neocitygot7
Country:
Malaysia
Ideas and inspirations for group order account:
I started this account while being an IGOT7 (GOT7’s fandom) and slowly becoming an NCTzen. It was a curious decision as I looked around and saw people taking group orders and I just wanted to try it, so I did. It was scary at first because no one tells you which vendors are good and which ones are not. I depended solely on Ktown4U since it’s the most foreigner-friendly, considering that they use PayPal as a payment method and the fee for international shipping isn’t that expensive. I asked around and asked my friend who did a group order about shipping, which warehouse is good to use, which app is better for money transfer, and which website is easy to deal with. It’s a lot, and nerve-wracking, to try new things. My first group order was for GOT7’s Breath of Love and NCT’s Resonance Pt.2. When I got my first order, I cried, because it’s so scary! There were a lot of “what ifs,” like what if people don’t trust me, what if I got scammed, and a lot of other what-ifs. However, I powered through with the help of my dearest friend who kept hyping me up and asking me a lot about my progress as a group order manager. She has been helping me to stay strong and keep doing this. I can’t thank her enough for staying with me.
Products:
I took both official and unofficial merchandise orders. Most of the time, there are products from Korean sellers, Thailand sellers, and Indonesian sellers. Merchandise like dolls, collect books, fan kits, dupe pajamas as well as album orders during comeback season.
Responsibilities as a group order manager (GOM):
There is a lot to be considered once you start being a group order manager (GOM). One of them is to make sure that your buyers’ trusts are worth the risk. You’re holding people’s money and trust so you can’t make it go wrong. You’ll have to be prepared with countless possibilities. I believed that every group order manager should have these as their top priorities on the list. To name a few are first, being transparent with your buyers. It’s not about telling your buyers everything but instead, you’ll answer buyers’ questions honestly and carefully. It’s their money and they have the right to know where their money goes. Trust is important in business and our service is as important to maintain trust. Secondly is to protect the goods before it arrives at the customer. I’ve seen a lot of cases where buyers received damaged goods and to be very honest, that’s what I’m always scared of. Whenever I pack the goods, I’ll take extra precautions so that they’ll not receive damaged goods. On second thought, who’d like to receive one, right? I guess these are the top responsibilities as group order managers for me. Maintaining trust, being transparent, and protecting the orders. There are others as well but these are the most important things to take note of.
The most important thing in handling a group order account:
The most important thing in handling a Group Order account… I think it’s your interaction with your followers? I created a CuriousCat account to interact freely with my followers and now the CuriousCat has become their go-to place to talk. Also, the important thing to focus on while handling a Group Order account is the price. The base price, the shipping, and the additional prices. I always wanted it to be cheap for my buyers so I tried a lot of alternatives in order to save shipping costs. We are all the same, we want to buy things at cheaper prices. If we’re given options, we’ll want to get the cheaper one. So, that’s what I aimed for my buyers.
Motivation and benefits gained from handling group order account:
The satisfaction when my buyers received their items. When people thanked me for doing the Group Order, that motivated me to keep going. There were times when I was sad and unmotivated. The orders aren’t enough or I got some profit loss through the Group Order, but it’s all worth it. For benefits, I’d say that I gained a lot of friends, on and off CuriousCat. Also, I got to know a lot of things about the K-pop market and the mutual connection with other sellers from other countries. The downside of being a group order manager is that your impulse is to buy the items too even if you don’t need them.
Problems or issues encountered:
So far, there’s no problem with the suppliers but I do have a few encounters with problematic buyers. Some of them don’t read the details before placing orders and some were demanding for things to get delivered faster. It’s a given to meet these kinds of buyers, so I don’t think it’s a big issue.
Usage of Advertisement:
I started here on Twitter and I haven’t really branched out yet. I hold giveaways every now and then to attract people and to make my Twitter known by locals. That’s my marketing and advertising strategy. I’m comfortable staying within Twitter since I’m mostly active there. I don’t really advertise offline as most of my friends in real life aren’t fans of K-pop. Also, I’m willing to share with new group order managers in case they’re searching for a good strategy. Make giveaways, make retweet deals. They cost a bit but it will give you exposure in return.
Ways of securing fund for group order account:
I do place my money first in business. Miscellaneous things like flyers, bubble wraps, thank you cards etc, they’re the hidden costs. So, I put my own savings into the business. The profit isn’t that much but it did cover the hidden costs so I guess that’s enough for me for a start!
Plans in 2 to 3 more years as a group order manager:
I’m not really sure if I’ll be doing this in 2 or 3 more years because people change but I do wish to continue this in the next 2 or 3 years as long as people let me.
Tips:
For those who want to start a Group Order account, don’t be afraid. If you’re afraid, you can never do it. Baby steps, no need to push yourself hard. Remember that you have just started so it’s common not to have any orders or profit. Please do not give up! In addition to that, ask around. Ask established group order managers about Group Order related issues, ask your friends’ opinions as buyers, and put yourself in buyers’ shoes to see from their perspective. It’ll be worth the time and effort! Again, never give up and I’m rooting for you!
Check out other Group Order Accounts from our featured interview here.
Thumbnail: Shotaro by @zphenix
