Archive for September, 2009
The seller interview: Amanda Roberts (@geekdetails)
This week we talked to Amanda Roberts, owner of Geek Details, a fun store filled with “geek centric items.”
Amanda is 26, married, and has two kids, two dogs, and two cats. She’s spent the last nine years going where the military tells her family to go and now that that part of her life is over, she’s looking forward to seeing what comes next. Check out her Geek Details site and Etsy store, or find her on Twitter or Facebook.
Tell us a little bit about Geek Details. What sorts of items do you sell?
Geek Details is a store based off of my current art interests. You’ll always find funny pinback buttons, magnets, art prints and hand painted dishware. My current obsessions are specimen based off my favorite books, hand painted luggage, button jewelry, and more. The items change depending on what I’m working on at the moment.
How did Geek Details get started?
Geek Details was started in the dining room of my last house. It was quickly moved to the master bedroom (yes, my husband gave up the master bedroom for me) because the business grew so quickly. I started it because I have this need to create but I also have a need for an uncluttered house. Then I had the desire to contribute to my family’s finances without having to worry about what will happen to the kids when they’re sick and can’t go to school.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Late night drunken conversations with friends… I also carry around a notebook with me and jot down ideas when they strike me. I later go through the notebook and use it to create items for the store. Sometimes an item is made to fill a specific need and other times they’re made just because they look cool in my head.
How do you market or promote your store?
Word of mouth really. I’ve done a couple Project Wonderful ads on noncrafting website. I’ve also recently started reaching out to some blogs to do features like this one or to do a giveaway from my store. I try to only reach out to sites that I think my items fit in with the theme of the site so that I’m not wasting the site owner’s or my time. I try to avoid the handmade market (other Etsy seller websites, sites devoted to making crafts) and instead focus on people that would like my stuff and can’t make it (webcomic sites, home decor sites).
How do you use Twitter to help with your business?
I don’t. I know it sounds odd, but I don’t try to use it as a business tool. I talk about my life, sometimes my store, I will post treasuries I like, talk with other Twitter users, build relationships, etc… I see it as a social outlet. Do I get business from Twitter? Yes I do, but I try to just talk on it like I would with a friend which means only occasionally mentioning my store and just commenting on other people’s stuff a lot. I think it helps my business more to quietly build relationships with people then to be a street crier constantly pimping my wares.
What kinds of lessons have you learned since you’ve owned Geek Details?
I have learned that there are some harsh sellers on Etsy and that some sellers will try to intimidate you in to pulling items from your store because they think they own the right to that item when they don’t. I’ve also learned how to converse about my store without being that chick people avoid because she talks about her store too much. I can balance work and family better now and I can set attainable goals for myself too.
Do you have any tips or advice for someone just getting her/his own business started?
Small steps, small steps. You can’t open a store with hardly any product and no feedback and expect people to find you and purchase from you right away. Take little steps every day to improve your store and product and realize it takes a little while and a lot of work to get a store off the grown. Don’t be afraid to ask for constructive feedback on your store even if it means someone tears you down in order to help build you up better than before. I had to go through that a couple times, and while it was distressing to see someone tear me down, I used their words to make my store better and am more successful than before I asked for a tear down.
If you’re interested in sharing your experience running your online business, we’d love to interview you! Send us an email to find out more.
Announcing the Toys”R”Us CheapTweet Store!
Great news! We’ve got another amazing new CheapTweet Store to announce – Toys R Us!
Toys”R”Us and Babies”R”Us have a wide variety of toys and baby supplies to meet all of your holiday needs. They have huge discounts on everything you could want for your children, from toys and games to furniture, bikes, health supplies, Halloween costumes and so much more. And now, all those deals are just a click away on CheapTweet.com. We’re very excited to bring Toys”R”Us on board just in time to help you save money on gifts this holiday season.
So, head over and check out the Toys”R”Us CheapTweet Store. And while you’re there, take a look at some of our other terrific stores.
Announcing the Jockey CheapTweet Store
We’re very excited to announce our newest CheapTweet Store – Jockey.com!
Jockey was founded in 1876 and they currently offer more than 500 styles and colors of underwear, sportswear, sleepwear and other apparel at great prices. Jockey.com offers free shipping on orders over $75 and free returns on every order.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of Jockey’s invention of the men’s brief! To celebrate the brief’s anniversary, Jockey will be featuring a great new deal every day for the next week, starting with savings on briefs for men and women. You can find all these deals in the Jockey CheapTweet Store.
We’re thrilled to have Jockey.com as our newest CheapTweet Store. Go check out all their great deals and take advantage of this week’s big anniversary discounts!
Nintendo Wii now only $199!
Nintendo announced that it will be dropping the price of its popular video gaming console to $199 (down from $249). This is perfect timing for the holiday season, which is only a few months away.
So, we wanted to know what people who already have Wiis think of the console. Here are some of their thoughts. If you’re thinking about buying one for your family this year, consider these before buying.
Pros
@cornerstone_FCU: LOVE it. Mario Kart is a must!
@FrugalRacingMom: I have one and it is awesome! Wouldn’t trade it for anything!
@Get_Ampd: I purchased a Wii last year for my extended family (ages 5-57). Every holiday we have baseball tournaments and tennis matches!
@dropofsunshine: I love my Wii! and my wii fit! We also have an xbox but the wii complements it!
@deanandbek: Wii is weeeeeeeee! So much fun! Love the games-Wii Fit. Play it daily for a year now. Invite friends-have a TeqWiila party!
@starkeee: I enjoy my Wii immensely – both for the workouts (I use EA Sports Active) and the games. Definitely worth the purchase.
@DRN_Magazine: I have a Wii and I LOVE IT! It’s great as both an interactive exercise tool, as well as for the good ol’ video games. Wii is a great way to get stay in shape—and have fun—when you aren’t dancing.
@shellgupta: My boyfriend has one & I love playing on it. PLUS @laurakunz says Wii Fit is great too.
@Janellcp: We love that we can download old games for $5 – we have been playing Super Mario Bros 1,2, & 3!
@larrybehrens: We have one. Love it, love it, love it. More Wi-Fi games would be nice. Kids like them.
Cons
@ShakespeareGeek: While fun, we have yet 2 find a “whole family flocks around tv every night to play” game. Kids are 7/5/3, hard for little ones.
@smashgirl: my son had one but sold it 6 months later, got bored with it…he’s loves the XBOX 360,plays live with his friends.
Feel free to add your own thoughts on the Wii in the comments.
The seller interview: Sharon Siew (@cate_com_sg)
Tell us a little about your background.
I’d never really considered starting my own fashion business until I turned 24. My dad was in the Singapore Air Force and he was posted to Perth, Australia for work when I was 14. I majored in accounting and quantitative finance at the University of Western Australia, and upon graduating with honors, returned to Singapore and stepped foot in the corporate world as a management trainee in finance within local media behemoth Singapore Press Holdings who turns out the national daily, the Singapore Straits Times. My love for fashion had been inspired by reading Australian fashion magazines while at high school and university.
Although the nature of my studies and work had been highly numeric, I always had a creative bent that yearned for an outlet somewhere. I sought it with a move to marketing with Raffles Hotels and Resorts, where I picked up insights into branding for the iconic Raffles Hotel. All through this time, my dream of starting a business in fashion and marketing continued to beckon. I still remember the defining moment when I decided, over Häagen-Dazs ice cream, to take concrete steps towards realising my passion and I left the corporate world. I started out knocking on doors with no fashion experience or contacts, just a passion to launch a thriving online retail fashion store and champion talented fashion designers from our region, and presenting them to the world.
How did Cate get started?
The idea came to me one night of the blue two years ago. Now I was pretty certain that someone surely would have created an online fashion retail store stocking the collections of Asian designers. I shop online and I know there were Australian websites stocking collections by Australian designers, but there were no websites that pulled together apparel and accessories from the wider Asia Pacific region, and I felt especially that the Asian designers were under-represented online. We had our own fashion weeks and fashion festivals, and we were covered in the regional press at least that I knew of, but more often than not, ladies would not be able to get their hands on anything that caught their fancy. Timing-wise, the fashion industry in key Asian cities were only just beginning to develop, mature and find their voice.
Here I was, in cosmopolitan Singapore, seeing indie designers produce highly wearable pieces that were in equal parts elegant and edgy, at attractive price points thanks to low cost production and smaller marketing budgets. The result is that customers get to enjoy sophisticated designs influenced by popular Western culture yet also infused with our rich and diverse Asian heritage, by labels that are just waiting to be discovered. So I started developing Cate from this premise.
Tell us a little bit about the items you sell at Cate. What sorts of pieces do you specialize in?
Cate sells mostly indie apparel, followed by accessories and LUXE travel guides. We specialise in coolly elegant silk dresses and tops, effortless pieces that trend towards the classic, although we do love our designers who bring a twist to the classics and we also like items that are a bit edgy. We like relaxed tops but there are also lovely fitted pieces. To sum it up, we are all about effortless contemporary dressing.
What makes Cate unique in the online retail space?
We are still very new, of course, and to date, we have 23 brands on Cate. I feel that we are unique just by our brand mix. We carry online exclusives with brands such as Farah Khan, Nicholas, Burgundy, ReshamM, KOOPS by Keith Png. Keith for instance, is a fashion designer and recently, a TV host who regularly dresses celebrities and singers in Singapore and Hong Kong. ReshamM and Farah Khan both have delightful capsule resort collections comprising lovingly embellished dresses and playsuits. Theirs is a coolly modern look resplendent with signature embellishments in the form of silk wrapped roses and ruffles, beading and embroidery. Burgundy, another favourite label of mine, always reminds me of Bottega Veneta and Calvin Klein in their design aesthetic – timeless, sophisticated and just so quietly luxurious. Alldressedup is another fast-growing label that was featured on Germany’s Next Top Model in May this year. I adore their finishings, their play on colours and layering potential. Cate carries the widest range of their collection online.
Cate is great for ladies who appreciate the little-known and being in-the-know about emerging brands that could be the next Ashley Isham or Andrew Gn. As you know, shopping indie means owning a design that is produced in limited quantity. And it’s also great for intrepid travellers who have been by the region for work or play and in that time, having found a fashion brand they liked during their travels, realise it’s available on Cate! Or vice versa, be introduced to the brand online and go check out their boutiques when they swing by, I’d like that!
Are you originally from Singapore?
Yes, I was born in Singapore, and apart from my seven years in Perth, this has always been home. I’d jokingly say that we have brought Singapore’s Orchard Road online! Ok ok, in a small way for a start.
How do you market or promote your site?
Locally, we prize editorial mentions and endorsements in local press and magazines. Online, our site is search-engine friendly and we also use Google adwords, list on a number of shopping directories, put out press releases and e-newsletters regularly to customers and press, including inflight magazines because we want to see the word about Cate spreading beyond Singapore and Asia. I am always actively looking for cost-effective ways to promote Cate.
How do you use Twitter to help with your business?
I was introduced to Twitter by a good friend a few months ago, and was intrigued by the Twitter race between Ashton Kutcher and CNN, and how Ashton and Demi twittered in support of Susan Boyle, helping to propel her to international stardom. Suddenly the world seemed so much smaller. I put up a page for Cate but have only recently customised Cate’s twitter page and started twittering more regularly. To date, we still have a very small following and I hope to see that increasing! I’d like to connect a bit more with fellow twitterers and have two-way dialogue going on. I’ll be getting an iPod touch soon, and should be more linked in then.
Do you have any tips or advice for someone just getting her/his own business started?
Do your research, and have very clear goals and objectives and work towards that. Often, the small business owner IS the business and you have to learn to juggle the many roles until the business stabilises and you can have your own team working with you. Focus is so important! Having sounding boards in the form of mentors, close friends or spouses is great for injecting a good dose of objectivity in your planning. Also, work to your strengths and outsource those areas you are weak in or have absolutely no knowledge of. And most importantly, believe in yourself, and persevere!
Announcing the Barnes & Noble CheapTweet Store!
We are very, very excited to announce the newest CheapTweet Store – Barnes & Noble!
Barnes & Noble.com is the internet’s largest bookstore and features an outstanding selection of books, eBooks, CDs, DVDs, and much more. Barnes & Noble Members save up to 40% every day! Plus, everyone gets Fast & Free Delivery on orders of $25 or more. We’re beyond pleased to bring all their great deals on books and more to CheapTweet users.
So go check out the Barnes & Noble CheapTweet Store. And while you’re there, take a look at some of our other great Stores.
Announcing the Drugstore.com CheapTweet Store!
We’re very excited to announce the launch of our newest CheapTweet Store – drugstore.com! drugstore.com is the leading online provider of health, beauty, vision, and pharmacy products and has been selling health and beauty products online for ten years. This is a great company that sells thousands of products we all use every day, so we’re beyond pleased that CheapTweet users now have access to these savings.
To kick things off, we’ve got a great drugstore.com coupon to share with you:
Save an additional $10 off any Crest Advanced Seal Whitestrips.
Expires 9/27/2009. Limit one redemption per household.
So, head over to the drugstore.com CheapTweet Store and check out all their great deals!
The seller interview: Tara Roark (@couponbootcamp)
This week, we talked to Tara Roark (@couponbootcamp), Founder of Coupon Boot Camp.
Tara is the author of a weekly newspaper column, Cutting Corners. She resides in southwest Ohio where she also facilitates seminars with her husband of nine years. Mother of three, Tara developed Coupon Boot Camp to train others how to save on their everyday shopping. Since then she has been featured on three local television stations and made several organizational speaking engagements to share her cost saving ideas and techniques. You can find her on her site, her blog and on Twitter.
Tell us a little about Coupon Boot Camp. How did it get started?
A friend of mine had taught me a little about couponing and I began saving BIG immediately, like getting 20 boxes of Kellogg’s cereal for only $17.60. I was sharing this savings and photos on my Facebook page and many of my friends requested that I teach them how to do it, stating that they would gladly pay for a class. I had been doing home training with another business, Computer Help, and was familiar with creating comprehensive manuals and training so I thought I would give it a shot.
I did some additional research and before I administered my first training class. I ran it by my best friend who I knew would be sincerely honest and thorough in reviewing. She was someone I refer to as a “Coupon Backslider”. She used to use coupons and save but for whatever reason had gotten away from it. She had several challenging questions for me. Two of her main concerns were actual savings and time. Once I was able to show her that she could get name brand groceries cheaper than her off brand and how to manage the whole coupon process with minimal effort, she was once again happily clipping! I then polished the manual and offered classes to the public.
My first class was in January 2009 and I had sold out bi-weekly training classes of 20 – 32 attendees each. Many of my trainees have written, spoken to or called me excited to share their savings and appreciation.
Why do you think coupons are so important?
With this economy, I think it is vital that we save in all areas of our family budgets and with manufacturers eager to win our loyalty by offering coupons and sales, it would be a shame not to take advantage of the great savings!
What would I learn if I enrolled in one of your classes?
Let me tell you, the reason I titled my series Coupon Boot Camp is because, much like any other type of boot camp, it is hard core! In a six-week military training, for example, they have a short period of time to condition recruits mentally and physically so that they are prepared for battle. In my training courses I have a short period of time – two hours for Basic Training – to prepare consumers to win the war against high prices!
How do you market or promote Coupon Boot Camp?
Through my weekly newspaper column Cutting Corners in the Wilmington News Journal, handing out brochures when people behind me in the store check out comment on how much I saved, word of mouth from previous trainees, TWITTER!!, my Facebook page and EVERY area I can! Whenever I see a news story about saving money, shopping, etc.., I go to that website and tell them about myself.
How do you use Twitter to help with your business?
In a short period of time, Twitter has become a HUGE valuable tool for me. Through it I recently earned a newspaper interview and FRONT page article in the Cincinnati Enquirer! I have so many new followers and sales are beginning to generate from that!
Do you have any tips or advice for someone just getting started with his/her business?
Work it! Work it! Work it!! Self promotion should be a HIGH priority!! Don’t be afraid to tell people who you are and what you do. Be proud of your accomplishments!
Announcing the newest addition to CheapTweet Stores – PC Universe
We’re very excited to announce the official launch of our newest CheapTweet Store – PC Universe. PC Universe offers more than 250,000 computer hardware, software and peripheral products from 700 brands. And now, deals on those items will be available directly to CheapTweet’s community of deal-seekers and online shoppers in the PC Universe CheapTweet Store.
We think PC Universe is a great addition to our growing collection of CheapTweet Stores. PC Universe started in 1995 and is now a leading online retailer of electronics. In the PC Universe CheapTweet Store, CheapTweet users will have access to thousands of good deals on electronics from PCUniverse.com, including computers, printers, cell phones, cameras, MP3 players, software and so much more. You can also keep up with the latest news and deals from PC Universe on Twitter.
CheapTweet Stores are a portal for companies and brands who use Twitter to post sales, discounts, coupons and deals. Shoppers can quickly and easily browse through all a company’s tweets and deals, as well as read everything everyone else on Twitter tweets about that company. With CheapTweet Stores, shoppers:
- Never miss a great deal.
- Access special offers and enter contests.
- Discover what other people are saying.
- Find all the deals from a brand in one place.
Contact us to set up your own Store now.
The seller interview: Suzanne (@threepeats)
This week we talked to Suzanne, a designer of handmade jewelry made from vintage materials and owner of threepeats Jewelry. Suzanne is a public high school dance teacher in New York City, where she has lived her entire life. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, her blog and in her Etsy shop.
How did you get started making jewelry?
I have always collected vintage jewelry, admiring its workmanship and materials. But two summers ago, I realized that I wasn’t wearing any of it… it was too heavy or too fragile or too tacky! I was about to start selling it on eBay when I came across some broken pieces and I decided to see if I could take them apart and put them back together again in a way that would make them wearable. I came up with a basic necklace design of three bead sections interspersed with three chain sections in one, long, continuous, claspless collage. I started wearing the necklaces and getting compliments. I started giving them as gifts and got more compliments. I have always been a buyer of handmade and vintage things, most recently on Etsy, so that was where I set up my online shop. I called it threepeats because the necklaces were three sections of repeated (recycled) vintage beads and chains! I recently branched into earrings at my customers’ request (it’s a great way to use up tiny amounts of leftover materials!).
Tell us a little bit about your jewelry. What sorts of pieces do you specialize in?
I make long, light, easy-to-wear, affordable necklaces and earrings from recycled vintage beads, chain, ribbon and lace. Each piece is UNIQUE! I’m not a fan of matching, symmetrical things – so my jewelry is eclectic in both the materials used and design.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Sometimes I am inspired by the vintage materials themselves and their colors, but I am also inspired by places I have traveled to and even sometimes specific people, like Bette Davis and Rachel Maddow.
How do you market or promote your work?
I am part of two great teams on Etsy, the Etsy Twitter Team and the Retro Handmade Team, and we all cross-promote each other. I blog, am on Twitter, run sales and promotions, and do giveaways.
How do you use Twitter to help with your jewelry-making and your business?
The Etsy Twitter Team is very active. We constantly tweet and retweet each others’ work and promotions. I notify CheapTweet whenever I am running a sale in my store and I like reading tweets from “regular” people to keep me informed about fashion trends.
Do you have any tips or advice for someone just getting started selling her/his own work?
As difficult as it may be, especially for some people, you can’t just sit back and wait for people to discover you and your work… You need to promote (yes, sell) yourself in as many different ways as you can. Figure in an advertising budget, even if it’s small, when you set up shop online.
