Newbie would really want some feedback (8)
I’ve dipped in and out of the forum for years and never taken action on one thing (tyre kicker, window shopper)! This year I decided that I was going to take action and try something at least. Ecommerce seemed to offer the lowest barrier to entry so I thought I’d start there
Here is the fruit (or is it fruits?) of my recent labour https://tenbyleather.com/ I’d love if I could get some feedback on it. I’ve been sending paid traffic (Google and Bing) for about a week, only gotten around 160 visits but no sales, have had a few add to carts. Haven’t tried Facebook yet as I’m still getting my head around it
If I’m honest this project was just to get me off my arse and try something, I’ve procrastinated for years and if it’s a failure my attitude is learn from it and move on. It doesn’t look as if I’m going to retire soon off the back of this, but if you can suggest and obvious improvements I’d really welcome the input.
I hope to be sticking around for a while, so I promise to write up a proper intro soon
Thanks
Marc
Hi Marc,
You are taking action, so that's good.
Here's my feedback:
- I don't think the standard
- Some products look cheap, not high quality. Nothing wrong with that, but your copy should match that. Example: https://tenbyleather.com/collections...-messenger-bag
+ blue print on brown leather
+ "fashion leather" printed on the wallet
+ leather doesn;t look like real leather
I have a mid quality bag myself and the details look really different from what you are offering (price was a fair bit higher as well, but not in the saddleback range)
- You are targeting the US, but some pictures have metric dimensions. Example here: https://tenbyleather.com/collections...-magnetic-flap
and here, where you us KG: https://tenbyleather.com/collections...-messenger-bag
The thing is, there's nothing special about the site.
What I would do:
- If you're really in Texas, see if you can get a deal with a Mexican company (my assumption is lower wages = lower cost = more profit for you) that manufactures something for the local market, has a good product and could use extra sales.
- work on your brand, create a story around it.
- create a story around the specific products. Make a comparison video, "unboxing" etc. Use that not only to draw in people, but to educate yourself as well about the products.
Examples: how sturdy is the leather, how well do the zippers work? What's needed for maintenance? Drag is for a few 100 yards behind your car and see what it looks like. Film the process, add clickbaity title and you will get views and buyers.
It does all start with a good product though and I would do more research and find a good one, not something that's easily imported through an Oberlo plugin for
You have made a first effort - well done. Now take it to the next level and commit to making this work.
And keep us updated here!
Cheers Pekadis, awesome feedback and a lot to chew over. It would have been great to hit gold on my first attempt, but the site has served an important function in getting me up off my arse and doing something.........If I'm honest I'm not in love with the whole dropshipping from China idea, and a North American supplier may be the right idea (I'm in Europe by the way, the Texan address is a mail drop)
Amazing tips from pekadis as always!
@marcwilliams I would advise that you seek out and read every single post by pekadis - lots of gold in them posts!
There's nothing wrong with dropshipping, especially as a way to test the waters with a product. If you at least break even, you can always take the next step of sourcing from a manufacturer and fulfilling locally.
It can be as simple as using amazon fulfillment to store your goods and ship to customers.
Kudos on taking action! It's good to just get something started, then improve on it. Many people are so afraid of getting things wrong they do too much preparing just to give up before they even start.
And now that you have something started, we can give you specific advice on how to improve, which is your intention.
Onwards and upwards!
Amy
Sent from my SM-G930W8 using STM Forums mobile app
Btw would you like me to combine the two threads? They're almost the same.
Amy
Sent from my SM-G930W8 using STM Forums mobile app
Hey Marc,
Love the feedback from pekadis. A couple of things I would add that are similar to what he said.
1 - On your homepage, I'd switch out the image you have of the leather bag for an image of you with one of the bags, or a group of people using the bags. Every image on your site is already a picture of a bag, so for me it's just too much. I'd also add an about page that tells your story, why you decided to sell these bags, etc. Why should people buy from your store and not just get them on Amazon.
2 - I think your website is lacking simple features like - notifications, pop ups, special offers and discounts most e-commerce site I go to these days have that extra flash. I may be bias since I work with a company called Widgetly, which is a SaaS product that offers those sorts of on page tools.
If you are curious, let me know and I can send you some examples of how a few of our e-commerce customers are using Widgetly. You can just go to our site also, which is widgetly.com
Hope this helps.
@marcwilliams If you're in Europe, why not look at Morocco or Turkey?
Alternatively, I could introduce you to people in Bangladesh that run leather factories. That will allow you the margins you need and they are suppliers I can vouch for, as they are run by friends of a very close friend of mine.
It would not be drop shipping then, but it could give you the edge you need in terms of margin and product quality.
So if you are serious about building a business on leather goods, send me a PM.
TBH, I really like this market, as it ticks many boxes:
- low returns
- brandable product
- not many sizes (as you would have with clothes)
- product range can easily be expanded (think belts, wallets, women's range of products)
- can go through retail (less dependent on your own site, spreading risk)
Just flip that switch and commit to your project. Make it work. Force it to life!
Hey Marc,
I'm a little late to this thread but the advice and contacts from Pekadis are gold. I would have to agree that branding is the way forward, so your target audience can really identify with your products.
I really hope you stick to your Ecommerce journey. I have created
I'd be happy to do an analysis of your store and how your can better optimize it and give any other advice where I can.
Feel free to shoot me a message 
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