If you own a knife selling website, please read this

J

jskelton

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I'd like to offer you a bit of perspective if you don't mind.

Ever wonder if your sales could be a bit better? Ever wonder what might help you achieve that? read on....


Over the last 10 days or so, I have been laid up from a minor surgery, so out of boredom, I have been doing a lot of knife shopping (you can see my purchase results here: (http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=721332) and during this time I can bet I've hit probably 80% of all websites on the entire internet doing my shopping. Days and days of scouring the 'net for the right knives, for the right prices... so with all of this back to back shopping, I've realized I have a few pet-peeves. Because of this extra free time I have seen most every website you can imagine, and here's what I've come away with:



1) If it ain't in stock... DON'T FRIGGIN LIST IT.

Seriously. Nothing is more annoying than doing a Google search for a specific knife I really want, and I get directed to you... and you don't have it. Or I'm already on your site, and as I scroll through I see my next dream knife.. I click it... it takes me to the product page... I read on, I drool, I get ready... and in small print "sold out".. WTF

This is especially true for custom knifemaker's websites. Thankfully most now have a special link (hint hint for those that don't...) that is called "AVAILABLE" and that takes you to only available knives for purchase.

Ok, so now some actually say "item shown no longer in stock, but remains listed for reference..." BS, create an archive page for reference, stop screwing with our heads. It really makes us mad.

Especially on a completely discontinued item. You even write "this item is discontinued". So you know it... TAKE IT DOWN, or send it to an archive page!!!!!



2) 'ENLARGE IMAGE' should actually... you know... ENLARGE the image.

I really want to see some of the detail in this $500 knife, let me click where it says "enlarge image"... WTF, the image is EXACTLY the same size, or SMALLER.


3) "Call for price" just pisses us off.

Guess what... I shop online because I DON'T want to call anyone for prices. I want to click, see price, click and buy. I understand if you're a knifemaker and are offering a zillion options, ok.. we get that. but if you're a reseller displaying a standard no option knife without a price on it... I will spend my money elsewhere, and so will most people.

Why?

Well for one, most folks believe "call for price" simply means "Our pricing is asenine and this is so expensive we don't want to scare off folks who see it". In some cases (not all) this is absolutely true.

Also... its just a PITA. As stated above, I am shopping online for convenience, I don't want to call you for a price. I'm sure you're a swell dude with a great personality and maybe the sexiest voice I've ever heard... but I just wanna buy a knife dude.


Hopefully some others will add their peeves & preferences as well. This way you'll know what NOT to do. I passed on a lot of offers this week during my shopping due to the exact issues outlined above... don't miss out on important sales when you can prevent the customer from clicking away!

:thumbup:
 
I definitely agree about the "enlarge image" statement. That drives me nuts!

Hope you recover quickly!
 
+1 on the enlarge image thing. WTF? If you're not going to enlarge it, why not just have the link say "see exact same tiny thumbnail-sized image in its own window that takes up your whole screen." Wow, there's a useful feature!

Sometimes it can be useful to list out-of-stock items though, IF they actually plan on getting them back in stock. I'm willing to back-order and wait a couple weeks if the price is right.
 
I agree with everything you say. I want to see only the knives in stock, or at least indicate that the knife is out of stock without making me click on it.
 
F***kin great post, should be a sticky. :thumbup:

My number one gripe is crappy, small photographs of ONE side of the knife. And no pic of the sheath when its a fixed blade.

Like, what, is the sheath not important in a fixed blade? Gimme a break. :rolleyes:
 
A lot of times these pics are copied from the manufacturer. But my biggest peeve is when they show only one side of the knife, as BH noted above, because I want to see what type of clip it has and where the clip is placed, because that does figure in to my knife buying.:)
 
Nice, this was moved to an area where it won't be seen.

It's not really "good bad or ugly" material as I'm not commenting on a sale experience with one particular dealer.

Oh well, this WAS a good and relevant topic, shame no one will see it now in this dead room.
 
Buffalohump said:
F***kin great post, should be a sticky. :thumbup:

My number one gripe is crappy, small photographs of ONE side of the knife. And no pic of the sheath when its a fixed blade.

Like, what, is the sheath not important in a fixed blade? Gimme a break. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

cutter17 said:
A lot of times these pics are copied from the manufacturer. But my biggest peeve is when they show only one side of the knife, as BH noted above, because I want to see what type of clip it has and where the clip is placed, because that does figure in to my knife buying.:)
Click to expand...


2 more EXCELLENT points!
 
I know my site automatically bumps off anything that isn't in stock, and the bladeforums dealers here are all great guys. A personal favorite that I like to order from when I don't have it is bladehq. He has pictures of both the front and back and it clearly states if it's in stock or not right up front. I've had great buying experiences with them and would recommend you taking a look there :thumbup:

Take care and get well soon, J.
 
I guess I should explain about "call for price." I don't use it myself but I can explain why people do it. Some manufacturers have MAP or minimum advertised price policies. Those policies are designed to keep prices high. They are certainly not in the best interests of the knife buyers.

In most cases, manufacturers will cut off a dealer who advertises below the MAP price. So if a dealer wants to sell below MAP, he has little choice but to keep his discounts away from the public. It may be a hassle for you but it is actually in your best interests. If you prefer to pay the MAP price, then you can avoid dealers who list "Call for Price." If you want a lower price, then make the call.

MAP policies generally don't work and never result in higher sales for the manufacturer. They do it to appease dealers who complain about internet pricing. Marketing by appeasing complainers, I guess you could call it.

The newest MAP policy is from Victorinox. So this is a good time to buy a Swiss Army knife. Whether they are able to enforce their MAP policy is yet to be seen but they will certainly try. I've already received an arrogant and threatening letter from them. I'm sure everyone else has too.

Hope that helps put some perspective on things.
 
great post lol I absolutely hate when site list products they don't have in stock. I have dealt with it sooo many times, I now email first to see whats is stock before I buy it. Once or twice I finished ordering an item and everything was fine, until the next morning I got a call from the site saying the item is not in stock and they could not locate it at all with any manufacturer.
 
Knife Outlet said:
I guess I should explain about "call for price." I don't use it myself but I can explain why people do it. Some manufacturers have MAP or minimum advertised price policies. Those policies are designed to keep prices high. They are certainly not in the best interests of the knife buyers.

In most cases, manufacturers will cut off a dealer who advertises below the MAP price. So if a dealer wants to sell below MAP, he has little choice but to keep his discounts away from the public. It may be a hassle for you but it is actually in your best interests. If you prefer to pay the MAP price, then you can avoid dealers who list "Call for Price." If you want a lower price, then make the call.

MAP policies generally don't work and never result in higher sales for the manufacturer. They do it to appease dealers who complain about internet pricing. Marketing by appeasing complainers, I guess you could call it.

The newest MAP policy is from Victorinox. So this is a good time to buy a Swiss Army knife. Whether they are able to enforce their MAP policy is yet to be seen but they will certainly try. I've already received an arrogant and threatening letter from them. I'm sure everyone else has too.

Hope that helps put some perspective on things.
Click to expand...


Manufacturer price fixing is illegal. Anyone experiencing this should contact an attorney and/or the FTC.

The term "MSRP" stands for Manufacturer's SUGGESTED Retail Price. They can suggest all they want, but it is up to the reseller as to how much proft they can or will make.

Why do manufacturers get away with it if its illegal? Because it is very expensive to fight in court.
 
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jskelton said:
Manufacturer price fixing is illegal. Anyone experiencing this should contact an attorney and/or the FTC.

The term "MSRP" stands for Manufacturer's SUGGESTED Retail Price. They can suggest all they want, but it is up to the reseller as to how much proft they can or will make.

Why do manufacturers get away with it if its illegal? Because it is very expensive to fight in court.
Click to expand...

Can you cite this law please? I'm not trolling, I am legitimately curious. This is the first I heard of MAP Policies being illegal.
 
Price fixing may be illegal, but MAP is Minimum Advertised Price. The dealer can still sell for less, he just can't advertise the lower price openly.
 
+1 on your post. All are pet peeves of mine too, particularly since probably 90% of my knife purchases are online. One other one: they are selling a higher dollar production knife (e.g., CRK) with natural scale materials like wood or stag or ivory and they only show a "representative" knife or stock manufacturer's photo. I'm sorry, but there is way too much variation in these materials to buy essentially "sight unseen." JMHO.

- Mark
 
I agree with most of your gripes.

I don't mind if the knife is listed when its out of stock,but at least put in "Out Of Stock" next to it.Don't let me add it to my cart,pay for it,then tell me you don't have it.That really burns me up!

I would also like to at least see BOTH sides of the knife too!
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Price fixing may be illegal, but MAP is Minimum Advertised Price. The dealer can still sell for less, he just can't advertise the lower price openly.
Click to expand...


This may be a legal way around it. I'm not in the industry, so I've never had to deal with MAP guidelines in the industries I have worked in. I assume it's some sort of signed contract between the parties? If so, you are throwing away any of your rights by entering into the contract, so I guess it's easier to understand.
 
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