why don't you buy?

Micah Cohen
Micah Cohen Posts: 2,022
edited February 2024 in Clubhouse Archives
So, Paul's bugging me that the Polk Audio webstore isn't selling enough stuff. I mean, there's loads of nifty useful stuff there, and our prices are pretty competitive, and lots of people SEE the stuff, but few people buy from us.

How come?

What's missing from our store? What's wrong with our store? What's good about our store? How can we make it better? Is it "user-friendly"?

Post your ideas and suggestions here.

Thanks!

micah
ultramicah@yahoo.com

"There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight." - Lon Chaney
Post edited by RyanC_Masimo on
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Comments

  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,986
    edited September 2002
    Offer a factory-direct, limited edition SDA, Monitor, or LSi....

    They will sell like hotcakes...

    I'll take the plunge on Vibrapods in the not-so-distant future, but I've already got my Polk CD Wallets, Polo Shirt, and Windbreaker...

    Would a 'Polk Audio' logo'd amp/gear cover work? Yeah, I'd buy a couple. I know the HT enthusiasts want Polk signage, I just don't see a heck of lot there. The HT setup disc is cool, would an audio-only disc be feasable to demo Polk gear with?

    How about Polk Pilsner Glasses, Polk Mousepads..... Polk Gold Toe Socks might be hot ticket....

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • Steve@3dai
    Steve@3dai Posts: 983
    edited September 2002
    Some Polk signage would be cool, just like one of those banners that CC gets. Maybe T-shirt transfers :)

    Scratch and dent section as well? I wouldn't mind getting some RTi35s scratch and dent. Of course, that would require money which I don't have. Dammit.
    LSi 9/C/FX
    Arcam AVR-200
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  • goingganzo
    goingganzo Posts: 2,793
    edited September 2002
    factry direct priceing on polk audio for club polk members would be good for thoes of us who wants to upgrade sinage would be good too
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  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,520
    edited September 2002
    Polk Pens
    Polk Coffee Mugs
    Polk Beer Glasses
    Polk Condoms
    Polk Stickers
    ...get the idea, you need more Polk stuff.


    Peace Out~:D
    If...
    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
    Ron loves a film = don't even rent.
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  • Micah Cohen
    Micah Cohen Posts: 2,022
    edited September 2002
    Hey! Great! No offense taken, ever! Your comments are welcomed and read with interest.

    This is cool. More?

    I mean, besides just what's offered... Is there anything you can say about the store itself, the copy, the layout, the software, the buying process?

    MC
    ultramicah@yahoo.com

    "There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight." - Lon Chaney
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  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,093
    edited September 2002
    I'm with Russ in that I've handled up on my share of Polk-gear...

    I like the Polk-demo discs though.

    As for the store itself, I like it. I've used it a couple of times and it works great. Props to Polk

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited September 2002
    I'll agree with the equipment covers!!!

    That is a really cool idea. I would love to have a big POLK cover to throw over my audio rack. I'm thinking black with gold lettering? Various size component covers would be cool too for amps sitting on the floor which get dusty. Imagine that really cool cover for over your 36" monitor that says POLK across the front!
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • phuz
    phuz Posts: 2,372
    edited September 2002
    Does the furniture and/or speaker stands sell much? I would assume not, since it's much easier and cheaper to get them all locally. I know the last thing I want to do after dropping a load of cash on speakers is to drop more on furniture +shipping.

    I agree with all of the other points already made. Signage, covers, more logo merchandise and high performance accessories, special club polk rates, and so on..

    I think the layout, shopping cart, and order process are fine. I just haven't ordered anything *yet* because I'm waiting to place one complete order for everything I need to save on shipping costs.
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  • trubluluc
    trubluluc Posts: 2,067
    edited September 2002
    for a set of 6 beer glasses.
    If you want to fill 'em with ale before you ship, I'm for it.

    Also I'm a T-shirt wearing kind of guy, print up some cool Tee's and I'll buy 'em.

    -Luc
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  • Systems
    Systems Posts: 14,873
    edited September 2002
    On a bit of a tangent, but I think that you should pimp the all-in-one HT system a bit more. The combination of features you get with Polk spkrs included is actually pretty good. A lot of people, myself included, don't want to spend all our time dealing with HT setup/fine-tuning, & if I had known about this system earlier, I might've bought it. CC doesn't have it on their website.
    Testing
    Testing
    Testing
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,762
    edited September 2002
    I'm with russman, limited edition SDA's!!!

    Also, pens, stickers, key chains, etc.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,986
    edited September 2002
    Seriously, a quasi CRS remake.

    Use the new SL2000 replacement, 2 5.25's/6.5's, a side/rear fire PR (if at all), $1200 a pair, make 150 pair, signed by Matt & George with hand-written serial numbers, they'd be GONE in a week, EASY.....

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • hoosier21
    hoosier21 Posts: 4,413
    edited September 2002
    New CRS, gloss black, Oak or Cherry wood, new tweeter from the LSi's, above grade 6.5's, matching non-SDA video shielded version for center channel use, nice matching stands that don't break the bank, rebirth of a classic.
    Dodd - Battery Preamp
    Monarchy Audio SE100 Delux - mono power amps
    Sony DVP-NS999ES - SACD player
    ADS 1230 - Polk SDA 2B
    DIY Stereo Subwoofer towers w/(4) 12 drivers each
    Crown K1 - Subwoofer amp
    Outlaw ICBM - crossover
    Beringher BFD - sub eq

    Where is the remote? Where is the $%#$% remote!

    "I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us have...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."
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  • jrausch
    jrausch Posts: 510
    edited September 2002
    It's very hard to compete with E-bay. Polk people are bargain hunters. Your speakers are a great bargain, but the items for sale in your webstore can be had for much less. I say include a 10-15% off coupon with the purchase of any new set of Polks. Get those newbies to check out and buy your stuff. Take as small a hit as you can and get out of this side buisness. Stick to what you guys do best. You need to offer something you can't get anywhere else, like Polk Audio special edition items. I like the condom idea though, something that rolls out to say "Poke Audio" or "Polk ME" would be classic. :)
    "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."
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  • Micah Cohen
    Micah Cohen Posts: 2,022
    edited October 2002
    Wow! You guys are awesome! I love your feedback and really appreciate it. ATCVenom, your suggestions are superb! Let's see how much interesting feedback we can generate on this subject. Ultimately, it will help us serve you better with a better webstore!

    Micah
    ultramicah@yahoo.com

    "There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight." - Lon Chaney
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  • phuz
    phuz Posts: 2,372
    edited October 2002
    Originally posted by jrausch
    I like the condom idea though, something that rolls out to say "Poke Audio" or "Polk ME" would be classic. :)

    Oh man, how bout some "Polk Me" boxer shorts? How's that for a Polkgasm?

    I dunno about y'all, but if I were Matt I'd be creeped out at all of the stuff with my last name on it. ;)
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  • burdette
    burdette Posts: 1,194
    edited October 2002
    A lot of good points already made concerning the more expenisve items.. furniture, speaker stands, etc, tend to be available locally for less money, with no shipping hassles, charges, or waiting.

    I'm not buying much of anything I don't *need* right now, so it isn't likely I'll be making big purchases even if you do alter the selection... but I'd be more likely to buy something cheap that I could actually USE.. like a coffee mug or key chain. I'd also probably buy a T-shirt.. but I'm not into regular clothes that have brand names on them.. just isn't me, so I wouldn't buy a sweater. Boxer shorts, maybe.

    I think you should pay attention to the things the guys keep talking about wanting and using... you've got a $100 remote for sale, but not a sound pressure meter.. everyone and his dog wants the thumb-wheel speaker spikes, I think a neon Polk sign would sell like hotcakes with this crowd, (any Polk signage, actually), baseball caps... black leather baseball cap with high quality stitched Polk logo, and as I said, small USEFUL stuff like coffee mugs, shot glasses, key chains..

    I don't think people will shop here for just any old stuff unless you provide a great bargain unavailable elsewhere... the masses clamor for POLK stuff. I could even see 'em buying a wooden-handled bbq set with the Polk logo burned into the handles.... one of those bbq apron things... beer coozies and anything else alcohol-related....
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  • gidrah
    gidrah Posts: 3,049
    edited October 2002
    I know your 'SkipDoctor' is way more than what I payed at Harmony House which was over-priced to begin with. Maybe it's a different model, but maybe someday I'll pull mine out of the package.

    Stuff I might buy:
    Speaker cable - You guys can buy it in bulk and slap some connectors (buyer option of course) from the same manufacturer of your terminals. The speaker wire Polk sold way back looks pretty sweet.

    Old logo stuff - You guys had a sale on it awhile back and my PC couldn't load it, now it can, but their all gone. People with vintage Polks want vintage logos.

    Speaker stands - I'm not able to find stands for my 10Bs in the store. Maybe I just couldn't find them. For now I'll use what I've got or BB/CC has.

    Speaker component upgrades - I've read about many people doing upgrades to their Polks with better crossover components. Sure the stock XOs are fine, but you cater to many tastes at a great price. If somebody can upgrade their RTi to RTi/es (extra special) with a small kit and detailed plans, I think they'd sell like hotcakes.

    Just my thoughts. Good luck.
    Make it Funky! :)
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  • kanicker
    kanicker Posts: 86
    edited October 2002
    Micah:

    I agree with the previous comment on A/V Furniture... I have a Sanus tv stand, and have been waiting to find a deal on an audio rack. But there is no compelling reason to buy the rack online for full retail, if I could go down to Good Guys and get the same price. If it was at all cheaper... I'd be more than happy to give the business to Polk directly. Perhaps if Sanus wont let you sell for less, you can find a partnership with another quality manufacturer. You know, REAL wood, metal and glass. Maybe one that produces an AMP stand as well.

    I'm close to buying some of those vibrapods, but I guess Im hoping to make a larger purchase than that.

    Perhaps you can offer an first-time buyers coupon, or a small discount for registered Polk owners... or a one use discount code included in Polk product packaging.
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  • Micah Cohen
    Micah Cohen Posts: 2,022
    edited October 2002
    Again, all of your input is greatly valued. You guys are the best. Some of the stuff you've been saying will become fodder for our department discussions of how to better utilize the webstore.

    Also, you might wanna know, I just added a cool product: The Atrium 45p Self-Powered Loudspeakers. I put them up at a special price (20% off) and with a great guarantee (we'll spring for your return postage if you're not happy with them). We think these things are just great for multi-zone functions and adding speakers without extra amps to systems and portables, so you might want to take a look et em.

    MC
    ultramicah@yahoo.com

    "There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight." - Lon Chaney
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited October 2002
    What about the condom that rolls out and says Polk Me? That would be a classic for sure. Are they for sale now? I'll go check.
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,093
    edited October 2002
    I dunno MM, most of us are pretty frugal....

    We buy generic condoms: For cheap effers /rim shot/

    Thank you, Thank you.....I'll be here all week

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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  • PETERNG
    PETERNG Posts: 918
    edited October 2002
    Troy, generic condoms are free, we paid for one step above that:D
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  • jdavy
    jdavy Posts: 380
    edited October 2002
    Who makes the polk audio window decals that sell on ebay? Items like that are nice to have. A bargain basement with old Polk Audio stuff would be nice. Have a few MM6510's on the shelf? I would like a mouse pad for my computer at work. It might give me an excuse to talk to my coworkers about some great speakers and a great company.
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