My stringing business... Website progress. Comments?

What do you guys think so far?

http://hstrial-briansrackets.intuitwebsites.com/index.html

Lot's more to come!

Not a bad start, but I do have one observation.

This statement..."inexpensive racket stringing"...is a bit misleading, isn't it? It seems to beg the question, "compared to what?" For instance, Cyberflash is $7.50 a set, yet you advertise $25 to install it. Again, I'm not saying your prices are outrageous. My guess is you charge approx $15 for labor and you mark-up the string. My point is you might want to consider rephrasing the opening sentence under Servicing & Pricing.

About me shouldn't have a picture of Federer on it haha

COPEY said:

This statement..."inexpensive racket stringing"...is a bit misleading, isn't it? It seems to beg the question, "compared to what?"

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Agree, what is it that makes you inexpensive - do you only string with cheap string? Are you not very good?!

I would suggest you look at some of your descriptions and phrasing - it comes across as a hobby rather than a business - if you want to sell your services you need to "sell" them, not give the impression that you're a college student who does this as a bit on the side - unless that is your aim.

Ash

armsty said:

About me shouldn't have a picture of Federer on it haha

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I am sure he has paid for the rights to use Roger Federer's and Andre Agassi's pictures on his website. 'Bottle Rocket' you did pay for those picture rights didn't you? You have heard of copyright infringement, haven't you?

Just in case you are not aware, photographers pay for the rights to use pictures of famous people and sell those pictures to others that want to use those pictures in marketing. Now if you take a picture of Roger playing tennis and stick it on your desktop there is no problem. If you use that picture to market something it is a different story. Trust me, you do not want some lawyer sending you a letter explaining this to you.

You know there is a reason you put Andre and Roger's pictures on your web site instead of John Dough'$ picture. Be honest with your customers and just tell the facts man nothing else.

Irvin

I think you are off to a good start, but the comments above all came to mind when I looked at your website. Good luck with your stringing and more importantly, your college degree. Engineers rule.

There was some study done once that the average person spends about 7 seconds per page on a new website. The point is, get your point across quickly. I wouldn't mention that you've been stringing/playing for 5 years--that's not that long. I think most of the information about you is entirely unnecessary and even a distraction. I'd rather know what kind of machine you are stringing on than what your college degree is in, your rating, or how often you play.

I agree with the point on "inexpensive" above--I think you would be better off focusing on value and experience (although as to this latter point, 5 years doesn't seem that long). I think you should strongly consider getting a USRSA certification--otherwise you are just a guy who has been playing a lot less than me who thinks he knows how to string. Likewise, words like "fiddling" are not terribly persuasive to me in seeking a qualified stringer. If I am a college student looking to get my sticks done cheaply, maybe I use you--but if I really care, your site does not compel me to use you--sorry.

Irvin's point about the pictures is dead on--nothing can shut you down quicker and expose you to money damages like copyright infringment as well as using the images of pros without compensation. I would get those images off as soon as possible--seriously.

I would take your site down now and work on it. I've dealt with corporate communications, public relations, and marketing. I'm not a lawyer, but I've taken courses in communications law. Do what those above have suggested. If you want photos, buy stock or take your own.

While you sound like you are being honest, your "About Me" page (if anyone ever gets there) is not going to sell for you. So many more people on this board have more qualifications than you--and in its current form, anyone who knows anything about tennis would be able to guess that. It is not written to impress. If you are a 4.5 tournament player, say that. If you have experience stringing various racquets with a variety of string types and set-ups, say that--but on another page. Keep it simple.The page (I'm sorry) sounds like a bad resume.

With a background in engineering...
NTRP 4.5 player...
Short. Simple. Don't add things on the "About Me" page to try to sell. Leave that for the main or a FAQs page. The "About Me" page should include that info, as noted above, that will make people think, "I'm dealing with an intelligent person who actually knows the sport." This is after you've explained the benefits of quality racquet stringing and so forth on the appropriate pages. That's it.

And this, as noted by others, "specialize in inexpensive racket stringing" means what? That translates into, whether you think so or not, "cheap." You sell yourself as "quality" and start off being "inexpensive." Smart "consumers" wonder why things are cheap. If your market is the person who barely knows string can be changed and it comes in more than just white, maybe they won't care so much. However, if you're talking to the person who wants his "Big Banger" with some softer synthetic than he currently uses, and he feels like the ball is flying on him, you can bet he will wonder. And your prices aren't anything special to even bother saying "inexpensive." Maybe "reasonable." For Cyber Flash, that amounts to what, about $18 for the stringing if a person were to buy his own string? That is not unheard of elsewhere, and you are just entering the market. You can't fight a battle with competitors simply by deflating the market, if that were to become the case. You'll doom yourself soon enough.

And an above poster is correct: Look into certification. You'll see at least "USRSA" at stores that specialize, at least partly, in tennis. "Organized" credibility. Its value is more than the cost to do so.

Is this done with a template?

He might be using this: http://www.intuit.com/website-building-software/

like the guy said above WARNING WARNING watch out for lawyers they'll try to make an easy buck like that any day.

I think you guys are being a little too rough on the guy. It's a racquet stringing business for chrissakes, not some big corporate web site. The fact that he has any sort of web presence at all is more than 90% of his competition.

wow, wilson syn-gut installed for $22.

You would need to drive to my house and string it on the spot for that $$$ mark-up. Just kidding-

I know shops can charge $20 labor, but they have overhead and only give the stringer about $10.

Getting certified will help your cause, but you need to drop you labor charge a bit-

Winky said:

I think you guys are being a little too rough on the guy. It's a racquet stringing business for chrissakes, not some big corporate web site. The fact that he has any sort of web presence at all is more than 90% of his competition.

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Poor presentation gets you nowhere. A bad site will kill you as quickly as bad word of mouth. The competition may not need a site or may be part of a chain, for example. If you are going to put yourself out there to the entire world, do it well. Write it well. Present yourself in the best manner possible. Get your points across quickly and effectively. In a business like this, you only have your knowledge, skill, and integrity. The site must reflect that clearly.

Your links on the contact page don't work. Good luck with your business.

stringwalla said:

wow, wilson syn-gut installed for $22.

You would need to drive to my house and string it on the spot for that $$$ mark-up. Just kidding-

I know shops can charge $20 labor, but they have overhead and only give the stringer about $10.

Getting certified will help your cause, but you need to drop you labor charge a bit-

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This is what I charge. $20 labor and I don't mark up string.
My objective is not to compete with anyone. There's really no other professional stringers in my town. (I'm not including the local "box" sports stores).
I put my service on par with the pro shop 25 miles away. My objective is to offer "pro shop" quality service at a reasonable price. I also offer immediate turn around, at no additonal charge.
I charge $20 labor, whether I provide the string or not.
I'm USRSA Certified, use pro shop quality equipment (Star 5) and have probably 3k frames under my belt.
I inspect frames, clean them, tube or replace cracked grommets, etc......and rubber band a service tag to the handle showing date/frame/string/tension and my contact info.
I also keep a crap ton of over wraps on hand and replace them gratis, with any sign of ware.

Bottle Rocket said:

What do you guys think so far?

http://hstrial-briansrackets.intuitwebsites.com/index.html

Lot's more to come!

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KCMO ha? really... Well i live in KCMO and i have to drive all the way down to OLATHE just to get my racquet restring.... wahahah...

Your website looks really cool but those pricing are kinda outrageous....

You should also include LABOR PRICE on your site....

But hey man i would love to get my racquet restring by you, instead of driving all the way down to OLATHE.....

Most of it's been covered, I'll just echo what I found to be important:

Irvin said:

I am sure he has paid for the rights to use Roger Federer's and Andre Agassi's pictures on his website. 'Bottle Rocket' you did pay for those picture rights didn't you? You have heard of copyright infringement, haven't you?

Just in case you are not aware, photographers pay for the rights to use pictures of famous people and sell those pictures to others that want to use those pictures in marketing. Now if you take a picture of Roger playing tennis and stick it on your desktop there is no problem. If you use that picture to market something it is a different story. Trust me, you do not want some lawyer sending you a letter explaining this to you.

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You shouldn't be using copyrighted images on your site. You can't (in this case) even use them while crediting the source/photographer. You're making money using these images, so you need to get them licensed. You can't use these under creative commons licensing, etc.

MAX PLY said:

I agree with the point on "inexpensive" above--I think you would be better off focusing on value and experience (although as to this latter point, 5 years doesn't seem that long). I think you should strongly consider getting a USRSA certification--otherwise you are just a guy who has been playing a lot less than me who thinks he knows how to string. Likewise, words like "fiddling" are not terribly persuasive to me in seeking a qualified stringer. If I am a college student looking to get my sticks done cheaply, maybe I use you--but if I really care, your site does not compel me to use you--sorry.

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List your labor charge. Having two choices kind of sucks. If i were looking for a stringer, I'd like to know how much they charge if i bring my own strings. The certification suggestion is a good one if you are at all serious about making considerable money from this.

Radicalized said:

While you sound like you are being honest, your "About Me" page (if anyone ever gets there) is not going to sell for you. So many more people on this board have more qualifications than you--and in its current form, anyone who knows anything about tennis would be able to guess that. It is not written to impress. If you are a 4.5 tournament player, say that. If you have experience stringing various racquets with a variety of string types and set-ups, say that--but on another page. Keep it simple.The page (I'm sorry) sounds like a bad resume.

With a background in engineering...
NTRP 4.5 player...
Short. Simple. Don't add things on the "About Me" page to try to sell. Leave that for the main or a FAQs page. The "About Me" page should include that info, as noted above, that will make people think, "I'm dealing with an intelligent person who actually knows the sport." This is after you've explained the benefits of quality racquet stringing and so forth on the appropriate pages. That's it.

And this, as noted by others, "specialize in inexpensive racket stringing" means what? That translates into, whether you think so or not, "cheap." You sell yourself as "quality" and start off being "inexpensive." Smart "consumers" wonder why things are cheap. If your market is the person who barely knows string can be changed and it comes in more than just white, maybe they won't care so much. However, if you're talking to the person who wants his "Big Banger" with some softer synthetic than he currently uses, and he feels like the ball is flying on him, you can bet he will wonder. And your prices aren't anything special to even bother saying "inexpensive." Maybe "reasonable." For Cyber Flash, that amounts to what, about $18 for the stringing if a person were to buy his own string? That is not unheard of elsewhere, and you are just entering the market. You can't fight a battle with competitors simply by deflating the market, if that were to become the case. You'll doom yourself soon enough.

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With your qualifications, as mentioned above, your prices aren't actually that cheap. I've been stringing for ~10 years now, and I've got thousands, and thousands of racquets under my belt, but I charge ~$10 labor. Could I charge more? Yep. Should I charge more? Probably. However, I've never really marketed myself as someone who is trying to string racquets (aggressively). I'm an engineer as well, and that's my primary focus and source of income, and stringing has largely been leisure/hobby for me in the past. I've never bothered to get my MRT due to this fact. I move around a lot (due to not living near my school), so keeping a reliable customer base has never been worth the overhead for me. I also keep a much more comprehensive stock of string than 2 offerings, but at the same time, I STILL often don't have what people are looking for (Gamma Livewire, Wilson NXT, etc). The overhead of stocking really popular strings (and keeping several in stock) is a big difference between you and your pro shop competitors. They've sunk thousands and thousands of dollars having what people WANT. When someone comes to you looking for Prince synthetic gut with Duraflex, an you only stock extreme, they're compromising, and taking something they don't really want. How can you deal with this?

stringwalla said:

wow, wilson syn-gut installed for $22.

You would need to drive to my house and string it on the spot for that $$$ mark-up. Just kidding-

I know shops can charge $20 labor, but they have overhead and only give the stringer about $10.

Getting certified will help your cause, but you need to drop you labor charge a bit-

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Sorry, but I agree. $15 for a non certified stringer with relatively limited experience and/or low frame count (what does 5 years of experience mean if you string 10 racquets a month? I might do that in <6 months... total!) is pretty good. Most stringers starting out at my college charge ~$10, first racquet free. It depends a lot on your competition, of course, but people will come back to me because I am able to turn the frame around quickly, provide a consistent, and predictable string bed, and I've strung for ~5 years for a DI college team. I can't really be THAT bad if I'm stringing for a top 25 school, right?

Jeffy005 said:

You should also include LABOR PRICE on your site....

But hey man i would love to get my racquet restring by you, instead of driving all the way down to OLATHE.....

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Yep, include labor price. I wouldn't be contacting you because I wouldn't want cyberflash or extreme. While Cyberflash is extremely popular among us tennis/string heads, ask any average tennis player, they've NEVER heard of it.



IMHO, in the "about me" section, it should be an "about the services," what you offer over someone else. You should also have an educational page, IMHO, as to why stringing is important, and how you address this. This can be eliminated, depending on your approach, but I think the about me page is largely irrelevant.

I'd also consider improving your stock.

I do agree using an image of Roger Federer is copyright infringement, but if the OP used a photo of a package of Wilson strings, with a photo of Fed on the packaging it would not.

As for price for stringing. It all depends on where you are located. Here in So Cal. the going labor rate for a Syn Gut String Job, is $10, but in the San Francisco Area it's closer to $20. I've heard in NYC is closer to $30 labor. I think the cost of labor should be what people are willing to pay for, reasonably. So if you are the only stringer for 50 miles around, you can justify $20 labor.

A majority of people looking for a stringer are recreational players. So it's a good idea to stock up on a couple reels of Syn Gut, like Gosen OGSM. I go through more reels of Gosen OGSM than any other reel of string I normally have.

Lakers4Life said:

I do agree using an image of Roger Federer is copyright infringement, but if the OP used a photo of a package of Wilson strings, with a photo of Fed on the packaging it would not.

As for price for stringing. It all depends on where you are located. Here in So Cal. the going labor rate for a Syn Gut String Job, is $10, but in the San Francisco Area it's closer to $20. I've heard in NYC is closer to $30 labor. I think the cost of labor should be what people are willing to pay for, reasonably. So if you are the only stringer for 50 miles around, you can justify $20 labor.

A majority of people looking for a stringer are recreational players. So it's a good idea to stock up on a couple reels of Syn Gut, like Gosen OGSM. I go through more reels of Gosen OGSM than any other reel of string I normally have.

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Thats because the string hes promoteing their product.

I agree with almost all of what has been suggested (particularly about using only images for which you have secured IP rights), however I differ about the inclusion of an about me page. Perhaps your average joe blow tennis player doesn't care, but I think a significant number of potential customers would be interested in the credentials of the stringer. I know I would in any case. Just my $.02.

Again, I can't stress this enough: Keep it simple. The customer will appreciate it when clicking around to get the information.

Without completely changing your page formatting:
For example, main page: Quality (lighting is the key) photo at your machine. They are dealing with an individual. You might as well put yourself out there. Short and direct statement about racquet stringing. Use bullet points to list your additional services. Add a link to the services and pricing immediately after.
Services and pricing page: Short description of the benefits of each service. Add a link to a FAQs page ("For more information about...") for specific answers to questions a customer may have. Create a FAQs page.
Pricing: Make it easy to read. Again, make a list or better, create a table if you know how. List the price for stringing with user-supplied string, too. You might want to have a larger inventory as others have mentioned. As you might have obvious issues with creating inventory, you might like to inquire about what to stock when at the courts and so forth. Also, you might mention that you may be able to obtain specific items with enough lead time.

Perhaps mimic a known competitor to some extent. For example, I can tell you what the big box store in my area that provides a stringing service sells, more or less, to give you an idea:
Big Banger ALU Power
Prince Synthetic Gut with Duraflex
Prince Lightning XX
Wilson Sensation
Wilson NXT
Wilson Synthetic Gut Extreme
Gamma Live Wire
Gamma TNT2
Gamma Zo Twist
Head Synthetic Gut PPS
Head FXP
…and maybe a couple of others.
This list wouldn't cover the people on this board, that is for sure. Here, people are mostly picking them off the wall at some price point. Another local store isn't much different. If I were to do what you are--and don't worry anyone, I'm not--aside from the stringing services, for most cases I'd be saving the customer a round-trip "25-40 minute" drive time, depending on the store.

FAQs page: IF a vistor wants/needs to read additional technical details, put them here where they aren't clogging up your main pages.

About: I think this is beneficial in your case. But as noted earlier, thin it out. Keep the "you" and the "sale/facts" separate. Student at UMKC. Engineering background. NTRP 4.5 player. So, that tells them, you're a local guy with intelligence, and you know the game. And if they're sure you are around, and they can contact you, there will be less trepidation with trying your service. Sell yourself well, as you really don't have much experience, and as you don't have a "name" behind you. You're a 4.5--Picture of YOU hitting the ball IF you want to fill space currently taken up by Fed! Don't be shy. The business IS you.

In terms of stocking string, I keep a reel each of a good syn.gut, a good multi, and a good poly (I don't do cheap restrings!) and if a customer wants anything specific i'll order it in (usually next day if I order before 3pm). This means my outlay is lower initially and I cover most bases for the average club player but can offer everything else for people who want it.

You've made a decent start - just a few tweaks and you'll be good to go!

Ash

Good idea

Good to know you're available. I assume you're looking for customers that will mail racquets to you, you string them and mail them back. Is that part of the business plan? I would consider using your services that way.

I think most people here are being overly critical. Not surprising. I agree you should probably take off the "inexpensive" theme.

Some of us would be more inclined to play with polys if we had an easy way of getting our racquets restrung frequently. This would be for those who can afford to have multiple racquets and spend the money for restringing frequently. Obviously, getting a stringing machine and learning to use it is an option and I am considering that.

You might want to add something about shipping and such and what the turnaround time and costs are for that.

Good luck with it. I'm sure you do a very good job.

Bee

Ash_Smith said:

In terms of stocking string, I keep a reel each of a good syn.gut, a good multi, and a good poly (I don't do cheap restrings!) and if a customer wants anything specific i'll order it in (usually next day if I order before 3pm). This means my outlay is lower initially and I cover most bases for the average club player but can offer everything else for people who want it.

You've made a decent start - just a few tweaks and you'll be good to go!

Ash

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What specific one's if your clientel is on a budget.

Excuse my ignorance but stringing is NOT a business. If you wanna be successful in life, first go learn the difference between a business and self employment.

Parker512 said:

What specific one's if your clientel is on a budget.

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The three reels I always stock are all from RAB - Texflex Premium (syn.gut), SensorFibre (multi) and EnduraFlex (poly). I will occasionally back these up with some Mantis PowerPoly and Confort Synthetic.

If somebody really wants something dirt cheap, they can either bring their own or I'll order something in - usually once I have a chat and explain to people the differences in quality and therefore playability/durability people don't mind spending a bit more to get the quality.

Cheers

Ash

Ash_Smith said:

The three reels I always stock are all from RAB - Texflex Premium (syn.gut), SensorFibre (multi) and EnduraFlex (poly). I will occasionally back these up with some Mantis PowerPoly and Confort Synthetic.

If somebody really wants something dirt cheap, they can either bring their own or I'll order something in - usually once I have a chat and explain to people the differences in quality and therefore playability/durability people don't mind spending a bit more to get the quality.

Cheers

Ash

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Hey Ash - I stock TexFlex (great all-round syn gut), have used SensorFibre which I think is an excellent "comfortable" string for hybrids and have tried EnduraFlex which is ok, but I currently have EnduraEdge which is fine for a reasonable stock poly.

If you haven't tried Endura Edge ask Richard at RAB for a free set to try. I get on fine with it and a reel is fairly cheap IIRC.

HI PMG - as far as i'm concerned the RAB strings are as good if not better than anything else out there and usually once I get my customers to try - they love them. For the price I pay, you can't go wrong either!

I've not tried the EnduraEdge - i'll have a chat with Adam or Richard next time I place an order and get a set to try.

Cheers

Ash

OP I only came across this thread today but one quick comment. It took me a while to work out you were in Kansas. The contact me page had a map but it wasn't clear to me for a while where on earth you were

Oh 1 more thing i should add......

Labor Price $15 I wish man... Instead of $20

If you make it $15 i'll definitely go to you instead of someone else....

Where did the OP go?

mikeler said:

Where did the OP go?

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probably just lazy to check this thread...

LOL. Ok.

A friend of mine here in KC just came across this thread and then reminded me that I had made it. He mentioned that I was getting flamed pretty hard, so here I am. I just read through it all.

I agree with most everything said. I understand the issue of copyright and all that good stuff. I promise.

I appreciate all the comments, especially those that were constructive. If I'd gotten to this thread much earlier, I would have replied to each one individually. I really do appreciate the feedbackand I regret not checking back to this thread sooner. I apologize for that.

The whole idea of inexpensive racket stringing is based purely on the prices in the area. A large tennis store, which competes directly with Tennis Warehouse, is in the area, the one "way out in Olathe". You're looking at $35 for a polyester string job at this place, $25 for the most inexpensive synthetic gut. Your also often looking at longer turn around time as well as the requirement to pick up and drop off your racket during their business hours and at their location.

A good majority of the stringers at this store are certified, but not all of them do a job which would meet my own standards. It is why I started stringing. You may be certified to weave some strings, but that says nothing of your understanding of racket dynamics and physics which directly relate to one's game, maximizing your potential, and finding a setup which can instill true confidence in your game.Or your understanding of the effects different modifactions and such really have, game related or biomechanically. I don't think my knowledge of the game is less valuable than a certification, quite the contrary, but obviously, it is only the perception of the customer that matters. So.... That's that.

I am also competing with the local clubs, the places getting the majority of the business this winter. However, if you play a club, there are few good reasons to come to me. Money and turn around time will rarely be a consideration.

So, I am less expensive than retailers and clubs. The prices I had listed are obviously expensive so far as individuals go, and I am aware of this. I've charged significantly less in the past and the majority of customers (admittadly, i'm no high-volume super business) have paid me more than I asked for. They've given me what they thought the job was worth, based on their previous experiences elsewhere. This was the basis for my prices. But yeah... I am not inexpensive, not based on those website prices.

With all that said, its not a big deal. I don't need that much money for a string job. I am not doing it to make a living, but I am also not doing it for fun. I am fair and in many cases, I am negotiable. Yeah, weird.

So, if you're in the KC area, I won't charge you what is on the website. If I am available, I'll charge you what you think is fair. I don't need $20 labor. $15 is fair to me, but if you don't think so, I'm still willing to work with you.

I lost interest in this entire thing a little while after working on the website, it is why I have no domain name yet and why there are still copyrighted pictures all over the place (many of them are not copyrighted, btw). My customer base, which dwindles down like you wouldn't believe in the winter, has come solely from word of mouth. That and my involvement on a local tennis website ( www.kctennisplayers.com ).

The process of trying to build this basic site was a fun process and I've gotten a lot out of it, I've also enjoyed reading all of your comments. I have no intention of getting rid of this website, but it may be a while before I get serious about it again and see if through. I'll obviously get some new pictures, do some redesign, and change the prices. I'll also take into consideration all of the suggestions concerning the "about me" page and the like. Simple is better. I know... The Google generation.

I've gotten distracted by tennis apps (would love to integrate this stringing dealy, tennis equipment, pickup and delivery, etc..., with a phone app) and some small little products I am trying to design. That and food and sleep. The winter here in KC is discouraging... I mostly just eat in place of court-time now.

Bottle Rocket said:

I lost interest in this entire thing a little while after working on the website, it is why I have no domain name yet and why there are still copyrighted pictures all over the place (many of them are not copyrighted, btw). My customer base, which dwindles down like you wouldn't believe in the winter, has come solely from word of mouth. That and my involvement on a local tennis website ( www.kctennisplayers.com ).

Click to expand...

They're all copyrighted, even if the images aren't watermarked, believe it.

Sometimes it's just hard to prove copyright, but the original creator/capturer has their usage rights covered, and using these images IS a violation of that copyright, end of discussion. Like i said before, even if these are available for public usage under something like a creative commons license, it's not for use in a website used to generate revenue, as yours is.

Alright.... How about this:

http://www.briansracketstringing.com/

I got myself a domain name which is too long, but it will work for now. I've also got myself some new pictures. All legal for use on my website with no copyrights.

For those of you that remember the old site, this version should be rather refreshing without all of the irritating nonsense.

Still going to work on some pages, including the About me page, probably taking much of the advice from this thread.

Looks much better. Overall a big improvement.

A few comments:

- Still took me a minute to remember you were in Kansas! I guess only people in that area will have the website address? "I live in KC on the Plaza" for example would have been enough. Or maybe "KC's home of the rubber band dampener" or similar...

- You might want to offer more than two strings in your price list. For me that's a big downside. Even if you only have one set of each in stock it's worth it I would think. So so many rec players I know ask for NXT or TNT it's ridiculous. Typically there's a "favourite" in your area.

- What's the turnaround time? Do you pickup/deliver?

- If it was me I would have someone take a picture or two of you stringing or similar to put on the "about me" page. Gives confidence.

Hope it helps

Cheers, Orig

I agree with much of the above advice. Find another way to express the value that you give and your expertise as a stringer.
My local big box store offers PSGD@$20 and stringing labor only @$12!
I have had to find another way.
I stock reels of Sweet16, OGSM17, MCS, SPPP16L, and BHBR17 plus a few specialty strings and I tell them that MY strings are better than the strings at the store at a competitive price with a quicker turnaround and more consistent quality.
Things are tough here in Vegas!
BTW If you are THAT meticulous; spell it right!

What about Racquetball in the winter?

Took a quick look, on the About Me page you may want to change the text color from black to white so that it is more readable. Good luck with your business.

Irvin said:

I am sure he has paid for the rights to use Roger Federer's and Andre Agassi's pictures on his website. 'Bottle Rocket' you did pay for those picture rights didn't you? You have heard of copyright infringement, haven't you?

Just in case you are not aware, photographers pay for the rights to use pictures of famous people and sell those pictures to others that want to use those pictures in marketing. Now if you take a picture of Roger playing tennis and stick it on your desktop there is no problem. If you use that picture to market something it is a different story. Trust me, you do not want some lawyer sending you a letter explaining this to you.

You know there is a reason you put Andre and Roger's pictures on your web site instead of John Dough'$ picture. Be honest with your customers and just tell the facts man nothing else.

Irvin

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I was going to tell him check copyright before and ask permisssion (often if you explain you are starting they will allow use of pics and give you a release, but get everything in writing). Also check any use of trademarked/patented pics (say Babolat, Dunlop racquets, logos etc.)

mikeler said:

Took a quick look, on the About Me page you may want to change the text color from black to white so that it is more readable. Good luck with your business.

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The text is too small, as well.

Typically, the best visual impact will be black text on a white background, using a serif typeface.

origmarm said:

Looks much better. Overall a big improvement.

A few comments:

- Still took me a minute to remember you were in Kansas! I guess only people in that area will have the website address? "I live in KC on the Plaza" for example would have been enough. Or maybe "KC's home of the rubber band dampener" or similar...

- You might want to offer more than two strings in your price list. For me that's a big downside. Even if you only have one set of each in stock it's worth it I would think. So so many rec players I know ask for NXT or TNT it's ridiculous. Typically there's a "favourite" in your area.

- What's the turnaround time? Do you pickup/deliver?

- If it was me I would have someone take a picture or two of you stringing or similar to put on the "about me" page. Gives confidence.

Hope it helps

Cheers, Orig

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I agree with all of the above and think you're right. Had some debate about the name for the business considering I am only local, but figured the upsides for leaving it open to expansion (unlikely) was advantageous compared to limiting it with some odd specialized domain name.

Thinking a small description/summary of everything might be appropriate for the front page, this might also be a good way to mention that I am in Kansas City. I'm on the Missouri side, actually.

fortun8son said:

I agree with much of the above advice. Find another way to express the value that you give and your expertise as a stringer.
My local big box store offers PSGD@$20 and stringing labor only @$12!
I have had to find another way.
I stock reels of Sweet16, OGSM17, MCS, SPPP16L, and BHBR17 plus a few specialty strings and I tell them that MY strings are better than the strings at the store at a competitive price with a quicker turnaround and more consistent quality.
Things are tough here in Vegas!
BTW If you are THAT meticulous; spell it right!

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Hahaha... Good catch on "meticulous"... Can't believe I did that!

I've found that the majority of players here with synthetic guts are perfectly happy with Prince Synthetic Gut W/Duraflex and are familiar with Wilson and will happily go with the Wilson Extreme (which I think is better). I haven't found a single person who wasn't ok with my string selection, especially after discussion with me.

However, I agree with you. I have a massive tennis store in my area and have access to most any string, so I should probably add a note about that.

Also agree with your first comment. I will think about ways to accomplish this.

fortun8son said:

What about Racquetball in the winter?

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Hmmm....

mikeler said:

Took a quick look, on the About Me page you may want to change the text color from black to white so that it is more readable. Good luck with your business.

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Done. What do you think?

eliza said:

I was going to tell him check copyright before and ask permisssion (often if you explain you are starting they will allow use of pics and give you a release, but get everything in writing). Also check any use of trademarked/patented pics (say Babolat, Dunlop racquets, logos etc.)

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Done! See my previous post.



Thanks guys! Really appreciate the input. I've made a few changes according to the comments above and of course, there are many more to come. I've also added a Facebook "Like" button, which somehow feels like some sort of odd milestone. If you'd "Like" me on Facebook while browsing through and catching my errors and missteps, it'd be greatly appreciated. :wink:

Thinking of adding some things to the site (in addition to some other changes, which I should be focusing on), however, I really want to keep things uncluttered. I spend a good amount of time complaining about cluttered websites, so I need to control myself. Would an RSS feed showing AP Tennis results or something of the sort be too much? What about a listing of local USTA events and such? Is it a bad idea to let things wonder a bit? A page with all of those things, including weather? Or something?

Much easier to read! Also, I noticed on the Services page, that last line is a little bit difficult to read where the text says "economical route" because it is black and in the shadow of the ball. Perhaps lift all that text up slightly or consider making that white as well.

mikeler said:

Much easier to read! Also, I noticed on the Services page, that last line is a little bit difficult to read where the text says "economical route" because it is black and in the shadow of the ball. Perhaps lift all that text up slightly or consider making that white as well.

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Fixed (sort of?). Thanks!

I need some better pictures. The picture on that page has been causing me all kinds of problems. Hoping to take some pictures of my own (rubber band dampeners and strings and such, like the poor picture I have on the site's Facebook page). Currently too many tennis balls sitting around on the ground...

I would change the font to white on the services and pricing page as well. Specially the font on the red back ground.
At least see how it looks. I think white font on red back ground is more visually appealing.

GlenK said:

I would change the font to white on the services and pricing page as well. Specially the font on the red back ground.
At least see how it looks. I think white font on red back ground is more visually appealing.

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Agreed. Done. Going to try to deal with picture today so one text color works well...

GlenK said:

I would change the font to white on the services and pricing page as well. Specially the font on the red back ground.
At least see how it looks. I think white font on red back ground is more visually appealing.

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Yeah, white tends to stand out better when sitting on top of an image or color.

You need to change the racket pic on your home page IMMEDIATELY!!! That racket gives me (I'm sure others as well) the impression that your service, product, knowledge, etc. are way outdated, maybe something from the 90's. I don't want to use someone whose website gives me the impression that he is using a 90's stringer and Leoina 66.