shescrafty…

Payment Methods

What forms of payment do you accept? What credit cards can a customer use, and through what processing company(ies)? Will an invoice be sent? Is payment due within a certain time period?

Shipping information

What shipping method do you use? Do you charge a standard rate or are you flexible? How long does it take to receive an item?

Contact Information

How can a buyer contact you? This is a good place for your email address and/or instant messenger IDs. Don’t include physical address info unless you have a brick and mortar shop, too. State how long it usually takes for you to reply.

Next: More on policy pages!

Nope. My policy is to never send a nasty email. If the item you’re selling is that important or expensive, like a vehicle or property, please hire a lawyer before ever going to this petty level. Better karma this way, too.

After waiting for the last email to get some action (or not), send an invoice and wait one more business day.

Then, you guessed it, it’s time for another polite message. Express concern over not hearing from the customer. Confess to being worried that they may have changed their mind.

Let them know your personal policy on how long you’re willing to wait for payment before relisting the item. Of course, you’d rather have your hard work find a home with them. Ask them to reply by a specific date so you know what to do next.

If you don’t get a reply by the date you mentioned, I recommend cutting your losses and relisting this item. You’ve given opportunities, offered help, and done what you could to get paid. It doesn’t always work, but most people pay at some stage of the tips I’ve given here.

If you have the option to ban this time waster from future auctions, it’s something to consider doing. The customer will contact you with an explanation if there was a real reason for the non-payment. You can decide whether to bother with them again!

Learn what rules the auction site has for this situation. Larger ones, like eBay, have a policy for almost anything that could come up in the course of a sale. Smaller sites can have more of a ‘fend for yourself’ non-policy. If there are set procedures in place, by all means, follow them!

Assuming that you’re on your own, here’s step two. Allow a reasonable amount of time for the customer to respond to your first contact email, like another business day or two. Check your PayPal or other payment service account at this stage. Sometimes their notification emails are delayed!

If you haven’t heard from them yet or been paid, send another polite note. Walk them through the checkout process, step by step. Assure the customer that if they are having trouble using the checkout, you will help them in any way possible.

Send a copy of this email through the auction site to be sure the customer gets it. Some people block email from unknown addresses.

Tomorrow: No payment still? Now what?

In case you’re using a website or auction site that isn’t reliable about sending notifications, go ahead and send a note. Include a link to the item and a congratulations message. Also add information about payment methods you accept, and thank them for the business.

The most important thing at this stage is the tone of your email. Keep it light, friendly, and helpful. The buyer should never open your first note and think that you’re hassling them over payment. Just because sellers tend to know when the auction is over doesn’t mean that bidders are haunting the site, too.

Tomorrow: What to do if the buyer stays quiet after the first contact.

Is the mistake obvious to others? I ask this because sometimes crafters are very harsh critics of their own work. Often, small mistakes would never be noticed by a buyer at all. Most artists hate to sell less than perfect work, but as long as you’re honest with the buyer, no harm no foul. Just be sure to disclose what the mistake was, and take pics of the area, too.

Is the item still functional and appealing to the eye? This is a question for people at the other end of the spectrum. Nobody needs a sweater with three arms or no neck opening.

This can be a profitable category to add to your shop, online or off. I remember chatting with others in a belly dance forum about one sellers ‘oops’ items. We couldn’t wait for her next so called mistake to go on sale!

Don’t be afraid of how people will react to your request. So many sellers are asking for at least part of the total payment before they start a custom project now! You will be in the majority, not seen as shady or suspicious.

Realize that you and your time and money are worth protecting. When you take a custom order on faith, you are the one taking a financial risk. Along with the honest buyer who’s handshake is golden, you will find flakes, scammers, time-wasters, and fickle consumers. Protect your bottom line!

Know your own policy first, and stick to it. This prevents you from having to flounder for a reason if a customer asks why you want money in advance.

State your policy clearly in your online store, your profile, policy page, or in whatever appropriate spot. Copy and paste your policy into the first email you send in response to a custom order question. By putting it out there early on, it doesn’t come as a surprise after tons of design details and corresponding!

Next: What about face to face?

I’m thinking, Yes. Many people (me included) use a photo of themselves, or something cute or witty that shows off their personality. Why not use that little picture to show off your crafts?

Someone called it a shop window. What a cool way to think of it! A tiny storefront window, of course, but still a place to feature your best work. What do online browsers see in your window?

Looks like I need a new avatar. Stay tuned for avvie tips as I go through this transition!

Sometimes, no matter what you do, fur will end up on a project. The important thing is seeing it and removing it before the item is sold. These ideas work well for most fabric and yarn crafts.

Try a pass or two with the good old lint roller. I do this whether I see fur or not, just to be sure. This will remove any surface hair.

If you don’t have or can’t find the roller, remove lint and fur with packing tape. This tape is wide enough to make short work of most larger items. To do this, simply make a loop of tape with the sticky side facing outward. Gently pat the item to grab any fur or fuzz.

Many pets have come to see your crafting time as an opportunity for getting attention. Change that by scheduling one on one pet time before you begin to work! This means that everything takes longer, but spending time with your pets before you start working may save you time in the long run.

By giving your resident lap baby five minutes of quiet lap time followed by ten minutes of high energy play can buy at least 2 hours of pet free work time, usually more. This beats having to stop every few minutes to push an insistent nose out of the way.

Next: Creating a pet friendly spot in the work area.