I was feeling a bit down today but the man is here and he always makes me feel better. That and a trip to bunnings. ❤️
I found an opportunity to start an online store and I’d like to ask the DT brainstrust on some feedback. I’ll mark it all as spoilers because people may not want to read my full ramblings or some of the subject matter:
Business talk
So I’ve been looking at business where I work to try boost my other business offer, selling marketing software subscriptions, and I came across a lingerie wholesaler.
They just had an open submission to sign up as a stockist so I thought I’d check it out. I have an ABN and a registered company so I could just do it, and there was very little vetting on their side.
Once approved I had access to their entire catalogue and they do dropshipping, where you don’t need to stock the product yourself. Essentially someone buys the product from you, then you buy the product from the wholesaler and they ship it to the person for you.
These guys have way more than lingerie. You can stock a whole sex shop with what they have. But I’ve decided to keep it simple, try focus on a few core products I think would move, and have picked more socially acceptable things that you could actually advertise on social media.
Instead of uploading everything, I’m focusing on things that could target the rave, festival, club scene. So it can still be seen as fashion instead of getting labelled as a sex store and getting banned from every online platform. I’m offering a few best selling items in the hope they will have a broader appeal to try get some cut-through.
I came up with an idea for a store name and a design, here’s the URL, the store is up and running: https://lxix.store/ LXIX is the number 69 in Roman Numerals so it looks fancy but is a sex joke over two thousand years in the making.
Let me know what you think of the website. It’s a little rough in areas and doesn’t have everything, but I’m hoping it looks trustworthy enough someone might click through from a Facebook ad and trust it enough to convert and buy.
It’s almost impossible to grow a social media following organically these days, so I’m expecting to put a bit of money into ads. My only problem is I have no assets aside from the so-so product images from the wholesaler and the brands themselves.
I’m hoping the way I can make this work is I’m hooking up every tracking pixel to just about every social media account I can find. My plan is to eventually get to know my target audience enough I can create ads and remarket to them effectively enough I can build a mailing list, introduce new products as if it’s a ‘launch’ to capture previous customers again, and just grow the database of customers and like customers.
But I need actual sales to keep this going and achieve any of that. I only took the ‘Coming Soon’ off the website last week so it’s still early days, but I want to make sure this website looks like it will work. The marketing software and business consulting was a slog because I don’t have a network or capacity to follow up with people effectively. If I get things right here I could just run an ad and get returns.
I’m also considering reaching out to people and sending free product for content. But that’s also a case of choosing the right people, as it still costs me money when I have no cashflow at the moment.
Also, I’ve searched for the most popular products on the wholesaler’s store to find other websites selling the same stock. A lot of them are basic and ugly websites that don’t look all that maintained. You can upload a CSV of the wholesaler’s catalogue to your store, and I think a lot of people just do that. So they have basic images and descriptions, and are hoping for more of a ‘build it and they will come’ approach.
I also want to do a lot of SEO work and try be the top rank for a few keywords. That can supplement ad spend and helps with building a following long term. I don’t think anyone but the big stockists are doing the same.
I’m just worried I could have a theoretically perfect online store, but can’t realise any actual sales because my ads aren’t good enough or I don’t have enough capital to spend on advertising to figure it out. Any feedback is recommended because I feel like I could make this work.
Maybe make all the descriptions 3 lines long (maybe a blank line after short descriptions) so that the ‘add to cart’ buttons line up nicely. Otherwise it looks great.
Quick thoughts:
- The store name/URL is wonderful - definite winner, there. It’s memorable and easy to type.
- There’s something really off about the models. If those are real women, they’ve been airbrushed into the uncanny valley. If they’re AI-generated, that would make sense. I have no idea how you could go about fixing them, but yeah - that’d be my first priority in your shoes. Photoshoots and models are super expensive, I realise.
- I don’t know about the rave scene or what what the GenZ crowd in general are into. I can say that I doubt any of this stuff would appeal to my wife though. Possibly the red one? By targeting a crowd, are you turning off a large potential client base?
- The website itself looks basic - like a template off square or wordpress or something. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I’d emphasise that you are real some more - ABN, Contact details etc.
- The three things I care about as a customer are: Quality, Price and how long it takes for my stuff to arrive. I’m variable on #2, depending on #3. I’ll pay more to have my stuff sooner. If it’s going to take two weeks to come from China, be super clear about this.
- As to quality, be really upfront about that. If the quality of the product is dubious, don’t try and spin it as excellent quality.
There’s probably a lot more to cover. At a glance, the range of products looks really limiting. I’m at work and can’t really be closely scrutinising a lingerie store, so I only spent about 2 minutes on the site. A wider range will probably increase the trustworthiness of the site.
skin is crawling with excitement about this campervan. Cant pick it up till next week cause cant get the towpack fitted till next week which means we will miss the public holiday. Not the end of the world, cause we probably need to set it up first, clean it all out and get it all kitted out for us anyway. But still. Its exactly like buying a new car or ordering a new phone online. You spend all this money but then have to sit and wait and you cant play with your new toy.
eeek, the moving is getting all done
while it’s a bit of a fuss it’s nothing compared to moving a household from Europe to the US or shipping a pet cat overseas. It was exciting moving from Europe, there was a sea shipping container on a flat bed truck!! It was cool, even if I say so myself.
Back in the 60s my parents moved the whole family from England to Australia - all the big furniture (including a piano) went in a shipping container made of wood (!!) which was just plonked by a crane onto the front lawn of the house we moved into in Ringwood. Once emptied, the timber was repurposed by Dad into the lining of the garage so he could put hooks & shelves anywhere not just into the structural supports. We moved out of there in 1988, and the lining timbers were just as good/bad as new. The timber was kinda hairy and shed splinters all the time, but was structurally strong. I wonder to this day just what that timber was and where it came from. I’ve never seen anything like it since. Nearest guess would be messmate, but this stuff didn’t warp like messmate does.
Ringwood would have still been nearly rural at that time! They were probably there when they moved the clock tower! My family would have moved to the area not long before you moved out. Now every time I look at the older houses I’m going to wonder if it has a garage lined with shipping container!
Seeing as you have lived in so many countries, I’m wondering what your accent sounds like.
Having been in the same place nearly 20 years I find the thought of moving a bit terrifying. But at least I have a lot of decluttering done, it at least seems manageable.
My last move was only three blocks. The one before that was technically only two houses, but I had a holiday for 6 weeks and put everything into storage during that time. Moving to another country is totally outside the scale of my expertise.
Skyrim - Dragonborn DLC is way better than Dawnguard DLC. Fight me! 😂
I have just bought more packing boxes. 25 for books and 25 big boxes should be enough. I have other boxes already. 🤞
just submitted a quote enquiry for movers for 2 weeks from now 😬
I’ve got 2 episodes to go in the latest Kdrama that I’m watching (It’s Okay Not To Be Okay) and URGGG the temptation to just read what happens in them is really getting to me. I have no idea where the storyline is going to go and of course the last episode ended up with a big cliffhanger. It’s been an absolutely batshit ride - as a lot of Kdramas are, tbh, but this is a different level and I have no idea what they’re gonna pull in the last 2 episodes.
Looks like QLD is going to cop it bad with that cyclone, apparently i’s not going to make landfall later in the week.
Hope everyone is able to keep safe there.
yeah bit worried about the folks up there. But its not all terrible news! my old man is up in north nsw and has spent the week sending me screenshots of all his weather apps so he is having a great time!
My brother is near Caloundra and scored a free trampoline appearing in his yard in the last big storm. Could end up with a boat this time…
Hopefully not near the coast, it’s expected to affect some of northern NSW as well.
yeah near the coast. He isnt worried. Gets pretty sketchy up there all the time, and his house is like 100 years old with a full offgrid solution. His biggest concern will be having the 3 kelpies in the house for a prolonged period of time.
Beep Beep 🚚
🍏🍎🍐🍊🍋🍈🫐🍓🍇🍉🍌🍒🍑🥭🍍🥥🥦🥑🫛🍆🍅🥝🥬🥒🌽🥕🥐🍠🫚🥔🧅🥯🍞🥖🥨🧀🧇🥞🧈🍳🥚🥓🥩🍗🍖🫓🍕🍟🍔🌭🥙🧆🌮🌯🥗🍲🍜🍝🥘🍛🍣🍱🥟🦪🍥🍘🍚🍙🐠🍤🪼🦀🐙 🍗🥮🍢🍡🍧🍰🧁🥧🍦🍨🎂🍮🍭🍬🍫🥜🌰🍪🍿🍯🥛☕️🍵🍺🍶🥤🧋🧃🥂🍷🥃🍸🍹🧉🔋I’d like some cholesterol with sriracha and hot chips please
🧈🌶️🍟
Crab linguine, please!
🦀🍝
Thank you, Chef!
lots of anxiety reducing no calorie belgian chocolate please
🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫
thank you so much 😋
Another benefit to WFH: taking a shit in peace. The bloke in the stall next to me before was going to a logie! Seriously, I’m quieter having sex than this dude was in the bathroom. if you gotta groan moan and grunt and gasp like that go to a bloody doctor bro.
There was a secret toilet in the building where the office is.
I can’t do the whole side by side thing.
dont mind it for sitting down, not a massive fan of it for standing up though.
Ewwwww, this I do not miss about working in offices. My co-working has a separate unisex toilet, I use that. So do a few other people, and the ventilation is quite poor in there, so opening the door sometimes comes with a smelly surprise.
I only make heaps of noise in the bathroom when the person in the stall next to me is on the phone.
“yeah nah sorry new manager, my cat has anxiety issues so I’ll need to work from home for the next few weeks”
your still working for them after they are withholding pay?
They came to their senses when I mentioned fair work.
3 weeks to go.
funny that
The new management are just ignoring me now lol
I’m doing very little work. Just trying to tie stuff up for my work mates
Car door lock replaced post-attempted break in. Surprisingly easy to do. Should’ve done it sooner.
Gripe of the day:
People using their phones while driving. Especially when they have their kids in the car. Like are you kidding me?
Positive of the day:
Looks like it’ll be a beautiful day! Hoping to get the paddleboard out again (although my knee is still very bruised) or at the very least have a swim!
When I used to do removals, I’d be in the truck which is pretty high up and you can see into everyone’s car.
80% of people were looking at their phone while driving.
It’s fucking crazy. You’re not that fucking important. Fuck those people.
Leaf blowers.
Please get a big broom or rake instead.
I have a blower…it never gets used for leaves.
Feckin’ great for clearing out the aircon filter or a PC case. Also occasionally used when His Lordship wants a quick dopamine hit clearing off the terrace. Air machine go VOOOM
I loathe them. The revving, the constant rumble, it grates on me to the point I might turn into a mindless murderer. We have a guy who uses it almost daily at work, and just lets it idle and…urgh.
My workplace is full of 18-21yo university students. I have given up trying to swerve and dodge out of their way because they’re walking down corridors with their heads buried in their phones and weaving all over the place more than a Ranger driver on the freeway.
Now I just walk a straight path (off to one side, not in the middle of the walkway) and just let them crash into me. They wake up startled from their trances and frantically apologise for not watching where they’re going… and then proceed to re-bury their heads in their screens and carry on as they were :|
It’s already happened twice today.
I do this too. If you’re walking in a crowd and not willing to look up from your phone, then I’m not going to try and avoid you.
Boyo was mystified by the sheer volume of people in Japan who managed to navigate streets/crowded stations while hardly looking up from their phone - but probably because that was the first time in a while he’d been in a crowded place like that! It’s wild to think about though. I feel bad playing PoGo while walking around!
The next person to blow smoke in my face in a public place is gonna discover what it feels like to have said cigarette smothered out by their colon after I lodge it up their with my boot. Same goes for vapes in which case I hope it explodes up there.
It’s not hard to blow smoke/vape out of the side of your mouth so people don’t cop a facefull.
Dumbasses.
After an almost 2 month wait I got my final 2 assignment results back from last teaching period.
I was pretty certain I nailed one and the other I was iffy about.
The one I nailed, I “only” got an 82. Which is good and I am happy about but I thought I would have done better.
The one I was iffy about, 90. Now, that, I am chuffed about.
The 90 also did some heavy lifting and put me in HD for the overall unit.
That sounds like me. The last assignment I did I was still recovering from Covid and did a bit of a rush job on, and got 90%. They seemed to particularly like the section I had only done a rough outline of, intending to go back and add some detail and references later. I never went back and just assumed it would get me a few points but not a passing grade for that section, so I guess a rough outline was all they really wanted.
Empty inbox achieved. Vet visits booked for both Miss Meow and Mr Woof to have checkups. Car service enquiry sent. It looks like I’m having an efficient day today.
