Have you ever bought something online, and it took forever to arrive? You sent off multiple emails to the seller, only to get slow response – if any at all.

So the whole experience ticked you off big time, you get on your favorite online forum and rant about the merchant in question.

Well, the chance is little, but I may be that online store that just pissed you off.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I sell a particular widget on one of my site. I’ve been doing this for about 3+ years now and lately for whatever reason, my service has been slowing down. What made me realize this more than ever, is reading those customer complaints in a more open environment.

So yeah I did a quick Google search, and found my little store being discussed. It wasn’t completely negative, but overall I think I have an unreliable image. There’s the occasional mix of “this guy is great, don’t worry about it” and “got my widget the next day!” but most of the recent ones are along the lines of “bought it a week ago, still haven’t received it.”

Do’h!

So yeah, that’s been hurting my tiny sales, and it’s hurting my tiny income.

Moral of the story? If you do something half-ass, you’re going to get half-ass results.

I’ve been trying to improve and expand the business though. I’m setting up a new store front and domain; getting wholesale/drop-ship service set up with larger retailers; and messing with osCommerce, an awesome open source e-commerce solution.

But yeah I figured if I make a mention of it here, I can get my lazy butt to take some action.