Naughty Girlys, accessories and more for the subcultural girl, was started by Edna Avila as an online outlet for people to find unique, one-of-a-kind accessories. She was never able to find what she was looking for in stores, got creative and starting designing for herself. Edna's friends kept complimenting her on her designs and asking where to buy them so she started selling them exclusively online.
Currently, Naughty Girlys offers more than 120 handmade, designs and Edna is always working on more...if you don't see what you want, she does take custom orders. Her best sellers are her Poison Girl Hair Bow, anything items bearing the skeleton hand and her tattoo inspired necklaces. "I use expensive materials and take my time to create everything perfectly."
I asked Edna what advice she had for other aspiring online merchants. "First of all, be informed about shipping and handling and be prepared for
your first order. Ship your orders in a timely manner and package all items with care. Take nice pictures of your
products, write catchy descriptions and price items fairly. For Edna it is all about happy customers.
Edna found out about Carfly surfing Bernie Dexter's website and noticed it was free. "Cartfly has helped me to spead the word about my store and made it easy for customers to buy directly from my MySpace page." If you are a guy or girl looking for something different and fun, come take a look at the "best unique accessories for all your naughty needs!"
Bryan Collins, a painter and illustrator, has done many things in his time here on Earth. He was a tattoo artist, was in a touring band playing the bass guitar, and has been an artist since he was a child. Many things have changed in his life, but art has definitely been the constant.
Currently Bryan lives in Fort Collins with his wife and daughter. He is a permanent fixture at The Gallery Underground, exhibits all over the country and has been featured in multiple art magazines including Flash Art, Target Audience and Literary Fever. I had the pleasure of interviewing Bryan and he had lots to share with us.
What prompted you to get your site started? I decided to move my fine art to the next level and become a full-time career artist. I needed to get worldwide exposure for my paintings and illustrations, and wanted to have personal control over representation and sales of my work. I do have art galleries and other websites representing my art, but my own sites allow direct connections and communication between myself, collectors, and fans.
Who are you going after in terms of customers? A wide range of people show serious interest in my art. I don't cater just to big time art collectors, and I never look at anyone as a one-time customer. Anyone who makes a purchase, be it an original painting or a trading card print, should feel they are becoming a part of something. I have an ever growing community of people involved with the art I create. I am going after anyone who wants to be a part of that community.
What advice can you give people who want to start an online business? Longevity is key. Sometimes you will get immediate kickback, but most often you will need to stick it out with a very clear vision, diversify your promotional techniques, create lots of networks, find the right balance of following and setting trends, and be willing to give up some sleep.
How many different products do you sell? Everything revolves around the art I create. My Cartfly shop offers original paintings and illustrations, open and limited edition prints, apparel, and light merchandise such as pin-back buttons and trading cards. Prices start around three dollars and go into the thousands.
What are some of your best sellers? Limited edition Art Trading Cards (ATCs) do very well. They are an inexpensive way to get limited edition items, and building coffee table art books with them can be fun. Prints of all kinds are the fastest movers.
What can you tell me that people might want to know about you/your company? My art has been featured by quite a few major magazines and websites. In my first two years as a professional artist I participated in over 30 exhibits. I have been drawing since I was a toddler and went full time in 2007. I update all of my web presences, including Cartfly, on a very regular bases so new stuff is coming out all the time.
Why should people do business with your company? I have built a solid, consistent, reliable reputation on the web and with art galleries nationwide. When you make a purchase through my Cartfly store, you are dealing directly with me and not an agent or liaison. I make every effort to accommodate special shipping arrangements, creating custom (commissioned) art or prints, and maintaining communication with each person who embarks in a transaction with me.
How did you find out about Cartfly? I saw Paul Moschell using Carfly on his Myspace page. It looked so easy for customers to use, and I wanted to provide the same convenience to my collectors and fans. I signed up the same night I found out about it.
How has Cartfly helped you? Cartfly has relieved the burden of updating many different shops throughout my web presence. I can update my Carfly store in one location and everywhere my code is pasted gets updated all at once. People can shop through many different items from whatever location they are already in. The store plugs in nicely to my website, Myspace, and blog. Sales began coming in right after I started using Cartfly. I am recommending it to friends and fellow artists almost daily.
You can find Bryan's Cartfly store on the "Shop" tab of his official website, his MySpace profile and blog. For more of Bryan you may also follow him on Twitter.
We’d love to hear about your Cartfly Store success. Email us at info[at]cartfly[dot]com to be a featured Cartfly merchant and we’ll do a story about you!
I stumbled upon the E-Commerce Trends for 2008 and 2009 article by Michelle Megna, managing editor of E-commerce-Guide.com. Anyone selling anything out there on the web should for sure take the time to read the full article, but here are some highlights...
Trying to Cash In on Social Sites - Members seem to want to communicate more than they want to shop. - Consumers continue to share — and trust — information about products they gain through social networks.
EBay Undergoes Huge Changes - From Meg Whitman's departure, to unprecedented boycotts, to significant changes in the feedback, payment and shipping policies, it seems eBay is hardly the same company it was in 2007. - eBay has instituted a new Power Seller program for high-volume sellers, and it appears the "Amazon-ification" of eBay is in full swing. - "eBay alternative" sector is showing signs of life, indeed success, with snappy upstarts such as Bonanzle gaining traction — and traffic.
Shipping News - Is offering free shipping is a smart marketing choice or a death knell for the bottom line? - Are shoppers expecting free shipping, and does not offering it mean you're losing sales? - Instead offer delivery discounts that won't eat up profit margins. Customers are actually more willing to swap free shipping for other types of incentives.
Customer Reviews and Video Ads/Marketing - Customer reviews are now becoming mainstream as consumers increasingly expect them as a standard feature. - Start-ups such as Jivox offering small online business owners affordable D.I.Y. video ad making services showed up. - Video is now place in targeted ad networks that you can track with analytics as you would a pay-per-click campaign. In 2009 we should see if this becomes more mainstream as opposed to a trend for early adopters.
International Sales on Tap -
As the market matures, it appears many e-tailers are more willing to go after the foreign customer base.
Khrys Martinez, from Wilmintgon, CA, started Rock-A-Deadly as a new stay-at-home Rockabilly mom who wanted to make some extra money and create cute cool stuff for kids. "This was the best option for me and I love what I do, so that is always a plus." She continues to vend her wears at different art walks and fairs but also has her products in many retail stores around California.
Martinez currently carries 10 different items, including earrings, necklaces, clips, purses and candles with many different design options and in fact, each one is unique and hand made. "Our best seller are our necklaces and earrings. I thinks this is due to our great prices...we never over price." Rock-A-Deadly's customers are those that live a little on the wild side, but are really anyone wanting to stand out in a crowd. "I notice that people with all kinds of styles like my merchandise and custom orders are always welcome."
"Starting your own business online, is wonderful if your a mom, like myself" says Martinez. "The most important thing to treat it like you have an actual store. I spend 24/7 of my time online creating different products and researching what people want." While online she found out about Cartfly through another company and is glad that she did. "Cartfly has been a life saver and the price is great! I sell more on Cartfly than my official website. When I'm designing sites for other companies, I always make sure to tell them to use Cartfly."
We’d love to hear about your Cartfly Store success. Email us at info[at]cartfly[dot]com to be a featured Cartfly merchant and we’ll do a story about you!
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