Sometimes reality is harsh. Thousands of people just like you thought they can do it. You don’t have to look very far at all. Here are just a few posts just like yours. And they all have one thing in common: none of them exist after a couple years. Go ahead, waste your time. It doesn’t bother me. I’m simply telling the truth. So go on. Look around. These are your people. These are your examples. Click on their sites. Read the comments.
Topic summary
A new Shopify store owner selling pet-themed print-on-demand merchandise seeks advice after achieving only 3 initial sales from friends/family despite 323 sessions since launching in early October. They’re running Pinterest and Meta ads but seeing no conversions beyond their personal network.
Key recommendations provided:
- Move away from POD dropshipping: Invest in heat press equipment (~$200) and create products in-house for better quality control, lower costs, and authentic customer relationships
- Fix trust signals: Add custom domain, professional email (not Gmail), business contact information, favicon, and customer reviews
- Improve product pages: Reposition Add to Cart button above the fold, show only selected color variants instead of all options, optimize images with lifestyle shots featuring real pets
- Enhance homepage: Add best sellers section, clear value proposition, free shipping threshold indicator, and FAQ section with generic pet product questions
- Technical optimization: Complete Google Search Console setup (currently processing), improve SEO with keyword-rich descriptions
Store owner’s response:
After implementing suggestions (updated photos, ran targeted ads, refined social media), they report significant improvement: 5,000 sessions and 77 sales within 4 days of the discussion. Currently working on domain/email migration through GoDaddy (~$200 investment) and considering transition from Printify after gathering more sales analytics.
Ongoing debate:
Disagreement emerged about displaying physical business address—owner cites safety concerns about listing home address versus using live chat support as primary trust factor.