what am I doing wrong.

[Richard Cacioppo]

I'd say, I've got everything possible in place for the selling from my site. I've revamped and revamped, and am willing to do what I have to do to sell as I may.

I did as the Yahoo people forced me to do and paid the additional monies to make it possible to sell from my site, but I must be missing the ship somewhere, cause everything is status quo thus far.

Yahoo does have a service where you can set up a whole 'nother site besides from my original site. But when I set it up I decided to use my original site and just add to it.

Do you think I should separate the two. I've seen other people do it. I haven't set it up with a pay pal account?

Questions. Questions. I'm always living in a land of questions. I'm so tired of wondering what's the purpose for this mayhem and caos in my life.

Fact, none of you, I think have to face, because of your age. I'll be 57 this year and I'm one of those dudes whose done it right since day one in my youth. Putting the maximum I could into an IRA and rolled it over into a 401K. I was talking to a friend, whose 65 yesterday and I knew he was ready to retire. Now he siad, looks like I'll be working here till the day I die. Me too. So much money flew the coop with this economic crisis we are in. I don't even look at the statements anymore. It's to dame depressing to think about. My wife's out of work, hospital closed, and again. I just aint making the great money I was making when I was in the graphic arts field. Computers changed it all.

Anyway. What do you think. Should I create another site, or make my site better by adding pay pay or something. Not sure how to do that either. It must be my age. I'm pretty good at the keys, but am I intimidated by all of the technology ... somewhat, I aint foolin' you.

I've been checking out Ebay, but I thought maybe switching gears on Yahoo, I'm already paying for might be a better options.

Wisdom. Oh yeah, I need some of that good old fashioned wisdom you just can't get at a terminal.

thanks for listening.

rich

[tay666]

A couple of tips I can give you if you are looking to sell from your site.
First, loose the music.
Might be cool and fun, but most buyers hit the back button when music starts playing. It slows down page loading is just annoying. Especially if you are already listening to something else on the computer.
Second, re-size your pages.
Sure, lots of people have big monitors now. But a lot of people still don't.
My screen resolution is 800x600 and I had to scroll left-to-right to read you front page (didn't go any farther, as I have to leave for work in a couple of minutes)
You have to design things for the broadest possible appeal. You can't afford to turn people off and have them look elsewhere.

[RCreations]

A few suggestions...

I noticed you only take payments by check. I suggest signing up for PayPal. It makes it much easier for people to pay and they can also use their credit cards that way.

Remove the background music.

How many hits or visitors does your site get per day? How high is it ranked on Google? People need to find your site in order to buy your items.

[DisturbedEarth0]

I agree about the music. Also you might want to consider opening a MYspace page for music, cute graphics and other theatrics. Many modelers and producers from the CH use myspace to increase online visability and connect with eachother, and you can link it to your homepage. A form of online payment is pretty much a must to tap into the impulse buyers. They see it, they want it, they buy it. Besides you get paid faster therefore the customer will receive their product sooner.

[ignatz]

Also, remember a lot of other people are stretched thin too. You need to be patient. This is going to be a very lean year for a lot of people and the discretionary funds just aren't there anymore for many people. Don't throw anymore money trying to set up a better online purchasing solution, but I think all of the aforementioned points are worth considering. It'll make it easier for people to look through your stuff and that's a good part of the battle right there. Most of all, don't be discouraged if your stuff doesn't move fast enough. In this kind of environment, perseverence is the only resource we all have access to that doesn't cost anything and might get us through the toughest of times.

[tay666]

I will also second the patient part.
Sometimes it just takes a while.
Even with the reputation I have and the amount of people who know me, it can take months or even years for me to move some prehistoric scenes pieces.
In this economy, it is even worse.

Try to avoid coming off as desperate though. (even if you are)
People don't like the pressure. Or if they think you are desperate, they will try to take advantage of it and lowball you.
Either way, it's not good for you.
So don't beg on your website.
Or bump threads too often on the message boards.

[razorwyre1]

this reminds me of your posting some months ago as to why your pieces werent getting comments here on the clubhouse, and many of the answers that you got there are still applicable.

how are you getting people to your site? you cant just hang it out there and expect people to beat a path to your door.
ages ago, my late brother and i were starting our business, and the state set him up with a business adviser. we were going to sell directly from our own site, and the advisor asked us the same question: "how are people going to find you?" after a long silence and the answer "um... search engines?", the adviser pointed out the realities of the situation. as we had been dabbling with ebay already, he suggested putting all of our effort behind that. the 2 reasons were this: 1.) people already know where ebay is and visit it regularly. and 2.) the people who do go there are going there to spend money.

now comes the time for some brutal honesty: just because people find your art interesting and pay you compliments for it doesnt mean they are willing to lay down cold hard cash so they can own it and hang it on the wall or put it on the shelf. when it comes to the drawings, you do have some natural talent, but your work suffers from a lack of training. honestly they look very amaturish. even if they didnt, just because art is quality doenst mean that the public at large is going to like it. take frank zappa for example: he was a musical genius, but his work didnt sell well because the very same things that made his music groundbreaking also made much of his work unlistenable to the public at large. the upshot is that even if your work was the most professional looking illustrations around (and they are a long way from that) people might not like them enough to want to buy them, even at a low price.
regarding your model kits, remember a few months back when you posted about selling your buildups, and many members replied that your work wasnt up to it yet? do you really think that youve developed that much in only a few months time? as far as i can see, most of the things that hurt your buildups are still very much in evidence in the ones you have for sale, and why should the public purchase one of your buildups when they can get a mass produced figure thats painted better for far less money?

richard, as someone who has made his living from his artwork, i can tell you this: its often a humbling and humiliating experience, and once you get beyond that inner circle of family and friends who all tell you that your stuff is great, once you hang your stuff out there for the whole world to judge with their greenbacks, you find out pretty quick that no matter how talented you are that you are a very very tiny fish an a very very big pond. be prepared for a lot of rejection, and to put a lot more work into getting better so that the public will notice you.

[Richard Cacioppo]

I can't tell you how many times I've reworked my website. I listen when people speak and prepare myself to take notes and yeld to the situation.

I do love music, but totally understand what your saying about concentration while someone is looking to purchase. I'll definately take out the music on the pages having to do with sales.

I spent all of yesterday working on getting Paypal working on my site. I realize that paying by check is the greatest deterant a person can have. People like instant service and then faster than that. What do you think the best way there is to accept payment, I mean where does it go after it's paid for. I'm pending with Paypal. They say it takes a number of days for it to come through so the decision doesn't have to be made for how the customer's money gets to me until them. I think that's how they said it works. Do you have it directly going into a banking account. My wife doesn't want me giving out our bank book numbers. And I think I agree. But again, how else can I have that money sent to me. If someone pays by paypal, does paypal send you a check for the amount?

Ah ...

My screen resolution is 800x600 and I had to scroll left-to-right to read you front page (didn't go any farther, as I have to leave for work in a couple of minutes)

Not sure I understand this comment and sincerely, I want to. I used to have my pages set up for 700 pixels, but I found that some of the page on my screen wasn't filled. I changed it to 960. Are you saying that I should make it narrower again, to accommodate those with smaller screens??? Egad, I'll have to revamp all the pages again. But if it's what has to be, humm. I'll think on that one. Any further notes on this please advise.

thanks to everyone. I'll keep pluggin.

I also am taking up a local advertising program with Yahoo on the net. Maybe that will help.

Am I in a rush, yes and no. I never pressure people. Although I don't want to be horsed around. I sell at the specialty desk all day long and I have quotes all over the place to follow up on. I never pressure, but I never leave any stones unturned either. I'm aware of our times, God, that's why I'm doing what I'm doing. But where all in the soup together and all need a gentle nudge to sell people what where looking to sell. I always try my best to keep a good on the fly sence of humor when I size up the people I'm selling too. My pressure is to give people the total picture, show them that I'm not a fool and I do know my stuff. Nobody likes to be taken for a ride and nobody wants to buy from someone they don't respect or someone that doesn't know more than them. My customers always leave from me with more knowledge than they came with. They say, "An educated consumer is our best customer." And it's true.

I'm eager to sell, but I'm realistic all the way. I'm also looking at this that it's something that's costing me money I don't have right now to stay in the game, so yes, for that reason alone, I've got to keep on top of the game and revamp as much as necessary to find the best way to sell. I'm never pigheaded about my likes. But I am what I am, and I think I've got a fair chance to make this work. And with a little help from my friends. Even a bone head like me can make a go of it.

thanks friends so very much for your thoughts.

rich

[puntapret]

I know that I'm not really quite an active member, but a lurker.

My comment will be a little bit harsh, but maybe can point you to a direction. Please keep in mind, that i never write this to attack or insult your work on the website. This is completely my personal opinion. And please bare with me that English is not my mother language.

First :
Agree with other comments, stop the music, loading is too much, and people hate it when you are listening to something else.

Second :
Flashy text color on black background, big font, links that are everywhere and not organized, repeated image on background, didn't work anymore. It was cool at the starting period of the internet, but not now. I'm not asking you doing a super mega cool website. Just keep it simple, clean and organized.

Third :
Your website is not optimized for searching engine, no "keywords" and "description" meta tags defined in your pages. Search on google using "Search engine optimization" keyword for further info on how to do that.

Fourth :
The website ergonomic need to be revised, i would rather have a left menu that will point me to any of your pages than clicking everytime "Back to HomePage" at the bottom of the page.

I hope this can help you.

Cheers

[puntapret]

I spent all of yesterday working on getting Paypal working on my site. I realize that paying by check is the greatest deterant a person can have. People like instant service and then faster than that. What do you think the best way there is to accept payment, I mean where does it go after it's paid for. I'm pending with Paypal. They say it takes a number of days for it to come through so the decision doesn't have to be made for how the customer's money gets to me until them. I think that's how they said it works. Do you have it directly going into a banking account. My wife doesn't want me giving out our bank book numbers. And I think I agree. But again, how else can I have that money sent to me. If someone pays by paypal, does paypal send you a check for the amount?

As far as i know with paypal, you have to give them your bank account number, that is how they do some banking verification.

CMIIW, but i don't think they will send you a check. You can do transfer from your paypal account to your bank account.

Why don't you open a special bank account for paypal ?

[RCreations]

Personally I dislike background music in any and all online sites and as soon as I hear it, I close the browser. Sometimes I browse from work and it's not very cool to hear music blaring in a quiet environment. Makes everyone turn to look where it's coming from. I just don't think background music has a place in store sites.

[angel eyes]

as far as your pictures for sale...they're cool and all but man, there is 15 quintillion pics people can print for free on the net. not to mention anyone can drag and drop your pics to their desktop and print it for free too.


the red lettering on blue buzz my eyes and are really hard to look at let alone read.

I'd steer clear of of using 4 instead of "for"

I'd use a straight paragraph format rather than have each line centered.

also choose a font and stick with it.

paypal is a must have. the only check I EVER write is to my landlord. I don't even own stamps.

[Richard Cacioppo]

All of your input is well taken and will be put to good use.

Today I'm still trying to work out the Paypal account. I've set up a separate account so the money can be dropped directly into it instead of mingling it with any other funds in my life.

I'll get rid of the music on each of the pages having to do with sales and keep honing down each thought to a fine tooth comb.

I've made a favorite of the "old timers page" that was sent to me and as soon as I have the time I'll read over it and use it as is applicable to me at this point in life.

I've not taken a thought and word from anyone lightly and appreciate every ounce of it in total. Finally, I feel part of the family. And that's exactly where I want to stay.

sincerely,

rich