Jay wrote on 07/12/12 at 00:51:44:

Maybe, Chess4Less told me they would have a better system fairly soon, so I'll see if that is any real improvement before changing.
Yes, the ads are unobtrusive ... but I prefer not to annoy the members too much! Anyway, we put direct links to the books mentioned in the articles on the main (ChessPublishing) site and that doesn't generate any sales either!

Quote:


I think I know why sales have been weak.  I have been on this forum often, and the ads are so unobstrusive that I have never seen one.  I will definitely look at the shop both on my phone and PC.

Edit: link on the upper right of the forum has no graphic; I never woluld have noticed it.  Also the link does not work on my phone.  I tend to do chess purchases on phone over internet.

I usually do book purchases directly at a Barnes and Noble or through lowest cost through somwthing like bookfinder.com but I would purchase at a slight increase in cost to support this site.  But there has to be more people like me because 3 books a year won't do it alone.  Let me think on it.  I bet there are creative ways to support the site.  I'm unlikely to purchase a subscription to anything but the forum so perhaps treat the forum like a cheap subscription?  $5-10/year?

I was also thinking that a referral to a site like buy.com or overstock might generate more revenue because I splurge on a chess book maybe 3 times a year but I would support the site with more than just chess books.  Also there could be a donate with paypal link.  Don't know how much those would generate, but every bit helps, right?

Dink Heckler wrote on 09/26/11 at 11:33:12:

Yes, I tried buying Delchev's book from here to see whether everything worked OK and the P & P would have cost me somewhat more than the book itself! So I guess this will only be of interest to someone in the USA.
Actually, I am seriously considering stopping it as we are making no sales at all and just giving them free publicity.

I would happily support it if it was based in Europe (or if there was a European equivalent).

GMTonyKosten wrote on 09/24/11 at 13:02:32:


This is unlikely to change apart from a few spikes here and there.
Standard made-up internet marketing numbers :
Only a low percentage of your forum visitors will even consider buying from somebody else than their standard shop. Let's be generous and assume it's 10% of your visitors exposed to a link to the affiliate shop.
Now reduce all the repeat visitors interested in a purchase to one-each.
Of these people only a certain number will really click on the link.
Of those who click the link only a small percentage will actually order. Most internet marketers would be more than happy to convert 5%.

So you either need huge visitor numbers or a very attractive product - ideally both - to make a killing. Chess stuff can be bought everywhere, and high visitor numbers isn't something ChessPub has, I guess.

So if there are any advantages for the buyers except for "support ChessPub" it might be a good idea to communicate them.

A little tip/warning if you live in the EU and order from the US. Don't order dvds and books at the same time to save postage, as the customs fee for dvds is calculated on the worth of the entire package, be it 1 dvd and 10 books or vice versa. - I learned that the hard way a few years ago... 

GMTonyKosten wrote on 08/26/11 at 11:00:57:


Saw this thread, went to the site and bought some DVDs. The sale went through without a hitch. I'll post again when they arrive, hopefully in about a week.

Very pleased with the price.   

Jesse Gersenson wrote on 08/26/11 at 12:51:19:

Well, it's the same shop for both sites, and I didn't have any say in the design of the banner.

Jesse Gersenson wrote on 08/26/11 at 12:51:19:

Sounds like a good idea, at the moment there have been virtually zero sales!!