Looking for some advice

[jazzmusicdepot]

Hi forum,

You might have seen my annoying posts in the "offering and looking for" section of this forum. Trying to sell off my inventory of cds and lps.

I have just put togther a Jazz web site which Is still a work in progress. The basics are done, I just have to enter in alot more merchandise. My questions is...

I have had an average of 10 -15 visitors a day (without much promotion) and I have about 5 shopping carts started then cancelled daily. This is my first experiment in retial, Ive sold wholesale for years. I have no idea why the carts are getting cancelled.

I'm hoping that there are some experienced Jazz buyers here that would shoot me some advise on whats wrong with this thing? People are clicking to purchase ,there is an interest. But something is turning them off.

Any help would be appreciated.. My web site is http://www.jazzmusicdepot.com

Thanks

[J.A.W.]

Just a guess, but it could be because many members here feel uncomfortable when a new member comes here mainly to promote their own business, without taking part in discussions elsewhere on the board.

[J.A.W.]

Or maybe they don't find your stuff interesting enough...

[jazzmusicdepot]

Just a guess, but it could be because many members here feel uncomfortable when a new member comes here mainly to promote their own business, without taking part in discussions elsewhere on the board.

I can understand that. I wasn't refering to people from this forum. Just the visitors who have been to my site. My annoying plugs can be found all over.

[Joe G]

I've done some online "window shopping"; starting a cart then cancelling the order if it couldn't be saved (not at your site). Didn't know people were keeping track of that.

[Dan Gould]

I've done some online "window shopping"; starting a cart then cancelling the order if it couldn't be saved (not at your site). Didn't know people were keeping track of that.

This has been an issue since the Internet boom started:

How to get people to complete their purchase, and figuring out why they don't. So, Joe, websites have tracked your "window shopping" since you started doing it online!

As far as the problem with this particular website, the usual issues that websites address is how complicated it is to checkout, how many pages does the purchaser have to fill out, and also, how clear is the checkout process? If it says at the top "page 1 of 3" then people know where they are at. Its been shown that some purchasers will bail if they get to a second page and still haven't completed the purchase, they just close their browser

Or, as Hans and Joe suggest, its just a matter of "window shopping". But converting browsers to buyers is going to be critical, so I would look closely at the process of checkout and the clarity of it.

[Rooster_Ties]

Haven't had the chance to check the site closely (so this may well not be a problem with yours), but I might also offer that ALL the various shipping costs and methods better be available, and easily visible before I'll enter any personal info on a site. There's nothing I hate worse than not being able to figure out what the TOTAL cost of my transaction is before I even have to enter my name and address (let along any credit card info). And I simply WON'T buy from any site that requires my credit card info before telling me what the shipping charges are.

Also, do you accept Paypal?? If I didn't know anything about a site (or only knew very little), I'd be more willing to purchace from them for the first time if they took Paypal -- than I would give them my credit card number.

I'll try to give the site a gander later today, if I get the chance.

Edited April 14, 2006 by Rooster_Ties

[Guest akanalog]

for me, the main issue is i like to pay with paypal and a lot of times, i will have a full cart and be ready to finalize my order and i am filling out the info and then it will ask me for the 3 digit security code on the back of my credit card. since i am using a virtual paypal credit card, there is no security code-so i have to ditch my cart and find another store.

you seem european. and i find many online european places ask for a security code, but not as much american stores.

[Guest akanalog]

oh weird. you are not european.

well you don't seem to have much inventory up yet.

[jazzmusicdepot]

for me, the main issue is i like to pay with paypal and a lot of times, i will have a full cart and be ready to finalize my order and i am filling out the info and then it will ask me for the 3 digit security code on the back of my credit card. since i am using a virtual paypal credit card, there is no security code-so i have to ditch my cart and find another store.

you seem european. and i find many online european places ask for a security code, but not as much american stores.

I will look into it and make sure the shipping costs are mentioed before the credit card is requested. And yes, I do take pay pal. I thought that the pay pal thing was turning people away. Because the way it looked on my site, seemed that pay pal was the onlyt way to pay. I need to look into all a little better. Im from New York, my poor grammer and bad spelling makes it look like im from another country. Thanks for the information guys!!!

[J.A.W.]

Im from New York, my poor grammer and bad spelling makes it look like im from another country.

Not necessarily...

[jazzmusicdepot]

Im from New York, my poor grammer and bad spelling makes it look like im from another country.

Not necessarily...

Ok, maybe I sound like someone from another country that didnt make it past 6th grade.

[J.A.W.]

Im from New York, my poor grammer and bad spelling makes it look like im from another country.

Not necessarily...

Ok, maybe I sound like someone from another country that didnt make it past 6th grade.

I didn't say that... What I meant was that poor grammar and bad spelling don't necessarily mean one's from another country.

Edited April 14, 2006 by J.A.W.

[jazzmusicdepot]

Haven't had the chance to check the site closely (so this may well not be a problem with yours), but I might also offer that ALL the various shipping costs and methods better be available, and easily visible before I'll enter any personal info on a site. There's nothing I hate worse than not being able to figure out what the TOTAL cost of my transaction is before I even have to enter my name and address (let along any credit card info). And I simply WON'T buy from any site that requires my credit card info before telling me what the shipping charges are.

Also, do you accept Paypal?? If I didn't know anything about a site (or only knew very little), I'd be more willing to purchace from them for the first time if they took Paypal -- than I would give them my credit card number.

I'll try to give the site a gander later today, if I get the chance.

I just set it up to show shipping costs before information is requested. Very good suggestion!! Thanks

[Guest akanalog]

well i thought you were european because you didn't seem to have a totally solid grip on spelling and grammar and syntax, etc etc.

however now that we have established that you are a red blooded american-you might want to you know, check spelling and grammar and stuff like that because you want people to look at you as a business and give you money and everything so you have to establish your credibility and dignity and stuff.

http://ejazzlines.com/

this is a link to an online store i have used and that i would use again.

why did i use them?

well i was able to find some hard to find items there and i like how the guy categorizes his stuff.

maybe it would be helpful to at least see how other people model it?

[Guest akanalog]

i'm not trying to dog your spelling and whatnot-

just you know, i see you are trying to be "professional" so..

i mean if i buy discs from a guy on the org board, for instance-if it takes them a few weeks to get there, it's fine. because it is just some guy or gal trying to make some cash.

but if i bought these discs from an amazon or ebay seller, i would be pissed. because this person was presenting themself as more "professional". at least, IMO.

[J.A.W.]

well i thought you were european because you didn't seem to have a totally solid grip on spelling and grammar and syntax, etc etc.

however now that we have established that you are a red blooded american-you might want to you know, check spelling and grammar and stuff like that because you want people to look at you as a business and give you money and everything so you have to establish your credibility and dignity and stuff.

i'm not trying to dog your spelling and whatnot-

just you know, i see you are trying to be "professional" so..

i mean if i buy discs from a guy on the org board, for instance-if it takes them a few weeks to get there, it's fine. because it is just some guy or gal trying to make some cash.

but if i bought these discs from an amazon or ebay seller, i would be pissed. because this person was presenting themself as more "professional". at least, IMO.

I agree with you re grammar and spelling, but shouldn't that be "themselves"? (them = plural)

Edited April 14, 2006 by J.A.W.

[Guest akanalog]

hey-i'm not the one trying to start a business here!!!

hehe

[bluesbro]

I do it all the time when the shipping costs/tax is not showed clearly until checkout

[Dave James]

First of all, let me say I agree 100% with akanalog. You're competing with many other online businesses, all of which are trying to move product. To appear to be anything less than professional, be it in the context of spelling, grammar, the "flow' of your site... whatever...does not inspire confidence on the part of your potential customer. I am an absolute stickler when it comes to this. I'm the guy who will write and re-write my posts, post them and then go right to the edit button cuz I'm sure I can express myself more clearly or more concisely. Even the folks at Dusty Groove, with their rather unique approach to product description, express themselves very clearly.

With regard to the shopping cart issue, I would echo what others have said. Many times, I'll use this as a means of isolating in one spot, all the CD's I might be interested in purchasing, thereby getting a handle on what's it's going to cost me if I do pull the trigger. More than a few times, though, I've been ready to hit the submit button on a Dusty Groove order when guilt overcomes me and I decide against it. Call it pre-sale buyer's remorse. I'm guessing that happens as much as 25% of the time.

One thing I like about Amazon that Dusty doesn't do as well, is the way they retain the items you placed in your cart even after you've logged off. That way, every time you put something else in your cart, you're reminded of what you wanted before. That's a "what can it hurt" kind of approach that may from time to time result in a sale you would otherwise not have made.

One last thought, although this may be stating the obvious. Online retail sites are a perfect example of the K.I.S.S. principle (keep it simple, stupid). The less user-friendly they are, the less likely I am to use them.

Up over and out.

[Morganized]

Haven't had the chance to check the site closely (so this may well not be a problem with yours), but I might also offer that ALL the various shipping costs and methods better be available, and easily visible before I'll enter any personal info on a site. There's nothing I hate worse than not being able to figure out what the TOTAL cost of my transaction is before I even have to enter my name and address (let along any credit card info). And I simply WON'T buy from any site that requires my credit card info before telling me what the shipping charges are.

Also, do you accept Paypal?? If I didn't know anything about a site (or only knew very little), I'd be more willing to purchace from them for the first time if they took Paypal -- than I would give them my credit card number.

I'll try to give the site a gander later today, if I get the chance.

I agree with Rooster. There is nothing more annoying than to get ready to purchase and be in the middle of checking out, only to find out that shipping cost change your desire to purchase the item in the first place. At that point I usually just say no thanks.....and speaking of shipping, it is the bane of on line purchases. Many times the shipping cost will make the item more than what you can purchase it for at a brick and mortar. Figure out a way to beat that and you win every time.

[jazzmusicdepot]

I totally agree with the shipping details. I should have fixed that earlier. I believe I have it worked out now

The way the site flows right now, I think is fine. Considering I dont have a whole lot of product in there. If there seems to be a block in that flow or anything else. Please bring it to my attentioin. I will be adding more items every day. The chances of me messing something up are pretty good.

Thanks everyone for the help so far!

[Rooster_Ties]

I agree with Rooster. There is nothing more annoying than to get ready to purchase and be in the middle of checking out, only to find out that shipping cost change your desire to purchase the item in the first place. At that point I usually just say no thanks.....and speaking of shipping, it is the bane of on line purchases. Many times the shipping cost will make the item more than what you can purchase it for at a brick and mortar. Figure out a way to beat that and you win every time.

Shipping charges are, way more often than not, the real deal-breaker.

In the best of cases, I want to find enough stuff to buy (all in one transaction), such that the shipping doesn't set me back any more than about $1 per disc. So $5 shipping on 5 discs is good, but $5 on 2 or even 3 discs is bad (and a deal-breaker).

I only buy from Dusty (or Mosaic too, for that matter) when I can find enough stuff (all at once) such that I can spread the shipping cost across many items. I'm always looking at "total cost per item" as my final reason to buy (or not buy), as the case may be.

As such, I usually only buy from Mosaic about once every two or three years, but when I do - I usually get LOTS and LOTS of stuff all at one time (my last order with them was over $400, but I hadn't ordered from them in almost 4 years). I only order from Dusty about four times per year, but I rarely spend any less than $100 per order. Ususally two or three buddies of mine all go in together on one order, to save even more on shipping.

[Alexander Hawkins]

well i thought you were european because you didn't seem to have a totally solid grip on spelling and grammar and syntax, etc etc.

however now that we have established that you are a red blooded american-you might want to you know, check spelling and grammar and stuff like that because you want people to look at you as a business and give you money and everything so you have to establish your credibility and dignity and stuff.

i'm not trying to dog your spelling and whatnot-

just you know, i see you are trying to be "professional" so..

i mean if i buy discs from a guy on the org board, for instance-if it takes them a few weeks to get there, it's fine. because it is just some guy or gal trying to make some cash.

but if i bought these discs from an amazon or ebay seller, i would be pissed. because this person was presenting themself as more "professional". at least, IMO.

I agree with you re grammar and spelling, but shouldn't that be "themselves"? (them = plural)

I'd agree with you, although Oxford University Press usage - a barometer for many academics here in the UK - has recently changed to allow 'they'/'them' as gender neutral singulars...

[couw]

well i thought you were european because you didn't seem to have a totally solid grip on spelling and grammar and syntax, etc etc.

however now that we have established that you are a red blooded american-you might want to you know, check spelling and grammar and stuff like that because you want people to look at you as a business and give you money and everything so you have to establish your credibility and dignity and stuff.

i'm not trying to dog your spelling and whatnot-

just you know, i see you are trying to be "professional" so..

i mean if i buy discs from a guy on the org board, for instance-if it takes them a few weeks to get there, it's fine. because it is just some guy or gal trying to make some cash.

but if i bought these discs from an amazon or ebay seller, i would be pissed. because this person was presenting themself as more "professional". at least, IMO.

I agree with you re grammar and spelling, but shouldn't that be "themselves"? (them = plural)

I'd agree with you, although Oxford University Press usage - a barometer for many academics here in the UK - has recently changed to allow 'they'/'them' as gender neutral singulars...

Amazing, and they added "themself" as a nice and popular way to refer to "this person", I guess. Moreso, they were probably not using any capital letters either. Oxford University Press: go and eat earwax!