Where are the buyers?

TheFritz

I have had my store open (only polybags and small sets) for a few months now, but no orders. I have tried to have a better price than never listed on BL, but no orders. During this period I have sold alot on BL but for a higher price.
I now wonder if there are any buyers at all here? What does "19 Owls Sold" mean? Is that how many orders that have been placed in all stores?
I really liked this website and the feature where buyers can pay at the same time when they place the order, when I have listed shipping fees.

/Fredrik

Lawrence

At the moment the orders are mainly of parts/minifigures. I believe a polybags are primarily bought by collectors and it will take time to shift attitudes there. As with any new marketplace I think it will take time for the buyer/seller chicken and egg scenario to work out.

The Owls Sold metric is a count of how many Lego owls have been sold.

Maraxette

I have been around for almost a month now, 15 orders treated so far, mostly parts and 1 set(41999, easy one, I admit )
IMO just be patient, I am sure this will work here

rebrude

I had 58 orders in 1 month and 3 weeks that my store Is open, but all I have sold was only parts and 2 minifigures...

Ems Bricks

The Fritz - I note your store is currently closed at the moment. Is this deliberate or maybe you have changed your settings by mistake - hence no orders? I find it's a different customer base here, mainly smaller orders of parts to complete kits.

TheBrickMill

I've been pleased with the orders and traffic we've had so far. I do think for now we are getting the Amazon type buyers where they need a few things, checkout and are done and gone until they need another fig and a few random parts.

I remember when my boys were little and they would cruise Ebay looking for a motorcycle or other little bits and then have me order for them, I think we appeal a lot to that crowd and I am happy to oblige (although the $30 orders for three million different lots are never fun, LOL).

I think we will see more AFOLs as they start to realize that BL and BO can co-exist/there is not such a stigma to buy from a site other than BL.

I think Admin was very smart to start this site in the summer slumps so the bugs will all be worked out once the "building season" hits!

Tracy

Brick To Terabithia

The site looks ok but without traffic it means nothing. If you aren't going to spend big $$$ advertising this site then why spend all the time putting it together? This place is a ghost town. I would like to see brick owl succeed but you have to realize the chicken and the egg scenario does not magically "work out" in today's world unless you drop 7 figs on advertising. I get the impression this is never going to happen so good luck with the site but please don't forget to be honest with yourself either.

BTW the landing page for brick owl is absolutely horrible. If I did not know any better I would say it was a lego cataloging site rather than a shopping site and click back within 5 seconds. The fact I have to type a set number in the catalog search and then click on the set out of 3 options is a joke. Keep some of that advertising budget for someone who knows how to market please!

Plastic-Paradise

I have to say for a site that has been up and running for less than 3 months I am quite happy with the amount of traffic my store is receiving. No website has millions of customers in the first 3 months. Another thing to consider is instead of trying to place blame on others without merit try listing things on your end that are more appealing to the average buyer. You have nothing listed in your store but multiple quantities of very expensive sets. You are after a very small market with that set up and to add a relatively small customer base to the equation doesn't bode well for that set up. Many of the customers coming in right now are test driving the site and learning how it works much like you or I. They aren't here to buy the most expensive sets available.

Brick To Terabithia

I have no problem selling on either BL, ebay or amazon. If I had known this site was to cater to small buyers who want a few parts or minifigs I would not have wasted my time. I was under the impression Brick Owl was meant to be an alternative to BL.

As I said the landing page does not look like a shopping site. The chicken and the egg scenario will never happen without some major changes and advertising. I am not blaming anyone just giving some real advice. Take it or leave it.

Plastic-Paradise

Also, when I Google your store name, your BrickOwl store is the first thing that pops up. It is the very first thing in the list. Try that on another site and it likely wont be that high in the search results.

Gary

Plastic-Paradise

All I was pointing out is to give it time. I have never been a member of a site in which the owners/creators reacted so fast to fix things and implement suggestions. The site is still very new and in the early stages. I think the small orders right now are coming from Rebrickable as people are looking for parts for those sets. Give it a little time and I think you will like this site just as you do the other 3. I sell on the other 3 as well but this is a different venue and still very new. It is very promising and if you give it a chance it should pay off for you.

Nathvw

I think Lawrence is doing a great job in developing this site, and only he can fully appreciate the amount of work that has gone into it, and the fact that he is always there taking on thoughts and suggestions extremely fast, and regularly implementing improvements shows how committed he is.

From my perspective as a buyer, and as a seller in the early stages:

As far as finding Brick Owl on search engines, when I resurrected my Lego hobby and started searching for parts, I found Brick Owl before I even knew the ‘other place’ existed and the way this site works, and the service I received from sellers on this site was excellent.

Brick Owl shows up regularly when I am researching on search engines, whether I am searching for photos, parts or information.

I was so impressed with this site that I have decided to try out selling here on a small scale, on the understanding that it is a developing site.

From what others have said on the forums, and what research I have done looking at other sellers on here, and also when looking for parts for my own collection, the key seems to be variety.

Nathan-BoxerBricks.

theHellmouth

In concur: variety is key in order to get some sales here. It is a different market here, so either adapt and get some sales or don't adapt and complain about it in the forum ...

Lawrence

I do welcome constructive criticism. I will focus more on making it clearer this is a shopping website on the non-store section of the website. The various landing pages will improve over time as the site progresses. I'm afraid I don't agree that people should not make websites unless they have $1 million to spend on advertising

TheBrickMill

The success of this site in terms of buyers, search engine placement, etc. in so short a time shows the whole "7 figure advertising" concept is a myth. I'm excited to see where this site will be in 6 months.

Rome was not built in a day. Build your store, build the community, and do your part by advertising Brick Owl yourself on social media, in the AFOL community, etc.

misbi

I spy prices on the landing page - definitely a shopping site now

Brick To Terabithia

Well if I do my own advertising does Brick Owl still get their 3%?

Just my opionion but I don't think making a clone of BL with a cleaner interface is the way to go. Grifting BL customers is not a recipe for success. I don't sell parts but specialise in selling sets. When I google a set number I don't see a single hit for brick owl.

My advice would be to try and build a lego shopping website. One stop shop for parts and sets. Try to bring in new customers that do not shop BL. Change the home page with maybe links to "Shopping for Sets?" or "Shopping for Parts?" with some nice graphics. When you click sets take me to a page showing a list of the hottest sets right now (e.g. 41999 or 21103). Get me excited to buy something! Right now I land on a boring page showing boring studs and pieces. There is already a nice and boring established website for parts so why do we need another? When I search for a set don't list the instructions first. List the darn set! When I google lego 41999 or lego Delorean I want to see Brick Owl links on the first page.

Just my vision on where this site should be headed if the owner wants traffic and revenue. If your mission is to make a pretty looking clone of BL then you have done a very good job. But if you want success you must differentiate. Obviously the owner is very attentive and very good at programming. Maybe it is time to bring in someone who understands marketing as well?

Graham

I have to say - Lawrence - thanks for giving a name I was trying to guess if your first or last name was "James"!!! I feel you are off to a great start with this.

So... I have to say this... I have been (very) PLEASANTLY surprised by the uptake here - I am a hobby store (not looking to make $$ ££) - BUT thinking about getting more serious, as I quite enjoy buying/sorting/selling LEGO - but for now happy to feed the hobby...

To date 1/3rd of my sales have been here on BrickOwl, I would be quite happy to close on BL and only sell here (other than MF's & CMF's which I sell "somewhere else") - There are many things on BL that quite frankly realy p me off - if you can provide a good alternative (with TLG's unofficial endorsement - I do not see as difficult if you realize how BL ticked them off and act within their "good faith")

I see a good future for BrickOwl:- HOWEVER "they" are obviously now working on BL2 - BUT look at the "important" sellers they invited to the round table - no hobbyists - MAYBE a few AFOL's - but primarily (or only) BIG $$$£££ makers - what is needed is a place like BL used to be - perhaps the money won't be so good. BUT you have started (IMO) with the right connections with Re-Brickable and BrickSet.

It is re-sellers price gouging that upset TLG most, example Minecraft limited to 2 per customer S@H, 1 per customer Amazon, yet there was/is a seller on BL with 80+ sets at 2x retail price - they don't like that - a vintage set for sale at 2/3/4 x retail no problem, but current HTF sets like that ...

SO please don't be another BL with all the warts!

Graham

sorec

I just started a week ago with LDD software (which by the way is awesome), the only thing not all parts within the software is available to buy directly from Lego, so when I stumbled upon brickowl, it saved the day. So if any case, if you were to market yourself to Designers who use the LDD software, perhaps on social media, you might be more successful.

BabyMyles

I'm a new buyer to Brick Owl, and I think it's great, but I only found it because BL's servers went down due to a move. Glad I found it. I think it's WAY better looking than BL, but the only thing that makes me annoyed is the fact that after ADD TO CART, I have to scroll down to see the choices - it doesn't autoexpand, which for 100 tiny items is really hand intensive and timely. Somebody might need to consider that for the next GUI upgrade.