Hi all
Thanks so much for taking the time to fill in the IceInSpace Merchandise Survey.
We had a massive
505 responses, which has given me plenty of data to analyse and I'll start making some plans based on these results now.
90% of the respondents were from Australia, followed by NZ and North America with approx 3.5% each.
In terms of the most popular merchandise, the results look like this:
Ordered by number of 'Definitely Would Buy' - Calendars
- Beanies
- Red Light Torches
- Black T-shirts
- Caps
- Mugs
- Books (Equipment / DIY)
- Polo Shirts
- Books (with Member images)
- Jackets
- White T-shirts
- Mouse Mats
- the rest...
Ordered by total of 'Maybe' and 'Definitely'- Books (Equipment / DIY)
- Calendar
- Books (with Member images)
- Red Light Torch
- Black T-shirts
- Beanies
- Jackets
- Mugs
- Caps
- Polo Shirts
- the rest...
How to interpret that?
What that means to me, is people really love things like Calendars and Books. They make great gifts and people like to see what other people are up to, what gear they've got, and what images they're producing. They're also great to share with people who aren't "into" astronomy like we are
In terms of apparel, Beanies and Black T-Shirts are the standouts. Sorry Suzy, doesn't look like there's enough interest to get an IIS Scarf
For other practical things, the Red Light Torches got more votes than I expected. And Mugs / Hot Drink Flask are popular.
One of the popular "Other" on the list was good quality 'outside' stickers that can go on the car or telescope and not deteriorate. I'll look into it.
Pens and Mouse Mats just didn't rate this time around. Maybe with a physical design to look at (and a cost) they may have rated higher.
Payment Options
In terms of Payment Options, 53% preferred Direct Deposit and 31% preferred Paypal. Interestingly, 11% chose 'Other', and in the comments suggested they wanted to pay via Credit Card.
So I guess there's a bit of education there to let people know that you can pay using your Credit Card via Paypal, and you don't even need to create a paypal account now.
Some people also wanted direct merchant credit card facilities like other online shopping sites - but the problem there
for me is the bank charges and software charges to run that type of merchant facility.
It's just not something I'm keen to do at this stage unless a cheap option presents itself.
Next Steps
So, now I'll be looking for some suppliers who can do some good quality merchandise at a reasonable price. As always, the problem comes down to quantities.. The more you get produced, the cheaper it becomes - but then I have the risk of oversupply and not enough demand. My wife doesn't want our storage room filled up with boxes of unsold IceInspace Beanies or T-Shirts.
Once I find some suppliers and get some costs etc, I'll let you all know. If anyone works in the merchandise business or has contacts who will look after us, please let me know
Thanks again for your time
Attached is a picture of the beanie I had done in 2007