There’s a new epidemic running rampant online amid this pandemic. “Hey, how much for this lipstick?” “DM for Price."

There’s a new epidemic running rampant online amid this pandemic.

“Hey, how much for this lipstick?” “DM for Price."

"Price, please?" "DM for Price."

"Do you have more colors in this dress?" "DM for Price."

"Is a small size still available?" "DM for Price."

If you haven’t encountered carriers of this digital disease, mark yourself safe—because the chances are slim to none.

As e-commerce boomed when shopping malls and retail outlets closed up during the lockdown, we saw a significant rise in counter-productive sales tactics. Online sellers have adopted a new attitude that’s averse to encouraging more sales.

By coercing buyers to slide into their DMs, type a salutation followed by their query is an unnecessary hurdle in the way of seamless buying and selling. Nobody has the time to stop and chat with unknown sellers, even if it is to ask the price or haggle for discounts. It's a self-defeating strategy that needs to end.

Here’s why sellers need to change their tactics and get rid of the DM-ing practice.

It Leads to Aggressive Advertising and Unnecessary Information

Once a buyer drops a message on Facebook to a cosmetics seller, they expect a quick, brief reply. But that seems like too much to ask for because sellers tend to generously flood the chat with discount deals, other products, upcoming stock and preorders, and a load of information that the buyer didn’t ask for. It unnecessarily takes up screen space only for the buyer to end the chat, forget about the seller, and move on.

Sellers need to understand the demographics of their audience. The buyers consist of busy moms, working professionals, and even college students. All of these groups have commitments of their own and may not have hours to waste striking conversations with sellers.

Excessive advertisement only serves to repel buyers from seeing through their purchase and abandon their orders midway. As sellers, you must respect their time and grant them the space they deserve. It's helpful to encourage them to DM for details but not to ask the price, which can as easily go on the post. 

It Makes the Process Prone to Hassle and Risk

Let’s say a buyer wants to inquire about the prices of ten articles on a business page. Posting a comment under each picture serves the purpose. But if the sellers insist on keeping the prices confidential and only sharing it in a private chat, the buyer will have to save all the ten pictures before sharing them in the chat to ask for their respective prices.

This makes the process painfully arduous and often inconvenient. Some individuals may not want to use up their phone memory by saving pictures of products they’ll never buy. But they’d have to if the seller is bent on making it complicated. This process can be less time-consuming if the price is labeled in the description.

Not to mention, buyers eye new businesses with suspicion, and messaging them privately isn’t ideal for them. It opens the channel for cybercrimes, and they don't want to get trapped or download viruses on their devices.

The DMs Can Land in Message Requests

More often than not, when buyers send a message to their desired sellers, their message lands in the receiver's "message requests". These messages don't show up in the inbox by default, and it's up to the seller to check the “message requests.” There’s a chance that they might not even see the hidden messages, leaving the buyer waiting for a response. 

Lack of communication results in a dip in your sales, especially in online commerce, as it’s the only means of interaction between both parties. If this channel cuts off, many orders will slip through the cracks.

If you don’t want to miss out on sales, be clear about your prices and post them with each article.

As for promoting your business, we’re here to take it one step ahead.

GoCheapShop is a growing online platform that offers free local ad posting services for classified ads. Our online advertisement website allows you to find buyers who will be genuinely interested in what you offer.

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