Business Tips - Packaging and Tagging

I know, I'm sorry. I just don't give you enough tips for you business anymore. After all, who wants to hear about the crazy lady next door ripping open her garbage and throwing it all over the yard, or see pictures of the tree that fell on our house. You want to see better ways to sell your wares, right?

I had to share this one, because I'm very proud of the idea. I've been wanting to wholesale, because I really hate craft shows, but online just doesn't get the traffic I need. If only I could sell what I make at the winter holidays, all year round. But to be able to wholesale, you have to still have a profit with a hefty discount, and I didn't have many items that could support that.

Recently I started making bow ties. They're very popular and material cost is decent. Time needs to be worked on, but I see ways that making larger quantities can cut that down. My bow ties are easy to use and can be sold at a pretty decent price for bow ties.

The problem with wholesale is packaging. You can't just tissue wrap and tie with ribbon. Smaller items need to be carded or window boxed. I ordered clear pillow boxes, but those still need cards and the cost is bout $.25 each.

Then I thought that Post cards might do the trick. They're about the right size I could match them to my business cards, and have info and care instructions on the back.

Here's the front and back of the card. The bow will be on the front and the ribbon band will wrap across the middle of the back. I can reasonably make custom cards for the seller too. And I can whole punch the center for hanging.

There was a sale. So the cards cost about $.10 each and they are nicer than if I printed my own, which with ink, could cost more. Click to enlarge. I got them at overnightprints.com. Their quality is pretty good and I like their postcard size better than Vistaprint.

My daughter uses business card to print little tags, by having 3 tags printed across the vertical card. She cuts them in strips and uses a swift tagger to tag them on a seam of her clothing. Merchandise can't be returned to her if the tag has been removed. Another clever idea.

When you buy business cards on sale from vistaprint.com, they are incredibly reasonable. Much better than printing your own tags.

I'm also considering making fabric labels at spoonflower.com. Their quality is much better than my printer printed labels, and at $15 a yard, I can get a LOT of fabric tags made. I think I can use a spray fabric stay to keep them from fraying too.

Hope this gets your creative juices flowing. There's a lot of innovative ways you can use the resources available to you. Why you could make cute tags for your jewelry boxes from those little business card strips, couldn't you? Oh and of course you can make business cards or post cards too.

Indie Seller Tips - Refreshing Your Shop

I've been looking around at some shops lately and I see that for the past 4 years some of you have been selling the exact same merchandise. Many of you have improved and changed. But it's a very competitive market out there. If you're selling the same thing as you had in the past, or you're selling the same thing as 1000 other shops, why should people come to yours.

I've also found that my felt flowers, no matter how lovely, do not sell well on Artfire. I am going to revise my offerings at akaCINDERS. I will still have a limited flower section, but I just can't live off of the very few customers I have that love them. This is busy season, so I need to focus on other things, and work on it later.







I have focused heavily on PoppysGardenGate, which is my bread and butter. I have added several new items this year and it's paying off. Some I dreaded adding, but turns out they weren't so bad and fairly easy to make, like the new purse that is doing very well after only two short weeks online.

 I've added bow ties, and I'll be adding men's neckties soon. Not looking forward to that one either. I have even started to design my own fabrics on Spoonflower and I will continue to make more original fabrics as soon as I have free time.


I'm trying to be competitive, and it's working. I'm looking for trends and meeting buyers needs. That's what we need to do.


 Be flexible, even if you're old and set in your ways. If you're not satisfied with how your business is doing, take a good long look at it. Take a look at your competition. Is there anything you can do to make your business successful?

Biz Buzz - Holding On or When to Close Shop

early photography with flash

I see a lot of twitter and blog posts lately from sellers debating whether or not to give up their shops. I can tell you from several years of experience, that July is a very bad month and not one to really judge the validity of your marketing and design skill from.

There are several factors that should go into your decision making. First look at your annual profit. July and early August are slow. It's a great time to relax and organize. Look at your sales figures and do your monthly sales for the first half of the year. That way, in January, you won't have so much to do. I do monthly profit sheets so I can see how I compared to the previous years. You may think this will upset you to see your sales figures, but you might just be surprised at what trends you find. For instance, although this was a lousy July, it was still better than last year for me.

natural light photo

If your sales are a bit lower, don't be discouraged. this was a particularly bad July. the only reason my sales were up at all, is because I opened a new venue since last July.

Look at your product. Are there too many similar items on your venue? Are you unique enough to hold on? If not, think of what you can do to make yours different. It can even be customer service or packaging. How about making your tags out of seed embedded papers, or packaging in a little reusable satin bag? Your product may be pretty, but what makes you special. This is a perfect time to take a good hard look at what you're selling.

How about Photography? Do your photos outshine your competition? Handmadeology has some great photography tips HERE.

professional photography

Maybe you're just tired of trying to climb to the top. Maybe it's just hot, and you're too busy with the kids, and your sales are so low this month, that you just don't want to try anymore. It's OK. We are not all cut out for this thing. Some people are better at selling in person at shops or craft/art shows too. Internet sales is a lot of extra work with photography and marketing and listing descriptions. The reason I like it, is that I can make a sample and, then make the product when it sells. I don't have to have an inventory. Very nice for my very small house.

Let's take a close look at your bottom line.

PHOTOGRAPHY - Is it good enough? Look at my early photos compared to my pro photos and improved home photography. Can yours improve too?

PRODUCT - Is your product unique? When I started selling beach glass jewelry, I was the only Etsy seller with it. Then there came all the others, so I decided to try something unique. My flame shaped flowers are different that others on the market. Are they unique enough? Maybe not, because I'm considering dropping this line and moving on to something else.

PROFIT - This is the biggest deciding factor. Are you making a profit? If you haven't made even the tiniest profit in 3 years, you are doing this because you love it.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with loving your craft and not making a profit,but if it has become a chore, and you don't love what you're doing anymore, then your decision to quit is valid. It's OK to so something you don't love if you are getting something out of it, but if your heart doesn't sing, and your wallet is empty, you just might be right. There is a place for you and your art  in the world somewhere. maybe just not online sales.

Putting it Together - Prepping for the Rush

November to Mid December is the Busiest time of the Year for many of us! I hope you are ready.

With busy lives shoppers turn to the internet to complete their Holiday shopping. Be prepared for the rush.

Business Cards: I always include a few business cards so buyers can share. I include a card from my less visited shop with a coupon code printed on the back as a Thank You for shopping in my primary shop. Business Cards are a Great way to promote you business.

Never think they are unimportant, because buyers might stick them in their wallet or purse and pull out to share with friends. I buy from Vistaprint because they are very reasonable and I can afford to give away a few with each purchase. Many sellers buy Moo Cards and I have bought from Overnight Prints too, and their quality is very good.

You don't have to be all business either. This is my business card for My Flower Jewelry Shop.

Packaging: Make sure you have enough materials for packaging in stock. You don't want to be caught short handed, especially if you order packaging on line. Remember, your supplier will be busy too.

I like to combine local and internet materials. I buy my jewelry boxes from Paper Mart, my packaging supplies on eBay, because most sellers deliver quickly, and my tissue and ribbon at a local dollar store.


I put my jewelry in hand stamped boxes made of post consumer recycled paper. My Aprons and Housewares are Wrapped in Colorful Tissue with Ribbon Ties.

Newspaper makes a Great wrapping, but not for fabric or anything else that can transfer the ink onto. Don't be afraid to recycle, especially if your items are eco friendly. Scrap or clearance Fabric makes nice wrapping too, especially with pinked edges. Walmart is bringing back fabric and even has 5 yd bolts for $5 that's a lot of wrapping material.

Gifts: It's nice to include a little gift. Many people include candy, but I prefer not to eat candy that has been shipped with a gift myself, so I'm not sure that that is the greatest thing so send.

I sometimes make refrigerator magnets of my Jewelry Business Card. That's why I made a quote that they might like to keep. I also have pencils printed with my shop address. I get them made at Oriental Trading. They are reasonable and a practical gift that keeps reminding the buyer where they shopped. Oriental Trading also has lots of other reasonable fun gifts.

There are also a LOT of neat things on Etsy, Artfire and even eBay that can be bought in bulk and used as gifts or packaging. That way you can support other sellers too. I use envelopes that I bought from Piping Hot Papers for business cards for special purchases.

This shop also has little matchbook notepads and other great little gifties.

So stock up your supplies. It's going to be a long and fruitful Holiday Season. People will be so tired of tightening their belts that they are going to want to let loose a little and have some fun.  So sit back and enjoy the ride.

Biz Buzz - Marketing and Loss Leaders

If you read my interview on Maiden Jane's Blog you would know that I was once a Marketing Major. Not that I am a pro, but I do have a lot of product and retail experience. And I do know what brings people to a site or store.

When I first heard that Walmart was removing all of their fabric from their stores, I thought they were, quite honestly, out of their freaking mind. Sure it might take more labor to cut the fabric, and the profit might be very low, but how many people, especially in this economy, come to Walmart JUST to buy the fabric at such great prices, and while they are there, pick up a few extra things. I know I'm not the only one.

That Marketing scheme is called Loss Leader. That link takes you to a wonderful detailed explanation, with great examples, but basically you offer one really good priced items to get people into your store or site so they stay to shop for others.

Of course if you have a jewelry shop on a seller site, or maybe a very specific item like kitchen cutting boards, buyers are not going to hang around your shop and buy lots of your merchandise, no matter how much of a discount you are giving on one item. But you never know.

Another great Marketing idea I use is a leader. Similar idea, just not down priced. The fabric at Walmart is also a leader, because people will come, even if the price is not low, just for the convenience. I always have a current trend item or two in my shop, even if it doesn't sell, just to get people into my shop through search engine. For example I have Halloween Jewelry in my jewelry shop and Halloween Aprons right now in my Apron's Etc shop. Poppy has costumes on her genre Artfire shop, and with links, she is also getting sales to her non genre shop.

Good leaders are holidays, seasonal (summer BBQ, winter skiing, etc), trends, birthstones, horoscopes, and color trends. Also, don't forget that seasons are reversed across the globe. You need to do whatever you can to get the buyer into your shop. Then offer such wonderful product, that they don't want to leave without buying a thing or two. And don't turn your nose up at Target or Walmart marketing ideas, because they make money and that's why you sell right?

As for the removal of the fabric departments in Walmart? Well I guess they should have hired me, although I'm sure they wouldn't have listened anyhow. I had a lot of bosses that didn't think I knew what I was talking about. Silly guys.

Look at this add from Walmart. They are now bringing back the fabric departments they removed. They could have saved themselves a lot of money and trouble if they just asked me

Biz Buzz - Handling Buyer Requests

Ever get a request from a buyer that is so out of this world that you don't even know how to answer them? I know you have, because I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I just got a request to change the red lace on an Apron to blue lace. I get a lot of these requests. Of course you could assume that I don't carry blue lace in stock, and you would be right. Now you know I am not about to go out and buy blue lace at $1 or more a yard when I buy the few colors I have at $.20 a yard especially for a customer that got a pretty good discount on the merchandise in the first place.

Here's a good one. A buyer has to wear a red apron to work, so could you please make this Star Wars Apron with a red background instead of white. Well I probably could if you would like to pay $500 for it instead of $39, because I will have to design fabric and have it printed. Or I could get a red fabric marker and "paint" the background red, but you could do that yourself for a lot less money.

I know all of you sellers get requests that just make you want to pull your hair out, or reach through the "net" and throttle someone.

I am always as sweet as possible when the buyer asks the next day to give them the shipping information for their hand made merchandise that says on the listing to allow one week for completion. I am always as understanding as possible, even though I just want to say, what and who do you think I am? and can't you just take 2 seconds to read the whole listing of items you are buying.

I sell on eBay and many buying off their phone apps which do not see the whole listing. I also used to get a LOT of really dumb questions about merchandise and I would sweetly reply that all the information they need is on the listing. They would reply that they are looking at it from their phone and can't see the whole listing. EBay has worked on that issue now though.

I bet you thought I had an answer to this problem. I really don't. All I can say is that you have to remain as calm as possible, and if your buyer has angered you, don't even answer until you have calmed down. You will be able to think a little better the next day and if you don't answer immediately it will not be the end of the world. Always try to let the buyer know that you are working hard on their order. If they ask where their merchandise is when it should take a week, I let them know that they will probably be getting it a little early. "You are in Luck, I'm going to be able to get this our sooner than one week"

As far as colors I don't have, I focus on something else, "You will love it just the way it is listed". And I'm sorry that I can't make the Red fabric Purple, Or make the Onyx centers of these flowers with Moss Agate rondelles that aren't available.

I really will do what I can to please a buyer, but some things, you know, are just not possible at the cost they are willing to pay. And often request are made after the item is paid for.

As I don't really have a solution for you. I wonder if you can add your suggestions in my comments. How do you handle unusual or impossible buyer requests?

Newsletters

I really needed to start sending out newsletters. I made a few myself that I designed through my personal email. That was pretty easy. Collecting and keeping track of email addresses, however was not.

I got advice from a few other sellers about this service called MailChimp. Looks like a great one, and unless you have a huge mailing list, it's free. They help you with signups (widgets and links), save your data and help you design and send your newsletters.

 See, I have a signup over there ------>

Not very pretty yet, but I haven't figured out the whole design thing. Come back and see if I can make it any prettier. I'm going to try. I hear it is pretty easy to use, but I haven't figured out the whole thing yet. I'll let you know if I figure it out. I have heard from many sellers that it is really easy.

So here's the deal. I've been moving around a lot, so you need to be on my email list to find me. I'll be posting here, but I will also be opening a web site. YAY! And I'm going to bribe you a little. If you sign up for my newsletter, you'll automatically be entered to win this sweet Pink Anemone Trio Necklace. Don't worry about getting too many newsletters though, because I could barely figure out the widget. It will take me a while to figure out the newsletter, and I have a website to build.