Does a Frooition shop design increase sales?
26/03/2008 at 13:13
Yes.
Posted by Sue, 26th March…
Oh, you want details? 
Money is up approximately 33%: this is even better than the 20% that Frooition themselves suggested. Perhaps even more significantly, most of this increase has come from individual buyers spending more, rather than there being more orders overall, which suggests to me that buyers *like* shopping in the Frooition environment.
When we began this experiment, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to demonstrate what had caused any change in my sales. I was careful to have the same number of listings running as I had in previous months, and not to try any wacky new sales strategies. I wanted Frooition to be the only new thing. Then eBay introduced Best Match. It’s possible that BM has improved things for me, but I don’t think it’s that. If BM were advantaging me that much, I’d have seen an overall increase in the amount of traffic, and in number of buyers. Traffic is exactly the same as this time last year. The number of buyers is up very, very slightly, but that increase is nothing compared to the change in buying habits.
Prior to installing my Frooition shop front, the average buyer in my shop bought around three items. Now, they buy five. It seems that Frooition encourages buyers to take more of a look around, to add in a couple of extra cheaper items that before, they would have missed. Page views overall are down 20% on this time last year, so it seems that that Frooition shop front is making it easier and quicker for buyers to find things they want to buy.
Selling on eBay isn’t always an exact science. No doubt there are other interpretations that could be put on these changes. It might just be that a rash of spendy buyers have come along, in the way that sometimes happens on eBay for no good reason I can ever see. I might just have got lucky. But I don’t think so: I roundly blame Frooition for a lot of extra packing I’ve had to do recently. 
Josordoni says
1:16 pm on 26/03/2008
Good for you Sue, and I am so pleased that you are seeing a nice little reward in exchange for the hours of work you put in here…
I’d still find it hard to choke on paying out that amount of dosh to them though….I am such a cheap little girl at heart….
Biggles says
1:18 pm on 26/03/2008
Awesome!
Sue Bailey says
1:21 pm on 26/03/2008
Lynne: I think my experience plus what Frooition themselves say makes it a question of maths now. If you know your sales should increase say 25% (average), then you know how much money that would be, and whether that justifies the Frooition spend.
Josordoni says
1:28 pm on 26/03/2008
Oh don’t get me wrong Sue – it would probably be a good investment – I am just a CHEAPSKATE!!
Josordoni says
1:31 pm on 26/03/2008
Seriously, though, I don’t know for certain that I would see the increases you have, as your stock is ideal for add on buys, whereas mine tends to be individual collectables – people want that one item, not necessarily more of the same.
And more of your items are Shop items against my auctions, which also mean less items likely to be able to sell up.
Sue Bailey says
1:40 pm on 26/03/2008
I’m pretty certain that I’m not a typical Frooition customer, Lynne. So I’m not sure how exactly it would pan out with more expensive items which tended to be bought singly, or indeed with someone who lists mainly on auctions. It might, for example, increase your sell-through rate, or your average sale price… or it might not.
*But* I am now convinced (which I wasn’t before, if you remember
) that buyers rather like Frooition designs.
Josordoni says
1:50 pm on 26/03/2008
Maybe Frooiition will come back here and comment on how well customers with collectables and/or high proportion of auction items do.
anyway, in the meantime – can you maybe train the cat to help with the packing?
northumbrian says
2:11 pm on 26/03/2008
the only thing that will improve and better my sales is a better listing tool .I can sell all I can list,
its the time uploading pictures , describing etc that stops us selling more than we do now
mark withers says
2:13 pm on 26/03/2008
northumbrian, what do you sell? and what do you normally use to list items on ebay?
northumbrian says
2:20 pm on 26/03/2008
or to be more clear
its not convincing people to buy thats the problem its stocking the shelves that we have the problem with,
if someone out their could convince ebay or someone
to improve and streamline the picture upload , category & item specfics process in a listing tool
I would be able to change my merc for a bentley
Josordoni says
2:24 pm on 26/03/2008
Did Dinky make a Bentley, then, North?
northumbrian says
2:27 pm on 26/03/2008
Josordoni says
2:30 pm on 26/03/2008
yay, you’ll get there… take the top off your head to let the air get to it…
Ed says
3:20 pm on 26/03/2008
Congratulations Sue on your successful new shop layout.
I must confess to being surprised it made so much difference, especially in your case as your old shop was already one of the best on eBay.
Every now and then I have a particularly poor month and vica versa, so IMHO it’s not a good idea to base conclusions on a single comparison. Would be nice to know in percentage terms how it compared over the past 12 months with the highest, lowest and average months.
Owen says
4:27 pm on 26/03/2008
What would interest me is the time it would take to recoup the capital outlay on the redesign.
That would be a good measure of whether or not it’s worth doing.
Jimbo says
4:42 pm on 26/03/2008
Well if I was to see a 30% discount for Tamebay readers offer I may be interested
Sue, I’ve had a look at your listings but haven’t manage to find one which is using the frooition template. Can you give an item number please? What percentage of your listings have the new template? Thanks
Sue Bailey says
4:44 pm on 26/03/2008
Owen, I think that’s pretty easy to figure out. If you take Frooition’s 20% figure as a more pessimistic measure than mine, figure out 20% of your monthly turnover. With that as an increase, how long would it take you to recoup £800? And is that result an acceptable time frame?
Ed says
5:10 pm on 26/03/2008
Sue I’m beginning to get seriously interested. If as you say 20% increased turnover is a pessimistic figure then it sounds like a no brainer!
justin time (to offer a thought). says
6:20 pm on 26/03/2008
…….. did someone say discount ????
but, what a good idea.
tamebayer benefits yes please
currently trying to find out the following….
if you go the frooition route, are ebay .15p gallery fees for listings still charged, or does this service save that expense?
j.t.
Sue Bailey says
6:30 pm on 26/03/2008
No, Frooition has no effect on eBay Gallery fees.
justin time (to offer a thought). says
6:38 pm on 26/03/2008
- got it, thanks sue…….
j.t.
Ed says
8:24 pm on 26/03/2008
Seems like Sue’s too busy to answer all our questions so I’m gonna b****r off to the PS board and see if I can get some answers there…
Sue Bailey says
8:28 pm on 26/03/2008
Ed: if there’s something specific you’d like to know please ask, but I am not going to be posting the figures you’ve asked for for my competition to pick over, sorry. Nor would you, I expect.
Jimbo says
8:53 pm on 26/03/2008
Sue, how about my questions?
Sue Bailey says
9:00 pm on 26/03/2008
Jimbo: very few yet.
Biggles says
9:04 pm on 26/03/2008
Hey guys, this way for the..
ANSWERS PRICE LIST…
Answers… £0.02
Answers (requiring thought)… £0.20
Answers (correct)… £2.00
Intelligent answers without sarcasm… £20.00
Dumb looks are still free!
Ed says
9:07 pm on 26/03/2008
Sorry Sue didn’t mean to put you on the spot.
If you’d rather not publish the figures I asked for that’s fair enough and I wouldn’t have asked had you not already told us that your (approx. 30 day) turnover was up 30% on the previous period.
Thing is my March turnover is also up 30% on February and I haven’t changed my shop. Reason in my case is that I simply had a poor February.
That’s why I thought it might be more informative if we could know how the frooition turnover compared to your average, etc.
Providing all figures are published as percentages I don’t see how your giving anything more away than you already have or how your competitors would gain?
Sue Bailey says
9:11 pm on 26/03/2008
What I actually said was “money is up 33%”. I didn’t make any reference (my bad) to what I was comparing that to. FWIW, there was very little variation in my sales in December, January and February, and March has been a third up versus any of them. It’s more than 50% up on March 07.
justin time (to offer a thought). says
9:29 pm on 26/03/2008
hi sue,
”Traffic is exactly the same as this time last year”.
but, have you seen an upward swing in traffic & hits in the last month compared with the previous 3 ?
also, have you been able to dispense with ebay picture manager?
thanks,
j.t.
Sue Bailey says
9:33 pm on 26/03/2008
eBay picture manager?! Lordy, I got rid of that a LONG time ago. Please, please at least get yourself a Photobucket account :O
Traffic upswing, no, not at all. People in the shop are buying more, rather than there being more people in the shop.
Ed says
10:55 pm on 26/03/2008
Thanks for putting the increase in context Sue, it really does help.
Thanks again,
Ed.
justin time (to offer a thought). says
7:09 pm on 27/03/2008
hi sue….
ta for the knowledge…..
”Lordy, I got rid……” – coincidence or what?
today, someone at the library said the very same thing about my bowtie and plus fours
j.t.
whirly says
5:31 pm on 02/04/2008
Well I’ve bitten the bullet and just employed there services for a new eBay shop and listing design, I got £100 discount (Thank you Sue/Chris) + 6 months free subscription…will keep you posted and let you see the finished article.
Josordoni says
5:43 pm on 02/04/2008
Oooohhh that was a GOOD deal…
look forward to seeing your new design.
Although I thought you only just paid for a new design a short while ago?
whirly says
5:56 pm on 02/04/2008
Josordoni says
6:02 pm on 02/04/2008
Shhhhh mums the word….