Add "Limited Quantity in Stock" with a countdown of "remaining available"

[FantabulousMerc]

Can we have added on the product creation page the option to turn on/off "limited quantities" and set the number for how many we are allowing to be sold, maximum quantity per order (or no limit), and show the countdown to how many are left available for purchase AND an option to not limit by count BUT instead to limit for sale until a particular date and time. So we would have:

1) Set total quantity to be sold? Y/N?
2) Enter total quantity (ie, 100 pieces). Zazzle computers will auto-subtract every item sold and immediately update the count remaining on the product page.
3) Limit quantity per purchase? Y/N?
4) Also limit quantity per user account? (how many times a signed in customer can buy it on that account)
5) OR....instead of all of this, Set the termination date when product will be removed from the store (unavailable for sale unless the creator re-sets the clock). "Available only until Month/Date/Year at 11:59:00pm"

[Cat]

I don't understand. Why would you want to limit the number that can be sold?

[Mariholly]

@Cat

I don't understand either. Maybe due to a limit of prints because of licenses? I can't find another option.

[Mark]

Hey @FantabulousMerc,

I will pass your suggestion along. Thank you!

[Badeesie]

@Cat @Mariholly Probably to create a fear of missing out, so customers will buy now instead of putting it off for a later that may never come.

[FantabulousMerc]

When selling limited number or for a limited time, creators or merchants create “scarcity” or fear of missing out (FOMO) and most often, can, and do charge a lot more/higher price for the item. It could be artwork on a poster, embroidery on a hat, or anything really. You could:

a) never sell that specific design again

b) bring it back randomly 

c) create a series of items (ie #1, then it’s gone/ends, then version or sequence #2, etc.

d) bring back a different version or something that is part of the overall theme.

It usually causes people to share it on social, come back to look, and create curiosity.

[KeegansCreation]

That works with pop up stores but I don't see how it could work at Zazzle. It's just too big of a marketplace. There are thousands of designers here and a lot of conceptual overlap so no true scarcity. Customers just move on to the next design.

[Cat]

@FantabulousMerc Well, that's an interesting idea, but it sorta seems like you'd be shooting yourself in the foot since Zazzle's algorithm favors products that have sold in the past. My experience it that it usually takes at least 6 months for a product to get going in terms of sales. But maybe it depends on the sort of stuff you sell.

[FantabulousMerc]

@KeegansCreation  @Cat  @Mariholly - You never know what features, style, and art a creator has and, therefore, you never know how many have ideas or plans to be able to use such a "time or quantity" limitation. As you said Keegan, since there are thousands of designers, this feature could (or literally would be) something that differentiates the desirability of one product that is always available vs. a product that you have to buy now or soon and miss out (hence the 'fear of missing out' psychology of marketing). Further, since things that may never (or randomly) come back, many time it can be sold for more. Additionally, sometimes people simply like the excitement of something that is going to "go away" (and maybe or for certain), and it's future availability is uncertain or a fact. Ie, Disney sold a ton of VHS video (back in the 90's) when they would put some/many video titles "back in the vault" and never sell them for 1-3 years, not only creating higher sales when the customer had the chance, but priced them higher than most video and usually had a nicer case. 

I know we are not Disney, but if the public discovers something here in Zazzle, there is always the chance (if Zazzle give the the options to choose and adjust) if a product is sold in a limited quantity or time, a designer can try it out and see what the public reaction is in terms of what you can demand and adjust either time ("only for 30 days") or quantity ("only selling 50" and available until sold out).

Cat, if the algorithm is something you want to stimulate, imagine the "rush" or FOMO (fear of missing out) and/or the novelty when you use Social Media to push your selected "limited" product, the flurry that (sometimes/often) can happen from people either becoming very curious and click your link and/or share your links (wherever) and draw in even more people, well, activity is activity. The algorithm sees, literally, activity and since we've had-what-we-had, would you or anyone not want to be able to have this option available to try now and then to see if it works (and there's always luck, timing, pricing, and competition)? Right? 🙂

Anything different we can do to stand out from the sheer volume of creators here is a chance for more sales, more awareness, and the curiosity or excitement factor is a tricky "button to push" in people's minds. This features at the least gives us a chance.

As Keegan said, a customer could move onto the next design. So either they didn't like what you present for sale, the price was too high, they didn't care as they were looking for something else, or, maybe, they may share it because the opportunity is limited on an item (news travels fast) and people crave novelty. And Zazzle is nothing if not novelty. 

Not saying this is perfect, but, it could, just maybe, make something feel special because a customer may in fact miss out if they move on or wait too late. You may pay for advertisement. Why not an idea for free that may (sometimes) work? You share you links? Why not an idea for free that may make people share more often? Ever see a crowd check out a car accident? What about when a group of people start yelling loudly? Novelty, curiosity, and rarity are marketing ideas that we want to be able to use here in Zazzle.

Zazzle can give us the option and we can choose, product by product, to activate or remove the feature (time limit or quantity limit) to help them and us sell more and make more money.

Imagine a Zazzle competitor having the same features as us, but they have the added feature of time or quantity limitations to stimulate the above motivations for sales from customers and we did not?

Look online at other merchants in other places that sell time or quantity limitations. Many customer come back again and again to see "what's next?" or "what's new this time?". That sounds like something the algorithm and customers could respond from if this increases the activity of link sharing, repeat viewing, increased viewing, and the more people that come check out what is happening, the more sales we could have. 

Hope this makes the idea sound more clear and interesting.

It would be worth having it available to our business success.

[Connie]

It sounds like that idea is something that would work better on Etsy. I suppose if you had a huge following on your own website or social media, you could send customers to the direct links on Zazzle, but if you are relying on generic traffic, temporary products wouldn't even move up enough in the ranks to get seen, let alone trigger FOMO. On a marketplace like Zazzle, people are looking for things they can buy now, and don't care about the novelty as much as they care about availability. So unless you are in a super tiny niche where you are the ONLY one offering products in that niche, customers WILL just buy something else if your product isn't available.

[FantabulousMerc]

That's the point. If you use Social Media an share the message about limited quantities or time-limited offers, over time, as your following grows, the Dopamine hit people get will trigger the clicks, shares, likes, and sales. Simply because they learn, discover, or stumble up something different and with scarcity. So they will have to check in, follow, and look now-and-then to see what other opportunities are there for them. All the other Zazzle merchants who choose not to do this, well, those customers know that product will likely be there to buy sometime later and sometimes people forget. The stimulation to return, the "ticking clock" countdown isn't there. But...if you could have the options to apply to some things or when you want it to be "an opportunity" or "scarcity", you could do it if Zazzle allows us the options. You don't have to ONLY offer time or quantity-limited products in a store, but having the ability to chose to try it (now and then) is still a feature that may work for some or many. Without it, we have what we have. With it, there's possibilities. It could work well for art on a canvas, posters, limited prints on clothing or hats, etc.