[quote author=sherrand link=topic=3775.msg58743#msg58743 date=1183335722]
Poppers, sit up and pay attention. I'm talking to you...
Yeah you! If you want to stick it out fine. It's your funeral. But don't be a pallbearer helping to lower your store into the grave. Many of you are shooting yourselves in the foot. You don't need any help from the miscreant, naysaying, cyberstalking TTers. You are turning buyers sour on you and WP through your own sloppy maintenance. So are you willing to take some advice from the enemy? Some constructive criticism? Then read on - otherwise bug off, you're hopeless.
1. Don't put or leave eBay links in your listings - you're sending potential outside buyers right back to the place you are running away from. Duh. You're trying to sell on WP - not play Ring Around The Rosie.
2. Don't use eBay stamped pictures - it demonstrates laziness on your part, that you can't be bothered to load a new one. That logo is internationally recognized. And a buyer will think that laziness personifies your ethics as a seller. As in no qualms about stealing, bending rules and other non-attractive traits. Unless these are characteristics you truly own. In that case pardon me.
3. Clean up your WP Friend pages. I went through every one. Only 2 are up to date. The rest are riddled with links to closed stores. I found one that has 19 logo/links - and 12 of them lead to closed stores. Yep that sure instills confidence in your "I Love This Trusted Seller" mantra. Nostalgia is great but I don't think your intent is to portray yourselves as archaeologists dwelling on the past.
4. When you've created a page or a listing. Test, check, retest, recheck the links you have included to ensure they function and that they take a browsing customer to where you wish to direct them. I found one that was supposed to go to a second store but it cycled right back to the 1st one. I found another that pointed to a closed store. Are these sellers used to appearing inept?
5. Polish up and correct the errors in your HTML code. There are a number of them in WP stores. If you aren't sure how to fix them then seek the help of other sellers in the wonderful community you think you are a part of.
6. And shame on you sellers that still have logos and links to Bric's Mini Mall which has been gone for months! Yep that will really get a buyers juices going when he/she can't find it. How polished is that? Also, for the others with a link to COS (Circle of Stores) they've folded too. The domain name is parked and the site is gone. Get with the program.
7. Stop advertising in your header that you are "new to Wagglepop". Man is that getting tiring. WP isn't new - it's over a year old. Many of these culprits have been there for that year or just less for crying out loud. Does time always pass that slowly in your world? Is your 8 year old still in diapers? Do you think Elvis is still alive?
A buyer will be turned off in a nanosecond when you include content that is sloppy, dead or redundant. All the tools available on the Internet to present a dynamite store won't help you if you don't do some housecleaning yourself once in a while. And many of you are guilty of this. So check your own mailbox first before you post crap about us and our so called influence. The presentation of your store is a representation of you, your business commitment, your word. You can scream till the cows come home that you are an honest, dependable, dedicated seller. But if the little details of and about your store don't support this - you are whistling at the wind. Call this a tough love wake-up.
I have link examples to back up every point I've made here. I don't want to embarrass any seller on WP by posting them publicly. But I will share if anyone wishes to PM me. And I extend that invitation to the lurkers too.
[/quote]
And within 2 hours of me making this post one shows up on WP:
Quote:xxxxxxxxxxxxx 01 Jul 2007 13:59  Â
I am in on this contest too. I don't mind keeping totals on a weekly basis, if eveyone who wants and will email them to me, but only once a week. I have a whole excel program set up to keep track of totals. I will also donate another prize of a $10.00 Gift certficate to my store. I am doing a whole big Christmas in July Sale starting tomorrow with some new items!
* I would like to add another part to the challenge.... I would like to challenge anyone who has some clean up work to do on their store to maybe use some time to check pages. I have noticed sellers with a lot of friends on their pages that are no longer with us and those should be removed and update. Just a thought, not trying to cause any trouble here.
I still have some auctions that say forget feebay on them, I really think it's time for me to remove all of those and just move on. I have slowing removing the ones I find in my auction, but I know there is more for me to do.
Cheers!
xxxxx
Wonder where she "noticed" it...
and this little tidbit further down in the thread:
Quote:Happy Listing, Polishing, and Selling to Everyone!!!
I should charge them a consulting fee. How does $9.95 sound?Â