Call it another shameless plug for our programming team, I had to include this in the blog for Skyler — our #1 stunner in Web Design. We had some feedback from our friend Bill at Fuji Arts, one of the world’s largest online purveyors of Japanese wood block artwork, and I just couldn’t wait to pass it along! So here goes:
When I interviewed for my position at DE, one of the first pieces of marketing material I was shown was a postcard that Skyler created. It was clean and simple — a beautiful, glossy design that reflected the look and feel of the brand-new website he had created. Understandably, Bruce was really proud of his work and wanted to demonstrate the caliber of work that was produced by the company.
But Skyler’s project was much more than designing a website. Fuji Arts needed a long-term solution to a really big (and expensive) problem! At the time, FA was doing 90% of their business on Ebay and 10% directly. The Ebay fees were killing their profit margin, though — eating up tens of thousands of dollars in annual revenue! Over the next several months, Skyler worked with an outside vendor to customize a reverse-auction program that could be streamlined into their new web design and allowed Fuji Arts to do business outside of Ebay. It was, no doubt, a huge investment for Fuji Arts, and a huge project for us to take on!
… And now, we’re happy to report that it’s paying off!
“Fuji Arts had a surprisingly huge sales month in January,” Bill told us. Interestingly, he reported that his sales were 80% Fuji Arts website and 20% Ebay this time around. “This switch is very big for us and a relief,” he added. He recognizes that making what he called an “unknown seismic shift” seems to have worked for his company — “even in this awful economy,” he added
“We got big enough that the change was a little scary,” Bill explained. He says Fuji Arts is like a completely different company now, and he loves the change. “The ability to operate on the website platform without the restrictions, fees, rules and headaches of Ebay is incredibly freeing,” he beamed. “I could go on all day about it!”
…
Bill, thanks for letting us use your story (and your quotes). We’re very glad that we could be a part of your success story!
…
Skyler, way to be the man!
…
Need some custom programming to get your website up to snuff? Let us know!
