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Durtbagz.com; interactive satchel and messenger bag co

durtbagzdurtbagz subscriber Posts: 4
edited December 2007 in Website Critique
hi gang.
durtbagz.com is my bag company. we design satchels and messenger bags with street signs. although, our street signs aren`t quite as accurate as the ones you find out on the roads.
to keep the signs fresh and funny, we hold an ongoing contest (open to anyone) to submit their own signs and vote on others, right on the site. (on the "feelin` durty" page).
we`ve been online almost two weeks now, and although we`ve had hundreds of visitors to the site, we have no takers on participating in this contest.
i`m looking for ways to make it 1) user friendly (a friend suggested having a blank sign `paint` file on the help page that visitors can download and use), 2) easy to comprehend what that page is all about and what we`re looking for from visitors, and 3) inticing.
as it is, i`m not sure there is a real draw for people to participate (we give the winners a free bag with their sign on it). i`m also not sure how clear the purpose of the page is.
if i could get some suggestions for improving the competition aspect of my site to get folks to participate, i`d greatly appreciate it.
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    oboyoboy subscriber Posts: 3
    I like the design of you website. But, and I hope it was not just my connection. It takes to much time to load. It was probably about 15 sec. before I saw the background and another 15 sec before I saw any graphic. Each link I clicked on had a long loading time. If this was not just me, then I would say that this is a big reason why you have no participation.
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    durtbagzdurtbagz subscriber Posts: 4
    wow. thanks for letting me know. i have to say that each time i get on the site (and i just flipped through it again after i read that), it takes less than 2 seconds to load each page. so, i`m thinking it is your connection. that is actually the first time i`ve heard that.
    thanks for looking at the site. i appreciate it.
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    oboyoboy subscriber Posts: 3
    Works fine for me today too. But I did not have any problems loading any other website the last time, so I had the feeling that it was not my connection. I think your site is well designed.
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    durtbagzdurtbagz subscriber Posts: 4
    craig, first of all, thanks for all of the feedback and questions!
    as far as the page "blowing up", i know what you are talking about and i`ve talked with my developers about this. it doesn`t happen often, but it has happened more than once. i`m told it`s a kink due to all of the graphics/photos on the site and they are working on it. i am not a developer person at all, so i can`t say whether this is really the issue or not. i do know that it doesn`t happen often, but i don`t want it happening at all.
    as far as your questions about submitting a sign, i`m thinking of adding two options: 1. draw up your idea, scan it, and email it directly to me or scan it and upload it directly to the site (a scan is a .jpg). i barely know how to use "paint" on my PC and that`s how i come up with signs. i certainly didn`t know how to use it before i came up with this business. and i can see how if you don`t know how to use paint and saw the other signs in the contest, you`d be intimidated to participate or submit.
    i`m going to re-write the text in the yellow box to encourage others like you to draw and post. i could draw and post some of my own to help get the idea across, too.
    the second thing i want to do is add a file of a blank sign that can be downloaded by anybody and then drawn by using "paint". i think this would be helpful too. (everyone who has a PC has the "paint" application).
    you make a great point. when i started this, my goal was for anyone to have the opportunity to participate and the way i`ve organized it doesn`t allow for that. thank you for making me realize this so i can get back to the original point.
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    consumertreehouseconsumertreehouse subscriber Posts: 11
    I think you site looks great. I like the theme of the site, construction/industrial/skater, not sure if that was the look you are going for, but that is what I got out of it. Great header too, the people all standing around holding the yellow bags. I think your site is straight to the point and when I looked at it I knew exactly what you were selling.This may be something for you too look into if you are interested. I really think your bags would be big in Japan, I travel to Japan on a regular basis and am always seeing the new trends and this looks like something that would fit in without question. This store, Rescue Squad, is big in Japan, your bags remind me of some of the items they had when I was there last October. Here`s a link to the online store. http://rescue99.com/Just an idea if you ever thought about expanding. Good Luck!!!
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    durtbagzdurtbagz subscriber Posts: 4
    consumertreehouse- thanks for the props on the site; that is exactly the theme we were going for. edgy and the complete opposite of paris hilton. i`m going to look at that site for the store in japan. we`re strictly selling online for now, but we certainly aren`t ruling out retail in the future. here`s a question for you: can you suggest popular media over there i should contact (tv shows/papers/magazines)? thank you for commenting on this; i really appreciate it.
    craig, that`s not a bad idea at all. considering we have a page entirely for comments, we could incorporate that into the contest. hmmm. i`m going to think about how to do that. it certainly would help simplify.
    and that sign idea really makes me laugh!! i hadn`t thought of that one before and it`s hilarious. do you mind if i put it in the competition?
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    durtbagzdurtbagz subscriber Posts: 4
    will do. thanks
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