Unfriendly trend among corsetmakers

Annalai

(Moderator) 2007-12-11, 09:11 #1

Member since May 2005 · 132 posts · Location: Sweden
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Subject: Unfriendly trend among corsetmakers

Hi all,
I have noticed a very bad trend among (new) corsetmakers. A lot of corsetmakers use livejournals and/or myspace to show their work and sell corsets well I guess it is nice as long it is possible to see the pictures and read the information about their work etc. to do so on myspace for example you need to have your own myspace page and ask to be added as a friend.

I as a maybe future customer do not want to have to create a myspace page and ask to be added as a friend just to be able to see their work and read information. It should be easy to wiew the corsets they are selling and easy to find the information needed to order a corset etc.
Livejournal is a bit better you can still look at pictures and read information as long it is not set to friends only something I also has noticed more and more does and often with a clear text telling do not try to be added if you do not have your own working livejournal.

I know some of this makers has other homepages but as a result of the myspace or livejournal they tend to not update their homepages and they show "all" their work and information on pages you can only see if you yourself has a myspace page or livejournal and is added as a friend.
I wonder how many of this corsetmaker would add a person as a friend who only needs to create an empty page to ask to be added as a friend. I know some has the information if you do not have a working page do not ask to be added becasue I will not.

Well to me this is very UNfriendly and stupid system and I think I can not be the only one who has a big interest for corsets and wears them and has an interest to buy corsets who does not want to have to create a myspace page or a livejournal account and keep them updated and working to be able to buy a corset.

I should add I have seen several who has an public livejournal you can read and see the corset pictures without having your own livejournal and this is great. But myspace does not work in the same way and I wonder if the people who use this system has even thought about it.
I think livejournal and myspace on its own is great but not as the only way to sell corsets and especially not when the corsetmakers sets them to friends only.

Annalai

Markus 2007-12-11, 11:03 #2

Member since Jul 2005 · 32 posts · Location: Watford
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I do have a suspicion who specifically you're aiming this at, but I think I can nevertheless give some perspective on this issue in more general terms.

Basically, even if you're the owner of a website there will be things you don't want to clutter your website with (or can't be bothered to mess with your website as it tends to be somewhat difficult to do unless you are technically inclined or have a website backed by an industrial strength CMS). So you open a LJ/MySpace/Facebook account to show to the world what you've done, as it's much easier to update and less formal.

Things go well for a while until you realize that the world can be a scary place full of stupid people and you start to "batten down the hatches". Hence the tightly guarded friends only MySpaces and Journals. I know this state of things can be infuriating but you really shouldn't blame the owners of these closely guarded little worlds for their reaction to the ugly realities of the internet and the world at large.

I know that MySpace is especially annoying (I refused to join it for years until recently, when I had to give in to its lure for several entirely unrelated reasons) but it does have some properties which make it rather useful in certain cases, last but not least because it is a larger, somewhat more anonymous and less tightly knit community without the very personal overtones LJ has.

Roger Conroy (Administrator) 2007-12-11, 15:10 #3

Member since Apr 2005 · 175 posts · Location: South Africa
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I'm not sure I would even want to buy anything from someone so "unprofessional" that they don't have a "real" website for doing business.
The blog sites are fine for hobbyists to show their friends what they are doing, but if you're serious about your products then you should have a serious "shop".

Just my 0.02c worth.

KEEP TIGHT!!!

harmanhay 2007-12-11, 16:27 #4

Member since Dec 2007 · 3 posts · Location: Nottingham, UK
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Hello Roger,

I agree that some of the blog-only corsetmakers we've all seen are plying their wares at a less than professional level, but their choice of medium is, paradoxically, right on the money.

It is popularly thought right now that Web 2.0 has transformed the face of marketing and selling one's wares online. The Internet is now a two-way conversation. Users are no longer interested in seeing a static website; they want to see a living, breathing business and engage with it, and that's why those who are using blogs as their main port of call are making the biggest impact - examples to follow.

Business, it seems, is no longer about setting out your stall and waiting for punters to show up. It's about getting involved, joining the conversation, offering something interesting and useful and not just a dry sales pitch. Hosting a blog is a simple way of having a constantly changing, continually renewing shop front.

www.englishcut.com is a prime example: Thomas Mahon is a Savile Row tailor who no longer plies his wares from the Row but does so instead through a simple blog. He travels around the world to fittings and has had to limit and number his suits each year from 2007/1 to 2007/100 (for example), since he is so swamped with orders. I doubt that this success, his expert reputation or his national radio appearances would have happened without it.

Similarly, Gary Vaynerchuk is doing the same thing with wine but at an even more cutting edge level: his is a daily video blog: http://tv.winelibrary.com.

So some corsetmakers are very young and inexperienced and aren't doing themselves any favours online... but it isn't for want of a homepage.

Best wishes!

tighter_jen 2007-12-15, 10:10 #5

Member since Nov 2007 · 84 posts · Location: Montreal Canada
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I may be old-fashioned, but I believe that it must be possible to see the products a vendor sells without having to give your pedigree to the vendor. No matter what version number there is appended to whatever medium is used. Which brings me to the principle that if something is "new and improved" it is not necessarily better.

If I went to Sears and had to give my name and other information just to see, say their clothing display, I would turn around and go somewhere else where I don't have that kind of hassle. If I want to be interactive, I will choose to speak to a salesperson, not be obligated to do so.

So I rate that kind of sales practice right up there on the annoyance list with those places that print "$Call!" next to their item listings, and those whose salespeople really, really put the pressure on you to buy something you don't want.

Like I said, I must be old-fashioned. But I suppose that in today's world of increasing version numbers, one must sacrifice a lot of principles and values to keep up with the crowd.

Jenny.

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