Please review my new toy-store!

[kandah]

Like the title says, just finished the last piece on the design and put everything online. Constructive critisism welcome!

http://www.wetdreamtoys.com/

Im looking for help on where to advertise except with google adwords, target audience is of course women and gay men.

As this is my first post I can also introduce myself a little. Im from sweden, running a few websites and this is my first attempt at the adult business.

/ Dan

[wildgirl]

when i first saw it, it looks like a kids store.
nice toys huh!

[Mefo]

Originally Posted by kandah

Im looking for help on where to advertise except with google adwords, target audience is of course women and gay men.
/ Dan

not for men buying stuff for their wives?

[Smutferret]

Hi kandah,

If your target audience is women and gay men, why are you front lining "Nicoles Pussy and Ass"? It seems like that sex toy is much more targeted toward men. You should also remember that men buy sex toys too and not just for their wives but items like love dolls, pumps and such. I've had pretty good luck using PECash's adult stores and targeting men...

Anyway, just something to think about...

Regards,
SF

[abcdwebkate]

No one will read your paragraph on the homepage. Visual communication of the site's mission is essential. As of now, the images don't communicate "sex toys."
Good job on the flexible layout - it expands when I resize the text. The text is way to small on my 100 dpi Apple monitor. I would increase the default text size if it was my site.
One major problem : color blindness. A lot of people can't see the color red. Using it for your text and background is not a good a idea.

[Certifiedbitch]

when i saw your logo, i didn't think it's a toy store.
i think you need to change or redo the logo..make sex toys as the theme.

[Nargoroth]

Originally Posted by wildgirl

when i first saw it, it looks like a kids store.

Exactly what I thought.

It's not enough professionnal looking too, I won't buy from there because it feels like an amateur site. For example a good toy store is something like that for me : http://www.dreamstore.ch/index.asp?lang=en , colors are ok, design is modern and professionnal.

I'm used to buy from there personnally, and I'm not gay! (Ok there's sexy clothes too, but buying toys too)
Is that so uncommon to buy erotic and porn toys for a couple?

[BigVikingAl]

Kandah,

I think you did a good job on the layout and design. The colours leave a little to be desired though. Try to tone them down a bit.

[furrygirl]

Well, since you're cross posting your message about your toy store, I'll cross post my reply I gave to you elsewhere.

---

I should preface this by saying that I've been running a successful small online retail store for 6 months now, so I feel decently qualified to talk about selling sex toys. (My store: https://vegsexshop.com ) Here's my honest run-down of your store:

First off, I notice that you're using a free store program, OSCommerce. Sure, your colors orange and blue are different, but otherwise, it's just a template. What that would say to me as a customer if I recognized it, is that you're not willing to put the time and money into creating something new. (But hatin' on free templates and programs is just a thing of mine.)

Secondly, and what I notice with most toy stores, is that it just seems pretty generic. You need to tell customers why it is that you have the best collection of ___, or best prices, or free shipping, or free lube with purchase, or some reason that your store is more worthy of their money than any of the other tens of thousands of adult stores. With the exception of some pricey love dolls, it looks like your inventory is just the same old cheap plastic stuff that people can get anywhere, likely at lower prices.

In looking at your shipping page you're charging WAY too much for shipping. There's nothing that could motivate me to pay $12 for shipping a pack of condoms. Also, why are you charging a customer an extra $2.50 for orders under $20 as a "low order" fee? You need to keep in mind that plenty of adult stores offer free shipping, so what you're asking makes no sense. You're operating out of Sweden, but are asking for a whopping $38 for shipping in Europe? No one is going to pay $38 to have a $7 vibrator shipped to them when they can get one any where else with free shipping.

My policy: don't rip people off on the shipping. I personally weighed all of my items in packaging and found out exactly what their shipping price was. I then added $1-4 to the cost of each item, so shipping is included. (And, even with that tacked on, I still have some better prices than other stores!)

You also ask people to create a customer account to buy something. I can't stand it when stores do that to me, and unless I'm getting a serious deal or buying a very unique product, I don't place orders with people who want me to waste time filling out a profile and storing my information. I think OSCommerce has the option, so I suggest allowing customers to place and order without registering with you.

Onto other things, I'd say that you have too many categories of products on the first level of organization. I'd think that putting "masturbators", "blowjob sims", "realistic ass", and "realistic pussy" in one category would be sufficient, for example.

In looking at your merchandise, I seriously advise against carrying novelty condoms you describe as "not too good for protection". It could be a life risk for someone not paying attention, or someone they give the condoms to down the line. Condoms are a medical device for preventing pregnancy and reducing the risk of diseases, not a funny edible snack, and I consider it ethically reckless to sell novelty condoms.

What I did with my store: I carry a limited number of quality items, and am selling to a niche market I know inside and out. I advertise online and in print to my target audience, and people get excited enough about my store that they promote it for free and link to it from their blogs and whatnot. I donate 5% of my sales to Scarleteen, a non-profit site providing real sex ed for young people, and I tell people about it on my front page.

If I were you, I'd head back to the drawing board and really think about who you're marketing to, why they should buy from you, how you can make yourself stand out in a huge sea of toy stores, and how to price your items competitively, including shipping.

Adult ain't easy, and if you ever want to turn a profit, you need to do something new.

[Certifiedbitch]

well said furrygirl!