Shopinterest.co Is Now LIVE

Hi All!

This is actually my third post about shopinterest.co the site to sell from your Pinterest boards. When last we visited Shopinterest they were pretty much dead in the water. Many of us were dismayed because it held such promise. So lets see what a capital infusion can do for you.

The site is now live and you don't need an invitation. More on that capital infusion in just a minute. The site was supposed to allow you to sell from your Pinterest.com boards. Here's what they actually happens:

1. You fill out the information page to get the ball rolling including what boards you want to use.

2. They pull your listings (products)  from the boards. (You can also use pictures from your computer).

3. You edit the listings (products) and add any others you want.

4. Provide your payment info.

5. Preview and launch. You don't get you exact name. I did not get wirequeen even though I own the domain name. I did a search using http://wirequeen.shopinterest.co without the numbers and it brought me to . Which begs the question why, Why I was not given the name I applied for. Emailed them  last night, waiting for a reply.

Here's the screen shot of my shop courtesy of Pinstamatic.com

Here's that all important payment info:

Payments and Fees:

How does shopinterest manage payments in the transactions?
We don’t take ownership of the items nor do we take your payments. The shopinterest platform allows your customers to pay you directly. We might include a convenience fee to be paid to us but the actual transaction is handled in between buyers and sellers
Is shopinterest free?
No, we will offer a trial period and start charging after that. You will have the option to pay per item or to subscribe on a monthly basis to get additional features and services. The subscription costs will be based on sales volume and number of items. Buyers may pay a convenience charge.Current;y they are charging $0.99 per transaction.

I did get a partial response back that the  trial period would last through December 2012. According to the email the additional pricing structure had not been determined.


Questions, Questions , questions, I've contacted them for clarification on these all important issues my Creative friends. Still waiting for an answer. 


Now back to the money infusion. TechCrunch featured the story as a Shopify for Pinterest. There most resent up date is here

http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/25/shopinterest-the-startup-that-lets-you-sell-from-your-pinterest-boards-gets-500-startups-backing/

The article goes into the details about financing from a group called 500 startups. Francisco Guerrero the founder of Pintic and co-founder of Shopinterest is now going to focus solely on Shopinterest. Pintics will be shut down and you will be transitioned to former rival Pinfluencer. 

So now the burning questions are ; What will be the monthly costs of selling on Shopinterest ? Is there offering enough to make you leave ETSY or whomever you're using to sell from? Do you care enough about Pinterest to even want to sell there? 

Got questions, add them in the comments section and maybe we can get answers.

P.S. I never got the invite that Shopinterest had opened for business. Did you?

Michelle

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Pay attention to what your customers want

I was checking to see what I had sold and what I needed to replace, when it dawned on me all the cowrie  shell rings I had sold were a size six. I didn't have a size six on either site. I made some size six rings and listed them. How many sells did I lose because I didn't have a size six listed. I don't know, but you can bet I won't do that again.

The hardest part of selling anywhere, online or offline  is finding your niche. What are the characteristics of your customers? What do they read? What  do they like to do in leisure time? Do they roller blade or listen to opera or both? Don't laugh, this describes one of my best customers and she didn't care what I charged as long as she liked it. She was all of five feet tall and wore some of the biggest earrings I had ever seen. She would tell me I made earrings too small. I am tall and assumed my jewelry appealed to big women. Nope, most of my customers are petite. They speak of how delicate my jewelry is. (Its sturdy but it does look delicate) . I've since translated this to mean feminine,which is what I wanted to convey.

When I did shows in person I would make most of my money at the end of the show. Why? Those giving the show were usually my customers and  I might make $300-700 in 30-40 minutes. I had to wait on them to get free and come to my table. This meant most of the day I might have sales dribbling in but my biggest sales almost always came at the end. A very good way to learn patience. Smile

How did you find your niche? Is it on or offline? What do you do to make your customer feel extra special? Leave a comment.

Thanks,
Michelle