How do you shop?

[ed4copies]

This is the prelude to a poll thread that I will put up in the next couple days.

What I learn here will be converted into the "choices" on the poll.

We have lots of types of pen kits. With many plating choices. So, when you shop, would you prefer to have all the tigold kits together, all the chrome together, etc.

OR

Would you prefer the sierras in one place, then you pick the plating. The cigars in one place, pick the plating, etc.

OR

Is there a BETTER IDEA that we are not considering???

Thanks for your comments below!!!

 

[danrs]

I prefer the sierras in one place, then you pick the plating. The cigars in one place, pick the plating, etc.

 

[The Penguin]

I prefer the sierras in one place, then you pick the plating. The cigars in one place, pick the plating, etc.

agreed.

 

[TomW]

I shop almost exclusively by the "what's new" feature (and am somewhat frustrated when it doesn't reflect truly "new" stuff)....

Tom

 

[tim self]

Grouped by type and pick the plating.

 

[nativewooder]

Same.

 

[Turned Around]

yep. Style, then plating

 

[Shock me]

+1.

group by plating would drive me nuts. I've never woken up with an urge to turn a chrome plated pen today...

 

[Shock me]

I shop almost exclusively by the "what's new" feature (and am somewhat frustrated when it doesn't reflect truly "new" stuff)....

Tom

Funny you should say, I whined to Ed about this just yesterday. Turns out I had failed to notice that you can sort by "latest products". Its a bit kludgy because you then have to go to the end to see the newest, but it works.

 

[ed4copies]

NEW INFORMATION!!!!

Next to the drop down menu, there is a series of lines, click on those lines and the order of sort is reversed!!!!!!!!!

NOW it is in LOGICAL ORDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​

 

[Smitty37]

style

I would rather style with all the finishes.

It might be nice to be able to sort by finish then by price though to see all the kits of a particular finish listed by price. That might be helpful where there are a number of similar styles in different price ranges. i.e. Sierra/Sierra Elegant/ Elegant beauty Sierra and maybe even others...

 

[BRobbins629]

I'd rather call, spend a few hours on the phone with Dawn and forget what I wanted.

 

[Sylvanite]

Why not both? You can have "kits by style" and "kits by plating" navigation paths that lead to the same end products.

Regards,
Eric

 

[mrcook4570]

Grouped by style, then pick the plating from there.

One local clothing store decided to sort everything by color and then sizes sorted within that color. What a PITA.

 

[ed4copies]

Why not both? You can have "kits by style" and "kits by plating" navigation paths that lead to the same end products.

Regards,
Eric

Not EXACTLY, says Dawn----we set them up as "children products" and they are not allowed to grow up and be adult products as long as they are children. Yeah, I know, I don't get it, either, but she runs the site!!!

 

[Sylvanite]

Not EXACTLY, says Dawn----we set them up as "children products" and they are not allowed to grow up and be adult products as long as they are children.

It's all in how you choose to set up product navigation. I'm not familiar with virtuemart, but I'm guessing that "child products" are similar to zencart attributes. That is, that they represent variations in a single product (size, color, etc.). If you choose to make plating a child product, then you can't make it part of the navigation. If you made each plated kit its own product, then you could create multiple navitation paths ("categories" in zencart terminology - I don't know what virtuemart calls them) to those end products.

I do a little of each in my webstore. I allow customers to navigate to kits by size (slim/euro or cigar) by caliber, or by a couple other options. I handle plating, finial style, clip choice, and engraving via attributes. I sometimes consider eliminating the attributes and going to individual products (which would solve some issues), but haven't wanted to tackle geometric growth in number of products.

If you want to stick with child products, then your question becomes "should kit style be the product and plating the children, or vice versa". In that scenerio, I agree with the other posters - kit first, then plating. That's how I think customers are accustomed to finding the desired combination.

Regards,
Eric

 

[cwolfs69]

much rather grouped by type of pen then choice of platings. if you were to be looking at platings and a particular pen did not come in that plating you might miss the one you want.

 

[Glen Schumann]

Style then plating UNLESS it can be sorted by any combination of style/price/plating/refill/color ink/etc.

 

[ed4copies]

Not EXACTLY, says Dawn----we set them up as "children products" and they are not allowed to grow up and be adult products as long as they are children.

It's all in how you choose to set up product navigation. I'm not familiar with virtuemart, but I'm guessing that "child products" are similar to zencart attributes. That is, that they represent variations in a single product (size, color, etc.). If you choose to make plating a child product, then you can't make it part of the navigation. If you made each plated kit its own product, then you could create multiple navitation paths ("categories" in zencart terminology - I don't know what virtuemart calls them) to those end products.

I do a little of each in my webstore. I allow customers to navigate to kits by size (slim/euro or cigar) by caliber, or by a couple other options. I handle plating, finial style, clip choice, and engraving via attributes. I sometimes consider eliminating the attributes and going to individual products (which would solve some issues), but haven't wanted to tackle geometric growth in number of products.

If you want to stick with child products, then your question becomes "should kit style be the product and plating the children, or vice versa". In that scenerio, I agree with the other posters - kit first, then plating. That's how I think customers are accustomed to finding the desired combination.

Regards,
Eric

We are currently around 6000 products, without making all the children into "grown ups". And, if we do that our customers will have to click at least one additional time to purchase. Hence, we are not enthusiastic about that option.

BUT, if everyone says "This is what I want", we will look for a way to make it happen.

Hence, this thread.

Keep typing!!!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[HoratioHornblower]

I look for the kit, and then the plating. That is how I have learned most of the sites and I like it.

David

 

[Smitty37]

She is a Charmer

I'd rather call, spend a few hours on the phone with Dawn and forget what I wanted.

Yep - she is a charming lady - even found a way to make an older gentleman that she has never laid eyes on in her life feel younger.

 

[OOPS]

For the "regular" platings I like to see them sorted by pen kit name, as most have expressed above. Sometimes, however, I see a combination of blank and kit that intrigues me, such as a purple acrylic with a satin nickel kit. I don't think that you need to double the size of your website to do this, but a simple informational page could show us the list of kits that you offer in satin nickel, copper, and other less obvious platings. Perhaps if you want to get fancy, you can link these listed items to the appropriate catalog page.

As long as you're taking "suggestions" I think a similar feature would be helpful as additional text for some of your blanks. I like looking at your Italian Lucite offerings, but oftentimes wonder "What kit would you put that with?" You could use your customers as a resource, and put an informational box next to the Sunflower Daze, for example, and say "We have seen excellent results with this blank when used with Black Titanium." It would be a big help to those who are still new, or are artistically challenged. I, for one would be encouraged to experiment by buying more of these if I had an idea what I should match them up with. Its just too much time and money wasted to try a blank only to learn that yellow doesn't go well with copper! (Or hey, maybe it does!)

Just my little contribution.

 

[NYWoodturner]

Ok - I will take the contrary. I shop by plating first. Having started years ago unknowingly with kits that had inferior platings that rubbed off - I refuse to sell or make inferior pens. There is plenty of opportunity for me to screw it up. I'm not interested in considering rolling the dice on the unknown.
I would love to see all options presented by plating. In my opinion that is very forward thinking.

 

[crabcreekind]

I like all the styles of kits in one place.

 

[pensbydesign]

just wondering what the purpose of this thread, is for the iap or market research

 

[johncrane]

Ed i think kit name and style! with a drop down on plating.

 

[Gregf]

Group by style then plating.

 

[zig613]

Ed...

I guess I'm in the minority here. I like to view by plating, then pen component style. This way I can bypass the 24k gold kits that I don't use. This is perhaps one of the few good points of the Penn State website. It allows to sort by plating.

Thanks,

Wade

 

[lion6255]

I also agree with style and then plating within each style. I also would love to have a some way to have a a grouping of kits for bits sizes for us Newbies?

 

[dow]

The sierras in one place, then you pick the plating. The cigars in one place, pick the plating, etc.

Yep.

 

[76winger]

My preference would be pen model then plating as many others have mentioned.

Now, when I first started purchasing pen components, I found it helpful to see pens listed by type (ballpoint, rollerball, fountain), then by model then plating. FWIW...

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner

 

[Ruby pen turning]

pen model all in the same place, then chose the plating. I would not want to be going back and forth looking at a certain pen that I want in several different plating's. I would rather that pen and all its plating's on one page.