TulipTools Internet Business Owners and Online Sellers Community

Quote:10 Jun 2007 15:57       


First, I have a comment about "negative" posts. I think that publicly posting a "negative" post has the potential to turn off would-be buyers. I am an eBay education specialist and I teach my students NOT to be negative in their auction descriptions because I think nothing makes a GOOD buyer run away faster than "I will report you and leave you negative feedback for nonpayment" and "Don't bid on my stuff if you don't intend on paying", etc. A potential buyer sees that seller as hostile and would think "How would this seller handle a problem with my order if there was one?... well, I don't want to find out. Next seller please." Buyers also peruse community boards and they do know who are the frustrated, hostile, negative sellers. No one expects a bright sunny cheerleader doing cartwheels when it is raining cats and dogs outside... but who wants to be stuck indoors with someone who is forever moaning about the bad weather all day? Here in Texas we have had storm after storm after storm... flooding for months... and my kids have had several of their baseball games cancelled. You know what we did in the last storm? We bought hula hoops, pushed the table and couch to one side of the living room and we spent the day hula hooping. Better than staring outside at the rain puddles and crying about missed baseball games. You get the point.

Continuting with my "negativity" comment... what does it matter if one of your posts was pulled? Will knowing the reason change anything (for you or for others) and why do you think you are entitled to get a public acknowledgement of your removed post? I know this comment is not going to endear me to most people but I just had to say it. If WP doesn't work for you then part ways with the site on good terms -- pay your outstanding bill and then go try something else. Email those customers or other sellers who have become your friends to tell them you are "moving on" and then do it... move on. Let others here have a chance to sell their wares and perhaps some day in the future you might want to come back ... and having left on good terms, I am sure you'll be welcomed back with open arms.

I am here to give Wagglepop a try. I'm willing to invest several months of time and money to try, during which time I will not rely solely on WP to promote my items for me. If it doesn't work for me then I'll close my store and I'll do so with respect for the owners of this site; I'll thank them for allowing me advertise my wares here by paying any outstanding bill. Then I'll continue buying from other WP sellers if I am still interested in their products and their good customer service. I view my selling relationship with WP as one in which I am buying an advertising space here on their spot that they won and that they have spent time and money building. Our company pays thousands of dollars a year in advertising, some of which we see an instant return and some of which we never see a return on. If a particular advertising venue doesn't work for us then we move on and try something else until we find something that works.

Now having said all of that......

I was wondering what brought each of you here? Specifically, what brought you to WP rather than some other auction site?

For me personally, I was looking for an alternative to the big "E" to supplement by sales. There are many reasons I have been wanting to try some alternative auction sites. I SPECIFICALLY chose Wagglepop because:

1. First impression was great. The site looks crisp, good colors, sharp professional lines, and doesn't have google ads plastered all over it. Very warm and inviting. Very professional.

2. After researching I saw that many sellers had obviously taken the time to create wonderful stores. I could see the effort and caring that had gone into creating some of the stores and stocking the WP stores with lots of different inventory. It made me want to buy... and I did! I've purchased from three different sellers so far and I'm no where near done purchasing from other sellers.

3. When I joined, the community board posts were mostly positive and there seemed to be a sense of "community". And I saw the caretakers of WP attempting to make improvements for sellers and taking an interest in improving the site. I do not envy them. [b]I know what it takes to manage a website and I cannot even imagine what they must have to do to manage an auction website. My hats are off to them. I respect them and am willing to give WP a try without putting the entire burden of "generating traffic" on their shoulders. It's all about the people... the owners of the site and the other sellers. I hope to get the opportunity to purchase from a good many other sellers and really look forward to getting to know what each one specializes in that makes them and their stores so special and unique. I like purchasing from a seller who is obviously passionate about their wares, which I see a great deal of (passion) here at Wagglepop.

This question may have been asked before (forgive me I'm a newbie): Was there a particular reason that you chose to open a Wagglepop store?