NEW Steampunk Community Marketplace--Need Opinions.

[Haltingpoint]

Do you sell your crafts online through community marketplaces like Etsy, Artfire, Dawanda, etc.?  If so I could really use your input on a new steampunk-themed community marketplace that is being created.

Some background...
After running the successful BuySteampunk.com site for a few years, I've received many inquiries from folks looking to have their products listed on my site.  However, due to limitations with how the site was built, I could only display steampunk-themed eBay listings.

That is about to change!

After countless hours of research I have decided to make the investment to have a site custom-coded to meet the specifications of the steampunk community to create the first exclusively steampunk-themed community marketplace.  Since the visitors to the site will be MUCH more targeted to this style than other community marketplaces who cover every style and category under the sun, this means your products will sell better, plain and simple.

Now while I've done plenty of research into what people like/dislike about other community sites, I wanted to hear it directly from the people I'm building this for which is why I've created this short survey to get some much-needed feedback.  There is also an open field at the end to allow you to provide any additional thoughts/insights on this endeavor so I would appreciate if you could place those thoughts in the survey instead of this thread.

Your Reward
If you click the link below to take the survey and provide your email address at the end, you will have the opportunity to become a beta tester for the site for free when it is ready for testing within the next couple of months.

Feel free to PM me with any questions or email me at haltingpoint (at) gmail (dot) com and thank you all so much in advance for your insights--I can't wait to make this new tool available for the community that has shared so many amazing things with me.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY
or paste the following link in your browser: http://www.surveypirate.com/Survey.aspx?surveyid=9867&hash=reyhzsvPANI6IcK1RSUZXw%3d%3d

(P.S. As an aside, if anybody is looking for a totally free web survey tool, I'd recommend SurveyPirate which is what I used for this.  I'm not paid to endorse them, just sharing a tip after I got really frustrated with the restrictions of my free SurveyMonkey account)

[JingleJoe]

I just wanted to see if you had noticed the huge flaw: Steampunks make most of thier own things anyway, trying to sell things to them is hard, its especially hard to do it from a not very well known website. But you seem to have your plans in order so continue, I want this to succeed but I am too logical captain kirk.

[jringling]

Ah, steampunks may be hard to sell to, but think of all the people that don't know what to get for a steampunk... A one-stop shop is a great idea for gift givers and receivers...


The survey was easy and only took afew minutes... anybody that sells should give them your opinion...

[Artorius]

Done and done, I wish you luck! 

[Haltingpoint]

There is no flaw.  While I didn't create this thread for people to critique the concept itself (there is a field for that in the survey per my request), I will say the following to alleviate any doubts people may have since you have raised some specific concerns.

First and foremost, there most certainly is interest in purchasing steampunk-themed merchandise.  The number of craftspeople who sell steampunk-themed items on Etsy, Artfire, etc. is pretty sizable and they wouldn't be doing it unless people were buying it.  From my own first-hand data, I know that people are indeed purchasing things off of BuySteampunk.com and have been for a couple years now.  If anything the interest and number of people buying has soared in the past year and continues to do so.  A quick look at Google Trends for the term "steampunk" paints a pretty picture: http://www.google.com/trends?q=steampunk

Now in terms of traffic, I will also say that I am able to divert traffic from my established BuySteampunk.com site to the new site to help it get off the ground and additionally I will be spending a sizable amount marketing the site to attract buyers for the people selling on there.  If you know much about internet marketing you can imagine the value of the data I have obtained from two years of running campaigns for BuySteampunk.com.  Not to toot my own horn, but with my background in internet marketing in general and the experience/connections I have from working at one of the top digital ad agencies in the world, lets just say I have all the tools I need to make sure this site gets the volume and quality of traffic the community needs to find it worthwhile to sell there.  Additionally, as I mention in the survey there will be free accounts available to "test the waters" so there really is no risk involved from a seller perspective (or buyer for that matter).

If anybody has any further questions I would appreciate you contacting me via the info I previously provided or providing your info in the survey and commenting there.  Thank you to the people who have already completed the survey!  

[Waterbug]

I would have thought an open discussion on this subject would have been useful to a business person.

[Haltingpoint]

I would have thought an open discussion on this subject would have been useful to a business person.

Oh don't get me wrong, I definitely am eager to have some open discussion, I just was trying to avoid it in this particular thread since there is a place for that feedback in the survey itself and I'm trying to direct those thoughts there as opposed to having them fragmented throughout a forum.  Don't worry, I'll be starting an open discussion thread about it a once the results of the survey are in since I don't want people posting in here and then not taking the survey

[JingleJoe]

There is no flaw.  While I didn't create this thread for people to critique the concept itself

Then why did you say this in the thread title:

NEW Steampunk Community Marketplace--Need Opinions.

Perhaps one should be more specific about where one wants one's opinions supplied?

[Haltingpoint]

There is no flaw.  While I didn't create this thread for people to critique the concept itself

Then why did you say this in the thread title:

NEW Steampunk Community Marketplace--Need Opinions.

Perhaps one should be more specific about where one wants one's opinions supplied?

Actually, in my original post I did include a specific request for all additional thoughts/insights on the endeavor to be included in the survey (vs. the thread).  But hey, there's no need to make this a big deal so if there are concerns or suggestions you have on the project that you feel need to be shared in the forum instead of the survey, I guess I'd rather have the discussion than not have it.  I just preferred that the opinions/feedback be collected in the survey since that format is much easier for me to analyze the data when I'm able to put it into a spreadsheet versus picking apart a forum thread--that's all.

[darkshines]

Done and done

[Waterbug]

I completed the survey but saw no point of putting anything in the feedback. Feedback is one way. Discussion is give and take. I see the two as different and I find the later of more use to me and therefore worth the effort.

I do wish your venture well.

[Dr. Zeus]

I'll admit,the attitude of the OP turned me off as well.  While a steampunk marketplace may have a place on the webernets (although it's debatable - most of the time quality of the site doesn't matter as much as traffic, and it's hard to compete with ebay or etsy - that's where people go to look, so if you put your stuff elsewhere you're slitting your own wrists in a way), I'm not sure the idea is going to work well with someone clearly not looking for criticism or constructive feedback in any way.

I taught public speaking last year.  I heard the same thing from some of my students... give them something they may need to concern themselves with, and their sole retort is to explain why it isn't really a concern. Why they're right and I'm wrong.  The OP takes this to a new level saying "look, give me comments, but only do it the way I want them so I can ignore them in my own venue". 

It's obvious he's going to do things the way he feels like doing them, he'll ask for comments he can safely ignore in his own arena, and tell himself that he's been open minded.  Keep in mind, this could be completley incorrect, but this is how the OP is coming across. 

Zeus - god of reading opinions

[anagramforink]

Attitudes aside, I like the idea of a steampunk-specific marketplace, even though many of us make our own stuff. I'm a bookbinder and printer, but I suck at making rayguns (for example). I wonder if there should be some mechanism for quality control? No idea how this might work, though.

[Haltingpoint]

Apologies again if the initial exchange between JingleJoe and I got this thread off on the wrong foot--we've since patched things up and all is good in the world once again.  

Zeus, the success of this project for all parties (sellers, buyers and myself) depends on me taking everybodies feedback to heart.  My intended (and requested) purpose of this thread was to gain quantitative data through the survey and if people had specific comments they wanted to add at this juncture, I included a place for that in the survey to keep things organized so I could easily map it back and assess it in context with their other answers.  To Waterbug's point, I understand that a field in a survey is not necessarily a two-way conduit for communication but that does not mean I am not looking for criticism or constructive feedback.  To the contrary, as I have stated previously I will be creating a separate thread for open discussion/suggestions on the project a little bit down the line since I will then be able to share some aggregate data with everybody from the survey to help spark discussion.

My subject for this post might have been a little unclear in regards to what I was looking for so I again apologize for any confusion and hope I have clarified my stance on things.

[JingleJoe]

Apologies again if the initial exchange between JingleJoe and I got this thread off on the wrong foot--we've since patched things up and all is good in the world once again.  

Yes it is! Mainly because of alcohol, but it is both the cause of and solution to all life's problems

[Waterbug]

Haltingpoint,

Perhaps you could post a link here to the new thread once started on this subject where open discussion would be welcomed. As Tactile is the only section I frequent I may miss it entirely, should you choose another.

[Haltingpoint]

Haltingpoint,

Perhaps you could post a link here to the new thread once started on this subject where open discussion would be welcomed. As Tactile is the only section I frequent I may miss it entirely, should you choose another.

Certainly--I'll be sure to do so.

Thank you to the people who have taken the survey so far, however more responses are still needed!  I promise the survey won't take more than a couple of minutes of your valuable time.