[AJ Quick]

It has been a long month and a half for those of you who are waiting for the GBFans Shop to reopen. We are much closer to the reopening of the Shop. Currently the Shop is available in a view only mode. We are interested in your feedback, looking for bugs, visual problems and suggestions for improvements. Please post them in this thread.

We've added a few new features to the Shop including a Wishlist system and a Review system.

We'd love to see some reviews written about your past purchases. These reviews will be helpful for customers to make an informed buying decision. It also tells us what products need some improvement. We ask that reviews be well written, and about a paragraph long. Take a few minutes to review your favorite items!

You can also add items to your Wishlist page. This will be the new system for in stock notifications rather than the Newsletter. It will also be used to let us know which items should be restocked and an idea on how many items to stock. Add the items to your Wishlist that you would like to purchase! (Once the Shop is reopened, you'll be able to make purchases based off of the Wishlist).

We'll have new photos, updated descriptions and more coming in the next few days.

After we have things updated, we'll relaunch (allowing for purchases) in the next few days.

http://www.gbfans.com/shop/

[AJ Quick]

A good example of an updated product would be this one: http://www.gbfans.com/shop/harold-ramis ... lapel-pin/

[LandoSystem]

It looks very nice.

Will you be able to view your wishlist in the shopping cart area once it goes live or is it somewhere else I'm missing?

Will there be review / moderation for the reviews? To keep people from posting "plz come back in stock!!!11" and / or spamming?

Will we be able to post links to build threads, photo albums or or "customer action shots!" type things in the reviews?

Also the same couple of items are suggested to me in the "related products" regardless of what I click.

Also my eager fanboy question: does this reflect the actual items currently in stock or will this update when it goes live?

[AJ Quick]

Will you be able to view your wishlist in the shopping cart area once it goes live or is it somewhere else I'm missing?

The Wishlist will be available in the Account view and on the Wishlist page:

http://www.gbfans.com/shop/account/
http://www.gbfans.com/shop/wishlist/

(Note the account page is not yet finished.)

Will there be review / moderation for the reviews? To keep people from posting "plz come back in stock!!!11" and / or spamming?'

Yes. The reviews will be reviewed before they are posted on the site (just like Amazon). This is to prevent spam, advertising and general errors (review for a wrong item) from being posted.

Will we be able to post links to build threads, photo albums or or "customer action shots!" type things in the reviews?

The reviews will not support any kind of HTML or BBCode. I will consider expanding the reviews at a later date to include customer photos. (I like the idea, but I can't imagine it being used for very many items).

Also the same couple of items are suggested to me in the "related products" regardless of what I click.

I believe there is something there that needs to be improved. It worked when I wrote it a few months ago, but changes have been made that may have affected it. It should in the very least show you items in the same category... and will recommend items that are commonly ordered together.

Also my eager fanboy question: does this reflect the actual items currently in stock or will this update when it goes live?

Yes and No. The stock levels were as they were when the Shop closed. If it says in stock now, it is highly likely it will be in stock when the site launches. There are plenty of items that are currently out of stock, that will be added. Many items that are out of stock will be special orders that you can still purchase.

[lax69]

The metal belows is out of stock but it was impossible to pre order. Weird. New stock soon ?
What about full metal kit for wand ?

[Grimmy GB]

The metal belows is out of stock but it was impossible to pre order. Weird. New stock soon ?

Did you miss the pre-order thread? It's still there.

AJ...the shop looks great! Much better layout. Especially love the star rating features. Looking forward to trying it out.

[lax69]

No i put my name on list but no news at all

[NickoRay]

This is actually my first time visiting the shop. All the Uniform stuff look cool!

[AJ Quick]

No i put my name on list but no news at all

That is a For Sale thread and has nothing to do with the Shop.

There are updates in that thread.

I am noticing an error specifically with the bellows where you are allowed to add them to your cart from the Wishlist pages when they are out of stock. Will look into this further.

[VincentVegaFFF]

The new shop is looking very slick. The user reviews should be really helpful. Very nice!

[CamKatarn]

Nice job! New shop looks good! Any idea when the uniforms can be ordered?

[AJ Quick]

Nice job! New shop looks good! Any idea when the uniforms can be ordered?

When the Shop reopens in the next week.

[ladydragonqueen]

I'm new to the community portion here and haven't really purchased from the shop, but I've eagerly been awaiting it's reopening. Unfortunately, I cannot be much help in offering comparison opinions, but perhaps I have some helpful feedback as a first-time serious buyer. I ask that my comments not be taken too personally as I'm a designer by trade and tend to look for easy navigation and something simple and pleasant to the eye. (Sorry, I'm super wordy)

How the categories look on the main page is very...clumpy to me. Is there any way to better define each section? Either with some sort of simple image above/below the category or more spacing? Everything seems very close together and it takes reading over a couple times to really define each category.

I do like that there are categories listed and when the main category is selected it's well organized. I always enjoy the option to add something to my cart without having to look at the details, so it's really great that there is such an option. I also really appreciate the consistency of a product photo. The number of products without a photo available are few and far between. It most certainly makes your shop look more credible.

Overall, navigating the categories and their pages is very easy and simple.

When it comes to individual product detail pages, I really love them. Most particularly that you have a tab for the FAQs on the page. Photos are a great quality and again, make the site feel convincing.

I'm not a big fan of the arrow quantity selection and prefer a drop-down, but that really is a personal preference.

Adding to the wishlist is really easy and I can see how for frequenters of the shop, this will be a really awesome option to best keep track of items customers want to save for a later date, especially since there is so much to look through, it can be easy to forget where you might have seen something.

Overall, site looks good. Can't wait to make a purchase from it.

[FunkPunkTwang]

really enjoying the new shop layout, very clean. A few questions though;

the star/review option. Only available to do after a purchase of the item has been made?


Also not sure if it's something possible or worth adjusting but this has always been a part of the shop I've found messy and bothersome.


Either way, everything past that is easy to navigate, looks clean, very user friendly.

[AJ Quick]

I should mention that I have not yet touched the categories on the main page. That will definitely change, and I like ladydragonqueen's suggestion about images. I will be implementing that for sure.

I'm not a big fan of the arrow quantity selection and prefer a drop-down, but that really is a personal preference.

This is a new change. I used to use the drop down box. The new change to the spinner selector is because you will theoretically be able to order any number of items. Special order items, we could get hundreds or thousands of... so you'll be able to enter in the quantity by typing in or up and down arrows.

I prefer the spinner selector.

the star/review option. Only available to do after a purchase of the item has been made?

Yes. Reviews can only be posted after an item has been purchased (and shipped).

This is to prevent fake reviews or reviews from people that may have not purchased the item.

I understand there are some items where a customer could purchase somewhere else (such as the comics) and then leave a review... but I will be limiting reviews to only confirmed purchases. This may change in the future.


I made a bunch of changes last night. Added new images to a few dozen of the products.

[ladydragonqueen]

I love how it looks already! Even though they're empty images boxes, it already looks a LOT better. Nice change!

[AJ Quick]

I've filled in the boxes.

I'm not completely sold on the way it looks yet.

Now it is overly busy.

[Lewis Tully]

It does look a bit busy. Maybe just one example of each item? Maybe just a generic Pack, Trap, Blower, Comic, etc.? Overall I really like the way it looks. Ever since I saw it was up and running I have been browsing around. Can't wait until it is fully functional again!

[AJ Quick]

It does look a bit busy. Maybe just one example of each item? Maybe just a generic Pack, Trap, Blower, Comic, etc.? Overall I really like the way it looks. Ever since I saw it was up and running I have been browsing around. Can't wait until it is fully functional again!

Yeah.

What I think I'll do is rewrite the way the categories are stored in the database and allow for one single custom uploaded image.. rather than use product examples.

[PredatorMV]

I like that a lot of the things tell me how many of them I need for a pack, except the Legris Straights and the legris banjo replics. Would be nice to see those little details added for stuff like that.

[AJ Quick]

I like that a lot of the things tell me how many of them I need for a pack, except the Legris Straights and the legris banjo replics. Would be nice to see those little details added for stuff like that.

I've thought about having the quantity automatically set at the recommended amount... but decided against it.

Most items already have something about the specific number required in the description.

[PredatorMV]

Yea I just meant adding that to the description of the items.

Also some of the Thrower specific things are listed as "Pack" and some say "proton gun" maybe making that uniform across all the parts?

[TK-194]

AJ,

I browsed the shop a bit and I really liked what I saw.

It is very easy to work with it. It loaded really fast even in my 3G mobile internet (I decided to used it to try the loading time).

The product page looks really complete to me. Has a photo that you can expand to see better what you are about to buy, a lot of areas for product information, reviews, etc..., and the "whish list" option is awesome!

By the way, I placed some items in my "whish list", because I am really intending to buy them. Will it be there until you really open the shop or will I need to browse for it again and buy?

Anyway, congratulations. Waiting for the new shop is worthing. Can't wait more to place my order and try the payment process.

[galeap]

AJ

The new shop layout is looking great. But I fear that everything is just going to get a full five star rating. Because everything in there is awsome.

As an international buyer one thing I would like is a postage estimate as I build up my cart so that I can keep an eye on that cost before I commit.

And one final slightly off topic point. Mate, I have to congratulate you on my purchases from the old shop. You are always fast to send the gear out, and its always packed fantastically. I need to get you round to pack my suitcase next time I head off on a holiday.
Pete

[AJ Quick]

As an international buyer one thing I would like is a postage estimate as I build up my cart so that I can keep an eye on that cost before I commit.

The Cart page has a button for Shipping Estimation. So you will know before you go to checkout.

We now get shipping data directly from the Post Office, and UPS.

That means new options too:

-First Class
-Priority
-Express
-Parcel Select (US Only)

And from UPS (US Only):

-Overnight
-2nd Day
-Three Day
-Ground.

[NickoRay]

^ Awesome!! So convenient.

[LandoSystem]

It still looks great to me. I like the main page with only text and no pictures. It's simple and clear. I also really like the "newest items" section and the suggested items seem to be working much better.
I've been trying to break the store in firefox and chrome, and also with my crappy Motorola phone with mobile firefox and generic droid browser and it looks and works great.

Speaking as a schlub with no knowledge of web design but who buys a lot of crap online, I have a few suggestions I'd like to see eventually worked in:

- A price total on the wishlist. I don't know if moving items in and out of the shopping cart screws with your inventory tracking, but it would be nice to know about how much everything I will need for a pack / uniform / whatever will cost, including items that may not be available now.

- Creator credits for individual items. I don't know if you make a lot of it, have frequent collaborators or if you source some from the community but I'd like to know whose parts I'm wearing so I can give proper credit in conversation.

- ETA for restocks would be nice.

- Default arrangement / grouping items. I notice parts for the thrower and the pack are all mixed together. Maybe you can put the LC-1 frame next to the LC-2, the clippard valves together, the resistors together, misc wand parts together, resin parts together, etc.

[csullivan1980]

I would like to see multiple angle photos of items.

For example: Pack Labels.

Even though the description says both the vinyl and metallic come with labels for the pack, wand, etc it doesn't say how many sheets are in a set.

From what is currently pictured it looks like you get more labels buying vinyl over metallic. I see "Filler Plug & Air Vent" label in vinyl labels but not in metallic labels. It would be helpful to know exactly what I'm getting when ordering to help make a better decision between the two versions.

[lax69]

Me i wish also full aluminium part for wand and hardwares to mount it like L brackets, rivets, tools etc...
Living abroad it's hard to get them

[Venkman's Swagger]

I would like to see multiple angle photos of items.

For example: Pack Labels.

Even though the description says both the vinyl and metallic come with labels for the pack, wand, etc it doesn't say how many sheets are in a set.

From what is currently pictured it looks like you get more labels buying vinyl over metallic. I see "Filler Plug & Air Vent" label in vinyl labels but not in metallic labels. It would be helpful to know exactly what I'm getting when ordering to help make a better decision between the two versions.

Off Topic..... The labels differ because some were aluminium backed and others weren't which is why there are 2 sets. To be accurate you would need both the vinyl and metal.

On Topic...... The new shop looks and feels more sleek. You've done a great job. Does it allow users to provide reviews from previous orders from before the shop was reworked AJ?