I guess I should write something in this thing eh?
Let me start by saying that I’m one of the developers working away on RedBubble…
So, I’m sitting here looking at the wonderful new Activity Monitor, and thinking to myself that it’d be really great to know who bought my work, not just what they bought.
Originally I really pushed for the exact opposite of that. I felt like it was bordering on a privacy issue, but when I consider it along side “Grant Bissett just commented on Blah” and “Kath just added Blah as a favorite” it sort-of seems like it doesn’t seem like a privacy problem at all.
I guess it depends on what sort of community you’re building. And I’d like to think it’s the sort of community where I can see who bought one of my things, go check out their things, and maybe buy one in return.
It feels like the sort of connection I want to make. Just like I love buying CDs off bands when I go to a gig, partly because I get the chance to meet the band and tell them I enjoyed the show.
So what’s the downside? You could argue that it’s nobody’s business who bought stuff off who. Maybe it doesn’t matter on low ticket items, but when you’re talking about artwork over a few hundred dollars, it basically says “this guy has decent cash to spend on art, and he likes your stuff”, which sort-of changes the relationship between the artist and the buyer forever.
So, things could stay like they are right now, no problem. Things could also go the other way, and everything could be disclosed to everyone. I’m thinking that wouldn’t be too much of a problem either.
But maybe it’d be better still if it was a preference on your account:
- yeah, sure, tell the artist it was me that bought their stuff, or
- no, I’d rather not
Keep things private if you care about that sort of thing, but encourage as many connections and relationships as possible.
What do you think? Are you paranoid about this sort of stuff, or am I making a big deal outta nothin’?
Jeremy Mawson, about 1 year ago
I think having this configurable is a good idea.
Personally I’d leave it off. I know that my profile gives enough information for my address and phone number to be found. And I don’t want cold calling and junk mail because I bought something once upon a time.
BTW, do you need to be an RB member to buy something? If so, that seems an unnecessary barrier to sales.
pinkelephant, about 1 year ago
Hmm, yeah, there might be some paranoia…I think it’d be cool to have the option on our accounts, though. I’m not afraid of people knowing, but then again, I won’t be buying a whole heap of stuff : )
Jeremy Mawson, about 1 year ago
I just tried to purchase something without being logged in and it was possible. So anonymity is always available if you take the time to log out. :)
Pilgrim
,
about 1 year ago
In answer to Jeremy’s question. No you dont need to be a RB member to buy things and so far about 30% of sales are to people who havent joined up (maybe a little more). I expect over time the ratio of non members purchasing will also increase as we try more active things like keyword purchasing, approaching bulk buyers of art (eg hotels), develop an affilates program and as we increase our pominence in search results. All these (combined with whatever promotions you all can do) will further increase sales rates (also having more products to sell of course).
As for the question of who bought stuff. Leaving a note for the artist is nice.
One thing we will do is also add capacity to send a private message to the artist for those who want to remain anonmous but still send appreciation.
Stephen Kilburn, about 1 year ago
Although I agree with and respect the privacy of others, as I appreciate my privacy too, the ability to see what demographic finds your work interesting is a useful tool for creating more marketable work and can aid in selling more of your creations.
The capability for someone to send a personal message or email to the artist would be most welcome.
Congrats on making the site start to look great.
webgrrl, about 1 year ago
im not worried about privacy.. cuz the way i see it, if someone wants to find you, they will find you.. and if i want to ‘sell’ my work then id be looking to be ‘found’ for even maybe other work beyond prints and tshirts..
i think this site will grow well as it see what else is out there (Flickr, DeviantART, Cafepress, Zazzle, etc etc) and utilizing what works (and not) ; slowly but surely.. just like how us Aussies do stuff ;) It’ll be right mate – We’ll get there..
Adrian Rachele, about 1 year ago
I am not in any need to know ‘who’ purchased my work.
The stickynose in me would like to know but that feeling would quickly fade and be replaced by ego whom is quite happy with the fact someone found my work worthy of purchase.
My two cents.
Christopher Chan, about 1 year ago
I don’t need nor want to know the exact identity of the purchaser but some basic demographics about the purchaser such as gender and geography would be interesting to see which segment of the market my work appeals to.
It’s great to see a service like Red Bubble in Australia !
Justin French
,
about 1 year ago
I’ve been thinking about it a little more, and perhaps a page after the checkout that allows the buyer to send messages tlo each artist thehy just bought from would be best — sort of like a happy compromise from all sides?
Craig Shillington, about 1 year ago
I guess having the option of being private or not … gives us choices …. that for me, is much better than having one or the other. In that case, 99% of people can be happy with how they go about their business :)
georgiegirl, about 1 year ago
As much as I’d like to know if whoever bought items really likes it, I don’t think having this as public knowledge is a good thing. It’s not just a shop, it’s the internet.
/
Maybe the buyer could just notify RedBubble what they thought and then RB could pass the comments on to us… good or bad. If someone on our community buys something, most of the time they’ve commented through the journal anyway.
/
What you said, Justin, about the comments within the checkout is a great idea.
Jienn Heibloem, about 1 year ago
hiya, like the comments so far, I want to know where my work is going, I value there purchase, but more i value my own work, maybe i am being a controlfreak here, but hmmmm i just want to know…..it might also be nice to be able to say thanks for your interest…..to them for investing cash in the sale…
also
today i am making a conscious effort to get to know the Gods of the Redbubble world…...so hi I am jienn from sunshine coast in Qld,
Min-Woo Bang, 7 months ago
I agree. It is good to know who bought my works. Otherwise we might be keep wondering who??