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Merchandise Update: Upgraded and Discontinued merchandise
Every year we initiate a merchandise review and planning process. We study sales and financial stats, customer satisfaction scores, and trend reports in detail to determine if we're offering Shopkeeper's and buyers the products they want. The result of this process usually tells us two important things: what products we need to add, and what products need to be transitioned out.
2007 has seen many new product additions, and will continue to see many more as the year rolls on. Beginning on May 9, 2007 we'll be transitioning the following merchandise out of our catalog:
Custom Postage - Discontinued May 9
Postage Pal - Discontinued May 9
Blue Trucker Hat - Discontinued - estimated June 8
Jr. Camisole - Discontinued - recommend replacing with Jr. Spaghetti Tank - estimated June 8
Jr. Baby Doll T-shirt - Upgraded to Jr. Jersey T-Shirt - estimated June 8
Please see the FAQ for more information about these specific products, and their planned removal from shops. Note: there is no necessary action needed on the part of Shopkeepers during this process. As new information is made available it will also be posted on that page.
We're often asked why we discontinue merchandise, and it's a fantastic question. There are three basic reasons: financial performance, poor customer satisfaction, and product upgrades (you can read more about each of these in the Q&A below). At times, specific merchandise simply doesn't work for one reason or another and we remove it so we can concentrate our efforts on new merchandise and product development; does anyone remember the yoga shorts, the light switch cover, or lunch boxes?
If you have questions about this process that we've failed to answer in the FAQ's below please send them to smart07@cafepress.com
DISCONTINUED PRODUCTS OVERVIEW
- How do you decide what products will be discontinued?
- What products are planned to be discontinued in 2007?
- Are there other products that might be discontinued in 2007?
- What are the different ways that products will be discontinued from my Shop?
- What will happen in my shop if I have a whole section with one of the discontinued products?
- What will happen to the links to discontinued products? Will they just be errors or forward to our main shop pages?
- Will CafePress reconsider discontinuing any of these products?
CUSTOM STAMPS & POSTAGE PAL
- Why isn't Custom Postage being discontinued at the same time as the other items?
- Why wasn't more notice provided to Shopkeepers prior to discontinuing Custom Postage and Postage Pal?
- If a customer orders Custom Postage prior to May 9, but the order is not fulfilled by May 9, what will happen to that order, and what will the buyer receive?
- Where can I find the blank labels that are used for the Postage Pal.
JR. BABY DOLL T-Shirt
- How does the new Jr. Jersey T-shirt differ from the Jr. Baby Doll T-Shirt?
- Will the price of the Jr. Jersey T be the same as for the Jr. Baby Doll?
- Is the new Jr. Jersey T-Shirt available in Heat Transfer and Direct Print?
- What will happen in my shop when the existing Jr. Baby Doll T-Shirt is transitioned to the new Jr. Jersey T-Shirt?
- Will the product name automatically change from Jr. Baby Doll T-Shirt to Jr. Jersey T-Shirt?
- What will happen if one of my customers orders the Baby Doll the day before the Jr. Jersey goes up and hasn�t had their order processed yet?
CAMISOLE
- What if I want to feature the images I have on the Jr. Camisole on a similar product?
BLUE TRUCKER HAT
- What will happen in my shop if I have selected Blue as the default color for the Trucker Hat?
- What will happen if I have blue trucker hats in my shop that are only available in the blue/white color (I've previously chosen not to sell the black/white trucker hat)?
- Is the Black Trucker Hat going to be discontinued?
DISCONTINUED PRODUCTS OVERVIEW
- How do you decide what products will be discontinued?
There are several reasons that a product might be earmarked to be discontinued:
Overall low financial performance. As Fred described in his SMART address, we are working to focus our attention on the products and projects that provide the greatest value for the greatest number of shopkeepers. When we evaluate whether or not a product is to be discontinued we look at not only revenue generated, but also how much we invest in maintaining a product. In some instances, it makes better sense for us to turn our resources to products that are going to be more productive for Shopkeepers.
Poor Customer Satisfaction. We track satisfaction among your customers closely, and at times we identify products that should either be upgraded or discontinued due to poor customer satisfaction scores. Typically low scores lead us to upgrade a product, like in the case of the Men's Ringer T-Shirt, but in the rare instance where there is not an acceptable upgrade, we may decide to discontinue a product altogether.
Upgrade items. We will be working on making quality upgrades on many items focusing in the apparel area in 2007. That means that the old item will be discontinued and replaced by the new and improved items. The Men's Ringer T that was upgraded earlier this year is a great example.
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- What products are planned to be discontinued in 2007?
Below are the products that are currently confirmed to be discontinued. Additionally, we've provided the estimated exit date.
| PRODUCT |
ESTIMATED EXIT DATE |
| Custom Postage |
May 9, 2007 |
| Postage Pal |
May 9, 2007 |
| Jr. Baby Doll |
June 8, 2007 |
| Jr. Camisole |
June 8, 2007 |
| Blue Trucker Hat |
June 8, 2007 |
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- Are there other products that might be discontinued in 2007?
Possibly, there are several additional upgrades that we are working on launching this year. Because they are still in progress we do not have specific dates. We will be sure to provide advance notice so that Shopkeepers are prepared.
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- What are the different ways that products will be discontinued from my Shop?
In some cases, we will continue to sell an item until it goes out of stock before discontinuing it. For items that are already low on inventory, we will either remove it from our site or replace it with an upgraded product on a specified date. For example the Blue Trucker Hat and the Jr. Camisole will be removed from the site as stock sells down.
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- What will happen in my shop if I have a whole section with one of the discontinued products?
Once a product is discontinued, it will no longer be available or viewable, so if you have a section in your shop that only has a discontinued product, it will be empty.
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- What will happen to the links to discontinued products? Will they just be errors or forward to our main shop pages?
Here are a few scenarios and what customers can expect if they try to link to a discontinued product:
1) Links going to a discontinued item will see our standard Product Not Found page with a link back to the shop for that item.
2) Links going to some type of search result page that only contains discontinued items should bring up our standard No Results Found page.
3) Links going to a shop section that only contains discontinued items will go to an empty section page.
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- Will CafePress reconsider discontinuing any of these products?
We've heard from a few Shopkeepers who are disappointed with the loss of some of the merchandise we're removing from our catalog, however we will not be reconsidering this list of discontinued products. We do acknowledge that each of the cancelled products had a small group of successful sellers, but we need to determine product viability based on the experience of the entire Shopkeeper community.
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CUSTOM STAMPS & POSTAGE PAL
- Why isn't Custom Postage being discontinued at the same time as the other items?
The exit date for Custom Postage on May 9, 2007 coincides with the dates that the USPS and Stamps.com have scheduled price changes.
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- Why wasn't more notice provided to Shopkeepers prior to discontinuing Custom Postage and Postage Pal?
We do our best to provide advance notice of significant changes that will affect Shopkeepers. In this case, we had to react to information provided by our stamps partner on short notice, and since we'd already decided to discontinue postage, it didn't make sense to implement a price change only to discontinue the product a few weeks later.
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- If a customer orders Custom Postage prior to May 9, but the order is not fulfilled by May 9, what will happen to that order, and what will the buyer receive?
All pending orders remaining after May 9, 2007 will be fulfilled. The buyer will receive the postage denomination that is ordered, e.g. if a 39 cent postage product is ordered, they will receive a sheet of 39 cent postage.
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- Where can I find the blank labels that are used for the Postage Pal.
The dimensions of the label used for the Postage Pal are 2 9/16" x 1 9/16". This was a custom cut size for the Postage Pal. We're not certain if there's anything exactly the same size, but we know there are labels close in size and available at most office supply stores.
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JR. BABY DOLL T-Shirt
- How does the new Jr. Jersey T-shirt differ from the Jr. Baby Doll T-Shirt?
Following is a chart providing a comparison of key product features:
| Feature |
Current Jr. Baby Doll
T-Shirt |
NEW Jr. Jersey T-Shirt |
| Material |
100% Fine Combed Ringspun Cotton |
100% Fine Combed Ringspun Cotton |
| Fabric Weight |
5.8oz 100% Cotton 1x1 Rib |
4.3oz 100% Cotton Jersey |
| Fabric Feel |
Soft |
Softer |
| Print Quality |
Good |
Superior |
| Fit |
Form Fitting |
Fitted |
| Construction |
Side Seamed Construction |
Side Seamed Construction |
| Length |
Short |
2.5" Longer |
| Neckline |
Crew Neck |
Scoop Neck |
| Colors |
White Only |
White, Light Pink & Light Blue |
| Fashionable |
Older fabric & cut so not as contemporary |
"Trend forward" fabric and cut |
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- Will the price of the Jr. Jersey T be the same as for the Jr. Baby Doll?
No, the Jr. Jersey T is an upgrade from the current Baby Doll so the base price will increase by $2. We will automatically increase your retail price by $2 to ensure that there is no impact to your commissions. We increased the retail price within shops to make the transition easier for shopkeepers. However, you can easily change the price of your Jr. Jersey Ts after the automatic $2 increase though your shop management screen.
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- Is the new Jr. Jersey T-Shirt available in Heat Transfer and Direct Print?
The Jr. Jersey T is available in Direct Print only.
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- What will happen in my shop when the existing Jr. Baby Doll T-Shirt is transitioned to the new Jr. Jersey T-Shirt?
The new Jr. Jersey T-Shirt will automatically appear in your shops in place of the Jr. Baby Doll T-Shirt along with the 2 new light colors.
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- Will the product name automatically change from Jr. Baby Doll T-Shirt to Jr. Jersey T-Shirt?
No, the product name will not automatically change within individual shops. Currently, Shopkeepers manage their own product names and will need to implement this change within their own shop if they choose.
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- What will happen if one of my customers orders the Baby Doll the day before the Jr. Jersey goes up and hasn't had their order processed yet?
We will make every effort to ship what the customer saw on the website when they placed their order (in this case the Jr. Baby Doll T-Shirt). If we are unable to do this, we will offer the new style or a full refund.
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CAMISOLE
- What if I want to feature the images I have on the Jr. Camisole on a similar product?
We recommend that you to add those designs to to the Spaghetti Tank. It's very similar in style, scores higher in customer satisfaction, and is a higher quality garment.
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BLUE TRUCKER HAT
- What will happen in my shop if I have selected Blue as the default color for the Trucker Hat?
The default will automatically transition to Black.
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- What will happen if I have blue trucker hats in my shop that are only available in the blue/white color (I've previously chosen not to sell the black/white trucker hat)?
They will be permanently deleted when the item is discontinued. In this case, if you want to offer the black/white trucker hat you will need to opt into the black/white color before the blue/white is discontinued. If this is not completed before the blue/white trucker hat is discontinued you will need to add the black/white hat as a new product.
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- Is the Black Trucker Hat going to be discontinued?
We have no plans at this time to discontinue the Black Trucker Hat, so keep selling!
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