ldinternet

I have a mainstream business selling electronics and high-end software to both individuals and businesses. After much effort, things are finally taking off - naturally the earning potential is far greater in mainstream than in adult.

Running any business is an ongoing learning process. It's important to know a little about a lot; I'd just like to post something that I think I've finally picked up on (after much frustration). It's quite simple really - the best customer is a mute.

You enter the following product into your database:

Adobe Photoshop 8.0 CS
US English, suitable for Macintosh
Brand new, boxed and sealed
Includes all manuals, licenses and documentation
Includes free delivery this week
$xxx.xx

A day later, you have two orders for this item.

Order #1 comes in. The product is sent, the customer sits back patiently, two days later it arrives and you never hear from the guy again. Maybe he comes back in the future to order some more stuff. Just fantastic. This is the kind of person you want as a customer - silent as a mouse.

Order #2 comes in. THEN the customer starts asking questions that would be answered if they simply read the product description. Is this the Macintosh edition? Is this brand new? Is it boxed? Does it include a rebate? US customers are the absolute worst for this stunt. It pisses me off. Hey assclown, learn to read. Still, in my experience, these are not the worst kind of customers.

The absolute worst kind of customer is the one that contacts you to ask a shitload of questions before choosing to purchase an item. After learning the hard way, I no longer respond to questions from potential customers. 50% of these people are TROUBLE - beware. Avoid them at all costs. And men are far far far worse than women because, quite simply, women have patience.

First of all, some guy emails you with 3 or 4 questions. You answer them honestly. They buy the product. You inspect the product, it's perfect. Brand new, boxed and sealed just like the description says. You send it, they receive it. Yet you can bet your fucking life that 50% of the time, there will be something wrong with it. Then they'll either want their money back, or they'll pester you for months. What a fucking headache. Financially, at least when selling electronics, I find these people are just not worth it.

Ever emailed someone from ebay, Amazon, etc to ask about a product and never received a response? Read above - that's probably why.

Working in adult, whether it be selling kinky pictures or selling tangible items, the paying customers are so much more timid. Nobody wants to make a huge fuss over a $50 dildo that arrived with the batteries not already charged. Nobody wants their wife or bank manager to know that they took up a 3 month membership to an obese chicks scat site, that they fantasize about teenage boys, or 90 year old grannies. So they keep quiet.

Oh, how I wish this could be as simple as adult - where I can sell memberships all day long, then when evening comes, I can check my email and see "0 messages received".

wdsguy

Obviously it would save u $$ to have a customer that doesn't complain or has unique requirements with their order. The question is do you make a effort to build a relationship with these customers? In my experience, the mute ones aren't always the best. The ones that account for the bulk of our sales are the ones we engage with in order to promote further sales. It is always cheaper to retain a customer then find new ones.

EviLGuY

I found the same type of thing when I was in the hosting business. You had good customers and bad ones and generally you could tell the difference within a very short timeframe.

woj

The questions are probably because they want to make sure you are not some wise guy trying to sell a cd-r copy of photoshop for $59.99 which you downloaded from kazaa a week earlier.

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bawdy

i got a couple of quick questions if you dont mind? ;-)

do you keep the stock on hand that you are selling? (if so whats an average quantity and do you pay up front from the distributor?)

did you have to go to many distributors to get resellers rights or are you only handling a few items?

TurboTrucker

I love the mute customer. Since my products are custom and have to fit right, I often get returns for modifications - but my profit margin is excellent.

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