Comments on: The biggest ecommerce lies and how to avoid them

By: Patrick Hitches

Patrick Hitches — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:34:51 +0000

I have definitely found that an online business is a LOT of work! Especially if you didn't come from a web design/developer background... It has been a learning experience from top to bottom for me on all accounts.

The biggest piece of information I would pass along to someone starting an online store would be to ensure an appropriate profit margin on the products being sold. Expecting high volumes of orders early on to cover costs and support the cause is not the way to go. Pick a product you can promote with viral potential and niched enough to stand alone in a crowd...

That being said, definitely get SOMETHING up! Worst case scenario, you pick up the cost of an extra phone bill for the potential to make an entire extra salary on the side... Or better yet, full time :).

Cheers!

Patrick Hitches

By: Les

Les — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 21:27:06 +0000

Brilliant advice.

As a developer myself I have certainly learnt a lot over the years and it is a -beep- pain to hear a client complain "your" solution ain't reaching expected sales.

I've lost count number of times a site has to be revised after launch as the client learns more about their market and customers... more often than not it is not the site that is failing but the copy (content) drives potential customers away.

Good work and lets have some more :)

By: Henri

Henri — Fri, 14 May 2010 12:58:29 +0000

What a great site to pick up great information for a newbie as me. There are so many people making points on what is right or what is wrong but what I find great is the comments to this post where I get to see and follow others opinions because I think it is all a matter on what you want with your potential customers but I might be wrong. Building a list just to build a list I find insane but if building a list for the matter of selling your site it might be the way - not an option for me. Keep up with the great writing.

By: Wesley Lynch

Wesley Lynch — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:17:30 +0000

1 to add to the list. I hear this all the time. Force the customer to register when they want to add to the cart, so that you can build up your database. That is just insane.

It would be great to see a similar list just related to the check out process. Please can I help make it, would be great therapy.

By: peter

peter — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:17:56 +0000

I think point 1 has a flip-side, and it very much depends on the type of customer. In this specific case, I would be gone in a heartbeat if all I got was the info provided in the Apple sample. However I agree the Dell experience can be overwhelming even for a propeller head like me.

I guess my point is that yes at the onset provide a simple, concise view of the products. But if you hide details - especially on a product as complicated as a computer purchase - a large segment of your customer base will simply disappear. These details need to be easily accessible ( and in a perfect world comparable between products ), but they shouldn't clobber the browsing / shopping experience. NewEgg has some great features in this regard, to give a 3rd example in computer purchasing.

By: Leon

Leon — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:13:01 +0000

LOL @ bonus lie

By: sarah

sarah — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:47:11 +0000

Good article, but, you used the wrong example with the computer choice. Dell does it the right way. If you don't know about computers, you need to go into the store and have a sales person help you. But, if you know what you want and don't want a cookie cutter computer, then, Dell is doing it right. I shop from Dell and I enjoy the option of getting exactly what I want. BTW, Dell does offer a fast track option for those who "just want a computer". (and, they don't cost $2000)

By: Akeisha,

Akeisha, — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:28:32 +0000

Excellent point, however, it really depends on the buying behavior of the majority. Like me for example, I want to buy online with security badge on it, minimizes my fear of having my credit card hacked. I also prefer those a site who do not give out too much information on the product but provides exactly what I need in simple direct approach, specially if I am buying electronic gadget, I want to know exactly the benefits--not too much on the technical terms. Anyway, everyone has it's opinion but I do agree on the last part. Thanks for the post.

By: rana

rana — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:19:01 +0000

Hi , nice post , thanks , I've translate this post in persian into my weblog & linked into this post, of course if you don't mind.

By: Niek

Niek — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:43:17 +0000

Hey Paul,

I think you are correct about providing no too many choices. There is, however, one exception to that rule.

For example: I like to build my own computers. So when I want a new computer I browse the web for differentes parts. I check reviews and forums. I want a great array of choices in this case.

Another example: some people love wine. They also love sampling it. They want a broad array of choices because they enjoy making this choice!

In short, my point is: limit choices, unless your audience is passionate about your product and actually wants to spend a lot of time on buying or selecting it.