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Discreet shipping and quality products don't seem very different. A liberal returns policy could be though. The Zappos Strategy. Get people to tell themselves

by staunch 17y ago

Discreet shipping and quality products don't seem very different. A liberal returns policy could be though. The Zappos Strategy. Get people to tell themselves that they're not really "buying" a toy, they're just going to try it out and then return it and get their money back. Store credit is meaningless -- that is not a refund. Free shipping is essential as well. Both ways. Otherwise people are thinking about how much the shipping will cost. The key is for people to think they can screw the store. They'll try out a toy, return it, and be out no money. The secret is that most people buy something and either enjoy it enough, or are too lazy, to return it. That's when you win. The problem is that you need to have enough money/inventory to support the people that do return. Obviously you have to have limits, to minimize abuse. This costs money though. It may not be a strategy you can afford to pursue.

mattblalock 17y ago
Discreet shipping and quality aren't very different. The quality service (phone, live chat, and e-mail) also play a part in our difference. Or so I like to think... I tried free shipping for a while, maybe two months, and found absolutely no increase in sales or average ticket. This was after tring a flat rate, $5 for all orders, 1 item or 40. No real change there. When I said "Screw it!" and switched to a calculated Priority Mail, I saw a 200% increase in average order - and I've stuck with that. Maybe I should give free shipping another try, I can do some A/B testing with free shipping and see how it goes for conversion rates. The biggest problem is attracting new eyes. Google ads are just far too expensive and not netting any real results (1-3% conversions).