Silk Road forums

Support => Feature requests => Topic started by: TheEmeraldTriangle on November 26, 2012, 01:41 am

Title: Multi-sized Order System
Post by: TheEmeraldTriangle on November 26, 2012, 01:41 am
As a cannabis vendor here on the 'Road, I have to say that one of the greatest limitations I see in the order processing system is the inability of it to handle different sized quantities of the same product. This has multiple side affects.

First, if I have a single pound that I'm selling in 8ths, quarters, halves and ounces, the necessity of each having to have its own entry makes the "number" field completely useless since there's no link between the individual listings. (If I sell 2 ounces and 4 half-ounces, the system will incorrectly assume that I still have 28 half ounces and 14 ounces left.)

Second, individualized listings for common cannabis fractions falsely inflates the amount of product available for sale. There are currently in excess of 500 listings under "weed." The real number is probably only a 3rd of that, at best.

Third, as a result of the inflation, it makes it hard for buyers to find the exact quantity of the product they want to buy. Just yesterday I had two customers by 2 8ths rather than a quarter of an ounce, because the 8th entry was what they could find.

Since I do a bit of web development myself, I realize that what I'm proposing here is nothing short of a major overhaul, but here's my idea:

Individual listings should be unitized into 3 parts:

* The heading, description, category, picture and total number of units available.
* Unit multiples, with a short description of that multiple and the price. (i.e. 1/8-oz, or 1/4-oz, etc.)
* Valid shipping options for each multiple, as not all shipping options may be valid for all multiples in the listing.

As an example, let's go back to the pound: One pound is 128 8ths. Therefore, if my smallest multiple is going to be an 8th, the number of units I have available is 128. I enter this in the number available and enter a description for this particular bag of weed, select the category, upload a picture and so on. Then I move on to my multiples, starting with the smallest.

I enter my 8th and it's price, and check the shipping options I've entered previously that are valid for the 8th, then move up to quarters. A quarter ounce is twice an 8th, so I check it as a 2x multiple of the "number available." (This, in reality, means that it's a divisor, but in my pointy head calling it a multiplier makes more sense, because the buyer is buying MORE and not LESS. YMMV and all that jazz.) I put in the price for the quarter ounce and, again, check the shipping options that I want to make possible for this amount.

Repeat as necessary for all multiples of the "number available." (There's probably a much more elegant way to deal with the total quantity of product available and the fractions of that quantity being made available for sale, but I'm drawing a blank on it right now. Hopefully I'm being clear enough for a discussion of the idea.)

What the customer then sees is one entry with all the quantities the vendor wishes to make available, and all the valid shipping options for those quantities, ready for selection.

Okay... I'll jump down of the soap box now and let everyone jump in and tear my idea to shreds. :P
Title: Re: Multi-sized Order System
Post by: MeatMittens on November 26, 2012, 03:10 am
That would be nice to see, but with the recent outage they probably have more on their plate for now. But this forum section is for requests and I agree this would be a nice option.

As far as your customers, if they are smart enough to use Tor and get on SR you'd think they would be able to click your name to see your other listings instead of buying 2 eighths to equal a quarter. Since that isn't the case I think you should add something like "*I offer X Y and Z amounts as well, please check my profile <link> to see them" to your listings to make this not happen at all or at least happen less frequently. I know cancelling orders would suck if you accidentally sell more than you have, but as long as you stay on top of it when you are getting low the number of cancelled orders and explanations given to your customers would be minimal or nonexistent.

Edit: Just looked at your listing for 1/2 ounce of sour D. Nice prices, I may make a purchase from you in the future. How compressed do your buds come?
Title: Re: Multi-sized Order System
Post by: niemtel on November 26, 2012, 04:31 am
I agree, I think it will help clear up some of the listings posted as well, and would also help prevent vendors from running out and still have the listing posted as a result.
Title: Re: Multi-sized Order System
Post by: TheEmeraldTriangle on November 26, 2012, 09:25 pm
As far as your customers, if they are smart enough to use Tor and get on SR you'd think they would be able to click your name to see your other listings instead of buying 2 eighths to equal a quarter. Since that isn't the case I think you should add something like "*I offer X Y and Z amounts as well, please check my profile <link> to see them" to your listings to make this not happen at all or at least happen less frequently. I know cancelling orders would suck if you accidentally sell more than you have, but as long as you stay on top of it when you are getting low the number of cancelled orders and explanations given to your customers would be minimal or nonexistent.

Oh, it doesn't happen often, but it does happen. However, some vendors charge more for smaller amounts than for larger ones.

Quote
Edit: Just looked at your listing for 1/2 ounce of sour D. Nice prices, I may make a purchase from you in the future. How compressed do your buds come?

Well, if you looked through my feedback, you'll see that there are no complaints in that department. :) It does happen though, from time to time. But we're usually pretty good about making sure the inner bag doesn't get pulled down so far that the buds get crushed.

I'm thinking about adding a shipping option for super stealth, and instead of doing 3 vacuum sealed bags, doing 2 plus a sealed, double lined charcoal bag (Gonzo Bag). What do you think?
Title: Re: Multi-sized Order System
Post by: MeatMittens on November 26, 2012, 10:02 pm
Quote
Well, if you looked through my feedback, you'll see that there are no complaints in that department. :) It does happen though, from time to time. But we're usually pretty good about making sure the inner bag doesn't get pulled down so far that the buds get crushed.

I'm thinking about adding a shipping option for super stealth, and instead of doing 3 vacuum sealed bags, doing 2 plus a sealed, double lined charcoal bag (Gonzo Bag). What do you think?

Very cool. PurpleLotus now offers FoodSaver bag coupons in his coupon listing so if you buy a FoodSaver vacuum sealer ($30.00) you can get loads of vacuum sealable bags for almost free with his coupon and it will work until the end of time. Maybe you could pass these savings on to your customers since you will be able to triple vacuum seal each product for something like a penny in cost. This would make your prices even more competitive.

I personally wouldn't use the super stealth option, but I know people would take advantage of it and it's a great idea!
Title: Re: Multi-sized Order System
Post by: purplelotus on November 29, 2012, 09:11 pm
I guess the first problem I see is how to handle feedback. Let's say I just want to see the feedback on people who bought an OZ... the current system makes that easy for me to do. I'm sure it's much more work on the vendor to do the calculations himself and say, ok I'm going to list this strain and make X amount of listings for each size available and not exceed the total sum of the product as to not over sell it, and then just change your listings accordingly as sales are made. If you sell out of the 8ths you made available then go remove an available OZ and add 8 more to the listing. I know for certain if I was a weed vendor I would never over list my stock, because then you run the risk of ruining your rep.

I certainly agree there are improvements to be made in this area though.

Now that I've chimed in on the topic, I'll just go ahead and point down at my vendor profile link if any vendors are interested in the food saver bag coupon mentioned by my friend MeatMittens and my other coupons. It just struck me that making one for the FoodSaver Sealer itself is a great idea and one I will release shortly. I'm always trying to think what is it that the SR community in particular is going to be most interested in.
Title: Re: Multi-sized Order System
Post by: TheEmeraldTriangle on December 01, 2012, 11:35 pm
Quote
I'm thinking about adding a shipping option for super stealth, and instead of doing 3 vacuum sealed bags, doing 2 plus a sealed, double lined charcoal bag (Gonzo Bag). What do you think?

Very cool. PurpleLotus now offers FoodSaver bag coupons in his coupon listing so if you buy a FoodSaver vacuum sealer ($30.00) you can get loads of vacuum sealable bags for almost free with his coupon and it will work until the end of time. Maybe you could pass these savings on to your customers since you will be able to triple vacuum seal each product for something like a penny in cost. This would make your prices even more competitive.

I personally wouldn't use the super stealth option, but I know people would take advantage of it and it's a great idea!

Yeah we've been using FoodSaver products, though we don't use a FoodSaver sealer anymore. Have one for backup, but we've got a commercial grade sealer for regular use. Looking for commercial grade sealing material too, as FoodSavers are famous for losing vacuum.

I have the Super Stealth shipping method up now, but no one's taken advantage of it. I didn't figure it would be very popular as it is expensive. But it's also perfect for those who would just rather be safe than sorry.
Title: Re: Multi-sized Order System
Post by: purplelotus on December 03, 2012, 05:44 am
So what you are saying is you'll be checking out my listings? I'm in this business to save everyone money, and vendors are my very first priority. Mason jars and foodsaver bags. If I had more ideas I['d be grinding them out. Unfortunately I can't do US postage... yet?
Title: Re: Multi-sized Order System
Post by: TheEmeraldTriangle on December 06, 2012, 07:21 pm
So what you are saying is you'll be checking out my listings? I'm in this business to save everyone money, and vendors are my very first priority. Mason jars and foodsaver bags. If I had more ideas I['d be grinding them out. Unfortunately I can't do US postage... yet?

Argh! You didn't quote anything back, so I had to read back to figure out what you were talking about. LOL!

If you dig around the web a bit, you'll find some vendors of commercial vacuum material. Rolls, 50', 100', and 200' long, if memory serves. (It's been months since I did the research.) That might be an option for you that would make you money and save vendors money, especially if you bought the longer rolls and then broke them down for vendors who don't want to buy that much material all at once. The commercial vacuum material is (supposedly) superior to the retail stuff like FoodSaver in that it's designed to withstand commercial storage and shipping abuse without losing vacuum.