[BitFunder] Bitcoin Pride - Bitcoin Shirts

[poly]

That's a chicken and eggs thing. The more capital they can raise, the more they can grow. The question shouldn't be about the market it should be about the quality of the management and size of the money they want. We're playing VC here. If they have the money and the skills they can branch out from shirts to other things.

First, it's hard to qualify how much skill the current management has. Bitcoin Pride isn't what I'd call a very successful business, as much as you can call an ebay seller a businessman.

An avalanche of new products would also lead to decreased attention for each of their products, don't forget about that. The barrier to entry for those isn't high either.

Who is in the management? Just one person? I noticed the use of 'we'.

[dashteeb]

Do you have a timeframe for the next release of shares?

[matauc12]

That's a chicken and eggs thing. The more capital they can raise, the more they can grow. The question shouldn't be about the market it should be about the quality of the management and size of the money they want. We're playing VC here. If they have the money and the skills they can branch out from shirts to other things.

First, it's hard to qualify how much skill the current management has. Bitcoin Pride isn't what I'd call a very successful business, as much as you can call an ebay seller a businessman.

An avalanche of new products would also lead to decreased attention for each of their products, don't forget about that. The barrier to entry for those isn't high either.

Who is in the management? Just one person? I noticed the use of 'we'.

Fair question, but just to be practical I am gonna say this. A business is an entity in itself, so a business may refer to itself as "we" even if it has only 1 operator as in "the business and I".

[FlipPro]

Do you have a timeframe for the next release of shares?

We currently don't have a time frame set. We want to prepare the company for a global press release and formal launch.

But first we are taking everyone's suggestions here very seriously, and plan to launch several critical features that will allow us to gain maximum sales during our PR launch.

Right now shares are still reasonably priced. We will announce more information about the launch as it comes closer.

Thanks

[wisard]

I have made a lot of money over the past 12 years with ecommerce. I've sold all sorts of products, both tangible and digital. Here are my recommendations in doing better.

- Get rid of the image slider. Research and multiple tests have shown that they reduce conversion rates. They may be good for a blog to have, but they should never be used on an ecommerce website.
Source: http://conversionxl.com/dont-use-automatic-image-sliders-or-carousels-ignore-the-fad/

- The Free Shipping & The Toll Free information - this should be on the top of the page. Not at the bottom. These are trust builders. Does nothing if they are at the bottom.

- People who don't know what Bitcoins is are not going to buy the tshirts. There is no need to waste prime screen space in educating them about Bitcoins. They are not the audience you should be focusing on.

- Get rid of the social media interaction tools from the footer - twitter and facebook. Its a waste of time for an ecommerce website (unless you are using them to spread your "coupons" and gift certificates). Focus on sales. Not social media. Instead, move the Newsletter form over there.

- Reduce the choices you provide on the first page. The less options you provide, the more sales you'll make. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/your-money/27shortcuts.html?_r=0 (Read about the jam research case study. When people were given a choice of 24 jams, 3% of them bought. But when they were given a choice of 6 jams, 30% of them bought.)
I would recommend showing just 6 tshirts. And then providing a "More" button that shows 6 more tshirts dynamically below that.

- On the home page, I would also only show the top 6 "best selling" t-shirts. Don't showcase the latest 6 t-shirts. Or don't show random t-shirts. Show the highest selling ones.

- It would also be better to show the actual tshirts. And not just the artwork. More people will buy when they can see what the tshirt looks like, and they don't have to imagine how it will look like.

- On the product page, have a "Buy Now" button. Not just a "Add to cart" button. This will drastically reduce confusion and increase sales.

- Get rid of the "Add to compare" and "Send to friend" options. Reduce the number of call to actions you provide. Because the more call to actions you provide, the less sales you will make.

- The checkout page. Don't ask people to signup before they make a sale. This really reduces the conversion rates - even when you offer Guest checkouts. (Instead, automatically sign them up and send them a password on their first sale - to make repeat purchases easier.)  Source: How removing the signup option increased sales by 300 million for one company: http://www.uie.com/articles/three_hund_million_button

- Having a 4 page checkout process will reduce the conversion rates, as more people will abandon the checkout process. Its better to just have a 1 page checkout - and have a longer checkout form. Source: http://www.abtests.com/test/65001/other-for-single-page-vs--multi-step-checkout


Seriously, spend some time going through the checkout processes of huge multi million ecommerce websites. They test things constantly and know what is working.  This is a good primer: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/40-checkout-page-strategies/

[wisard]

But first we are taking everyone's suggestions here very seriously, and plan to launch several critical features that will allow us to gain maximum sales during our PR launch.

Please don't spend time on "features." Minimal features actually work the best in increasing conversion rates and sales.
(Product search, Buy now, 1 page checkout, upselling, and coupons. This is all an ecommerce website requires.)

Instead, focus on increasing the product line beyond just tshirts. Here is what I think bitcoin evangelists would buy:

Hats.
Keychains.
Stickers.
Posters explaining to people what Bitcoins is.
3 fold brochures that people can give to their friends that explains what Bitcoins is (you can sell in packages of 50 brochures for $30 or so...)

And work on bulk sales. Allowing companies to make bulk purchases of 100 units or so for a discount.

Having multiple products to sell also increases our ability to upsell. When people buy a tshirt - we can ask them to buy a best selling keychain while they are checking out.

[FlipPro]

I have made a lot of money over the past 12 years with ecommerce. I've sold all sorts of products, both tangible and digital. Here are my recommendations in doing better.

- Get rid of the image slider. Research and multiple tests have shown that they reduce conversion rates. They may be good for a blog to have, but they should never be used on an ecommerce website.
Source: http://conversionxl.com/dont-use-automatic-image-sliders-or-carousels-ignore-the-fad/

- The Free Shipping & The Toll Free information - this should be on the top of the page. Not at the bottom. These are trust builders. Does nothing if they are at the bottom.

- People who don't know what Bitcoins is are not going to buy the tshirts. There is no need to waste prime screen space in educating them about Bitcoins. They are not the audience you should be focusing on.

- Get rid of the social media interaction tools from the footer - twitter and facebook. Its a waste of time for an ecommerce website (unless you are using them to spread your "coupons" and gift certificates). Focus on sales. Not social media. Instead, move the Newsletter form over there.

- Reduce the choices you provide on the first page. The less options you provide, the more sales you'll make. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/your-money/27shortcuts.html?_r=0 (Read about the jam research case study. When people were given a choice of 24 jams, 3% of them bought. But when they were given a choice of 6 jams, 30% of them bought.)
I would recommend showing just 6 tshirts. And then providing a "More" button that shows 6 more tshirts dynamically below that.

- On the home page, I would also only show the top 6 "best selling" t-shirts. Don't showcase the latest 6 t-shirts. Or don't show random t-shirts. Show the highest selling ones.

- It would also be better to show the actual tshirts. And not just the artwork. More people will buy when they can see what the tshirt looks like, and they don't have to imagine how it will look like.

- On the product page, have a "Buy Now" button. Not just a "Add to cart" button. This will drastically reduce confusion and increase sales.

- Get rid of the "Add to compare" and "Send to friend" options. Reduce the number of call to actions you provide. Because the more call to actions you provide, the less sales you will make.

- The checkout page. Don't ask people to signup before they make a sale. This really reduces the conversion rates - even when you offer Guest checkouts. (Instead, automatically sign them up and send them a password on their first sale - to make repeat purchases easier.)  Source: How removing the signup option increased sales by 300 million for one company: http://www.uie.com/articles/three_hund_million_button

- Having a 4 page checkout process will reduce the conversion rates, as more people will abandon the checkout process. Its better to just have a 1 page checkout - and have a longer checkout form. Source: http://www.abtests.com/test/65001/other-for-single-page-vs--multi-step-checkout


Seriously, spend some time going through the checkout processes of huge multi million ecommerce websites. They test things constantly and know what is working.  This is a good primer: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/40-checkout-page-strategies/

Excellent suggestions.

Will execute on most of these.

[wisard]

Please feel free to ask me any ecommerce related questions you may have. I have a lot of experience in the field and can help.

[molecular]

I have made a lot of money over the past 12 years with ecommerce. I've sold all sorts of products, both tangible and digital. Here are my recommendations in doing better.

- Get rid of the image slider. Research and multiple tests have shown that they reduce conversion rates. They may be good for a blog to have, but they should never be used on an ecommerce website.
Source: http://conversionxl.com/dont-use-automatic-image-sliders-or-carousels-ignore-the-fad/

- The Free Shipping & The Toll Free information - this should be on the top of the page. Not at the bottom. These are trust builders. Does nothing if they are at the bottom.

- People who don't know what Bitcoins is are not going to buy the tshirts. There is no need to waste prime screen space in educating them about Bitcoins. They are not the audience you should be focusing on.

- Get rid of the social media interaction tools from the footer - twitter and facebook. Its a waste of time for an ecommerce website (unless you are using them to spread your "coupons" and gift certificates). Focus on sales. Not social media. Instead, move the Newsletter form over there.

- Reduce the choices you provide on the first page. The less options you provide, the more sales you'll make. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/your-money/27shortcuts.html?_r=0 (Read about the jam research case study. When people were given a choice of 24 jams, 3% of them bought. But when they were given a choice of 6 jams, 30% of them bought.)
I would recommend showing just 6 tshirts. And then providing a "More" button that shows 6 more tshirts dynamically below that.

- On the home page, I would also only show the top 6 "best selling" t-shirts. Don't showcase the latest 6 t-shirts. Or don't show random t-shirts. Show the highest selling ones.

- It would also be better to show the actual tshirts. And not just the artwork. More people will buy when they can see what the tshirt looks like, and they don't have to imagine how it will look like.

- On the product page, have a "Buy Now" button. Not just a "Add to cart" button. This will drastically reduce confusion and increase sales.

- Get rid of the "Add to compare" and "Send to friend" options. Reduce the number of call to actions you provide. Because the more call to actions you provide, the less sales you will make.

- The checkout page. Don't ask people to signup before they make a sale. This really reduces the conversion rates - even when you offer Guest checkouts. (Instead, automatically sign them up and send them a password on their first sale - to make repeat purchases easier.)  Source: How removing the signup option increased sales by 300 million for one company: http://www.uie.com/articles/three_hund_million_button

- Having a 4 page checkout process will reduce the conversion rates, as more people will abandon the checkout process. Its better to just have a 1 page checkout - and have a longer checkout form. Source: http://www.abtests.com/test/65001/other-for-single-page-vs--multi-step-checkout


Seriously, spend some time going through the checkout processes of huge multi million ecommerce websites. They test things constantly and know what is working.  This is a good primer: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/40-checkout-page-strategies/

Excellent suggestions.

Will execute on most of these.

Now you made me pull some of my asks

[FlipPro]

Upgraded us to Premium account on eBay, due to them limiting the quantity of items we can put on our store.

We were only selling our old products on eBay, we are now in the process of loading those items on our store, and cleaning up the site.

I have a big feature coming to the site! Stay tuned!

[dashteeb]

I have made a lot of money over the past 12 years with ecommerce. I've sold all sorts of products, both tangible and digital. Here are my recommendations in doing better.

- Get rid of the image slider. Research and multiple tests have shown that they reduce conversion rates. They may be good for a blog to have, but they should never be used on an ecommerce website.
Source: http://conversionxl.com/dont-use-automatic-image-sliders-or-carousels-ignore-the-fad/

- The Free Shipping & The Toll Free information - this should be on the top of the page. Not at the bottom. These are trust builders. Does nothing if they are at the bottom.

- People who don't know what Bitcoins is are not going to buy the tshirts. There is no need to waste prime screen space in educating them about Bitcoins. They are not the audience you should be focusing on.

- Get rid of the social media interaction tools from the footer - twitter and facebook. Its a waste of time for an ecommerce website (unless you are using them to spread your "coupons" and gift certificates). Focus on sales. Not social media. Instead, move the Newsletter form over there.

- Reduce the choices you provide on the first page. The less options you provide, the more sales you'll make. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/your-money/27shortcuts.html?_r=0 (Read about the jam research case study. When people were given a choice of 24 jams, 3% of them bought. But when they were given a choice of 6 jams, 30% of them bought.)
I would recommend showing just 6 tshirts. And then providing a "More" button that shows 6 more tshirts dynamically below that.

- On the home page, I would also only show the top 6 "best selling" t-shirts. Don't showcase the latest 6 t-shirts. Or don't show random t-shirts. Show the highest selling ones.

- It would also be better to show the actual tshirts. And not just the artwork. More people will buy when they can see what the tshirt looks like, and they don't have to imagine how it will look like.

- On the product page, have a "Buy Now" button. Not just a "Add to cart" button. This will drastically reduce confusion and increase sales.

- Get rid of the "Add to compare" and "Send to friend" options. Reduce the number of call to actions you provide. Because the more call to actions you provide, the less sales you will make.

- The checkout page. Don't ask people to signup before they make a sale. This really reduces the conversion rates - even when you offer Guest checkouts. (Instead, automatically sign them up and send them a password on their first sale - to make repeat purchases easier.)  Source: How removing the signup option increased sales by 300 million for one company: http://www.uie.com/articles/three_hund_million_button

- Having a 4 page checkout process will reduce the conversion rates, as more people will abandon the checkout process. Its better to just have a 1 page checkout - and have a longer checkout form. Source: http://www.abtests.com/test/65001/other-for-single-page-vs--multi-step-checkout


Seriously, spend some time going through the checkout processes of huge multi million ecommerce websites. They test things constantly and know what is working.  This is a good primer: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/40-checkout-page-strategies/

Excellent suggestions.

Will execute on most of these.

Now you made me pull some of my asks

Me too!

Also, I'd love to see more understated design options.  The giant cartoony look is a bit loud for my style.  Handsom, clean, smart.  I'm guessing I'm not the only one.  You're probably already working toward this, but thought I'd mention it anyways.

I'm guessing Bitcoin Pride's busiest days are ahead.  As Bitcoin gets pulled into the spotlight with increasing news coverage and legislative assaults, Bitcoin awareness will be a huge.  Bitcoin Pride could play a powerful role here.  I'd love to see design options that dispel common negative Bitcoin myths, and serve to spark conversations on the merits of Bitcoin and free global exchange.  For example dispelling the myth that Bitcoin's most common uses are not gambling and meth, but donations and savings, or whatever the current hot topic of the month may be.

[FlipPro]

I have made a lot of money over the past 12 years with ecommerce. I've sold all sorts of products, both tangible and digital. Here are my recommendations in doing better.

- Get rid of the image slider. Research and multiple tests have shown that they reduce conversion rates. They may be good for a blog to have, but they should never be used on an ecommerce website.
Source: http://conversionxl.com/dont-use-automatic-image-sliders-or-carousels-ignore-the-fad/

- The Free Shipping & The Toll Free information - this should be on the top of the page. Not at the bottom. These are trust builders. Does nothing if they are at the bottom.

- People who don't know what Bitcoins is are not going to buy the tshirts. There is no need to waste prime screen space in educating them about Bitcoins. They are not the audience you should be focusing on.

- Get rid of the social media interaction tools from the footer - twitter and facebook. Its a waste of time for an ecommerce website (unless you are using them to spread your "coupons" and gift certificates). Focus on sales. Not social media. Instead, move the Newsletter form over there.

- Reduce the choices you provide on the first page. The less options you provide, the more sales you'll make. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/your-money/27shortcuts.html?_r=0 (Read about the jam research case study. When people were given a choice of 24 jams, 3% of them bought. But when they were given a choice of 6 jams, 30% of them bought.)
I would recommend showing just 6 tshirts. And then providing a "More" button that shows 6 more tshirts dynamically below that.

- On the home page, I would also only show the top 6 "best selling" t-shirts. Don't showcase the latest 6 t-shirts. Or don't show random t-shirts. Show the highest selling ones.

- It would also be better to show the actual tshirts. And not just the artwork. More people will buy when they can see what the tshirt looks like, and they don't have to imagine how it will look like.

- On the product page, have a "Buy Now" button. Not just a "Add to cart" button. This will drastically reduce confusion and increase sales.

- Get rid of the "Add to compare" and "Send to friend" options. Reduce the number of call to actions you provide. Because the more call to actions you provide, the less sales you will make.

- The checkout page. Don't ask people to signup before they make a sale. This really reduces the conversion rates - even when you offer Guest checkouts. (Instead, automatically sign them up and send them a password on their first sale - to make repeat purchases easier.)  Source: How removing the signup option increased sales by 300 million for one company: http://www.uie.com/articles/three_hund_million_button

- Having a 4 page checkout process will reduce the conversion rates, as more people will abandon the checkout process. Its better to just have a 1 page checkout - and have a longer checkout form. Source: http://www.abtests.com/test/65001/other-for-single-page-vs--multi-step-checkout


Seriously, spend some time going through the checkout processes of huge multi million ecommerce websites. They test things constantly and know what is working.  This is a good primer: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/40-checkout-page-strategies/

Excellent suggestions.

Will execute on most of these.

Now you made me pull some of my asks

Me too!

Also, I'd love to see more understated design options.  The giant cartoony look is a bit loud for my style.  Handsom, clean, smart.  I'm guessing I'm not the only one.  You're probably already working toward this, but thought I'd mention it anyways.

I'm guessing Bitcoin Pride's busiest days are ahead.  As Bitcoin gets pulled into the spotlight with increasing news coverage and legislative assaults, Bitcoin awareness will be a huge.  Bitcoin Pride could play a powerful role here.  I'd love to see design options that dispel common negative Bitcoin myths, and serve to spark conversations on the merits of Bitcoin and free global exchange.  For example dispelling the myth that Bitcoin's most common uses are not gambling and meth, but donations and savings, or whatever the current hot topic of the month may be.

HUGE announcement coming soon!

This announcement is going to drive community involvement through the roof stay tuned!

[ThickAsThieves]

The more recent suggestions in this thread are very much on point.

[FlipPro]

$500 ALLOCATED TO reddit.com/r/bitcoin FOR 03/06/2013- 03/22/2013

WE EXPECT ALL OF OUR SITE UPGRADES TO BE DONE BY 3/6.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES!!

THANKS!!

[wisard]

Thanks for being proactive and advertising.

I haven't seen very many ads on /r/bitcoin - so you could have just spent the minimum amount and still received the same coverage (as reddit doesn't charge on a CPC or a CPM basis, but divides the total ad revenue from all advertisers and divides it by total page views.) $320 for 16 days may have been good enough as far as I can tell.

Please do add a graphic to the ad.
And please use advanced google analytics to track the sales we receive because of reddit.
- Use http://bitcoinpride.com/?utm_source=reddit to the URL you are inputting in reddit.
- Setup Goals tracking in your Google analytics.

This way, we will know if we should continue with Reddit advertising.

[FlipPro]

Thanks for being proactive and advertising.

I haven't seen very many ads on /r/bitcoin - so you could have just spent the minimum amount and still received the same coverage (as reddit doesn't charge on a CPC or a CPM basis, but divides the total ad revenue from all advertisers and divides it by total page views.) $320 for 16 days may have been good enough as far as I can tell.

Please do add a graphic to the ad.
And please use advanced google analytics to track the sales we receive because of reddit.
- Use http://bitcoinpride.com/?utm_source=reddit to the URL you are inputting in reddit.
- Setup Goals tracking in your Google analytics.

This way, we will know if we should continue with Reddit advertising.

EDIT:
Reddit says the minimum $30 / day

Will do on analytics campaign.

http://www.reddit.com/comments/19iv6f/bitpride_bitcoin_tshirts/

[MPOE-PR]

Bitcoin Pride Stats
Feb 2013: Income: $2,200 USD Profit: $1,186.00 USD
(Selling was halted during the month of Feb. to change payment methods.)
Jan 2013: Income: $3,270 USD Profit: $2,218.35 USD
Dec 2012: Income: $4,521.75 USD Profit: $3,784.00 USD

Bitcoin pride averages a 70% profit. Don't you want a piece of the pie too?

Sorry to be pissing on your pie/pride/parade, but what I take away from that list is not that you average 70% margins but that your income is freefalling. Less than half in two months?! Ouch.

[FlipPro]

We won 2 ad-spots in Bitcoin Talks latest ad auction.



Cost 16 BTC.

[molecular]

Also, I'd love to see more understated design options.  The giant cartoony look is a bit loud for my style.  Handsom, clean, smart.  I'm guessing I'm not the only one.  You're probably already working toward this, but thought I'd mention it anyways.

Exactly. Don't wanna be running around like a teenager with huge screaming comic stuff on my shirt.

[molecular]

I'd love to see some t-shirts with "famous" quotes from bitcointalk, like this:

FIAT
are so much
debase
                   DoomDumas
                       bitcointalk
                        March '13

But not HUGE, but small, like on the chest to the left, where the hears is