As such, I intend to buy over the internet. Now, as with most sensible people, I want an idea of what I'm buying. I don't want to hand over £50 and find lumps of mis-shapen lead arriving on my doorstep. So when visiting a website I expect at the VERY LEAST that I have a good idea of what my cash is going to be converted into.
So lets compare my shopping experience between GHQ (expensive) and Scotia (cheap).
I want to buy, let's say, some KV2 tanks. I click on the GHQ site, follow the links to Russian, WW2, tanks and get to see this : -
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| GHQ - KV2 (1/285 scale) |
Scotia website, Microarmour, Russian WW2, vehicles, tanks and I get this:-
Just so we're clear, this is the actual image I'm given. Picture not available. What does the model look like? I have no idea! Paint job? Nope - couldn't tell you! In short, I have no idea if this is the best KV2 1/285 scale model ever produced OR a rectangular lump of lead with something sticking out the front. Indeed, as they haven't put a picture up, I'm convinced its more likely to be the latter.
Now, bear in mind that they've gone to the trouble and effort of creating a space for the picture next to the product description - but then couldn't be bothered taking 2 minutes to plonk the model on some scenery, photograph it and post it in the space provided. Why should they? I mean, they're only running a business. The fact they live or die by the amount they sell is clearly immaterial to these people. After all, why does the customer need to see what we're selling? They should simply have blind faith!
Now I work in marketing and I'm scratching my head to think of any other field of commercial operations where customers are expected to buy something without being able to look at it. I suppose petrol is one (you don't tend to splash some on the forecourt to check the quality - especially at £1.40 a litre!) but no others spring to mind. Perhaps it would add excitement to the weekly shop if Tescos insisted that you wore a blindfold while shopping in their stores, but they'd soon go out of business.
So why are we gamers expected to make this 'leap of faith'? Are manufacturers too lazy or ignorant to undertake this basic requirement? It seems daft that they've gone to the trouble of building a website and yet neglect to undertake the most obvious and necessary act of providing visual examples of their wares. I know its not ignorance where Scotia is concerned because the topic was raised on their Forum and the response was
I know its a badly needed update but we are taking our time with it as we have so many products and we want it to look and feel good. We would rather spend the extra time at this stage with the building and planning of the site so we dont end up back in the position we are in just now with a site that is at breaking point and is stopping us from releasing new models and getting pictures updated
What? You want to spend more time building and planning a site than making what you've got actually work? Why is the site at breaking point? Are you perhaps putting too much emphasis on producing stuff to fill the site than thinking from a customer's point of view and making it easier for them to actually buy from you? Is that not the main (hell, the ONLY) reason you have a website - to sell your products?
Here's a plan - rather than focus on producing more products that we can't see, spend that time making the site CUSTOMER FRIENDLY. It's almost like boarding up the shop window but beavering away in the back producing stuff and wondering why sales are down.
Perhaps they just don't understand the customer experience. THEY know what their products look like so automatically the customer (I assume by telepathic link) will also know what they look like.
If I had the money (must check my lottery ticket!) and skill (but I can always buy that in) I know that by simple application of basic marketing techniques I'd wipe the floor with these companies. The attitude to customers is at best amateurish and at worst arrogant.
Look at any other web-based commercial operation and you can guarantee that there will be pictures - even videos - of the product you want to buy. Computers, mobile phones, clothes...all up there for the customer to see. Are games companies incapable of spending half a day lining up their products, taking some shots and letting us see what they look like? Is it really that hard? Look, I can do it
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| Mid Republican Roman - hastati. 5 euros for 24 figures unpainted |
Took me all of 30 seconds that - including adding the caption.
Tell you what, I'll do another!
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Mid-Republican Roman velite. 5 euros for 24 figures unpainted |
27 seconds - beating my previous record. As you can see (I've pinched these images from the excellent Italian company Tridente Bolgna http://www.tridentebologna.it/miniature_E.php) you can see what you're buying, how you need to paint them and how they'll turn out (hopefully). What more do you need?
It doesn't even need to be the full range, for goodness sake. Even a handful of photographs at least allows you to have a feel for the quality (or otherwise) of the product. TB (above) don't have a photo for every model but by looking at the ones they have provided photos for, you have a good idea of the quality of the rest of the range and so can buy with confidence. No photos give you no confidence at all.
Indeed, a lack of photo immediately raises doubts in my mind - because it suggests that the manufacturer can't think much of the finished article if they don't want to show it to the public.
As a positive example, look at Timecast's site. They have a photograph of virtually every terrain piece (usually expertly painted so you can see how your purchase should look). It gives you encouragement that you're buying a quality piece of terrain, you have an idea as to how to paint it AND you know its going to look good on the table. This is why Timecast have got over £100 from me in the last year.
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| Timecast - brilliant! This is what it looks like and how it paints up. All there in one picture. Sold! |
Often the defence is 'lack of time'. Bull! I could take and post 50 photographs in a blog page (some of my BetReps have come close!) in an evening. And I'm not running a business. For me, the manufacturers have no excuse. And they actually might sell a shed load more as a result - which is, after all, the whole idea, isn't it?
In this day and age, it is entirely unacceptable that such shoddy practice still exists.
But clearly some people still seem to think that the gaming hobby should still be run in the 1980's. Including (H&R, I'm looking at you) having to fill in a sheet to make an order.
Filling in a sheet!
With my credit card details on it!
And faxing it!
What happens to that fax once the order is completed? Shredded - or sold to the Lithuanian mafia? I don't know. I should be told - indeed, I shouldn't need to take the risk of exposing access to my bank account to anyone!
What I do know that it is 2011. Creating a website with a click and save checkout, photography of the products available and a secure payment channel should be the absolute minimum provided by gaming companies. Anything less shouldn't be an option.
Rant over. I'm going to lie down with a wet towel around my head for half an hour and hopefully by the time I get back, Scotia and H&R and many other gaming sites might consider joining us in the 21st Century.