What makes a good online store?

[APK]

Originally Posted by jim_n

- fast shipping/free shipping
- reasonable prices
- freshness

I'll actually take reasonable shipping over free shipping. When you get down to it, there really isn't such a thing as "free" shipping. Someone's paying for it. I've seen very few examples of Web sites that over free shipping and don't add that cost into the actual product. Granted, it's a pain to think you're scoring a great deal on an item, only to see those savings dashed by s/h prices tacked on at the end of the checkout prices. But the sum price generally winds up being pretty close across the board. With that in mind, the allure of free shipping in most cases isn't that great.

 

[ahjota]

I just took a look at Dunderdon's website, and I really like it, for many of the reasons already listed above. If nothing else, their sizing charts are damn detailed. Someone cop the lombardi shirt in subblue, S before I do. dunderdononline.com

 

[kiya]

Originally Posted by APK

I'll actually take reasonable shipping over free shipping. When you get down to it, there really isn't such a thing as "free" shipping. Someone's paying for it. I've seen very few examples of Web sites that over free shipping and don't add that cost into the actual product. Granted, it's a pain to think you're scoring a great deal on an item, only to see those savings dashed by s/h prices tacked on at the end of the checkout prices. But the sum price generally winds up being pretty close across the board. With that in mind, the allure of free shipping in most cases isn't that great.

We offer free shipping worldwide (FedEx within the US, and Global Priority Mail for international) and the price is NOT built into our retail prices.
Every item we sell is sold at BELOW retail (for those brands that set a retail price) or below a regular boutique store mark-up for those brands that are not sold in the country.

 

[Lysol]

Originally Posted by APK

I'll actually take reasonable shipping over free shipping. When you get down to it, there really isn't such a thing as "free" shipping. Someone's paying for it. I've seen very few examples of Web sites that over free shipping and don't add that cost into the actual product. Granted, it's a pain to think you're scoring a great deal on an item, only to see those savings dashed by s/h prices tacked on at the end of the checkout prices. But the sum price generally winds up being pretty close across the board. With that in mind, the allure of free shipping in most cases isn't that great.

From a business standpoint, I've always factored "free shipping" into the cost of doing business. I look at it as part of my marketing and advertising budget. I don't factor it into the cost of goods sold and pass it along to the customer. There was a thread on Zappos here a little bit ago and overwhelmingly people said that they would rather pay a bit more for "free" shipping and exceptional customer service than pay less and receive less.

As a consumer, really it's a wash in your pocketbook and doesn't make much difference but I appreciate more what "free shipping" says to me more so than "this is $10 cheaper than it is somewhere else."

FWIW, I've never owned an online apparel store but I have run two businesses in my time both with the same model just different product.

 

[Lysol]

Originally Posted by bluemagic

What makes an interface interesting?

That's the million dollar question. I seriously prefer Zappos' interface more than anywhere that I regularly shop. It's easy to search, it's easy to find more items from similar brands, it's easy to view the product from 10 different angles. It's clean and simple with an intuitive layout and big, colorful buttons. Think of your website as a plate at a nice restaurant. Keep it simple and clean and let your product be the star.

Webstores like APC, Brooks Brothers' Black Fleece, and Odin get so wrapped up in the whole art of it all and with the flash design that they failed to notice that their websites are a complete pain ********** to use.

 

[mulansauce]

What has alread been said:
- detailed sizing
- quality photos
- clean layout
- ability to filter available stock based on size
- NO FLASH MENUS

 

[London]

Ease of Navigation
Clear detailed pictures of the garments
Detailed garment specs and measurements
Clear shipping and return policies
great customer service

 

[RedLetterDay]

It's really incredibly easy to make a good website/online store, most companies for some reason just don't understand it.

- If you use Flash anywhere on your site, you already fail and need to re-make it.

- Photos should at a minimum be at least 800x600 resolution, and that is on the very small side.

- Reasonable shipping costs (preferably flat-rate)

- Customer service phone number listed, not just e-mail that never gets responded to.

- Accurate measurements / descriptions.

- Ease of navigation. You should be able to get to any major category of the site from any page on the site.

 

[Francis91]

My opinions on a good online store are:

detailed measurements
details of models and clothes they are wearing
good quality photos
real time updates of stock
quick response time from customer service

 

[Get Smart]

detailed measurements are obviously important, but they need to be done right and be accurate. Too many times I see sites with a size chart for clothes and they're nowhere near accurate.

I agree zappos is one of the best (if not the best) online retailers. I also like having customer reviews, tho that can be really hit/miss in good info and a bit too much YMMV, but still nice to have the option to heed it or ignore it.

I hate artsy photos of product taken in the forest or along the fjords. I'd rather just see the model standing in front of a white backdrop.

 

[bluemagic]

I'm curious about why DenimBar/Farinelli's have manual ordering through e-mail, with inventory listed periodically on here or on the blog, instead of an online checkout process. Is it not worth the cost below a certain volume threshold?

 

[mulansauce]

They're just slackers.

 

[RedLetterDay]

Originally Posted by bluemagic

I'm curious about why DenimBar/Farinelli's have manual ordering through e-mail, with inventory listed periodically on here or on the blog, instead of an online checkout process. Is it not worth the cost below a certain volume threshold?

What do you mean by the cost? It's just code on the website that allows online-ordering, it shouldn't cost anything, you just have to write it. I guess you would use slightly more bandwidth but it would probably be negligible in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Francis91]

Originally Posted by bluemagic

I'm curious about why DenimBar/Farinelli's have manual ordering through e-mail, with inventory listed periodically on here or on the blog, instead of an online checkout process. Is it not worth the cost below a certain volume threshold?

I read somewhere on here that Farinellis will have an online checkout process soon.

 

[adamha21]

Just to echo what everyone else has said.

--Accurate measurements, of the item and of the model

--Accurate photos

--Easy to navigate, I HATE flash

--Great customer service

--Free shipping


FYI, I really like how Context is laid out. One of my favorite sites (although I don't always trust the measurements) and I would like to see them list what size the model is wearing and his measurements.