Reading an online news story at work, about your topic of interest.
Reading a bedtime story or magazine before turning out the light.

Total the time in a day... or in the week (then divide by 7). How many hours a day are spent reading?

My entire question wouldn`t fit in the "poll question" area of this form. Please read it all here:

Do you feel ripped off when a company offers regularly offered products at a discount or for sale?

My thoughts are, when a company offers a discount or "sale" price to regularly offered products I feel ripped off. I feel like, if they offer that price now, why couldn`t they offer it in the beginning? I know that in the business I run (www.ElusiveTreasures.com), I am virtually unable to offer a better price than the one I sell the items for. If you planned on buying in quantity, I might be able to get a little better, but that`s only because now the sales equation turns to "volume" instead of "wholesale to retail" sales.

When I see a company offering products "on sale" it`s a signal that I should wait to buy all items from them during a "sale" time. After all if one item went on sale, won`t they all at some point?

What do you think about this mentality? Am I crazy? Should I buy before the "sale?"

Read this! It`s a great - but highly involved - article on pricing strategy/tactics. It discusses your exact sentiments Vincent. [ p.s. This is more or less an excerpt from the pricing book I frequently recommend. ]

I apologize in advance for what I know will be a long post in order to (hopefully) fully describe my comment.

I understand the necessity for creating value in a product being sold. Having different pricing structures based on the industry of the product being sold, is absolutely necessary. Some products take little research and development to bring to market, while others may take high technical skill and many years of work. At times, long-term ventures in R&D fail to payoff. The company involved must earn back their investment by producing products based on the knowledge gained during the R&D of the failed product.

Commodity regulations aside for this discussion (it just gets far to complicated), many people will stand up and holler that the oil companies and fuel refineries make far too much profit each year.  Many would argue that fuel prices could and should be lower because the oil companies obviously earn a great deal more than the typical business.

In this "big oil" example, I would like to make the argument that profitable oil businesses invest greatly in R&D. One site expected to pay off, by the finding and production of oil, costs millions before the drill is even set to earth. Once the drill is set to earth there is still the hope that the pocket of crude underground, will provide an adequate supply to compensate for the financial investment when researching the most likely sites to begin drilling.

Out of all potential sites, only a small percentage may be profitable. Yet the company must ‘eat’ the cost of R&D for the less than profitable sites. Lucky for the oil companies, they have hired well-educated, intuitive employees to help research where the best drill sites would be. In the end, they are profitable by billions simply due to their diligence and research department doing a good job. And the added fact, some drill sites provide more than expected, which shoots the earning far above expectations. But it wouldn’t take many proposed drill site’s failures, to pull the oil company down into losses.

It might be considered fair to set the fuel price after the years end, allowing the location and production of crude to set pricing for the year. Allow the oil company to retrieve their loss (where ever that might occur) to regulate earnings at the end of the year. But that wouldn’t be the “American Dream,” plus it would demand a consensus on what a “fair” earnings amount would be for all the hard work. Unfortunately, no one is going to wait to fill up their tank with gas while the years end data comes in. And no one is going to agree on the price point for oil company earnings.

To be sure, if fuel were $10 a gallon, many would still be buying it. We must get to work. We must drive, heat our homes and continue to travel for one reason or another. Many might say, “if that’s the cost of fuel, I would take the bus.” But the bus would have to increase fares to afford the price. You would still need to get to work, although you might start looking into ways to ride a bike or walk. With our obesity rate in the USA, I just don’t see that happening too quickly. Lucky for us, there are regulations. I never see fuel "On Sale."

I also understand that price points might make it more profitable to loose some sales in product by increasing the cost to the product. If I were selling 100 items for 1¢ per piece, it would make more profit to sell 10 items for 10¢. After all, so long as demand is still relevant, I will save in production costs thus earning more profit for the business.

I have read the document CookieMonster provided. I understand the comments within the document, although I think my question on this poll might have been misunderstood. I also understand what houseofjerkyjanie presented.

My discussion is not about a customer feeling happy for getting something on sale. My comment(s) is having a customer buy at a higher price, just because they didn`t know that you (any business) would have a "sale." If it`s possible to have a "sale" why isn`t the "sale" price ALWAYS the real price? I can understand having sales for close-out items or seasonal items. After all, there comes a time that you must dump your inventory to make room for next years products or the latest models.

This discussion is to say/ask, if you purchase products from a company that frequently offers sales, don’t you wonder how much more profit they are making during non-sale times? Are they paying their top CEOs $200 million bonuses when they could be providing $200 million savings to regular customers? Are you a person who sees a “sale” sign and is driven to buy? Does the word “sale” inspire your desire to purchase? After all it’s on SALE!

So... just to let everyone know...
1.    Elusive Treasures offers limited quantities, so you should hurry to get what you enjoy most!

2.    Elusive Treasures isn`t interested in maximizing profits. We are interested in fair pricing.

3.    You will NOT find better prices than we provide unless you fly to Vietnam, Thailand, or the other countries we find our unique products. 99% of our products are purchased at wholesale and sold at retail.

4.    Elusive Treasures as a secret goal of showing people how easy it is to decorate your home with unique, earthborn & handmade items. A.K.A “Green” products.

5.    If sales are what you want, everything is ON SALE at ElusiveTreasures.com!

"Elusive Treasures isn`t interested in maximizing profits."

You should be interested in maximizing profits! Profits are holy. The great equalizer in this equation is consumer choice. It`s not wrong to make a profit, especially since you make a profit when a consumer chooses to buy something.

CookieMonster... I understand. And I am sure many would say I am crazy. On the other hand, I am completely happy making moderate earnings and feeling good about the products I am able to provide. I also love returning to the artist and asking for more. I enjoy to move product so long as I earn enough to go on another vacation.

Maybe I am completely wrong to think in this way. I don`t find a problem with profit earning, but I don`t think profit earnings in excess. It`s my opinion that this type of greed is what makes it so difficult for the lower class to contribute to society. And by the way, I am not a socialist. I just think fair earnings are responsible goals to the society in which we live.

Yep... I am  crazy.

You`re not crazy! More power to you for living your values. Also, I don`t think that moderate earnings or a desire for moderate earnings or fairness makes you - or anyone - a socialist.

Sales do not bother me. Retailers know that the everyday prices they set are too high for most consumers, and the sale price is the true market value. Part of the concept is to make customers feel like they are getting a great deal and increase the percieved value of it.

On the other hand, with my experience as a consumer, I enjoy sales and coupons. I have a long list of items that I would like to have, but I can`t afford them all at once. Having a special sale helps me decide what to get and when.

Of course, if a store has everything on sale all the time, it gets annoying. They should just change the everyday price of the item rather than putting it on sale 3 weeks out of 4.

The cool thing about sales is that they motivate customers to buy at a certain time. Some purchases need to be made right away, like food and gasoline, but MOST of the things we buy are more luxury items and they can be put off indefinately.

Is it possible that we all say, "No. Sales don`t inspire me to buy." or "No. I don`t feel `ripped off` when buying a product at regular price." but in reality it does effect our buying attitude?

If the sale price is the "true market value" why does a "SALE" sign draw passers by into the store, or pressure the customer to venture to the back of the store to access the "on sale" rack/shelf?

I tend to believe we (every consumer) tend to lie to ourselves about our buying habits. We don`t want ourselves to really know how much we really spend. Therefore "on sale" makes us feel less guilty for spending on necessary or unnecessary items.

I have noticed TV commercials, print ads and especially online ads stating something like this…

Do you have an entrepreneur type of spirit? Would you like to have to power to earn what you want? Then you need to “buy into” our program!

OK, it’s not an exact quote, but I notice the word entrepreneur being used in all positions that have a high likelihood of failure. To the novice entrepreneur it might appear the professional entrepreneur just “takes chances” and eventually a ‘chance’ will pay off in large dividends.

To me, an entrepreneur is a person who makes a clear and calculated decision to involve themselves in projects that have a fair likelihood of success. This ‘success’ factor is calculated… not hoped for. Not a get rich with this program, type of mentality.

What do you all think? Is entrepreneurship a marketing catch phrase now?

Yes. I agree with that CraigL. There would be no problem for the word entrepreneur to become a marketing word or achieved progress description. I guess I was just wondering if others have noticed the use of the word more frequently. Now that the job description, `running my own business` is a popular phrase, and sort of badge of honor.

I also wanted to bring the marketing tactic to light. The term `entrepreneur` has a meaning that won`t change. Don`t get caught up in the hype. But entrepreneurship is the most exhilarating position you could hold in life... At least that`s my opinion.

Yes. Excellent point.