ProStores Helps American Chateau Attract and Retain Customers
ProStores offers ecommerce tools that shouldn't be taken for granted. If we partnered with another company, we would have had to pay a third-party provider for tools that come standard with ProStores.
Behrad Ghazizade, Owner of www.americanchateau.com
Success Repeats Itself
Behrad Ghazizadeh and Florbela Vieira knew that classic was cool and started selling vintage clothing on eBay in 2003. The couple bought clothes in bulk-sourcing from all over — and soon became eBay Gold PowerSellers.
"While we were selling a lot of clothing, our supply line was unpredictable and we didn't see an opportunity to really expand the business," Behrad said. "However, we did learn that people would buy anything and everything on eBay."
What Behrad and Florbela needed was repeatability-the ability to keep going back to the market with the same items again and again. They shared a passion for home decorating and transitioned from selling vintage clothing to home décor and housewares. Voilà! American Chateau was born.
ProStores delivers on promises
Selling on eBay was initially a side job for Behrad and Florbela. Both had degrees in computer science and were working full-time at one of the world's largest computer technology and consulting companies. Behrad developed ecommerce tools, so when it came time to open a Web store for American Chateau, they knew exactly what they wanted.
"When we did the comparisons, ProStores seemed like the best fit," Behrad said. "In terms of design, ProStores is very flexible. You can give your site a really nice custom look and feel. We could have gone with a more expensive provider, but the truth is that for the money we spend each month, ProStores is completely worth it. A great value."
Behrad noted that he and Florbela only partner with reputable and stable businesses, which is what they get with eBay-owned ProStores. Also, as an eBay Stores seller, American Chateau gets a 30% discount on their ProStores Advanced subscription fees.
"ProStores almost sounded too good to be true," Behrad explained. "But everything they promised has been delivered. ProStores offers ecommerce tools that shouldn't be taken for granted. If we partnered with another company, we would have had to pay a third-party provider for tools that come standard with ProStores."
Promote, promote, promote
American Chateau understands the importance of data. Their order processing, inventory management, and accounting system all link up with ProStores. ProStores also helps them with online marketing, including search engine optimization (SEO) and advanced promotion tools.
"ProStores continues to help us attract and retain customers. We use all the search engine optimization tools and offer our customers discounts and coupons regularly. We also include promotions in our packages, which helps move customers from our other channels to AmericanChateau.com," Behrad said.
A hand in every jar
American Chateau has seen exponential growth every year, which can be attributed to Behrad and Florbela's masterful management of multiple sales channels. While ProStores gives American Chateau a strong Web presence, they continue to sell on eBay and other marketplaces. American Chateau also recently opened a brick and mortar store in Thornhill, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto.
"We use our multiple channels to the fullest potential," Behrad explained. "eBay and Amazon help bring in new customers, while our ProStores Web Store and Thornhill location give them reason to come back. We have a good amount of brand loyalty-repeat customers make up about 30% of our business."
American Chateau has a great deal of variety in their inventory, sourcing through 80 different suppliers from around the world. Behrad and Florbela happily combine vacations with supplier visits, touring European manufacturing facilities in the day and enjoying the local culture at night.
Keeping customers comfortable
All of the photography and design for American Chateau is done in-house. With a professional background in ecommerce development, Behrad knows the tenets of effective Web store design.
"Customers need to be comfortable and know that their credit card is in good hands," Behrad explained. "They need to be able to find what they want fast. Products should be the focus of the page and photos should be large and clean. We've built our business from the ground up with this in mind and are very proud of this fact."
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