eCom - Bag Sales

[StrikingViper69]

I tried, she won't let me. Plus I would have to pay $12,000 to takeover.

Is there a reason why she won't you? What is she doing with it at the moment?

 

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[biophase]

I tried, she won't let me. Plus I would have to pay $12,000 to takeover.

This makes no sense. What is she basing this value on? What are you paying for?

Is the business closed 100%. Is the website still up?

 

[ZackerySprague]

This makes no sense. What is she basing this value on? What are you paying for?

Is the business closed 100%. Is the website still up?

I would be paying for how much she paid the previous owner to take over. I tried also being her partner. She said no when I asked if I could take over. It's okay at the end of day it's okay.

Yes the business is closed and the website is down. Instagram has been deleted.

 

[StrikingViper69]

I would be paying for how much she paid the previous owner to take over. I tried also being her partner. She said no when I asked if I could take over. It's okay at the end of day it's okay.

Yes the business is closed and the website is down. Instagram has been deleted.

Can you come up with some options for her? She said no to what you proposed, not the general idea of it.

If she isn’t making sales she isn’t going to get $12,000

Could you take it on, and pay her a percentage of sales up to a certain buy out amount? Eg 25% and once you reach the buy out amount it’s yours?

Or take it on and get paid a percentage of profits? Might not be a bad way to get started with entrepreneurship.

Can you think of some other options?

How much do you think it’s worth?

How much would you be willing to pay?

 

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[biophase]

I would be paying for how much she paid the previous owner to take over. I tried also being her partner. She said no when I asked if I could take over. It's okay at the end of day it's okay.

Yes the business is closed and the website is down. Instagram has been deleted.

Sounds like sunk cost fallacy and FOMO. Oh well. It sucks though. If you really liked it, you could do a revenue share up to a certain amount.

But I get the feeling it wouldn't be good for your friendship. I mean if you took over for free and in 2 years was making six figures, she probably wouldn't be very happy about it.

 

[ZackerySprague]

Sounds like sunk cost fallacy and FOMO. Oh well. It sucks though. If you really liked it, you could do a revenue share up to a certain amount.

But I get the feeling it wouldn't be good for your friendship. I mean if you took over for free and in 2 years was making six figures, she probably wouldn't be very happy about it.

I might have had some financial issues maybe. Or could have paid her back like you said from a revenue share for sure through the company itself.

Probably not, but we don't really speak much. She's still a good friend of mine. I don't keep up with people well haha.

 

[ZackerySprague]

Sounds like sunk cost fallacy and FOMO. Oh well. It sucks though. If you really liked it, you could do a revenue share up to a certain amount.

But I get the feeling it wouldn't be good for your friendship. I mean if you took over for free and in 2 years was making six figures, she probably wouldn't be very happy about it.

I was told that it was too expensive for them to run the business. That's why it's closed.

 

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[biophase]

I was told that it was too expensive for them to run the business. That's why it's closed.

lol what does that mean?

To me it sounds like they ran PPC and social media ads that weren’t profitable. What other expenses would they have?

 

[ZackerySprague]

lol what does that mean?

To me it sounds like they ran PPC and social media ads that weren’t profitable. What other expenses would they have?

I don't know. I dont think she was happy that I asked her about why it was closed. She thought I didn't want her to succeed when I do. I was just curious. Time to move on.

She is good person though for sure. I have the habit of not keeping up with people or messaging them. I do care, she's running another venture.

The bag was considered a luxury item. I thought the bag was great and solved some problems such as storage for baby diapers, bottles, etc.

 

[ZackerySprague]

lol what does that mean?

To me it sounds like they ran PPC and social media ads that weren’t profitable. What other expenses would they have?

If you give me a PM, I'll show you the Kickstarter page for the brand.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

We bought two bags to test. They will be shipped out on Monday. I'm going to reimburse the individual this coming Friday. They look like normal pursues. But I'll take pictures and share on nextdoor to get an idea if women will buy.

I think I'm taking a bit of a detour compared to the original idea I found.

I have a website theme I'll setup soon.

 

[ZackerySprague]

EDIT: Removed the question if they would buy

 

[MJ DeMarco]

View attachment 56459

What ladies are you asking? General audience on your friends list? Or something more targeted?

As a man asking this question, I don't think you'll get good feedback because clearly your interest is money-related; versus if a woman was asking, then it might be viewed as more altruistic, and that she was genuinely interested in solving a market need/void.

In other words, not sure you can trust the feedback if it is negative.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

What ladies are you asking? General audience on your friends list? Or something more targeted?

As a man asking this question, I don't think you'll get good feedback because clearly your interest is money-related; versus if a woman was asking, then it might be viewed as more altruistic, and that she was genuinely interested in solving a market need/void.

In other words, not sure you can trust the feedback if it is negative.

I should also note that purses are extremely emotional purchases for women when it comes to the high-end stuff. I know because I dated several ladies who were into that stuff and they told me all kinds of things when I asked out of curiosity. (My marketing brain wanted more details, lol).

Everything is about branding which is why LV can charge $3,000 for a purse and it looks no better than a $10 bag from Walmart.

Your query lacks any type of branding or emotional connection, therefore your feedback will also be suspect.

 

[ZackerySprague]

What ladies are you asking? General audience on your friends list? Or something more targeted?

As a man asking this question, I don't think you'll get good feedback because clearly your interest is money-related; versus if a woman was asking, then it might be viewed as more altruistic, and that she was genuinely interested in solving a market need/void.

In other words, not sure you can trust the feedback if it is negative.

General audience for women, the bags don't really look like for mothers who have toddlers. My interest isn't really money related. It's to see what they think about the bags itself.

It looks like this idea is turning into a general store that serves women of who love purses. versus the original idea I was going to try to solve.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

It looks like this idea is turning into a general store that serves women of who love purses.

Interesting, a retail brick-n-mortar purse store? Or better, a bag store so you can bring in the men?

Can't say I ever saw that, definitely unique.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

Interesting, a retail brick-n-mortar purse store? Or better, a bag store so you can bring in the men?

Can't say I ever saw that, definitely unique.

My original problem that I was going to solve was to find a bag for mothers who had toddlers, it wasn't really about creating a general store of purses for women.

This was an ecommerce store that was shut down by my friend.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lisaboettcher/prim-and-clove-the-weekender-bag

I thought it had potential. The instagram and store is no longer available.

That's why I stated I think I'm veering off from the original problem. I was trying to solve.

It was too expensive to run when I last asked her about why she shut down the business.

 

[ZackerySprague]

I should also note that purses are extremely emotional purchases for women when it comes to the high-end stuff. I know because I dated several ladies who were into that stuff and they told me all kinds of things when I asked out of curiosity. (My marketing brain wanted more details, lol).

Everything is about branding which is why LV can charge $3,000 for a purse and it looks no better than a $10 bag from Walmart.

Your query lacks any type of branding or emotional connection, therefore your feedback will also be suspect.

I haven't thought about the branding yet either, but yes I can see how this could just a bag at Walmart you can get for $10 dollars. I am aware of this. Plus their isn't any story or emotional connection to it, I'm also aware of.

Maybe I should have phrased my question different on nextdoor.

 

[ZackerySprague]

If It was money related focus- I would just shut down the business, give back their money and not purchase anymore bags. Not gonna be called a scammer if one person doesn't see value in it. That's not me.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

What ladies are you asking? General audience on your friends list? Or something more targeted?

As a man asking this question, I don't think you'll get good feedback because clearly your interest is money-related; versus if a woman was asking, then it might be viewed as more altruistic, and that she was genuinely interested in solving a market need/void.

In other words, not sure you can trust the feedback if it is negative.

With the original idea I had a type of avatar, with this one. I'm not sure about. A woman, maybe between the ages of 25-35. Could be single or married. Who loves bags, that's not flashy, maybe lower market instead of the rich like LV. Doesn't have a lot of money to spend. Maybe dresses up conservatively in dresses when going out. Christian?

For the toddler bag, A woman who is a mother, likely married with a husband, has kids and was looking for a coinvent way to store baby diapers, etc, when traveling, going on walks, or just for general use.

Right now, I'm gauging the feedback that they give me from here. This product does seem to be more emotional and appealing versus solving a need.

I'll create a Trello board and see what the feedback I receive and post it here. EDIT: Removed the question if would they buy.

 

[ZackerySprague]

Interesting, a retail brick-n-mortar purse store? Or better, a bag store so you can bring in the men?

Can't say I ever saw that, definitely unique.

The supplier has a store front that shows all of the bags, the one's you saw in the pictures in previous posts.

Bring in the men? I didn't think about the Brick and motar part, but I could see how it can turn into that.

I was thinking of something like a Shopify general store with branding and using internet as a channel. The retail store could work though as well. Just would have to figure out the rent of a building and how much foot traffic can come I'm from the local region.

You could buy the bags in bulk and store them in the back.

 

[ZackerySprague]

There are some days that I appreciate the candor! This one made me laugh!

One said they would buy the animal print one. I love the feedback, this is awesome to see what other people think.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

I should also note that purses are extremely emotional purchases for women when it comes to the high-end stuff. I know because I dated several ladies who were into that stuff and they told me all kinds of things when I asked out of curiosity. (My marketing brain wanted more details, lol).

Everything is about branding which is why LV can charge $3,000 for a purse and it looks no better than a $10 bag from Walmart.

Your query lacks any type of branding or emotional connection, therefore your feedback will also be suspect.

I do see what you mean about branding. I guess I was lazy in my effort here. I was looking at Software companies yesterday in my area. They all have branding, but no story.

A huge pain that I had at Alkami was related to patch management for computers/endpoints. I really loved this project.

There's branding and stories for these two companies:

Action1.com and PatchMyPC.com, both founders have a background in computers. One created a piece of software that was a plugin for Windows for third-party apps.

Thanks MJ.

I had 32 replies from the Nextdoor post I had posted a couple days back and the bags come today via DHL. I'll post them here later in the evening.

 

[Devilery]

To me, it feels like you're trying to come up with the product, audience, branding, etc. from nothing really. You just bought random purses and are trying to pursue building a brand but have no idea what kind of bags to sell and for whom.

I've worked with a luxury fashion brand, so I know a lot goes into building a brand (exclusive materials, handmade by niche artisans, inspired by legendary movements/products/ideas). What you currently are trying to get feedback on is generic crap that's available everywhere starting from $5.

One actual example - a fashion piece, that featured gold, and fabric so rare that only a few hundred kilograms of it can be bought annually (and the competition for it is tough). It was inspired by a legendary car from the 70s. To reach the intended target audience, the founder focused on PR and in-person events (yacht clubs, vintage sports car events, etc.) You don't need to necessarily go for luxury, but your product and audience, and how to reach it, need to be this clear.

If you're considering a general Shopify bag store, start by finding 10 Shopify bag stores that are crushing it, and note patterns there. A personal brand is out of the picture, and building a community is also unlikely as you're a man (unless you hire a face for your brand), so you need a niche, and the best way to find it is by searching what already exists rather than this randomness.

 

[MitchC]

I normally pick on @Xeon for being negative about ecommerce but in this case he’s 100% right, this is how you waste a year and a bunch of money and end up with a bunch of handbags you can’t sell in your house.

You need to take a step back and ask yourself what the F*ck am I doing before you end up another 6 months into this.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

I normally pick on @Xeon for being negative about ecommerce but in this case he’s 100% right, this is how you waste a year and a bunch of money and end up with a bunch of handbags you can’t sell in your house.

You need to take a step back and ask yourself what the F*ck am I doing before you end up another 6 months into this.

I'll do better. I'll probably move on to a different idea. I know what I did wrong.

Thanks.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I'll probably move on to a different idea.

Nothing wrong with the idea, however woman's handbags are a bit more complicated than just throwing up a Shopify website and selling them. It goes beyond the actual product, involving again, emotions, story, and branding.

 

[ZackerySprague]

Nothing wrong with the idea, however woman's handbags are a bit more complicated than just throwing up a Shopify website and selling them. It goes beyond the actual product, involving again, emotions, story, and branding.

Okay, I'll note these down. I wasn't on point on this one.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

I took this out of context and thought I was being criticized, sorry guys.

 

[ZackerySprague]

I normally pick on @Xeon for being negative about ecommerce but in this case he’s 100% right, this is how you waste a year and a bunch of money and end up with a bunch of handbags you can’t sell in your house.

You need to take a step back and ask yourself what the F*ck am I doing before you end up another 6 months into this.

Thanks Mitch