The BIGGEST opportunity for improvement on some coin dealer websites!
Zoins
Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭
I visit a lot of coin websites and one of the most frustrating things for me is websites that have a large menu to view coins by denomination or type, but when you click into them the section is empty! After trying two to three sections and coming up empty, I give up on the entire website and go somewhere else.
There are two solutions of course:
- Changing the menu: use a dynamic menu and show how many coins are listed in each category, which can be 0. This way, people won't have to spend their time bring up webpages with no coins!
- Changing the inventory: ensure there's at least one coin in each category shown.
What do you think? Does this issue affect you? Are there other things that you would like to see improved?
3
Comments
I can think of two websites of dealers I love to buy from that have stayed dormant for the last 2 years without any additions or subtractions. I'm assuming they gave up on the website, but one in particular still has a piece for sale that I bought and sold 18mos back.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
I agree that can be frustrating, though many dealer websites use your first solution. My bigger pet peeves are sites that do not show a picture of the coin in the slab along with the obverse/reverse close up, or sites that do not segregate out sold inventory into a separate section (though I do appreciate that they leave their sold inventory available to peruse - even better if they leave the price as well, though I can understand why many prefer not to do that).
Software developer here, the first idea about storing the current state (quantity) is pretty easy to do. You just have to add some logic to your app/website that if the coin subcategory (length) is empty, return a value to the user that there are 0 items in that category.
I think the best way to avoid that frustration though is to know what dealers sell what you like. For example,
I know about 20 dealers that always have Peace Dollar inventory.
I like when a website provides great filters!
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
That is very frustrating! I hate it.
I HATE going to a website and several coins show SOLD or ON HOLD for several weeks. Can the dealer be so busy that they can't update a page or two more frequently?
Crappy images in this day and age are still my biggest pet peeve
Latin American Collection
My #1 Pet Peeve is dealers who don't have websites or don't have live inventory on their websites.
Walking around local shows, only a small fraction of dealers have any sort of web presence.
Instagram
Don't bother me. I'll find what I want. I mean it doesn't bother me who's site sucks more than mine or who's is better.
I agree, I immediately ignore sites that only show one side of the coin. Takes way too long to ask for opposite photo. If a site only shows the holder obv/rev with good quality photos, that does not concern me as I enlarge them anyway if quality allows.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
The big red SOLD next to coins (and many of them) that remains for months keeps me from browsing the site site of a dealer I actually enjoy dealing with. I just find browsing his inventory online to be a bit of a PITA.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Prices. Some dealer websites feel like museums.
If I see a "price on request" on a fairly common coin, I usually just high tail it out of there.
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
Agreed. I think that only works for major rarities.
I just want the phone number at the top header….I don’t like having to hunt! There are some of the big names that are guilty of hiding their phone numbers……
They should come up to speed with the imaging and data organization similar to PCGS coin facts; by far the best such site out there.
Some sites, like Amazon, don't want you calling them
I keep my website up to date. You can sort my denomination.
Here is and could be a major problem for EARLY adaptors of the internet and built a website years ago.
My website works fine but from an older template and hosting service.
I would love to redo my website and when thinking about my 700 coins with a at least 4 photos each, plus descriptions would take quite bit of time. Call it lazy or the easy way out. Basically, my website works and I would like to redo it, but it is a matter of time. Maybe I should hire someone.
How important is your website? How much business do you get off your website vs. say eBay?
I say this as someone who runs across your coins on eBay
I do do more business on Ebay than my website for sure.
Things I would want to change about my website ....
1) Much larger or enlargeable photos
2) An error coin education section
3) Perhaps a blog
Chris- great ideas to expand your website and business!
You already know how busy and distracted I am
And yes I agree
Easier said then done... We agree on the improvements but last year we spent 4 months with a major webdesigner who thought it would be a piece of cake.. after 4 months we scraped them and went back to our old system... it takes a lot of time and energy to keep a website up to date if you are an active dealer... a vest dealer with 20 or 30 coins can easily do it... our firm can sell and buy 100 -250 coins at one show... Im waiting for a good programmer to really develop a scan based system that truly works...