Web site - Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Message Board

Pajaro · 09-13-2007, 02:33 PM

I may be over stepping my boundaries here. But I was wondering if any of you folks that have web sites could offer me some suggestion. I have had mine for two years now and it just is not doing very well. I have been told by some that it the product I'm selling is not in demand. Other say that scroll work is something that is purchased on the spur of the moment and if one thinks about it, one may change their minds. And a few say it is the way it is displayed. My site is listed on several search engines. I could use any suggestions or comments (good or bad) I can get.

Thanks from Hombre del Pájaro de Fernald.

Neal Moore · 09-13-2007, 04:19 PM

I was looking at the Chinese Tea Table on your website. Seems to me that you would be selling them as fast as you can make them for that price!!!

Pajaro · 09-13-2007, 04:49 PM

Thanks Neal!!!!!!!!!! I did have the wrong price there.

workin for wood · 09-13-2007, 08:58 PM

The economy is brutal. My thoughts are to make better items that take way longer to do. If I can get down to making about 2 or 3 a year, then I can hold off on building an addition to store my artwork. They'll be so crazy and therefore would be so expensive to offer for sale that nobody would buy them, but I'd still enjoy building them and looking at them on my walls. I have only sold a couple pictures in all my years of scrolling, and I find it hurts to see them go. At least when I gift something, I can go visit it.

I guess you have to calculate the cost of the website versus profit from it. I have a website and it is completely free, Thanx to Bob. You can just go into the gallery and look me up. If I meet someone that wants to see some of my stuff, I send them here. That's pretty rare of course, but my family can come here and see my stuff anytime they want, and see anything new I might be doing, or show their friends. I can only promise, I'm not going to be quitting my day job anytime too soon!

Pajaro · 09-13-2007, 09:20 PM

Good point Jeff. Right now I only interested getting something to help cover the cost of the sawdust I make. I'm having fun and have made tons of stuff for family and friends. Most of it to big and expensive to try to ship. And I have run out of family and friends to give them to. Seems like they run away screaming " OH NOOOOOO, now what is he bringing this time", everytime I go see them.

I will keep my day job, and my night job and my in between job for the time being . Just want something to do when I retire. Thankee.

PS Good luck on your trucking campaign!

Jediscroller · 09-13-2007, 09:45 PM

I keep hearing about how "bad" the economy is, yet my sales are up tremendously. Every crafter I talk to is seeing a big increase in sales as well. Shows are really picking up, orders are coming in and this is in spite of my across the board 15% price increases. I've sold more high-end pieces this year than ever before and took a $1000 deposit on a $2000 order on Sunday. So, if this is a bad economy, I hope it stays this way (did I mention it took me 1 day to find a new job when I decided I was tired of my 3 hour a day commute?).
As far as sales from your website, I think this type of work just doesn't do well via websites. It seems to me that most folks' reaction when they see a piece in person is "wow, this looks amazing in person." I can't remember the last time I updated my site (the woodworking site, not the pattern one). I think I got 2 orders over 4 years from it.

GrayBeard Phil · 09-13-2007, 10:10 PM

How many hits per day does your web site get?

Have you done any calculations on the ratio of hits per day / number of sales? (Not $$ amount, but just sales count. If you get two sale in 7 days, then you need total web site hits in that one week, divided by 7 days, and then divided again by the two sales.)

Remember, on the web, the buyers have to know you are there, and they have to be able to link to your site. Can a neighbor's computer find your site by some Google, yahoo, or ask.com search query on your products? What search query did you have to use for your site to be listed on first page? Now think the likelihood of someone entering that search query for your products worded as is.

Sad fact (a fact as far as I know it to be true) but a lot of people who would purchase your product might 1st search Ebay with some query of a product. Is your competition of similar products selling on Ebay? How many vendors? what is the price of the items sold? Are your prices in same range as ending bids on Ebay (look at a full month of data.)

Sorry to be so cold hearted with my questions. But you really need to know the facts of how many customers are finding your site.

Phil

workin for wood · 09-13-2007, 10:19 PM

I'm sure the economy depends where you live too. Here in michigan there is a mass exodus of people that began about 20yrs ago and has been snowballing really fast the last 8 yrs. Detroit is hardly even a city anymore. Used to be near 3 million and now is under 500,000 ! All the big companies and banks are leaving the state. The automotive industry is the biggest moneymaker in the state, hence motor city, and it is tanking as we all know. Housing market is dropping like a rock, my house value dropped %10 since last year! 1 in 20 houses in my town are for sale and I live in the best economic part of the state, near Lansing. Our state is in a monster deficit with incompetant leadership. Any tax hike you can imagine is on the table. They ordered our housing taxes 6 months in advance ! The biggest bank in the state baled out and moved to Texas. There is no end in site too. Crime is on the rise as cities and the state can't afford their police budgets. In a few cities, they are no longer fighting fires if the fire was in an abandoned building, so you better not be a homeless person seeking refuge there! There is recall initiatives that have started, to get rid of some of these politicians. But there is no solution to our ultimate plyte here in michigan and I sure don't know what they even can do about it. The do say on the radio talk shows that eventually the rest of the country will feel our pain as we will drag you down with us in the end. My personal opinion is outsourcing has dragged us to this level. They do say that eventually outsourcing will be a good thing because over time, wages in other countries will catch up to ours because of their booming industry...and that makes some sense to me, but if it's true, how long will it take ?!?!

Jediscroller · 09-13-2007, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrayBeard Phil

How many hits per day does your web site get?

Have you done any calculations on the ratio of hits per day / number of sales? (Not $$ amount, but just sales count. If you get two sale in 7 days, then you need total web site hits in that one week, divided by 7 days, and then divided again by the two sales.)

Remember, on the web, the buyers have to know you are there, and they have to be able to link to your site. Can a neighbor's computer find your site by some Google, yahoo, or ask.com search query on your products? What search query did you have to use for your site to be listed on first page? Now think the likelihood of someone entering that search query for your products worded as is.

Sad fact (a fact as far as I know it to be true) but a lot of people who would purchase your product might 1st search Ebay with some query of a product. Is your competition of similar products selling on Ebay? How many vendors? what is the price of the items sold? Are your prices in same range as ending bids on Ebay (look at a full month of data.)

Sorry to be so cold hearted with my questions. But you really need to know the facts of how many customers are finding your site.

Phil

Phil,
Were you asking me or Pajaro? If me, my pattern site gets about 100 hits a day and is in the top 10 on yahoo, msn and sometimes on google. My woodcraft site I don't even bother with statistics, I have enough business without it.
Jeff,
I've heard a lot of the horror stories about Michigan, and I know a lot of former auto-workers are moving West (Wisonsin or Wyoming? I forget which) as they have more jobs than people. I have a few crafter friends in Michigan and they're reporting the same kinds of sales growth so there must be pockets of folks in Michigan doing well also. The industry I've worked in the past 4 years has been automotive btw.

workin for wood · 09-13-2007, 11:49 PM

No doubt you're right Kevin. I hear things are good way up north, like in the U.P. which is all tourists. That has to be a great place to craft. I don't have experience with web sales, but have to figure no matter where you are, sales will be better at a show than on the web. People can see you and your product first hand. Is there anyone selling scroll stuff online successfully? Do you do pretty good through web sales Kev? I'm just asking in curiosity. There's so many factors and variables involved, who knows. How would someone present the stuff online, how people pay, easy of surfing the site and whatever else.