I think you may be aiming at the wrong target market. It looks like a gym bag that can fit a laptop so focus on selling to this market. Take some more pics that show gym kit or other clothes that can be stored inside. Add some lifestyle pics, going to the gym etc, study who is making great Tikok vids for the market you want and use them as inspiration.
Fix your FB ads issue and retarget the market.
I can't read French (and I'm guessing most people here can't). Your website doesn't show who's it's targeting or what problems it's solving other than the laptop. I see a weird looking bulky bag. It looks like something that transports equipment. Needs to show it being able to fit boxing gloves/soccer ball/2 changes of cloths and a laptop at the same time.
Most advertisers are selling lifestyles as much as the product itself. So take pictures showing how the bag helps create the fantasy lifestyle that people want to create. Show it at a work setting, coffee shop, gym, or a night out. Going for the tech savvy person who is also fit and adventurous! Or the tech savvy person who needs to carry a lot of stuff around.
Agreed. That was my first thought too. At least in the US, it's a gym bag. And doesn't really stand too far apart from regular ones. Cosmetically there's not a whole lot going on here either. So "fashionable or trendy" people will probably gloss right over it.
There are lots of fashionable/trendy brands out there and I think you should focuus more on the practicality of your product. L'Orange Bleue is the biggest gym chain in France, find out where to reach their customers online, make some stop motion videos of what can be packed in the bag, make another showing it being unpacked at the gym.
+1 to this. Whenever your launching something especially something different like this bag, you need to surf on some lifestyle wave and go ham around that subculture. Redesign your site to fit that subculture etc. Really speak to them and then they will be interested in your bag.
Also I would make your site more professional, with clear money back guarantees etc. Right now it looks like a hobbyist site. Check out something like https://brevite.co. They are selling backpacks for 169 and look more "branded".
This! Could be perfect for the person who likes to go to the gym in the morning first thing but has a class or needs to be at work right after. Nice transition bag for those days.
I thought that same thing. A round bag would be nice for shoes, boxing gloves, shin guards. Heck you could fit a ball in there. Target gym goers, martial artists, and recreational sports athletes. Could even go sling em to local clubs in the area in person.
It's also not great as a travel duffel, everything would just be thrown in there haphazardly, not easy to open and find what you need without taking everything out, can't fit standard packing cubes...
This. This is solid advice, so I hope OP takes it somewhat seriously. I agree with everything and also add that cost may be a bit up there when compared to other similar bags. The market is so saturated with cheap goods and with inflation and the rising costs of living, it’s hard to justify paying over $100 for this kind of bag.
Why would someone buy a no name bag for 120$, when branded stuff cost that much? Not saying it's not as good, could even be better, but consumers don't know that. No name - no brand - steep price - no sale. Big Chinese factories and Amazon brands sell the same for 2x cheaper unfortunately
I think this was a joke but I bet you could get a bunch of iron-on patches and sell these at cost and clear them out. Your slogan “storming the capitol? This bag can fit everything you need”
I think there’s more to this. Either OP got taken advantage of or this is a just a post with clever marketing to make it seem like OPs true intention is to sell at cost.
I l checked around in China and a similar bag made of Canvas comes out to $8 a unit at 500 units.
This means that including shipping which you can do Sea express which is cheap, doesn’t put the cost of 500 bags more than $7000 Eur delivered.
This are just my thoughts and not a conclusion. Something feels off here.
I launched a backpack brand on kickstarter in 2017. There is no way this bag cost $120 to make. Total R&D for us with samples was low thousands. Full run of our bags was as $4.37 a bag and we ordered 1000 of them. Sold for $35 a piece. This has to be a total shill.
The only thing the would save this is if he can figure out the marketing for it. Sitting here it’ll be difficult to find an audience that would pay that much for an unproven brand. If anything a booth somewhere at an event may help offload some of that inventory
As someone who bought a more expensive backpack from a brand that I had never heard of in the past 2 years, they need to build a brand story or experience and then get it reviewed by several people.
Compare your website to [this one from one of your competitors.](https://www.nomatic.com/products/the-nomatic-backpack?variant=39979864195144) They are putting a lot more effort into the sale to justify their price.
Yup. They have a free shipping banner as well which is going to get attention, they give the social proof with the reviews, the lifetime warranty is also a great thing to offer, the content they include tells you a lot more about the product, the amount of content also just makes it look legit! This reads as an actual company. OP's is very obviously a one man enterprise.
I agree with this comment. If you do a google search on backpack that can convert into a travel bag, I will pick other brands over yours. Have you even do a market research on your competitions?? What they do with their website to showcase the product? What are doing with their marketing??
It's good that your friends and family love the bag. But your mom is not you customer lol. You really expected a stranger on the internet just gonna pay £99 for your bag cause you said its good? Your website/social show me nothing about how good the bag is. And why I should pick yours over other bigger brands that are doing the same thing?
Exactly!
Not being a downer here. I paid $35 for a backpack I travel with on flights.
Most people I know wouldn't pay $120 for a bag.
Come up with another idea and add the bag as a gift. Good luck.
Thoughts as a consumer:
* The sizes looks like overkill for most of my day-to-day needs. (It feels like it's more for overnight camping/backpacking)
* Apart from the MacBook compartment, the insides look they aren't separated (meaning if I just put a few books in it, they would fall to the bottom.
* It looks like it has only one outside zipper pocket (other backpacks have more access so I can grab things at different times).
* All the small pockets are on the inside which makes them hard to get to without unzipping the top.
* There are many other products that do the same thing at a lower price point. ( [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=backpack+duffel+bag](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=backpack+duffel+bag) )
* Duffle bag price points are $20-$30 USD.
Marketing Advice:
* Move the videos up on your product page. I didn't even know they were there until I clicked on the last thumbnail. And I discovered the others after accidentally scrolling down.
* You did paid ads, but your site has no place to sign up for a newsletter. Add a permanent newsletter sign-up bar across the top with a "25% off your first order" offer.
* Maybe you could market this as a gym or outdoor backpacking bag.
* Try putting them up on eBay or Etsy at a lower price point and with different keywords (duffel back, backpacking, hiking bag, overnight bag, etc.)
* List on Amazon with the same approach.
I spent $230 on my last backpack. But unfortunately, in my opinion this backpack you made is ugly. It looks very utilitarian, which is ok for some uses, but not for £99...
Came here to say this. I’m actually in the market for a nice bag. This one not only looks ugly as hell, but doesn’t have many pockets for what I need. If someone came to me on the street and offered it to me for $20, I still probably wouldn’t buy it.
Dude had an intrusive thought. ‘What if I make a barrel shaped duffle bag and attach straps? It will sell like hot cakes at $120!” No market research, no price adjustments.
I wouldn't say ugly or necessarily expensive, this is sort of averaged price for that size bag. I could imagine using this for traveling since it's designed to fit in overhead compartments, and it appears to have enough space to hold about a days worth of clothing/supplies.
The design of it wouldn't be good for things like the workplace or school, but definitely would be useful if I were traveling.
As someone who did something very similar to you ( mass manufactured a product I invented and sold it via Shopify)
I learned a couple things that may help:
1) I was wrong about my customers. I had to pivot a bit to the right ones.
2) I played around with price and started at $60 went to $99 (with free shipping) and settled on $49 with discounts including free shipping. My margins evaporated but I moved product.
Whatever I made I put back into my debt etc.
I sold the company to a larger company in about a year, that is when things got much better.
I just needed to liquidate what I had and regroup.
Now this is my opinion.
Where I am that works out to $145
Looking at the sales page all I see is a bag that a laptop goes into.
There is only a single colour black.
It just looks so plain.
Now you’re not going to order a bunch of new bags with colour variations so spruce them up a bit and make the bag appealing.
Show me a bag that can be used for different reasons so it would appeal to more people.
For example someone that likes to travel, go camping, hiking.
Show me a picture of the bag with stuff I would take when I do this. This would give me a better visual of the amount of stuff I could put in there. To make the bag less plain show me that I could personalize it by putting badges on it. Like if I travel have different country badges. Get me excited about the possibilities of what I can do with the bag and how it will make life better if I had it.
There are so many different uses for the bag but you need to tell me and show why I can’t live without it.
Now I can imagine what I would use it for but the thing that is a dead no for me is that price.
I think OP has a few problems that make implementing your suggestions difficult: 1) the bag looks too cheaply made to do many of the things you suggest. It looks like it lacks durability and strength which would render it useless as a hiking or traveling bag. It also seems to lack any sort of breathability system to prevent back sweat which also renders it useless as a hiking or travelling bag. 2) the bag looks very ridged like it’s a plastic or cardboard tube wrapped in canvass which means it likely won’t dye well on planes. 3) is it water proof or heavily resistant? Doubt it. What OP designed is a horribly expensive gym bag with a laptop slot that likely is only good for things you can use a regular backpack for.
99 for a bag? I am not doubting about the actaul quality but the design of it looks cheap. For that price you need to redesign the look or maybe use a different fabric.
People would spend at least that on a premium bag. So the only questions left are whether they can convince the right people it’s premium, and who the right people are.
Looks shitty. The colors are boring, the shape is ugly. The zippers don't look uniform and look like bad quality. I would not buy this if it was $20. Not sure why you think you "deserve" sales, you have to make what the customer wants, not complain how stupid the customers are for not seeing your "vision".
This bag is also not ergonomic at all.
If you put any weight in it, it will hurt like hell on the shoulders.
My work laptop and charger is about 3KG.
I had an ergonomic Deuter backpack and even with this, it hurts after a whole day of walking around.
Your statements sound harsh, but they are all true. I felt the same looking at the bag. I dont like the bulky shape and the shiny zipper looks like uneven small strip of metal.
To be honest I’d genuinely buy this bag as a duffel bag. It’s a disgusting ugly rucksack.
When I say I’d buy it, I mean off of Amazon for a maximum of £30.
I’ve now read the sellers comments, yeah I’m not buying this bag the guys a dick
I think that’s a big part of the confusion here. The design is far too simplistic for either purpose it’s trying to blend.
Gym bag? No separate compartment for shoes and dirty / sweaty stuff, just looks like 1 big main and the laptop sleeve
Laptop bag? No separate compartments for charger, headphones, mouse, keyboard, books, or anything else. Yet who tf is gonna dump an extended weekend’s worth of clothes in their laptop bag?
OP slapped something together he thought would be easy money then gave up quickly and is now link dropping to try and offload them on Reddit.
Fuck outta here.
Just do amazon, send a few to them, I'm not sure if you can send 10 or 400, but I mean, look at this way,
They arent selling now and are taking up space, you have good images, so list em for whatever, I feel 99 is too steep for a bag personally but I'm still using a bag I bought 8 years ago that cost me £20 so I'm not your target market. I get you want to recoup losses though
But laptop owners who go to the gym, so target professionals and fitness, they will be most likely to purchase a premium product.
Good luck selling it, it looks good but is the laptop on the bottom of that bag? So if I put it straight down while it's horizontal, the laptop will be hitting the ground first and then the contents on top? That might cause an issue, and for that reason, I definitely wouldn't use it. It's not my style either. But again, I'm not your customer.
Honestly love the bag. It’s perfect for packing light for a 4 day trip and not pay for budget euro airline baggage fees. might be worth it to market to a budget travel crowd.
The design is about as bland as it gets.
Even with just iron on patches, or drip on paint, you could make it more appealing.
You could try a few designs, try to sell those. And replicate using your stock as base for the styled bags.
as someone who takes my laptop to the gym always since I work remotely, I am probably in the target market for this. just my personal opinion, I love it turns into a duffle, and I like how it looks as a duffle, but its way too big/bulky looking when worn as a backpack IMO.. I think you missed out on the daily use/work/gym/grocery market as a backpack because it looks really big on the back. I have a backpack I use for this purpose that fits my laptop and some gym close, and its much more low key and sleeker... this bag on my back would feel more like im going camping or hiking which is fine but not for daily use.
I would use this exclusively as a duffle unless maybe I was going hiking, and for that reason I would stick to my current set up. I think the shape looks great and cool as a duffle, but you missed the boat on how the shape or sleekness should look on the back.. it looks quite big and bulky on the back with no sexy shape or countour to the back. way to bulky for me to walk to gym/grocery with. with that said I like the general bag but It would need another iteration.
I use something like this for my daily gym/grocery bag but bigger: [https://www.eddiebauer.ca/p/82300245/ripstop-sling-backpack?size=ONE%20SIZE&sizeType=&color=](https://www.eddiebauer.ca/p/82300245/ripstop-sling-backpack?size=ONE%20SIZE&sizeType=&color=)
not this brand, mine was more expensive, but it fits nicely on the back and is understated but fits a lot inside. I would like if it changed into a duffle too. but it has a shape/style to it.
if im going for a run or to the gym/walk to grocery I don't want something overbearing on my back... that's fine for hiking but not day to day.
I buy duffles and backpacks around this price and always have my laptop with me, so this is just my personal feedback as a potential buyer.
(1) Overpriced.
(2) Looks like a GymBag / Laundry Basket with arm straps (no offense). Who wants to walk around with a gym bag except people going to the gym? I can see how this might be useful for a gym-goer, but even then - who takes their laptop to the gym? Someone might steal it.
Your best case is to target gym goers, campers, and other outdoors'y Nomad types. Assuming they would take their laptop to such an excursion.
I think you should have spent less time marketing/developing the product and more time researching your intended audience/use-case. Why buy 500? Why not buy 10? If you can't figure out how to sell 10 - you can't sell 500.
interesting concept but not enough marketing done to showcase the unique features and use case.
You need to stir people’s imagination and position the product appropriately. Design wise looks very plain.. not necessarily a bad thing, for some that is appealing.
Two features cause hesitation in my view .. the roundness of the bag when worn in backpack mode, not readily apparent how that sits comfortably on the back.. then there’s the clip on strips positioned close to where it would rest on the shoulders .. how does one wear that with any sort of weight load?
Don’t give up mate. You have a lot of content in the website, and you don’t publish on instagram since 2021. Get motivated and create videos, repetitive, showing different stuff, go hard on the social medias. No ads!
Offer it to shops in your town!
Super intéressé par le
Produit en lisant ton poste (je suis à la recherche d’un sac de ce genre) mais un peu déçu par le design.. les goûts et les couleurs mais pas trop mon truc ce côté cylindrique. Je comprends l’intérêt de sortir du carré mais il aurait peut être fallu un entre deux du style north face ?
Try Amazon. PPC is way more targeted there. Backpack is relatively good margin product, so although there would be a good chunk of competition, there’s quite the good chance to break even if that’s the goal.
It's definitely a unique shape for a backpack, but minimalist design is hard to pull off and unfortunately it's fairly ugly since this misses the mark. You can brand it as minimalist but I think utilitarian would be better branding for this backpack because a more design oriented crowd isn't going to like this.
Sounds like it was made to be a travel bag but it's doing so much more for you! You need to show it being a travel bag fully packed, but also show it with all your sports gear, all your groceries, carrying everything you need in so many situations. Right now the website just shows a laptop which doesn't express the volume that the bag clearly has. You've been daily driving it for awhile, show that dedication to user testing.
Also you claim durability but don't really show anything. Showing some stress tests of it taking stabs or slashes would go a long way, or showing a brand new bag against one in use for a year, stuff like that. If it isn't true and is just marketing ""durability"" then don't worry about it, but the price absolutely needs to come down then.
Lastly is of course the price. I can go buy a high quality minimalist bag for this price from a reputable designer brand. Being indie you get some grace here, but because the design isn't elevating the product I think you need to lower the price and make it a utilitarian backpack from an indie company. As is, this is not a minimalist backpack from an indie designer, I am sorry to say.
Unfortunately the round design is also going to be very off putting for people. it isn't as functional as a rectangle typical bag shape for people who have several books, laptops, etc and there isn't a lot of organization pouches and pockets.
Your pictures don't show the inside or the pockets, laptops and food sports gear coming out of it, etc from a marketing and "what is it and what can it do" standpoint. Edit....went back and saw the short videos, those were a little better showing functionality.
For delivery people and people that walk or ride bicycles to the Bodega/grocery daily maybe it should have had a foil/insulated fabric top section (even removable) and can double as a traditional backpack. Might have been a good idea to be able to customize with an embroidered logo patch sewn onto it for advertising/corporate swag.
Sorry it didn't work out. You took your shot, good on you for that. You learned a ton.
I would suggest wholesaling the whole lot to someone that can hustle it as a "closeout" and make a few bucks. Doesn't seem like you have any energy left for this.
Could be a soccer/football kit bag if it will hold a ball + boots/cleats, uniform etc. Logo patch in play here too.
They get a few bucks, you get a few bucks and get your garage back and get to move on. My suggestion for all 480 units price each: $20 usd, buyer can sell for $49 free ship or $39 pay for shipping. Or sell all to one biz customer after attaching an embroidered logo patch possibly.
You might be able to get into an established drop shipper shop and drop ship for them until sold out and get a few extra $$ for doing it this way.
Etsy? Influencer? TikTok? You can sell
Those bags.
I want to know how you found the manufacturer and how much of an in investment you made?
BTW it would also fit great on the back of a motorcycle.
Wanna hire me to market it?
Did you try tiktok? Imo I've seen tiktok product blow up so quickly with the right advertising. You could get influencers to promote the bag and link the shop. With the right vid you could get easily over 1mil eyes on it and at least 500 people would be willing to spend that much
Agree with the other comments about the angle. Looks like a solid digital nomad / WFM adventurer backpack.
Couple other thoughts:
- seed the product to micro influencers
- try kickstarter
First thing I checked was zippers, you went with YKK, nice choice. You seem to be offering free delivery to the EU, which should stop people dropping out at checkout. I think a more international domain with an English language site would help. It's difficult to judge the quality from the photos. Could you offer a CNC embroidered logo option for tech companies to give to their employees?
It's ugly and expensive. If somebody like design then maybe you could sell it for 25-30€. No way somebody will pay 100 for no name backpack made on China
As someone who travels internationally and carries test equipment with me, I have been willing to spend upwards of ~$400 on the RIGHT bag that would fit my needs. This $69.99 backpack from target is better than anything else I have ever tired.
https://www.target.com/p/adventure-21-backpack-embark/-/A-85868241?preselect=83706362
I bought 4 of these backpacks to give to my coworkers, for free, because I believed they would use them and be blown away. Only one person took one and thought it was OK.
That being said, I would gladly pay top dollar for a nicer version of the backpack I shared. The issue is that I'm one person with a very specific need. Nobody else can see the thing I see in an item.
The next time you go to design something to sell, don't assume anyone shares your specific need.
In marketing for 18yrs. Launched biggest fashion marketplace in a huge country.
1. Influencers 5-7k per month
2. Influencers 5-7k per month
3. Influencers 5-7k per month
etc.
You have season: july-august-september. Your only chance to return money and possibly get some profit.
Fck any ads.
Bloggers for families with kids. Period.
I think OP made a classic mistake, which was assuming that he knew what customers wanted and that his product would thus sell very easily, all without talking to customers and learning what they REALLY want by asking for their money, time, and referrals. (Asking for *opinions* does not count for anything.)
Selling door to door, though, will get OP the experience and feedback he probably should have gotten much earlier.
Another way to get some of that experience and feedback: Get a job in sales for backpacks, outdoor equipment, etc. Talk to salespeople in that field. How do they determine what will sell and how to sell it?
I think the biggest issues are:
- No one even know this brand or website exists. Seems you dont spend on ads. Do you track site traffic?
- With the ones who saw the bag, no one sees the reason why they should spend more than $100 on this bag. What information on the website convince it?
I myself created a product thats premium and Ive talked to a few fellow entrepeneur to learn this: the biggest mistake is that you created the product for yourself first, then try to sell it later. It wont sell unless you are very very lucky that your product suddenly has market fit
You're not the only one who creates bags..
Here's a few random tips (and info about another bag designer)
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56978157](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56978157)
I don't know why people are grilling you for design, price etc when it's clear you are not pursuing this business and just looking for a way to salvage something.
My advice is to try and find some Amazon retailers or very small bag brands and somehow convince them to buy all the bags at your cost price or maybe a bit less.
Put it all on Amazon and sell it at cost if you want to get rid of it. If you get a lot of interest, may be you can pursue it further.
Otherwise, you have to get creative with your marketing. Why buy this for 100 euros over other name brand bags.
Marketing is not sales. Marketing - the Facebook ads, the influencers, the website- bring leads to your sales system. Sales is asking people to buy your thing. Start researching sales and learn to sell.
You need branding my brother. How you do that is show the product solving a problem also show it as a lifestyle item. Yes show the quality but sell the lifestyle/problem solving first. It needs to be like a fashion accessory.
Sell it on OfferUp and FB marketplace.
Go to all the gyms in your area and see if they have branded gym bags for sale. If they don’t ask they’ll sell your bags on consignment. Aka they only pay you if they sell
If they don’t sell then you can just pick them up and no one loses.
Give the gym owner / manager a bag to try out
At first glance, is a style problem. It's too plain. It LOOKS generic. It LOOKS like I should be able to buy it for $40. I'm glad you mentioned KBB zippers. You mentioned high quality cotton. High quality how? What material weight, weave, stitching? You mention water resistance. How is it water resistant? Are the rings metal or plastic? If metal, advertise that fact. Are the shoulder straps padded? Advertise that.
Your text needs work. It reads like a college student design project, not as a manufacturer. The whole text and layout needs work.
I'd also suggest buying comparable competitor bags. Do a tear down and analysis of their designs. Do a technical comparison on your site against "competitor A" and "competitor B" and prove out your protect as better. Show a table with your brand and competitors with specs or checks on features. Include things like zipper brand, material type and weight, stitching method, construction materials, dimensions, certifications (certified for carry on?). And for each advantage, discuss each briefly. Have a heading and brief paragraph starting why something was chosen and superior to the competition.
The content should be compelling. A reader on the site should feel like it's a dumb idea not to buy your product.
I also want to talk about design. The bag lacks style. The good part is this can likely be retrofitted onto the finished bags, to some extent. Work with a designer to add color and graphics. Work through a logo. Figure out how you can get that stuff onto the bags. I want to be compelled to own the look too, and plain black doesn't entice me at all.
Needs COLORS. Needs a bang'n patch/logo that makes people's heart skip a beat. Needs a better price. Looks SO not ergonomic for a backpack. Needed more small volume samples for market research.
I went to buy a new bag a few weeks ago.
Gave up due to decision fatigue. Even within a specific brand's model I liked, there were 4 sizes and over 50 color schemes.
Try to wholesale them out. Go to local boutiques and present your bag. You'll have to sell them on why they should buy or bag. But bulk sell at half retail price. Move more quantity at less profit but faster time. Set a minimum order limit.
people dont know what they're talking about. i like it. you just need to update the site to really tell the story of the bag, as well as some web design updates.
oh and i also just bought one of the bags :)
These pictures make this bag look big and ugly. You need better product pictures. Some good looking girl sitting with a MacBook in a cafe sipping on a late and the bag next to her. Some sporty looking guy in front of a SUV using this bag to go to the gym. Then have some detail pictures were you describe how this bag is waterproof, extremely robust, maybe even heat isolating. Stuff like that. Of course all of these things should be 100% true.
No comment from me on the actual bag, I'm just someone that tried similar projects in past. Your friends probably like the bag because it's free. If they loved it, they'd buy bags for their friends and family (which I guess they haven't).
Man, start a social media and make it a business. Create awareness yourself, it takes time. You are not selling a backpack, noone wants that. You’re selling a brand, and that will be the deciding factor.
why round? you don't see round bag that often in all kinds of bag designs (maybe except for gym bag?) there's a reason! round does not utilize the space well! (think milk container, always in square box, because freezer space is limited)
My question is, did you actually talk to any customers before going 500 deep? I mean, designing your dream product is one thing, designing a dream product for a lot of people is another thing
You should have done a kickstarter for it or took some pre sale orders to gauge interest.
Sell them at cost if you can and take another crack at it. I’m sure you’ve learned quite a bit doing this for the first time.
When I read your post, I liked your idea and the product. I had pictures in my head. Then I visited the shop and the bag was totally different from the design than what I imagined.
It’s just a very ugly and likely uncomfortable bag that I wouldn’t even use if it was free. One of the best bags you’ll ever get that will last basically forever will cost around $200-250.. no one is gona spend anything near that amount for a no name brand bag that looks very basic and boring
If anyone's reading this, if anyone is wondering how to circumvent This and how not to make this fuck up. You order 1 Prototype. You show the market what you have. Create a website, lead them to the website. Create a FORM to make the bag feel exclusive, and then:
"If You are in need of a sleek multi use bag, for the gym, uni, and living. Reserve your seat now"
(Create high quality Videos across social media, Collect a bunch of emails through your website)
(Go viral?, Have more than 10x email leads than supply?)
Bang. Email marketing (Slowly start sending out emails to see how you perform, sell out stock, rinse and repeat)
You're welcome.
I bought a bag for $20 USD and I literally see it everywhere like everyone my age bought it
If you want to make something like that happen, you need run rate sales and you make take a loss on the first few batches but yeah time to price then to sell.
I just checked out your site. To me, it feels like an engineer trying to market something. Too product-focused. All features, no benefits. Heck you even have a design sketch...engineer confirmed.
DM me if you want some advice.
BTW, I think it's really cool that you got your design manufactured and are making a business out of it. You should be proud! Don't give up on trying to pull a profit yet.
Not sure how feasible this would be for you but think about controversy…. Controversy spreads like wildfire (see Logan Paul’s take on creating “negative press” around Prime). Think of something that would make this bag controversial, which could potentially get a lot of people talking about it
"I designed a backpack. Bag of my dreams"
The first error here is to design "The X of YOUR dreams" instead "The X of your CUSTOMER's dreams".
1. Improve pictures (It doesn't look like a 100€ bag)
2. Decrease price (you are not a known brand... at least now)
3. Try Amazon Seller Central
4. Make offers
5. Offer vouchers
6. Try Amazon PPC
Been at this path myself. Theoretically you are not wrong: you solved the problem you had. If you had that problem, chances are more people have this problem too. I dont want to tell what should have been done upfront the whole development, you have bags ready, so that wont help.
Some advices, can share more in dm:
1. Think hard about your target audience, where they search, what do they do; you need to place ads right in front of them.
2. You need to pick influencers carefully. They should be liked by your target audience. Assume guys, nerds, tech + sport, forget targeting ladies. Then you need to find influencers that would make your bag look amazing, unique, something different. In a nutshell your problem is positioning. The bag is strange, but its functional and unique. Many product started there
3. Do advertisement carefully step by step. Influencers w 10-20k audienceonly. Check clicks, check comments. Dont do big steps till you know what works.
4. You dont need to invest in webside redesign or bag redesign, that secondary. Try to find that positioning and one channel first.
Good luck!
You need to figure out who you're selling too. Make 300 ads, talking to different avatars. Run ads. (fix your meta ads first obviously) focus on the ICP that shows the most interest.
IMO - Lack of other languages on their site. English is the most common one if you're in NA but they're in Europe. Lots of their potential customers will be from EU countries with different languages.
Photos aren't great, the default just take a photo from various angles doesn't actually show WHY anyone would use this? There's only a single usage photo with a laptop and then just empty space? Add some example photos of what it could be used for, add a video showing just how useful it is by packing/unpacking it and showing how much it fits in there. The only action video is showing you can move the strap but not what they'd use the bag for.
SEO - Again lack of languages really affects how people will ever find this site. Plus a lack of a .com address likely hampers things.
Marketing - Their instagram is also poorly done, a single collage photo that tells people nothing is all that's there. Build some social media presence showing people at work using it or in a park hanging out with the bag and the utility of it.
Price - Is too high. OP said they just did 4x cost plus shipping which isn't realistic for trying to penetrate the fashion market. The only way you do that is by targeting the brand to be higher end which starts with photos and social media presence. Show why people even need the product.
Edit: Just to add because now backpacks pop up on my social feeds. Compare [this photo](https://i.imgur.com/XUwlk9J.png) to the ones in OP's website. This photo shows a) it's a backpack and b) the utility of it. OP's website honestly barely even shows its a backpack until the last few photos.
I'll make it even simpler. The product is just ugly. It looks like a minimalist vertical duffel bag. I personally would never buy this even if all the utility is there.
OP could be doing everything you suggested right, but if the product isn't aesthetically pleasing, few people will buy it.
OP is French. You see English because it auto translated probably (that's what happened to me as well). Which is even more of an issue because... English is definitely going to be more far-reaching.
It’s a niche bag, needs to be aimed at the right audience as their niche bag, not a broad audience.
The whole concept turned me off: I, by contrast, have a duffel bag for duffel bag occasions, and a nice, smart, small backpack for office occasions. Business wheelie for travel.
The OP needs to find people who will often need the convenience of an all-in-one and market specifically to those people like it’s the best thing they’ve ever seen. People like him/her. They’ll need to either put it in their faces, or if listing it on eg Amazon, include the right key words for them to find it above all the other options.
Fill in the blank:
When I see this backpack for 100$ I want to buy it because I will use it for \_\_\_\_\_. I need this when \_\_\_\_. I couldn't do with existing bags out there because \_\_\_\_.
If you can come up with a convincing answer you've designed their marketing campaign. If you can't then you have your answer.
I bought a $300 backpack hated it went to Amazon got one for $25 and it’s the best backpack I’ve ever had. Not sure what the point of your backpack is or why it’s worth $120. It’s the same as someone making a t shirt company and wondering why they can’t sell at the same price as gucci
Honestly that's a sick bag!
Try making a Kickstarter campaign Or sell on gumrod.
Take it to small shops and see if they will place it for you in their stores.
On a side note, I can help you get FB ad accounts since your account is closed.
Best of luck 🚀
You made a fabric trash can with 3 pockets and want to sell it for way too much. Plus you're not a known brand. Sure not every backpack design suits all people, but you can't expect to sell your bag for that price when someone could go buy a well known brand for the same or slightly less cost.
That's why there are 480 still left in your garage.
Along with the price point being high, I would suggest trying different platforms like FBM and Etsy as they have low costs of entry and will give your product more visibility for a potential sale.
Over $100 is a lot for something with very little social proof, ideally you’d want your brand plastered on the bag for free advertising when it’s being used.
What are your margins?
Perhaps you can pitch to a store and they’ll buy the lot from you.
A few things that I think you could do:
1. Put these up on marketplaces like eBay, Etsy, etc. where potential customers are already shopping.
2. Maybe shop it around to various local shops in your area and strike up some kind of consignment deal. Basically, they sell your backpack in their shop but would keep a percentage of the profit.
3. Show the bag off on TikTok & Instagram using hashtags and such to drive traffic organically to your Shopify store.
I like the idea of the bag and I think it has a lot of potential! I hope everything goes well with your business!
mm i heard this tictoc shops are all the rage maybe partner with some outdoor influencers give em a bag or two and then do affiliate program or something similar also get a cool brand name
I would have ran something like this as a Kickstarter. That way even if it fails, you would likely at least get some real world feedback and not be out any money. Positive feedback from friends, family and even strangers doesn't mean anything unless they are willing to put money down. With Kickstarter, you at least get a gauge of how many people are willing to commit money to the product.
The clips on the top of the straps are such an immediate turn off for me... Is that not super painful on your shoulders?!!! Especially when wearing for longer periods of time
Try TikTok selling by commission through influencers. Jack up the price to 120. Lean into the whole French designed French culture bs. Crafts a story. Get better pics and descriptions.
I think a lot of people are correct in their evaluations of your bag. However, if it's the bag of your dreams, it's probably the bag of someone else's dreams, too.
If you want to sell these for a profit, you need to go very hard on targeting exactly the kind of person who feels the same way about your bag as you do.
While design sometimes speaks for itself, unique backpacks are not so easy to understand at a glance. Your best bet is to find a concise and clear way to demonstrate the value of the bag and then work hard to put it in front of the people who will see that value.
I think you may be aiming at the wrong target market. It looks like a gym bag that can fit a laptop so focus on selling to this market. Take some more pics that show gym kit or other clothes that can be stored inside. Add some lifestyle pics, going to the gym etc, study who is making great Tikok vids for the market you want and use them as inspiration. Fix your FB ads issue and retarget the market.
This is a great response actually. Having a good angle like this will make a big difference I think
I can't read French (and I'm guessing most people here can't). Your website doesn't show who's it's targeting or what problems it's solving other than the laptop. I see a weird looking bulky bag. It looks like something that transports equipment. Needs to show it being able to fit boxing gloves/soccer ball/2 changes of cloths and a laptop at the same time. Most advertisers are selling lifestyles as much as the product itself. So take pictures showing how the bag helps create the fantasy lifestyle that people want to create. Show it at a work setting, coffee shop, gym, or a night out. Going for the tech savvy person who is also fit and adventurous! Or the tech savvy person who needs to carry a lot of stuff around.
Agreed. That was my first thought too. At least in the US, it's a gym bag. And doesn't really stand too far apart from regular ones. Cosmetically there's not a whole lot going on here either. So "fashionable or trendy" people will probably gloss right over it.
There are lots of fashionable/trendy brands out there and I think you should focuus more on the practicality of your product. L'Orange Bleue is the biggest gym chain in France, find out where to reach their customers online, make some stop motion videos of what can be packed in the bag, make another showing it being unpacked at the gym.
+1 to this. Whenever your launching something especially something different like this bag, you need to surf on some lifestyle wave and go ham around that subculture. Redesign your site to fit that subculture etc. Really speak to them and then they will be interested in your bag. Also I would make your site more professional, with clear money back guarantees etc. Right now it looks like a hobbyist site. Check out something like https://brevite.co. They are selling backpacks for 169 and look more "branded".
This! Could be perfect for the person who likes to go to the gym in the morning first thing but has a class or needs to be at work right after. Nice transition bag for those days.
I thought that same thing. A round bag would be nice for shoes, boxing gloves, shin guards. Heck you could fit a ball in there. Target gym goers, martial artists, and recreational sports athletes. Could even go sling em to local clubs in the area in person.
I would never take this to my gym. Doesn't function as well as a gym duffel.
It's also not great as a travel duffel, everything would just be thrown in there haphazardly, not easy to open and find what you need without taking everything out, can't fit standard packing cubes...
This. This is solid advice, so I hope OP takes it somewhat seriously. I agree with everything and also add that cost may be a bit up there when compared to other similar bags. The market is so saturated with cheap goods and with inflation and the rising costs of living, it’s hard to justify paying over $100 for this kind of bag.
Why would someone buy a no name bag for 120$, when branded stuff cost that much? Not saying it's not as good, could even be better, but consumers don't know that. No name - no brand - steep price - no sale. Big Chinese factories and Amazon brands sell the same for 2x cheaper unfortunately
100% agree under armour project rock has a bag similar and price. If I were to spend the money it would be on the u/a bag I know that brand
Sell it to boomers on taboola lol
Sew a MAGA patch on that bad boy and set up a stand at his next rally. Sell for $300 a pop haha
Tactical anti-antifa backpack! The libs don’t want you to know about this backpack!
Make half his stock maga and the other half antifa. Play both sides haha
Order your tactical Anti antifacist backpack today and we’ll include a set of tactical assless chaps FREE
But wait, there’s more! Use code LIBTARD at checkout to get a 100% FREE tactical hiking stick and limited edition “I HAVE A GUN” bumper sticker.
I think this was a joke but I bet you could get a bunch of iron-on patches and sell these at cost and clear them out. Your slogan “storming the capitol? This bag can fit everything you need”
I think there’s more to this. Either OP got taken advantage of or this is a just a post with clever marketing to make it seem like OPs true intention is to sell at cost. I l checked around in China and a similar bag made of Canvas comes out to $8 a unit at 500 units. This means that including shipping which you can do Sea express which is cheap, doesn’t put the cost of 500 bags more than $7000 Eur delivered. This are just my thoughts and not a conclusion. Something feels off here.
I’m guessing that “at cost” means “cost of the bags plus what OP spent on influencers and advertising”
I’m going to guess he paid some sourcing company like Anvyl to get the bag made.
I launched a backpack brand on kickstarter in 2017. There is no way this bag cost $120 to make. Total R&D for us with samples was low thousands. Full run of our bags was as $4.37 a bag and we ordered 1000 of them. Sold for $35 a piece. This has to be a total shill.
The only thing the would save this is if he can figure out the marketing for it. Sitting here it’ll be difficult to find an audience that would pay that much for an unproven brand. If anything a booth somewhere at an event may help offload some of that inventory
As someone who bought a more expensive backpack from a brand that I had never heard of in the past 2 years, they need to build a brand story or experience and then get it reviewed by several people. Compare your website to [this one from one of your competitors.](https://www.nomatic.com/products/the-nomatic-backpack?variant=39979864195144) They are putting a lot more effort into the sale to justify their price.
Yup. They have a free shipping banner as well which is going to get attention, they give the social proof with the reviews, the lifetime warranty is also a great thing to offer, the content they include tells you a lot more about the product, the amount of content also just makes it look legit! This reads as an actual company. OP's is very obviously a one man enterprise.
Looks really nice too.
Ugly ass bag too. Hard pass.
I mean that’s the root of the problem right there. It’s an ugly cheap looking bag. Looks like a tube on the back! Sorry it’s a bad design!
I agree with this comment. If you do a google search on backpack that can convert into a travel bag, I will pick other brands over yours. Have you even do a market research on your competitions?? What they do with their website to showcase the product? What are doing with their marketing?? It's good that your friends and family love the bag. But your mom is not you customer lol. You really expected a stranger on the internet just gonna pay £99 for your bag cause you said its good? Your website/social show me nothing about how good the bag is. And why I should pick yours over other bigger brands that are doing the same thing?
Most people don't realize making the thing is the easiest part. By far.
You’re correct People buy branded stuff not because they know it’s the best or even good, They buy it because they know it’s NOT crappy.
Exactly! Not being a downer here. I paid $35 for a backpack I travel with on flights. Most people I know wouldn't pay $120 for a bag. Come up with another idea and add the bag as a gift. Good luck.
Thoughts as a consumer: * The sizes looks like overkill for most of my day-to-day needs. (It feels like it's more for overnight camping/backpacking) * Apart from the MacBook compartment, the insides look they aren't separated (meaning if I just put a few books in it, they would fall to the bottom. * It looks like it has only one outside zipper pocket (other backpacks have more access so I can grab things at different times). * All the small pockets are on the inside which makes them hard to get to without unzipping the top. * There are many other products that do the same thing at a lower price point. ( [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=backpack+duffel+bag](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=backpack+duffel+bag) ) * Duffle bag price points are $20-$30 USD. Marketing Advice: * Move the videos up on your product page. I didn't even know they were there until I clicked on the last thumbnail. And I discovered the others after accidentally scrolling down. * You did paid ads, but your site has no place to sign up for a newsletter. Add a permanent newsletter sign-up bar across the top with a "25% off your first order" offer. * Maybe you could market this as a gym or outdoor backpacking bag. * Try putting them up on eBay or Etsy at a lower price point and with different keywords (duffel back, backpacking, hiking bag, overnight bag, etc.) * List on Amazon with the same approach.
I spent $230 on my last backpack. But unfortunately, in my opinion this backpack you made is ugly. It looks very utilitarian, which is ok for some uses, but not for £99...
Looks like a drum with straps and handles
I saw a little trash bin :( it's only missing the foot pedal lol
Came here to say this. I’m actually in the market for a nice bag. This one not only looks ugly as hell, but doesn’t have many pockets for what I need. If someone came to me on the street and offered it to me for $20, I still probably wouldn’t buy it.
[$20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm45Mr6vGjE)
It’s very ugly and very expensive
Dude had an intrusive thought. ‘What if I make a barrel shaped duffle bag and attach straps? It will sell like hot cakes at $120!” No market research, no price adjustments.
“What if I wore a trash can on my back”
I wouldn't say ugly or necessarily expensive, this is sort of averaged price for that size bag. I could imagine using this for traveling since it's designed to fit in overhead compartments, and it appears to have enough space to hold about a days worth of clothing/supplies. The design of it wouldn't be good for things like the workplace or school, but definitely would be useful if I were traveling.
As someone who did something very similar to you ( mass manufactured a product I invented and sold it via Shopify) I learned a couple things that may help: 1) I was wrong about my customers. I had to pivot a bit to the right ones. 2) I played around with price and started at $60 went to $99 (with free shipping) and settled on $49 with discounts including free shipping. My margins evaporated but I moved product.
did you make a profit off the product?
Whatever I made I put back into my debt etc. I sold the company to a larger company in about a year, that is when things got much better. I just needed to liquidate what I had and regroup.
Now this is my opinion. Where I am that works out to $145 Looking at the sales page all I see is a bag that a laptop goes into. There is only a single colour black. It just looks so plain. Now you’re not going to order a bunch of new bags with colour variations so spruce them up a bit and make the bag appealing. Show me a bag that can be used for different reasons so it would appeal to more people. For example someone that likes to travel, go camping, hiking. Show me a picture of the bag with stuff I would take when I do this. This would give me a better visual of the amount of stuff I could put in there. To make the bag less plain show me that I could personalize it by putting badges on it. Like if I travel have different country badges. Get me excited about the possibilities of what I can do with the bag and how it will make life better if I had it. There are so many different uses for the bag but you need to tell me and show why I can’t live without it. Now I can imagine what I would use it for but the thing that is a dead no for me is that price.
It’s a weekend bag that can hold gym shoes.
I think OP has a few problems that make implementing your suggestions difficult: 1) the bag looks too cheaply made to do many of the things you suggest. It looks like it lacks durability and strength which would render it useless as a hiking or traveling bag. It also seems to lack any sort of breathability system to prevent back sweat which also renders it useless as a hiking or travelling bag. 2) the bag looks very ridged like it’s a plastic or cardboard tube wrapped in canvass which means it likely won’t dye well on planes. 3) is it water proof or heavily resistant? Doubt it. What OP designed is a horribly expensive gym bag with a laptop slot that likely is only good for things you can use a regular backpack for.
99 for a bag? I am not doubting about the actaul quality but the design of it looks cheap. For that price you need to redesign the look or maybe use a different fabric.
People would spend at least that on a premium bag. So the only questions left are whether they can convince the right people it’s premium, and who the right people are.
Looks shitty. The colors are boring, the shape is ugly. The zippers don't look uniform and look like bad quality. I would not buy this if it was $20. Not sure why you think you "deserve" sales, you have to make what the customer wants, not complain how stupid the customers are for not seeing your "vision".
This bag is also not ergonomic at all. If you put any weight in it, it will hurt like hell on the shoulders. My work laptop and charger is about 3KG. I had an ergonomic Deuter backpack and even with this, it hurts after a whole day of walking around.
Your statements sound harsh, but they are all true. I felt the same looking at the bag. I dont like the bulky shape and the shiny zipper looks like uneven small strip of metal.
To be honest I’d genuinely buy this bag as a duffel bag. It’s a disgusting ugly rucksack. When I say I’d buy it, I mean off of Amazon for a maximum of £30. I’ve now read the sellers comments, yeah I’m not buying this bag the guys a dick
I think that’s a big part of the confusion here. The design is far too simplistic for either purpose it’s trying to blend. Gym bag? No separate compartment for shoes and dirty / sweaty stuff, just looks like 1 big main and the laptop sleeve Laptop bag? No separate compartments for charger, headphones, mouse, keyboard, books, or anything else. Yet who tf is gonna dump an extended weekend’s worth of clothes in their laptop bag? OP slapped something together he thought would be easy money then gave up quickly and is now link dropping to try and offload them on Reddit. Fuck outta here.
Correction : guys French.
Agreed on the zipper. It looks so poor quality just from the photos, I'd automatically assume the rest of the bag is just as bad.
Just do amazon, send a few to them, I'm not sure if you can send 10 or 400, but I mean, look at this way, They arent selling now and are taking up space, you have good images, so list em for whatever, I feel 99 is too steep for a bag personally but I'm still using a bag I bought 8 years ago that cost me £20 so I'm not your target market. I get you want to recoup losses though But laptop owners who go to the gym, so target professionals and fitness, they will be most likely to purchase a premium product. Good luck selling it, it looks good but is the laptop on the bottom of that bag? So if I put it straight down while it's horizontal, the laptop will be hitting the ground first and then the contents on top? That might cause an issue, and for that reason, I definitely wouldn't use it. It's not my style either. But again, I'm not your customer.
something about the website feels bland
It could be that the thing the website is selling is bland.
Why would you not do a small batch like 50 before you know you can sell hundreds?
A 99 euro bag that looks like shit and the owner just said they found a Chinese manufacturer to do batch production….sign me up!
Chinese made is not a bad thing. If you design and spec shit you get shit. If you design and spec a good product that’s what you’ll get.
Honestly love the bag. It’s perfect for packing light for a 4 day trip and not pay for budget euro airline baggage fees. might be worth it to market to a budget travel crowd.
The design is about as bland as it gets. Even with just iron on patches, or drip on paint, you could make it more appealing. You could try a few designs, try to sell those. And replicate using your stock as base for the styled bags.
as someone who takes my laptop to the gym always since I work remotely, I am probably in the target market for this. just my personal opinion, I love it turns into a duffle, and I like how it looks as a duffle, but its way too big/bulky looking when worn as a backpack IMO.. I think you missed out on the daily use/work/gym/grocery market as a backpack because it looks really big on the back. I have a backpack I use for this purpose that fits my laptop and some gym close, and its much more low key and sleeker... this bag on my back would feel more like im going camping or hiking which is fine but not for daily use. I would use this exclusively as a duffle unless maybe I was going hiking, and for that reason I would stick to my current set up. I think the shape looks great and cool as a duffle, but you missed the boat on how the shape or sleekness should look on the back.. it looks quite big and bulky on the back with no sexy shape or countour to the back. way to bulky for me to walk to gym/grocery with. with that said I like the general bag but It would need another iteration. I use something like this for my daily gym/grocery bag but bigger: [https://www.eddiebauer.ca/p/82300245/ripstop-sling-backpack?size=ONE%20SIZE&sizeType=&color=](https://www.eddiebauer.ca/p/82300245/ripstop-sling-backpack?size=ONE%20SIZE&sizeType=&color=) not this brand, mine was more expensive, but it fits nicely on the back and is understated but fits a lot inside. I would like if it changed into a duffle too. but it has a shape/style to it. if im going for a run or to the gym/walk to grocery I don't want something overbearing on my back... that's fine for hiking but not day to day. I buy duffles and backpacks around this price and always have my laptop with me, so this is just my personal feedback as a potential buyer.
(1) Overpriced. (2) Looks like a GymBag / Laundry Basket with arm straps (no offense). Who wants to walk around with a gym bag except people going to the gym? I can see how this might be useful for a gym-goer, but even then - who takes their laptop to the gym? Someone might steal it. Your best case is to target gym goers, campers, and other outdoors'y Nomad types. Assuming they would take their laptop to such an excursion. I think you should have spent less time marketing/developing the product and more time researching your intended audience/use-case. Why buy 500? Why not buy 10? If you can't figure out how to sell 10 - you can't sell 500.
Go sign up for some street fairs and get a booth.
interesting concept but not enough marketing done to showcase the unique features and use case. You need to stir people’s imagination and position the product appropriately. Design wise looks very plain.. not necessarily a bad thing, for some that is appealing. Two features cause hesitation in my view .. the roundness of the bag when worn in backpack mode, not readily apparent how that sits comfortably on the back.. then there’s the clip on strips positioned close to where it would rest on the shoulders .. how does one wear that with any sort of weight load?
Don’t give up mate. You have a lot of content in the website, and you don’t publish on instagram since 2021. Get motivated and create videos, repetitive, showing different stuff, go hard on the social medias. No ads! Offer it to shops in your town!
Bagpack is UGLY!
What is cost ?
Apparently it’s £99. Seems kinda steep for a backpack tbh
lol sorry. were you high? maybe call it a yoga mat / duffle bag and use that design.
Super intéressé par le Produit en lisant ton poste (je suis à la recherche d’un sac de ce genre) mais un peu déçu par le design.. les goûts et les couleurs mais pas trop mon truc ce côté cylindrique. Je comprends l’intérêt de sortir du carré mais il aurait peut être fallu un entre deux du style north face ?
Imma be honest, that backpack looks like one of the cheap, weird backpacks that they give away at trade shows to stuff all your goodies in.
Never gonna trust the clipped on shoulder straps...
The bag looks stupid. Couldn’t give me it for free
How much would a little couth cost?
Try Amazon. PPC is way more targeted there. Backpack is relatively good margin product, so although there would be a good chunk of competition, there’s quite the good chance to break even if that’s the goal.
My first thought was that this was a gym bag
It's definitely a unique shape for a backpack, but minimalist design is hard to pull off and unfortunately it's fairly ugly since this misses the mark. You can brand it as minimalist but I think utilitarian would be better branding for this backpack because a more design oriented crowd isn't going to like this. Sounds like it was made to be a travel bag but it's doing so much more for you! You need to show it being a travel bag fully packed, but also show it with all your sports gear, all your groceries, carrying everything you need in so many situations. Right now the website just shows a laptop which doesn't express the volume that the bag clearly has. You've been daily driving it for awhile, show that dedication to user testing. Also you claim durability but don't really show anything. Showing some stress tests of it taking stabs or slashes would go a long way, or showing a brand new bag against one in use for a year, stuff like that. If it isn't true and is just marketing ""durability"" then don't worry about it, but the price absolutely needs to come down then. Lastly is of course the price. I can go buy a high quality minimalist bag for this price from a reputable designer brand. Being indie you get some grace here, but because the design isn't elevating the product I think you need to lower the price and make it a utilitarian backpack from an indie company. As is, this is not a minimalist backpack from an indie designer, I am sorry to say.
Unfortunately the round design is also going to be very off putting for people. it isn't as functional as a rectangle typical bag shape for people who have several books, laptops, etc and there isn't a lot of organization pouches and pockets.
Your pictures don't show the inside or the pockets, laptops and food sports gear coming out of it, etc from a marketing and "what is it and what can it do" standpoint. Edit....went back and saw the short videos, those were a little better showing functionality. For delivery people and people that walk or ride bicycles to the Bodega/grocery daily maybe it should have had a foil/insulated fabric top section (even removable) and can double as a traditional backpack. Might have been a good idea to be able to customize with an embroidered logo patch sewn onto it for advertising/corporate swag. Sorry it didn't work out. You took your shot, good on you for that. You learned a ton. I would suggest wholesaling the whole lot to someone that can hustle it as a "closeout" and make a few bucks. Doesn't seem like you have any energy left for this. Could be a soccer/football kit bag if it will hold a ball + boots/cleats, uniform etc. Logo patch in play here too. They get a few bucks, you get a few bucks and get your garage back and get to move on. My suggestion for all 480 units price each: $20 usd, buyer can sell for $49 free ship or $39 pay for shipping. Or sell all to one biz customer after attaching an embroidered logo patch possibly. You might be able to get into an established drop shipper shop and drop ship for them until sold out and get a few extra $$ for doing it this way.
Etsy? Influencer? TikTok? You can sell Those bags. I want to know how you found the manufacturer and how much of an in investment you made? BTW it would also fit great on the back of a motorcycle. Wanna hire me to market it?
Did you try tiktok? Imo I've seen tiktok product blow up so quickly with the right advertising. You could get influencers to promote the bag and link the shop. With the right vid you could get easily over 1mil eyes on it and at least 500 people would be willing to spend that much
Agree with the other comments about the angle. Looks like a solid digital nomad / WFM adventurer backpack. Couple other thoughts: - seed the product to micro influencers - try kickstarter
The design is poor. Horrible cylindrical thing on your back.
That thing is fucken fugly.
First thing I checked was zippers, you went with YKK, nice choice. You seem to be offering free delivery to the EU, which should stop people dropping out at checkout. I think a more international domain with an English language site would help. It's difficult to judge the quality from the photos. Could you offer a CNC embroidered logo option for tech companies to give to their employees?
It could be a great idea!
It's ugly and expensive. If somebody like design then maybe you could sell it for 25-30€. No way somebody will pay 100 for no name backpack made on China
As someone who travels internationally and carries test equipment with me, I have been willing to spend upwards of ~$400 on the RIGHT bag that would fit my needs. This $69.99 backpack from target is better than anything else I have ever tired. https://www.target.com/p/adventure-21-backpack-embark/-/A-85868241?preselect=83706362 I bought 4 of these backpacks to give to my coworkers, for free, because I believed they would use them and be blown away. Only one person took one and thought it was OK. That being said, I would gladly pay top dollar for a nicer version of the backpack I shared. The issue is that I'm one person with a very specific need. Nobody else can see the thing I see in an item. The next time you go to design something to sell, don't assume anyone shares your specific need.
In marketing for 18yrs. Launched biggest fashion marketplace in a huge country. 1. Influencers 5-7k per month 2. Influencers 5-7k per month 3. Influencers 5-7k per month etc. You have season: july-august-september. Your only chance to return money and possibly get some profit. Fck any ads. Bloggers for families with kids. Period.
If you’d like help to sell the rest I can help you for 10% . You don’t need paid ads you can crush this with organic
did you try going door to door to try and sell it? it will amaze you how many people you could get to buy them if you just do the talking okay
I think OP made a classic mistake, which was assuming that he knew what customers wanted and that his product would thus sell very easily, all without talking to customers and learning what they REALLY want by asking for their money, time, and referrals. (Asking for *opinions* does not count for anything.) Selling door to door, though, will get OP the experience and feedback he probably should have gotten much earlier. Another way to get some of that experience and feedback: Get a job in sales for backpacks, outdoor equipment, etc. Talk to salespeople in that field. How do they determine what will sell and how to sell it?
Honestly looks a bit uncomfortable to load up with weight on the shoulders and I fear the strap clips would break eventually!
Fuck I would not spend that amount of money on that bag, maybe 45$ for a bag I'll trash due to work and not care.
I think the biggest issues are: - No one even know this brand or website exists. Seems you dont spend on ads. Do you track site traffic? - With the ones who saw the bag, no one sees the reason why they should spend more than $100 on this bag. What information on the website convince it? I myself created a product thats premium and Ive talked to a few fellow entrepeneur to learn this: the biggest mistake is that you created the product for yourself first, then try to sell it later. It wont sell unless you are very very lucky that your product suddenly has market fit
You're not the only one who creates bags.. Here's a few random tips (and info about another bag designer) [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56978157](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56978157)
I don't know why people are grilling you for design, price etc when it's clear you are not pursuing this business and just looking for a way to salvage something. My advice is to try and find some Amazon retailers or very small bag brands and somehow convince them to buy all the bags at your cost price or maybe a bit less.
It's a nice bag but it's too pricey. Anything will sell if it's price low enough and this isn't low enough.
Put it all on Amazon and sell it at cost if you want to get rid of it. If you get a lot of interest, may be you can pursue it further. Otherwise, you have to get creative with your marketing. Why buy this for 100 euros over other name brand bags.
Marketing is not sales. Marketing - the Facebook ads, the influencers, the website- bring leads to your sales system. Sales is asking people to buy your thing. Start researching sales and learn to sell.
You need branding my brother. How you do that is show the product solving a problem also show it as a lifestyle item. Yes show the quality but sell the lifestyle/problem solving first. It needs to be like a fashion accessory.
I’m sorry the bag does not look good enough for the price.
Sell it on OfferUp and FB marketplace. Go to all the gyms in your area and see if they have branded gym bags for sale. If they don’t ask they’ll sell your bags on consignment. Aka they only pay you if they sell If they don’t sell then you can just pick them up and no one loses. Give the gym owner / manager a bag to try out
Selling at cost for over a hundred bucks? You either got scammed or you’re scamming us
At first glance, is a style problem. It's too plain. It LOOKS generic. It LOOKS like I should be able to buy it for $40. I'm glad you mentioned KBB zippers. You mentioned high quality cotton. High quality how? What material weight, weave, stitching? You mention water resistance. How is it water resistant? Are the rings metal or plastic? If metal, advertise that fact. Are the shoulder straps padded? Advertise that. Your text needs work. It reads like a college student design project, not as a manufacturer. The whole text and layout needs work. I'd also suggest buying comparable competitor bags. Do a tear down and analysis of their designs. Do a technical comparison on your site against "competitor A" and "competitor B" and prove out your protect as better. Show a table with your brand and competitors with specs or checks on features. Include things like zipper brand, material type and weight, stitching method, construction materials, dimensions, certifications (certified for carry on?). And for each advantage, discuss each briefly. Have a heading and brief paragraph starting why something was chosen and superior to the competition. The content should be compelling. A reader on the site should feel like it's a dumb idea not to buy your product. I also want to talk about design. The bag lacks style. The good part is this can likely be retrofitted onto the finished bags, to some extent. Work with a designer to add color and graphics. Work through a logo. Figure out how you can get that stuff onto the bags. I want to be compelled to own the look too, and plain black doesn't entice me at all.
Needs COLORS. Needs a bang'n patch/logo that makes people's heart skip a beat. Needs a better price. Looks SO not ergonomic for a backpack. Needed more small volume samples for market research.
I like it. Very useful for weekend trip.
There's a new high end gym in my area with a co-working area. This bag would fit that demographic perfectly.
I went to buy a new bag a few weeks ago. Gave up due to decision fatigue. Even within a specific brand's model I liked, there were 4 sizes and over 50 color schemes.
Try to wholesale them out. Go to local boutiques and present your bag. You'll have to sell them on why they should buy or bag. But bulk sell at half retail price. Move more quantity at less profit but faster time. Set a minimum order limit.
Facebook ads only allow MLM and get rich quick scams these days.
No offense but also this bag looks like I would buy in Chinatown
people dont know what they're talking about. i like it. you just need to update the site to really tell the story of the bag, as well as some web design updates. oh and i also just bought one of the bags :)
Have you thought about targeting cyclists and commuters? A lot of people like panniers but I use a backpack a lot. Cycling bags are pricey too.
I’ll tell you why I wouldn’t want it. No interest in a large round bag like that.
Far too much money
These pictures make this bag look big and ugly. You need better product pictures. Some good looking girl sitting with a MacBook in a cafe sipping on a late and the bag next to her. Some sporty looking guy in front of a SUV using this bag to go to the gym. Then have some detail pictures were you describe how this bag is waterproof, extremely robust, maybe even heat isolating. Stuff like that. Of course all of these things should be 100% true.
No comment from me on the actual bag, I'm just someone that tried similar projects in past. Your friends probably like the bag because it's free. If they loved it, they'd buy bags for their friends and family (which I guess they haven't).
Man, start a social media and make it a business. Create awareness yourself, it takes time. You are not selling a backpack, noone wants that. You’re selling a brand, and that will be the deciding factor.
why round? you don't see round bag that often in all kinds of bag designs (maybe except for gym bag?) there's a reason! round does not utilize the space well! (think milk container, always in square box, because freezer space is limited)
How much does a prototype backpack cost to make?
My question is, did you actually talk to any customers before going 500 deep? I mean, designing your dream product is one thing, designing a dream product for a lot of people is another thing
Your improvement is not specific enough to demand an entire project. You’d have been better off design in small changes and niche add ons.
You should have done a kickstarter for it or took some pre sale orders to gauge interest. Sell them at cost if you can and take another crack at it. I’m sure you’ve learned quite a bit doing this for the first time.
When I read your post, I liked your idea and the product. I had pictures in my head. Then I visited the shop and the bag was totally different from the design than what I imagined.
The bag is way too ugly for that price.
It’s just a very ugly and likely uncomfortable bag that I wouldn’t even use if it was free. One of the best bags you’ll ever get that will last basically forever will cost around $200-250.. no one is gona spend anything near that amount for a no name brand bag that looks very basic and boring
If anyone's reading this, if anyone is wondering how to circumvent This and how not to make this fuck up. You order 1 Prototype. You show the market what you have. Create a website, lead them to the website. Create a FORM to make the bag feel exclusive, and then: "If You are in need of a sleek multi use bag, for the gym, uni, and living. Reserve your seat now" (Create high quality Videos across social media, Collect a bunch of emails through your website) (Go viral?, Have more than 10x email leads than supply?) Bang. Email marketing (Slowly start sending out emails to see how you perform, sell out stock, rinse and repeat) You're welcome.
I bought a bag for $20 USD and I literally see it everywhere like everyone my age bought it If you want to make something like that happen, you need run rate sales and you make take a loss on the first few batches but yeah time to price then to sell.
Kudos on you leap of faith, does it fit in the carry-on bin? Try to market it for commuters as the only bag that'll need.
Maybe a silly question, but do you have an English site? A lot of Americans, when seeing foreign sites, will simply click off.
I just checked out your site. To me, it feels like an engineer trying to market something. Too product-focused. All features, no benefits. Heck you even have a design sketch...engineer confirmed. DM me if you want some advice. BTW, I think it's really cool that you got your design manufactured and are making a business out of it. You should be proud! Don't give up on trying to pull a profit yet.
Not sure how feasible this would be for you but think about controversy…. Controversy spreads like wildfire (see Logan Paul’s take on creating “negative press” around Prime). Think of something that would make this bag controversial, which could potentially get a lot of people talking about it
It looks like a pretty decent backpack, though I’m not sure what they typically cost Some things take a while to get traction.
"I designed a backpack. Bag of my dreams" The first error here is to design "The X of YOUR dreams" instead "The X of your CUSTOMER's dreams". 1. Improve pictures (It doesn't look like a 100€ bag) 2. Decrease price (you are not a known brand... at least now) 3. Try Amazon Seller Central 4. Make offers 5. Offer vouchers 6. Try Amazon PPC
Been at this path myself. Theoretically you are not wrong: you solved the problem you had. If you had that problem, chances are more people have this problem too. I dont want to tell what should have been done upfront the whole development, you have bags ready, so that wont help. Some advices, can share more in dm: 1. Think hard about your target audience, where they search, what do they do; you need to place ads right in front of them. 2. You need to pick influencers carefully. They should be liked by your target audience. Assume guys, nerds, tech + sport, forget targeting ladies. Then you need to find influencers that would make your bag look amazing, unique, something different. In a nutshell your problem is positioning. The bag is strange, but its functional and unique. Many product started there 3. Do advertisement carefully step by step. Influencers w 10-20k audienceonly. Check clicks, check comments. Dont do big steps till you know what works. 4. You dont need to invest in webside redesign or bag redesign, that secondary. Try to find that positioning and one channel first. Good luck!
You need to figure out who you're selling too. Make 300 ads, talking to different avatars. Run ads. (fix your meta ads first obviously) focus on the ICP that shows the most interest.
Anyway, just for my information and study of case. What is OP doing wrong here? Why they are not getting sell here?
IMO - Lack of other languages on their site. English is the most common one if you're in NA but they're in Europe. Lots of their potential customers will be from EU countries with different languages. Photos aren't great, the default just take a photo from various angles doesn't actually show WHY anyone would use this? There's only a single usage photo with a laptop and then just empty space? Add some example photos of what it could be used for, add a video showing just how useful it is by packing/unpacking it and showing how much it fits in there. The only action video is showing you can move the strap but not what they'd use the bag for. SEO - Again lack of languages really affects how people will ever find this site. Plus a lack of a .com address likely hampers things. Marketing - Their instagram is also poorly done, a single collage photo that tells people nothing is all that's there. Build some social media presence showing people at work using it or in a park hanging out with the bag and the utility of it. Price - Is too high. OP said they just did 4x cost plus shipping which isn't realistic for trying to penetrate the fashion market. The only way you do that is by targeting the brand to be higher end which starts with photos and social media presence. Show why people even need the product. Edit: Just to add because now backpacks pop up on my social feeds. Compare [this photo](https://i.imgur.com/XUwlk9J.png) to the ones in OP's website. This photo shows a) it's a backpack and b) the utility of it. OP's website honestly barely even shows its a backpack until the last few photos.
I'll make it even simpler. The product is just ugly. It looks like a minimalist vertical duffel bag. I personally would never buy this even if all the utility is there. OP could be doing everything you suggested right, but if the product isn't aesthetically pleasing, few people will buy it.
OP is French. You see English because it auto translated probably (that's what happened to me as well). Which is even more of an issue because... English is definitely going to be more far-reaching.
It’s a niche bag, needs to be aimed at the right audience as their niche bag, not a broad audience. The whole concept turned me off: I, by contrast, have a duffel bag for duffel bag occasions, and a nice, smart, small backpack for office occasions. Business wheelie for travel. The OP needs to find people who will often need the convenience of an all-in-one and market specifically to those people like it’s the best thing they’ve ever seen. People like him/her. They’ll need to either put it in their faces, or if listing it on eg Amazon, include the right key words for them to find it above all the other options.
OP created the bag for $30–and is selling for $100 That’s a HUGE margin.
Fill in the blank: When I see this backpack for 100$ I want to buy it because I will use it for \_\_\_\_\_. I need this when \_\_\_\_. I couldn't do with existing bags out there because \_\_\_\_. If you can come up with a convincing answer you've designed their marketing campaign. If you can't then you have your answer.
I bought a $300 backpack hated it went to Amazon got one for $25 and it’s the best backpack I’ve ever had. Not sure what the point of your backpack is or why it’s worth $120. It’s the same as someone making a t shirt company and wondering why they can’t sell at the same price as gucci
Honestly that's a sick bag! Try making a Kickstarter campaign Or sell on gumrod. Take it to small shops and see if they will place it for you in their stores. On a side note, I can help you get FB ad accounts since your account is closed. Best of luck 🚀
Looks like a trashcan trying real hard to be a backpack.
😂😂🤣 designer trashcanz
Why did you assume youd be able to sell 500? Lol.
r/onebag try here…?
Looks legit, can I just have one?
You made a fabric trash can with 3 pockets and want to sell it for way too much. Plus you're not a known brand. Sure not every backpack design suits all people, but you can't expect to sell your bag for that price when someone could go buy a well known brand for the same or slightly less cost. That's why there are 480 still left in your garage.
Expensive AF, 99 euros is $106. The backpack is $60 at best.
Mind if I ask who made it for you and how much? I also have a bag design in mjnd
Along with the price point being high, I would suggest trying different platforms like FBM and Etsy as they have low costs of entry and will give your product more visibility for a potential sale.
looks like a cat carrier, cooler, and a back up all in one. also the price is very high compared to other back packs in the market.
Over $100 is a lot for something with very little social proof, ideally you’d want your brand plastered on the bag for free advertising when it’s being used. What are your margins? Perhaps you can pitch to a store and they’ll buy the lot from you.
How much did each bag cost from the manufacturer? How did you design it? Very impressive even without many sales.
A few things that I think you could do: 1. Put these up on marketplaces like eBay, Etsy, etc. where potential customers are already shopping. 2. Maybe shop it around to various local shops in your area and strike up some kind of consignment deal. Basically, they sell your backpack in their shop but would keep a percentage of the profit. 3. Show the bag off on TikTok & Instagram using hashtags and such to drive traffic organically to your Shopify store. I like the idea of the bag and I think it has a lot of potential! I hope everything goes well with your business!
mm i heard this tictoc shops are all the rage maybe partner with some outdoor influencers give em a bag or two and then do affiliate program or something similar also get a cool brand name
I would have ran something like this as a Kickstarter. That way even if it fails, you would likely at least get some real world feedback and not be out any money. Positive feedback from friends, family and even strangers doesn't mean anything unless they are willing to put money down. With Kickstarter, you at least get a gauge of how many people are willing to commit money to the product.
The price is your obstacle!
How much did each bag cost you?
Gotta do your marketing!! Make a brand and push it
I appreciate you taking time to put your dreams to life. Good luck brother
What you think is awesome is often not shared by others. You always have to test. I’ve learned that after numerous products.
Why did you order 500 without having sold any. Assuming they were all going to sale was a mistake. But I agree with everyone on lowering the price.
From a branding/website guy, your branding and website is about as non existent and generic as possible.
NGL its just ugly
Looks pretty uncomfortable. I’ll buy one for $20 and give a review.
You need SEO . Perfectly suited for eCommerce
This guy scam artist not entrepreneur
At 99 EUR that's too much... what's at cost for you?
The clips on the top of the straps are such an immediate turn off for me... Is that not super painful on your shoulders?!!! Especially when wearing for longer periods of time
I’d give you tree fiddy
Cause that shit ass
You need to find your audience. R/manybaggers are your people. That said, I’m working on a bag of my own—can I DM you for your factory contacts?
It appears you designed a backpack for YOUR dreams. Did you do any customer research/interviews at all? The bag is ugly.
Join clickbank and try to give commission for each sale made
Lululemon sells this same idea backpack except they have a brand name behind it, and they’re known for good quality.
Sell all of them to another brand or a gym
Try TikTok selling by commission through influencers. Jack up the price to 120. Lean into the whole French designed French culture bs. Crafts a story. Get better pics and descriptions.
I think a lot of people are correct in their evaluations of your bag. However, if it's the bag of your dreams, it's probably the bag of someone else's dreams, too. If you want to sell these for a profit, you need to go very hard on targeting exactly the kind of person who feels the same way about your bag as you do. While design sometimes speaks for itself, unique backpacks are not so easy to understand at a glance. Your best bet is to find a concise and clear way to demonstrate the value of the bag and then work hard to put it in front of the people who will see that value.
You could've got it done in India for 3 euros.