Forum Moderators: buckworks
The interesting thing, is when you choose the free ground shipping, they will ALWAYS upgrade the order to 2nd day air.
The prices are very reasonable too.
They must have a great deal with the shipping companies. Maybe they get free 2nd day at the cost of regular ground... I dunno?
Right now my site has no return policy at all, so the customer is pretty much stuck with the item. I operate on a very low margin, and so I THINK it would be difficult for me to offer a "satisfaction guarantee" and maybe even free shipping.
Have any of you switched from a "you're-stuck-with-it" business to a "no-hassle-return" site? What were the results? Some people will abuse the system, but does the guarantee get a lot more people to buy?
It is hard to say which way is right or wrong, but in the end, it all comes down to the final profits.
very similar to the 30 day free trial or your money back outfits, nobody really returns the stuff
shak
Wrong.
They may not return some stuff, but shoe returns are awful. Depends on the type of shoes but it can range from 10% to 40% (for expensive dress shoes)
A few years ago, Wal-Mart decided to stop selling apparel online. They were selling tons of clothing but the returns were excessive.
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How long has this overly generous shoe site been doing this? Reminds me of all the idiots offering free shipping back in the 90s. Most are out of business now!
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That site may have worked out a deal with some of their shoe suppliers to accept all returns with no restocking charge.
Did you know that some VERY large shoe retailers CHARGE their suppliers any time the retailer returns a "defective" pair?
Free shipping could be done by a manipulation between the products prices and it's shipping costs, some times a low-price items with a heavy weight and high shipping rates and another small items with a high price and low shipping rate, so you have an overview about all of your products, dont calculate the shipping cost per product, may be you have to do it like that (I'm doing that):
-in the next 6 months I estimate that I'll sell X of items with a total price of Y and a shipping cost of Z
- Then work with the y,z with the offers that you want to apply
- Now you should have a new y1,z1 values ,now you have to distribute the new Z1 value over all items and you'll fin that you can offer a free shipping for some items and a discount for another items.
When sites look professional and offer such guarantees, I'm far more likely to order from them than their nearest competitor.
Things I'd consider at the same time:
-Can this reduce the number of charge-backs?
-How much will this increase sales? Repeat sales, word-of-mouth?
-Can steps be taken to reduce the number of returns? Do you need better quality photos, guides to choosing the right sizes, personalized emails asking them how they're enjoying their purchase?
If done properly, this should cost you less than you bring in, and let you grow your busines faster.
Online customers need to feel that they're not taking a huge risk by buying from you -- they're already trusting you by giving money to someone they don't know and have never seen in person; make them feel better by offering the choice to return the item. Unless you're in an product line that's prone to high rates of return, I really don't think you'll see that policy used very often. Heck, we've had less than 10 returns out of nearly 2000 orders.
Free shipping is another of those things that's a "something for nothing" measure for the customer -- they feel good because they don't have to pay shipping when they order from you. Nevermind that they could probably find the same item a little cheaper somewhere else. Unfortunately, if your prices are already so discounted that you're barely making any money, changing to a "free shipping" policy becomes difficult or impossible.
We sell items generally at MSRP and offer free shipping on all orders, plus there's always a $ off or % off sale in progress. I don't see any need to change my policy any time soon - we're making plenty of profit (more would be better of course...)
-Can steps be taken to reduce the number of returns?
- A clear product specifications (especially Dimensions).
- A Full Description with customized notes like (used for, don't use it with....).
- Shipping the exact item that's appears in the picture.
- And of course a clear and professional pictures.
Also you may make the return process is a little long. which will always work with unsure customers.
Tom
As for free shipping, I am very skeptical on this. Our sales on eBay halved after free shipping was introduced.
I was doing about $1000 of UPS shipments/month. I called them to ask about discounts, and they said call back when you're doing $10,000/month in shipments.
I list a 2 week no questions asked return policy, but have happily (at least to the customer) taken a $250 piece back after two months because it was a gift. I sold it again a month later. I can count on one hand the number of returns I get in a year (usually with fingers left over). I try for very good, detailed photos and descriptions so people know what they are getting before they order.
Annual sales reached $1.6 million in 2000, $8.6 million in 2001, $32 million in 2002, and over $70 million in 2003. TheSite.com expects to double its yearly revenue again in 2004, to over $140 million."
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TheSite.com? What is that?
I gather this is a publicly owned company. No intelligent private company would be bragging about its web sales like that. Copying a web site's business model is just too easy.
I repeat, returns on shoe sales are staggering. Wal-Mart doesn't sell footwear online (I just checked)
Could be that this company is running on venture capital funding.
A larger site with huge volume can offer free shipping and still keep thier margin even if many people return the shoes. And since they have a high volume they will get discounts from shoe companies the smaller site can't get. Thats the difference and why they can even send a prepaid return shipping label. Ive heard from some of our reps that on some larger accounts actually a rep will fly out to the company to take thier order while smaller stores have to phone in thier orders.
On our site we have free shipping on shoes worn mostly by older people. Those people seem to respond better than younger people who actually get turned off by the promotion. Ive gotten emails from younger customers thinking the free shipping was some kinda scam or rip-off.
My 2 cents.
I wonder if itīs worth concentrating our orders to be resent.
I mean, if itīs worth that I send all my orders in a box to an american friend, and he resend them...
or probably to stablish a reciprocal cooperation with some one...
would it save shipping costs? does anyone have an experience on this?
thank you
"... is a California native who graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1996 with a degree in Film Studies. Prior to his e-business ventures, he worked for the San Diego Padres. A frequent contributor to industry panels, [omitted]is often quoted in Footwear News, the leading industry trade publication."
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This guy hasn't been in business long enough to see a major recession, or especially, a radical change in footwear styling that renders half his inventory worthless.
There's plenty of info on the web about this site including:
"Unlike Shoebuy.com, Z....com maintains a large warehouse in Kentucky. It claims to have brought in $70 million in revenue last year"
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This guy was a film major! Any website that includes executive bios is, to some extent, in the ego business. You won't find a bio page on Wal-Mart.com! Real long-time successes tend to be very quiet.
DaveN
To attract investors, they need to stand out from the other 10,000 places that sell shoes. Those oddities may have more to do with impressing internet investors who tend to be a very short-sighted bunch.
Note that their 365 day return policy applies only to unworn products still in the original box.
Also shifts the returns to the next accounting year in some cases! One of the tricks dotcoms used at the end of fiscal years to pump earnings briefly.
DAMN, they're good! They're doing so many things right, it would be surprising if they weren't successful.
I read the "about us" page, and it seemed like a very credible company, with a credible reason for being in business... they were responding to a real need.
Looking for shoes I like (and that's often a problem for me too), I found a pair in just 3 clicks. On the product page, more reassuring information (guarantee, order by phone or fax). Change the color selection in the drop down, and the image on the left changes. A bigger high-quality image is available.
Adding to the cart was easy, and they have a picture of the product rather than just a meaningless SKU, something I have seen confuse people in usability tests.
The checkout itself was a bit unnerving, although it is quite a bit faster. I'm sad they don't ship to Canada! :(
I beg you... whatīs that shoe seller?
I am on my knees, so... cannot continue to write...
[edited by: Brett_Tabke at 1:48 pm (utc) on May 9, 2004]
[edit reason] no keyword searches. Please reread the tos. thanks [/edit]
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We competed with a mail order company that did EVERYTHING great. Free shipping AND returns. Gorgeous catalogs. The bragged about how wonderfully they treated their employees (full health benefits, baby sitting in some cases). Enormous line of products. Their founder's picture and life story were splashed throughout their ads and catalogs
Then they went bankrupt: $900,000 in assets (mostly the appraised value of their mailing list) and $12 million in liabilities. Lordy!
It came out that they only turned a profit one year in their 10 year history (their first year in business, 1993)
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One other thing: for several years that company and its founder were the toast of the ad and catalog world. She must have spent half her time accepting awards for her retailing brilliance. Her somewhat unique catalog "style" was copied by many competitors. In the late 90s, PBS had a TV series on succesful small entrepreneurs and she was one of the "geniuses" they did a show on!
Anyway, is selling clothes (and shoes) online working?
I didnīt expect that...
I'll bet my 401(k) that tomorrow it says "(through 5/8)"
To me, that's a slimy way of doing businss, and an immediate turnoff. If you offer free shipping every day, don't make it look like it's ending and I better place my order now or lose out. Feels like a used car dealership...
Plus the prices don't look noticeably better than local stores on the few things I checked.
We have factored part of the shipping cost into the prices and our customers love the "What you see is what you pay" approach. No last minute cart changes adding $5.95 right before you submit payment.
If you can afford to do it, DO IT. If not, find some other way to differentiate yourself from the competition. Something they will remember. Repeat business is a goldmine. Make sure you treat your customers the way you would expect to be treated and all will be well in the end.
Another method we like is the Instant Discount Code just for registering you email address. 5% OFF your order when you register. Our average discounts on any given day? 1%. It looks good and not everyone uses it.
[edit]Oh, if you are expecting UPS to cut their prices, we do $8K-$10K a month with them and the discounts we get are minimal, even after meetings with Regional Reps. They're tight. They know they're the only game in town. FedEx Ground has terrible delivery times and prices aren't much better.[/edit]
I saw that part about "ending tomorrow" and figured it was a slimy ploy and one that repeat customers will figure out. Or maybe it IS for real? Check tomorrow.
UPS offers only small discounts to moderate sized shippers. And they have you sign a contract. You'd probably get the best deal by switching to FedEx and then dickering with UPS!
The free shipping "end date" is always "ending" in a few days, but it miraculously changes by that date ;) It is just marketing. I don't see anything slimey about it.
They are in a unique position with non breakable, small, and uniform sized boxes. I want to implement many of their tactics of site design, customer service, etc to my business.
I understand how Z does it, but I thought it would be good for you guys to see a very sucessful site and maybe learn some things from it.
[entrepreneur.com...]
"With a careful eye toward stellar customer service, they're shooting for sales of $1 billionwhich isn't far-fetched, considering they closed a deal with Wells Fargo on a $6 million revolving credit line in June."
Actually, getting a $6 million LOC (probably secured by their first born son) is not at all like generating $1 billion in sales. For starters, one is debt, the other is revenue. Duh!
Getting into debt is easy; selling a ton of shoes profitably is hard. Trust me!
