Well, not to burst your bubble but there are many sites that use this exact business model.
One of the sites that comes to mind is homestarrunner.com - who have been doing this since they started.
Granted, it doesn't work for every business, but the fact is that if you create a service that your users genuinely care about, they will purchase your merchandise, because for those users, this enhances their overall experience.
It's a classic model that's taken straight from hollywood. Merchandising revenue is a HUGE factor in lots of productions.
Comments
"This idea never went very far."
Well, not to burst your bubble but there are many sites that use this exact business model.
One of the sites that comes to mind is homestarrunner.com - who have been doing this since they started.
Granted, it doesn't work for every business, but the fact is that if you create a service that your users genuinely care about, they will purchase your merchandise, because for those users, this enhances their overall experience.
It's a classic model that's taken straight from hollywood. Merchandising revenue is a HUGE factor in lots of productions.
I never said sites don't have shops.
I'm saying Facebook are not going to monetise by adding one.