Hey all,
Thought I should jump in here and offer an explanation and update on the state of the business. First off, thanks to all who have supported MMAMuscle.com through the first 2 months – they have neither been easy or challenge free to say the very least. More so of late, I’ve noticed threads regarding my business practices turn from positive to negative, and I would be a fool to ignore something like that. I really want everyone to know that I do read mostly everything, for better or worse – and am taking notes.
I’ve always said Sherdoggers are my VIP’s, because I myself have been a Sherdogger for a long time. To run a business, and have the approval of Sherdoggers is not an easy thing to accomplish. Many in the industry even refuse to come here, which is a shame in my opinion. It does hurt to see negative posts, but such is life and all you can do is suck it up and learn from them. So in short, I’m making some changes.
Starting Monday: With *each* order, I will have a checklist. On this checklist, I will multi-track all important aspects of each order (and this includes tracking numbers). Each order WILL receive a tracking number within 24-48 hours of being processed. I am making this a top priority, as it is by far the biggest issue thus far. I will also be following up with each order personally, on both the one week mark and 31st day mark just to make sure everything went smoothly.
Most of my negative feedback is in response to dealing with international orders. To those wondering, I have temporarily turned off international shipping beyond Canada. Reasons for this are two fold. #1 Fraud and #2 UPS quotes are very pricey. More than 60% of my international buyers back out after a shipping quote, and it takes time to prepare such quotes. I do apologize for this… and this will not always be the case. When everything has a system and is running as smoothly as I would like, I will turn international back on and we will be ready to go.
On to the topic of me being a middle man. That’s precisely what I am at this point in time. Due to this, I have turned down certain manufacturers and brands from my store. I want to work with only the best. I wanted to start this up with low overhead and low debt. As the business grows, so does the inventory. I’m proud to be able to offer the prices that I do. Basically, my theory is to let them do what they do best (make the gear), and I’ll do what I do best (sell the gear).
I hope this post does not deter any potential customers. Regardless, I want to keep you guys in the light of what is going on with me and my end as I am far from the end goal. I have been working 10-12 hour days for months, and still training on top of that. This business is my “baby”, and I am not going anywhere. It's been two months, and we are approaching the 400th customer – and I am very proud of that. Nine times out of Ten, the customers seem very happy with their orders. I am now working on creating a pleasurable experience for that final tenth.
Respectfully,
Paul
www.mmamuscle.com
now where am I supposed to get all my gear? Any idea how long it will be before you open to international orders again?
