Originality
I may not make many friends with this post, but I feel it really has to be said. And I hope the few friends I have at CP understand my position. This isn’t directed at any particular shopkeeper, just a portion of the SK community at CP.
As some of you may know, I recently redesigned the navigation for Lekker Bride. I wanted to go ahead and add some more designs from other shopkeepers while I was at it (it had been a while since I had), so I started looking around the marketplace at wedding and bridal items. Why, oh why, do so many shopkeepers just copy the general theme or idea of a popular seller? How does that shopkeeper feel? Can you honestly tell me that they can find no other image than a martini glass to represent a bachelorette party? I couldn’t find one single new design that I felt was original enough to feature. I have sites that get tons of targeted traffic that I am willing to share with other designers - yet it seems everything new is just another version of a design on the first few pages in the MP. Do these designers honestly think that you’ll ever rise above a design that has been a proven seller for years? It’s doubtful. And then the same person will come into the forums and complain that they aren’t getting any sales. Originality sells. Quality sells.
I am so tired of people just feeding off popular designs and thinking it’s cool. It’s not. You can’t call yourself an artist if you can’t come up with one stinking original idea. I understand inspiration - especially in fashion. Whole lines have been inspired by a movie or one crazy sequined unicorn sweatshirt. But the marketplace at CP is beginning to look like a dern swap meet, with everyone selling their version of a popular design. All this time people spend complaining about things not in their control yet they can’t spend a few minutes brainstorming their own ideas. Everyone acts as though they care about the customer and their shop - yet they are perfectly happy copying designs of other shopkeepers, which I think is a disservice to the customer.
I’ve seen comments about people getting “tons of great ideas” from the CP Newsletters. Uh, newsflash - those newsletters aren’t made so you can just ride on the back of someone else’s hard work. The marketplace should not be a place you should troll for ideas. Why not, instead of just copying “what sells”, you create your own brand and/or your own style and go from there? Why be so content to just follow in the footsteps of others rather than blazing your own trail?
I have absolutely nothing to base this on, but I wouldn’t be surprised (or unhappy) if CP did start limiting what designs they offer in “their store” (the marketplace). In fact, I would be much, much happier, because I think that design quality in the MP is lacking in many areas and it would only improve the image of CP.
Feel free to give me your 2 cents.
