TulipTools Internet Business Owners and Online Sellers Community

[quote author=chiquita link=topic=3775.msg47385#msg47385 date=1174240574]

Moon I am in love love love with your dolphin mould. Maybe you can teach me how to be crafty. I suck.



I do however write a pretty good Raybil tune every now and again.

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I love your tunes - can never figure out how you get all the words to fit just right - but I've found myself more than once signing them! Out of tune, mind you, but I suppose the creaky voice goes along with the shifty site the tune's about?

Molds - I mostly cast soap and resin - easy, easy, easy to do! Just pour in and let cure. Plaster's a cheap way to learn though - inexpensive and you can make some great gifts - but I'll tell ya upfront, it's a highly addictive hobby and soon takes over your house, basement, front porch, back porch...  :blinkie:

Quote:Edited to add: Good to hear that your hubby is home and feeling a bit better! (Just having good to hear kinda made it sound weird to me, so thought I should clean it up!)

Moon lol I knew what you meant.

[quote author=chiquita link=topic=3775.msg47385#msg47385 date=1174240574]
Thank You everybody for your support.


Scoop, every since you first came to TT I have had respect for you. I congratulate you for your courage. I also believe that what you posted, and what so many other wonderful former sellers on WP have shared will not go unnoticed. Whenever you speak from the heart, it resonates with others.
Good luck to you with all your new business venues.


Moon I am in love love love with your dolphin mould. Maybe you can teach me how to be crafty. I suck.



I do however write a pretty good Raybil tune every now and again.

[/quote]

Chiquita thanks.  I had a bad feeling when WP started their new board policy and deleting post.  I don't think any post should be deleted unless it were something that was threatning to another or something like that.  I think everyone's opinion should be heard whether we agree with them or not.  This is how we learn and grow and things need to be debated.  I just didn't see sellers being afraid to post their true thoughts as a good thing.

Because of this policy WP has become stagnant.  They don't want to hear what the sellers think.  They are going to do things their way and that's it.  All they want to hear are things like thats great to any announement they may have. 

Some thought the solution to this was to have a private forum where WP sellers could express things they could not on WP boards.  I thought this really is not the solution.  First WP still will not know what the sellers are thinking and second this does not fix how the WP community looks to others. This stuff should be being discussed at WP on their boards.

Myself and some of the others tried to express how we felt about the phone verification policy(which I thought was a very bad idea) and got nowhere.  We expressed this on the board and through email.  WP came back with stuff like how their statistics showed it had already lowered NPB and that most sellers wanted it.  Well I think this was a bunch of  .  First of all this was only a few days into it how could they possibly have statistics like that and second I really don't think that most sellers wanted it.

They also said that their information showed that most people would take the time to do the phone verification.  Again I don't know where they are getting their numbers from.  Myself and some of the other sellers conducted our own little surveys with family, friends, co-workers.  I think maybe out of all of us we got one yes and a couple of maybes the rest were no they would not.  I know I had asked around 24 people the responses were all no and one maybe.

[quote author=scoop link=topic=3775.msg47387#msg47387 date=1174243459]Myself and some of the others tried to express how we felt about the phone verification policy(which I thought was a very bad idea) and got nowhere.  We expressed this on the board and through email.  WP came back with stuff like how their statistics showed it had already lowered NPB and that most sellers wanted it.  Well I think this was a bunch of  .  First of all this was only a few days into it how could they possibly have statistics like that and second I really don't think that most sellers wanted it.
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One argument against it was what happens to those buyers using dial up net services. Answered with cell phone numbers are also acceptable.

Then what if folks don't use a cell phone. WP came back with statistics pulled from their butt about how most everyone has cell phones, so that was a foolish worry to have.

I used to have a cell phone but no longer do. Though I do have dsl, phone verification is a PITA to do and unless I saw something I couldn't live without, extremely doutful I'd do it (had to do it for Google and kept missing the call!).

Now being in New York, maybe it's not taken into consideration there are gobs of folks who live in the country who don't have dsl and don't have cell phones... so no matter the justification behind phone verification, by implementing it, tons of potential sales are being lost.

[quote author=moonMAJiC link=topic=3775.msg47388#msg47388 date=1174248131]

One argument against it was what happens to those buyers using dial up net services. Answered with cell phone numbers are also acceptable.

Then what if folks don't use a cell phone. WP came back with statistics pulled from their butt about how most everyone has cell phones, so that was a foolish worry to have.
[/quote]

Keep in mind that buyers often don't even want to be forced to register on a site to purchase items. This is one thing that some don't like about the zen cart, which requires buyers register. I don't mind registering on a website.

I recently had to do a phone verification, and two different sign ins through email, but this was for obtaining an SSL certificate. Not only did I not mind, but appreciated the levels of security that were in place. An SSL certificate is an important item.
WP however is another story. Another thing that happened when I phone verified is that the site gave you the option of a timed delay call just in case you were on dial up. WP didn't even spring for that enhancement.

The biggest problem with WP from the beginning is that Ray designed it with the sole focus of recruiting sellers and getting them to sign up for stores. The site has never been geared towards buyers. If anything there are so many obstacles for buyers it isn't surprising that some sellers had a difficult time getting sales.

All so called site enhancements have also been aimed at recruitment of sellers. You have to focus on the buyer experience starting with an easy to navigate site, functional search, easy checkout, and immediate payment. Ray won't pay a coder to fix these. As far as Ray sees it WP is all it needs to be to meet his only goal, and that is sellers who pay him 9.95 every month. The FVF are just icing, but you can't predict how much money that is each month. He knows his bottom line though from store fees.

Quote:I gave WP the benifit of doubt as I did not know the sellers too well who made claims of unprofessional business practices against WP... Maybe these other sellers in the beginning were right.

The only reason we were right from the beginning was because we'd started diversifying away from eBay years ago and had already been screwed by Ray-types in the past and knew what to look out for (and we knew Ray from FAS and knew how he operated).  I think every seller goes through the same learning curve when they first branch out and in the end emerges as a stronger seller because of their bad experiences/mistakes.

Quote:   Myself and some of the other sellers conducted our own little surveys with family, friends, co-workers.  I think maybe out of all of us we got one yes and a couple of maybes the rest were no they would not.  I know I had asked around 24 people the responses were all no and one maybe.

Phone verification was/is a huge mistake if your site relies on buyers from search engines (who are a different breed of buyer than eBay buyers).

Quote:WP has become stagnant.  They don't want to hear what the sellers think.  They are going to do things their way and that's it.

Ray was like that during WP1 too.  He asks for input to make sellers believe they have a voice but in reality the issue was decided before he ever asked sellers. "We the People" will be like eBay's "Voices of the Community"--powerless to make changes.

Quote:Good to hear that your hubby is home and feeling a bit better!

:ditto:

let the truth be told
u1it4less - "it's all in the name.."

[quote author=chiquita link=topic=3775.msg47389#msg47389 date=1174251810]
The biggest problem with WP from the beginning is that Ray designed it with the sole focus of recruiting sellers and getting them to sign up for stores. The site has never been geared towards buyers. If anything there are so many obstacles for buyers it isn't surprising that some sellers had a difficult time getting sales.

All so called site enhancements have also been aimed at recruitment of sellers.

[/quote]

That's just it! I would think ANY person who went into ANY business would know and understand your business has to be nurtured along to grow. I guess his business did do some major growing for awhile, and as long as sellers keep signing up, his bills will be paid each month... but to get sellers to stay he really needs to wake up at some point and do something to nurture his business by nurturing the growth of theirs.

Then again, really, with all the bad about WP1 and how WP2 seems to be following closely in it's footsteps, I'm not sure he could pull WP into being a productive site no matter how much nurturing he'd do... and that's not saying I think it will ever be done.

He's not helping or listening to what sellers need to grow and prosper on his site - his pockets have gotten a lot thinner recently and I see this happening more and more and sellers realize who's actually profiting from them setting up shop there. And still a totally deaf ear is turned to the sellers who want answers to some legit business questions.

And! To top it off! All the frigging hoopla surround the Grand Opening! I'll admit, I left before it ever happened - didn't see it coming into anything really - but to post all that gibber on the forums over there - to openly declare something and then just a huge plop of nothing!

I would think even some of the more loyal sellers there had to take a stand back for a serious look at all the promises not lived up to?

Scoop, glad to here hubby is doing better.  Best wishes on a speedy recovery.

Super glad you are out!  I love your things - just wouldn't buy from WP.

Scoop,
How would you like to be a TT beauty consultant. 
I have never tried mineral makeup before, but want to. So how much makeup will it take to hide wrinkles, skin discoloration, and have the results make me look like Selma Hayek?

:blinkie: :blinkie: :blinkie:

I know the answer.
A semi-truck load wouldn't even be able to do it.


Seriously though, if you are fair skinned, with the beginning signs of discoloration, which shade is a good one.
BTW your prices are awesome.

chiquita,

I have used mineral makeup for years.  Unfortunately, until recently, all you could get was the high dollar stuff.  I'm tickled pink that I am able to cancel my autoship now that it looks like I have a new supplier.

You will love it!