How To Run A Successful Shop - Become a Millionaire!

     We, as Neopians, are given the opportunity to run our own shops! Sounds fun, right? It is! It's a great way to make Neopoints, connect with buyers, and even learn the basics of economics! In this article, I'll give you some tips to run a long-term successful shop!

     Frequently Used Terms:

     ETS - Easy to sell

     HTS - Hard to sell

     QS - Quicksell

     PB - Paint Brush

     PPPB - Petpet Paint Brush

     MP - Morphing Potion

     TP - Transmogrification Potion

     AH - Auction House

     RS - Restock

     UB - Unbuyable

     SW - Shop Wizard

     SSW - Super Shop Wizard (Premium only)

      Know your items

     A lot of people choose a theme for their shop. A theme could be foods, books, weapons, etc. Other categories include something more specific like Faerie foods, Advent Calendar items, or collectibles. A theme can be very helpful. If you choose 1 theme, you have a smaller pool of items to learn. Furthermore, should a buyer come into your shop looking for books, you have the potential to make more sales if you have exclusively books for sale! In addition to knowing your chosen category, watch for new items being released in your category! A lot of readers, feeders, and collectors like to have the newest items as soon as they're released!

     That said, a theme is not necessary. While it can be beneficial, sometimes buyers enjoy seeing a variety of items.

     In the end, find what works best for you. If you enjoy 1 category of items, stock that! If you enjoy having a variety, do that! Just make sure you research your items. You don't want to end up with a shop full of items that aren't selling!

     Stocking your Shop

     There are lots of ways to stock your shop! First, I like to go through my Safety Deposit Box. Page by page can be tedious, but sometimes you get lucky and find something valuable that you've long forgotten about! Cleaning out your Safety Deposit Box is a great way to have a little extra stock in your shop!

     After I clean out my Safety Deposit Box, I like to comb through the Trading Post, Auctions, and Shop Ads! Sometimes you can find some great deals to help you stock! Don't forget other user shops! Sometimes you can find shops with stock priced a little lower so you can buy it and resell it for profit in your shop!

     The last and more difficult way I like to stock my shop is to buy from Neopia Shops. These are the Official Shops of Neopets, not user shops. Restocking in these shops can be fast, and therefore not always fruitful. But with some practice, you could stock your entire shop with items you buy from the Neopia Shops!

     Pricing Competitively

     One of the biggest tips to selling your items is to be the lowest on the Shop Wizard. Even better if you have premium and can be lowest on the Super Shop Wizard! However, that does not mean you need to be thousands of Neopoints under the lowest price.

     Let's say you have an item you want to sell. The lowest price you can find is 100k. This does not mean you need to put it in your shop for 95k for it to sell. Putting it in your shop for 99k or even 99,900, will make you the new lowest price and yours will most likely be bought first. Now let's go back and say you put it in your shop for sale at 95k. In most cases, the person selling at 100k will lower their price to beat yours. Thus begins the infamous Shop Wizard battle! In most cases, both parties will continue to drop their prices until the value of the item tanks completely. Now not only are you decreasing the value of your item and everyone else's, but when it eventually does sell you'll get significantly less for it. No one wants that, do they? If you need Neopoints quickly, there is an option to Quicksell, but I'll get to that.

     In conclusion of what I deem the most important part of this article, do not devalue your items. You worked hard to get them and decreasing the value will only take you further from your Neo goals.

     Pricing is key to running a successful shop. You want to have great prices while maintaining a profit.

     Quickselling your Items

     I mentioned Quickselling above, and here we'll dive into that!

     Quickselling an item is when someone sells an item for much cheaper than it is normally valued at. This way it will SELL QUICKLY and they have the Neopoints rather than an item. A lot of people will quicksell items if they need Neopoints to make another purchase, if the item is Hard To Sell (or HTS), or if they're bored. For whatever reason you decide to quicksell your items, here are some tips to get a good price without decreasing the value of the market.

     As I said in the earlier section, putting your items in your shop at somewhat lower prices will not quicksell them but instead decrease their value. But wait, there's an alternative! Using the Trading Post to quicksell items is a great way to keep the value of the item so not only will you still get a good price, but your buyer will get a good value!

     People lurk around the Trading Post all day. Searching the Newest 20 lots, looking for deals, and you guessed it - Quicksells! Here's what you do - Take the item you wish to quicksell out of your shop. Post it on the Trading Post with the amount you wish for it. If you are wanting to quicksell, generally start at least 10% off the lowest Shop Wizard price. Now other users have the opportunity to offer your asking price or what they are willing to pay for your item based on sell-ability or desire.

     Another example: You take the item valued at 100k out of your shop to quicksell. Put it on the Trading Post for 90k, not a bad price. If someone is looking for that item anyway, they may pick it up from you! Now you're rid of the item and the value is still intact!

     However, just 10k off isn't a great discount to someone who may want to resell the item for profit, someone with a little more patience perhaps. No matter! You may get reseller offers of 50k, 75k, or even 80k. Give it a little wait for the offers to come in. Obviously, choose the best offer for you and again, you're rid of the item with the value still intact!

     Building Customer Relationships

     Having good customer relationships can really help you to make consistent sales! There are a few ways you can build these relationships.

     Let's say there's a customer who comes in and buys a few items. It's a great feeling, right? Now let's take that a step further. Send a Neomail to the user thanking them for their purchases! Most times people enjoy getting mail and feel appreciated! Don't go crazy - you don't need to mail every person every time you make a sale. That becomes spam and can be irritating, especially to your regular shoppers. Just watch out for customers who have made multiple and/or large purchases! It always feels nice to be appreciated!

     Another great way is to watch what customers are buying. If someone buys most of your Usuki items maybe they have a gallery. Be sure to send them a message letting them know when you restock similar items and ask them if they would like you to continue to let them know about your restocks. It's very important you don't overstep boundaries and annoy your customers, but instead build a relationship.

     Once you have regular customers, you know what they're looking for and can keep a regular stock of similar items. Don't forget, you want to keep the customers happy! Regulars can really help you get closer to your goals, so help them as well! Offering a regular a first pick at new stock before you put it in your shop, or offering them a discount price, is a great way to nurture the relationship and keep them coming back! Now you have a happy customer who got a great deal, and you can continue to stock knowing that they'll come to your shop first!

     Advertise

     The Shop Ads board is available for all Neopians to promote their shops, their sales, and help each other find new items to buy! At first, the Shop Ads boards can be overwhelming. A lot of boards filled with "Buy out my shop!" and "Lowest prices here"! Everyone is trying to promote their shops, which is what these boards are for! But you will also find people searching for specific items, or just on a shopping spree! These boards can be a huge opportunity for you to make some sales!

     A lot of users will keep their shop in their Neosignatures. This is a great way to promote your shop any time you post on any board across Neopia! However, if you're promoting on the Shop Ads, it's better to have a message that describes your shop when you post! For example, if you primarily sell Baked Goods and Spooky Foods, work on a write-up that highlights those products! Even something simple like "Baked Goods for your pets and Spooky Foods for the Esophagor" gives buyers an idea of what your shop has in stock! By posting a short message like this on a buyer's board, you're giving them a sneak peek at what they'll find for sale in your shop!

     If you choose to make your own board promoting your shop, a bit more detail is always better! How would you describe your shop? Lowest prices around? Funny, strange stock? Great for quests? Put everything you can use to describe your shop in your first post with your shop link! A lot of potential buyers will skip over ads that do not have specifics of what is being sold. No one wants to waste time scrolling through pages of stock that they're not interested in. A short description can help to bring them in and spend Neopoints! You only need 1 board advertising your shop. Posting multiple boards in a row is spam and not only will annoy other shoppers but is against the rules.

     Most importantly, do not falsely advertise. Do not advertise your shop as the lowest on the Super Shop Wizard if your items are overpriced. Do not advertise sales if your items are well above the lowest selling point. Your reputation as a shop is your biggest advantage. By advertising a huge sale, but overpricing your items, you are only going to anger other shoppers. This can not only lose you future customers but it is a scam. It is wrong to falsely advertise your items as a deal when the reality is they are not fairly priced.

     If you advertise as lowest on the Super Shop Wizard, put a disclaimer in your shop description that you will be any lowest price found at time of pricing, but you're willing to beat a lower price if a buyer finds one. It is understood that new items come on the market constantly and it's impossible to always stay the lowest. But even advertising as the lowest, before you have time to reprice, you should at least be in the top 5 results.

     Once more, use the boards to your advantage but do not falsely advertise.

     Join a Mall - Optional

     Malls are groups of user shops that work together to bring buyers to mall member shops! There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes of a mall. Some have minimum requirements for shop size. Most only have certain categories open and available to fill with new shops. Some require you to do a minimum number of upgrades a month. At first, it can seem overwhelming, but bear with me!

     The first step to finding a mall to join is by going to your favourite user shops. Are they a part of a mall? If they are, click around and browse through the other shops in the mall! See how they run their shops. If you like what you see, most malls have Petpages with more information! Read up on the requirements and see if it's something you can manage. Malls can be great for helping to motivate its members to reach their Shop goals! By joining a mall with a shop size of 50, you could upgrade all the way to 500 with motivation and support from your fellow mall-goers!

     A lot of times users will overprice their items if they are a part of a mall so they can keep a solid stock of their items. Some users won't buy from malls for this reason. Joining a mall does not require you to up your prices, but be aware of the impression that malls sometimes give to potential buyers before you join.

     Dos and Don'ts

     Don't: Quicksell items at less than 50% in your shop. If you're selling at a smaller discount, go through the Trading Post.

     Don't: Spam every person that buys 1 thing from you to try to get them to come back.

     Don't: Spam the boards with multiple topics.

     Don't: Beg for people to visit your shop on the boards.

     Don't: False advertise the 'deals' and prices of your stock.

     Do: Price your stock fairly but without devaluing your items.

     Do: Thank your regular customers and big spenders. Let them know that they are appreciated!

     Do: Advertise on the boards through the Shop Ads to bring in new customers.

     Do: Build relationships with your customers, other Shop owners, and mallers.

     Do: Have fun!

     Remember shops are a waiting game. Be patient and if your items are priced fairly, they will sell!