Embark on a journey of self-discovery with a twist! I was faced with an exciting opportunity when my close friend proposed an idea that sparked my interest - "Let's sell silver jewelry!" Despite my initial hesitation, I couldn't resist the chance to explore new territory and challenge myself.

We came up with a name, designed a logo, and created social media profiles. Our jeweler sent us the 15 products we’ve selected.

🛒 Firstly, we registered to the top local e-commerce websites in Turkey 🇹🇷 and Etsy. Preparing the documents needed for registration was cumbersome, but we didn’t have any other choice.

📸 Next, we took various photos of our products from various angles. It wasn’t enough. They just didn’t have any appeal this way. It was probably because of our equipment and lack of knowledge about lighting and manual settings of a camera. To overcome this, I delved into Photoshop. After hours and hours of editing and a couple of YouTube videos, they were ready.

💵 After carefully publishing our stunning silver jewelry on various e-commerce websites and social media, we eagerly awaited the flood of sales. However, despite our best efforts to optimize our product names and descriptions, the sales were slow to come.

We were determined to uncover the root of the problem and took a deep dive into our strategy. Could it be the quality of our jewelry? Were we not presenting ourselves as professionals? It didn't take us long to realize that the key issue was trust. Who would trust a brand new page with their hard-earned money?

With that in mind, we took things to the next level by creating a sleek and professional website complete with WordPress and Shopify. We also made the investment to add more inventory to our offerings, ensuring that our customers would have a wide range of stunning silver jewelry to choose from. By building trust with our customers and showcasing our commitment to quality, we were confident that our sales will soar.

📦 Also, we had a new feature we believed was going to make our brand distinct: Gift boxes. Customers could choose from a variety of boxes with various gifts including books, handmade candles, glass tubes of coffee, and cups, all in wooden boxes with our logo on them. These all were supplementary gifts, the main thing being silver jewelry.

As a developer, I was thrilled to dive into the world of WordPress and discover its wealth of features and versatility. Despite my usual preference for custom coding, I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly WordPress operates and how it allowed me to bring my vision to life without any restrictions.

😓 However, in spite of our blood, sweat, and tears, we just couldn’t manage it. We tried Instagram Reels, offered deep discounts, and expanded our inventory by adding bracelets made with natural stones. No luck.

And then, we pulled the plug. The only thing we had, in the end, was a box full of jewelry, in the materialistic sense.

✅ Here are the lessons I’ve learned:

💫 People appreciate some level of authenticity rather than the dull seriousness of professionalism. We tried to look solid and perfect on all ends and I believe it was one of our biggest mistakes.

📈 Your products’ rank in search results determines the fate of your business. Your product reviews, sales per listing visit, and so much more. It’s all about that particular site’s algorithm and how it scores your listings.

Have any fellow software developers here tried e-commerce? What were your outcomes in your case? Let us know in the comments!

Disclaimer: The cover image is created with AI.