eCRATER.com Forum Index

SearchSearch
ProfileProfile
  Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   
Log inLog in

Greetings
Goto page Previous  1, 2
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    eCRATER.com Forum Index -> Introduce Yourself
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
HolidayHank



Posts: 12

PostPosted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 3:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MoonwishesStore wrote:
We've gotten to the point that if we get our little table top tree up and stocking hung, we are doing good! I used to decorate, but at this point somedays it takes every bit of energy to get through the day.


haha, fun costs us!
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
HolidayHank



Posts: 12

PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 11:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MoonwishesStore wrote:
Well you might want to flesh out your About Us and Terms page a bit. You might want to check out what other sellers have done to get an idea of what all you might want to include. Also you need some sort of text greeting n your home page. You might want to think about how you want to be perceived as a professional business person running a store or a laid back hobby seller which your current About us page looks like.


Hey, I did an update to Terms and Conditions after reading other people's as well as looking at some generic examples. Maybe someone wouldn't mind taking a peak.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
maggiethehousecat



Posts: 2457

PostPosted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi again,
I looked at your terms and they seemed okay to me.

Some suggestions:
I realize you are just starting but you will get more attention if you have more items. I suggest at least 25 or 50 is better so the search engines don't miss you.

Your descriptions and titles are a little skimpy. Include what they are made of, brand if they have tush tags attached. The Christmas tree balls...are they glass, plastic? If they were popular or fad item when new, say so. Sometimes people are searching for a favorite toy from their past.

You give the size of the box. I'm assuming this is your packing box. Used stuffed animals can ship in padded envelopes and this will reduce your shipping quite a bit in most cases. Sounds like you are using priority flat rate boxes which is great value if your items are hefty but not so great if they aren't. You can still ship priority by slapping a priority sticker on the padded envelope. Priority has flat rate padded envelopes that are free. The really large animals won't fit in them but small ones will.

When selling non breakable used items it is important not to charge more than you have to for inexpensive items. People won't pay it. Almost everyone has a charity shop in their area and used stuffed animals are almost free.

I'd take more than one photo of each item. People want to make sure the backs aren't ripped, etc. Take a photo of the animals in a sitting position. Let the charm show through.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 7:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello Hank, Welcome to eCRATER and to the eCRATER community.

I took a look at your store. I'm not sure what your Terms were like before you revised them, but they seem a little too legal at this point. For someone who wants to appear laid back, it now looks like someone who is a laid back lawyer or has one in the family. Terms are simply a way to explain how you do business. How soon do you try to ship? How do you handle problems? Do you allow returns? How do you handle returns? What type of payments do you allow? What do you do with a customer's name and address? Are you going to drive them crazy with emails? Do you harvest their personal information for sale? If you set down with someone who doesn't know you to explain how you run your business, what would you tell them?

The internet search engines look at your text pages for information about about your store. Be sure to give them give them some information.

Your FAQ is rarely based on the questions you receive, rather it is written to address questions a customer may have but didn't want to take the time to contact you. Some of the questions may be repeats of what is said on your about or terms pages.

Looking at the 4 items you have for sale, I had the same question about all 4 items. How big is it? You must give the customer an idea of at least the height. Think about a customer shopping in a used store. They are going to pick it up, see the size, look at all 4 sides, look closely at anything that looks like a problem. You have to use photos and description to make sure the customer knows what they are getting. Will they contact you if they have a question about the item? Sometimes, but usually they just click on the back arrow key and leave. Use more photos and add at least the size of the item to the description. One item was described as, "No significant damage." which caused me to wonder what damage it does have and what is your definition of significant. If it has damage, show me a photo and tell me what's wrong with it. If you don't see any damage, don't mention damage.

Shipping: I disagree with Maggie about shipping in envelopes. Using a padded envelope is great for anything that is flat, but anything that is 3-D may well be flat by the time it rides cross country between 2 heavy items. I noticed you are only offering USPS Standard Post. You will want to add tracking for Standard Post which cost 35 cents extra. You really should offer the customer the option of Priority Mail, especially since you are selling holiday items. (Personally I wouldn't touch Standard Post. When the post office is filling the plane or truck, they pack Express then First Class and Priority. If they have room left, then they will send Standard Post and Media Mail. In December those are going to wait longer and longer.) I would strongly suggest adding First Class Parcel. It is way cheaper and a good value for smaller items. If you add it, your customer will only be offered First Class when the packaged weight is 13 oz. or less.

Posting the size of the box you are going to use to ship and the packaged weight shouldn't be in your description unless you really need that information yourself.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 7:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sheila, at this point, FCP can go up to 15.9 ounces if you use an e/postage program. $3.65 plus it includes the tracking number with the price. Obviously some people just starting out may have to go via the PO or use PP postage if the item was paid for with PP and since I don't use PP for postage, I don't know what it available with that.

Hank, all sorts of shipping things to grasp!
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hank I think those terms are a bit stuffy as well especially since you can't hold anyone to them. One thing I noticed was this statement: Return shipping is paid by the customer. This is certainly correct if they are changing their mind or whatever, but if YOU made the mistake you should always pay all shipping and anything needed to make the customer whole and happy.

Your first statement heavily implies that you have described your items fully, which you haven't so at this point, your customers could a have a wealth of reasons for returns that will be your mistakes as you maybe didn't mention that an ornament had a small chip on it. Those become big, expensive mistake. I agree with Sheila in that you need more photos, bigger titles, better descriptions, etc. There is no need to list the shipping box size either or it's weight. The reindeer when I checked would run $11.95 to ship to me, so I don't know what you are using for postage but I know I would never shell out close to $20 for a used stuffed toy, not when my local thrift store has a huge bin of stuffed toys in excellent condition going for $.25-50! Not saying you shouldn't sell for your prices, but you do need to say enough about your items to make a buyer want what you are selling!

Hank, please don't think that we are dumping on you. We aren't. We want you to be successful since for every successful seller here, we all become more successful and make this a better marketplace for all buyers.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MoonwishesStore wrote:
Sheila, at this point, FCP can go up to 15.9 ounces if you use an e/postage program. $3.65 plus it includes the tracking number with the price. Obviously some people just starting out may have to go via the PO or use PP postage if the item was paid for with PP and since I don't use PP for postage, I don't know what it available with that.

Hank, all sorts of shipping things to grasp!
Moon, you are correct as far as what a seller would pay if they purchase the shipping online. Hank is using USPS calculated shipping in his store which charges the buyer the retail rate. If the item's packed weight listed on the item page is greater than 13oz., the USPS calculated shipping will not give the buyer the option of First Class.

Hank, there is a way to charge the customer a lower rate for those items that would have a packed weight between above 13oz but lower than 16oz. It is more work for the seller and you may not be interested. If you are, just speak up.

Speaking of shipping, I didn't see any mention of your shipping time. Do you ship within 24 hrs, next day, within 2 days, every other day, once a week? Buyer's want to know how soon you are going to ship their order.

You can purchase your shipping online at PayPal and pay the commercial rate for most classes of shipping. Here's a link to a USPS site that gives a good view of the cost of shipping and you can see the difference in retail and commercial base. http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm Retail is the rate charged by the eCRATER checkout system for USPS calculated shipping and the rate you will pay at the counter at the Post Office. If you purchase your postage online, you can print your labels and in most places, your letter carrier will take the pre-paid package on their daily mail run. Sure beats running to the post office plus the difference in price will help offset your expenses for shipping supplies, printer ink, printer paper, etc.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 2:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for clarifying that Sheila.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
HolidayHank



Posts: 12

PostPosted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi ladies Very Happy

reading your exchange with interest.

Okay, I looked at examples of terms and conditions, and I thought I hit the things that seemed most important. I will re-examine that. I don't want to sound like a dirt-bag lawyer of course Wink

shipping... I'm really surprised at the way shipping costs have gone up since the last time I tried this... previously I was on e(vil)Bay with my bad experience lol and they had the deal very automated but I was primarily using 'parcel post' which was a great savings and never went wrong once, and they took it right from my house to boot. I will do more investigation on shipping.

Pictures... the uploader fooled me a bit because there wasn't a dialogue indicating that an additional picture was uploading. I took from that it only gave me one pic, but I'll look at that some more. maybe I need to update my java package (the uploader dialogue is java).

There are some things about the packaging that don't make sense to me because the eCrater ad does not ask for demensions, and USPS ups the rate if a dimension is over 12 inches, so that's why I included the dimensions of the box, so folks could know what's the real story.

Okay, let me gel with this and please more feedback is welcome. I feel a little pressed to get this right with my back problem. I think my construction career is over Crying or Very sad

Thanks again. Get back soon.

Hank
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hank I hear you. I'm doing this as my RN career is over due to severe arthritis. Yep postage has changed big time over the years here.

You can only add one picture with your other listing info. After that on your admin page on the page that you can see your listings there are 6 buttons to the left of each title. Clicking on the camera icon (middle top row) will give you the ability to add up to 9 more photos, one after another. Hope that helps.

I don't recall using parcel post in many years, but then most of my stuff goes via first class now.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    eCRATER.com Forum Index -> Introduce Yourself
Goto page Previous  1, 2
Page 2 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum