Holiday Shopping (and all online shopping) Review

This could very well be the last post of 2013. Been an interesting year for me. I thought you might like a review of some of my online shopping experiences, like who ships the fastest, who uses the best shipper and has least cost. I don't have a car, so I get a LOT shipped to my house and almost all of my Holiday shopping and even some groceries are bought online.  I also buy fabric and sewing supplies online, but I think that should be a separate post. Also I usually use my secure PayPal debit card. Make sure you use dither a secure protected card for online purchases, or a refillable card that is not linked to any of your accounts.

Some of my past favorite places to shop have seriously dropped in ranking. I also buy where I can get things shipped quickly and for less money. Here is where I shopped, ranked in order of preference and why.

#1 Amazon - #1 and #2 were close to a tie, Amazon won, because of the variety of merchandise you can get there. They offer the most fantastic deal. For $80 a year, you get free 2 day shipping, free kindle rentals and free video streaming. I buy birdseed, cases of tofu and almond milk monthly and have furnished about 1/4 of my new house from them. And with the many other miscellaneous things I purchase, I am sure they are not happy with me as a customer. I do know UPS does not like me much. Amazon uses UPS most of the time for shipping, which has been a bit of a problem this holiday season, but everything came on time eventually. Some of the other sellers on Amazon use other services. I try to buy from Amazon direct when I can. Some prime items are a little higher to comp for the free shipping, some are not. You just have to do a little research. Amazon almost always wastes box space. You will get a tiny item in a HUGE box.

#2 World Market - This has become one of my new favorite places to shop online. They always seem to have a sale and they sell a variety of items from furniture to food, and their shipping is amazing. Usually shipping is free over $50 but sometime less and you always get a coupon or two with purchase. They pack eco friendly and fairly compactly. I reuse their waffle cut papers in my own gift basket, which I bought from them.

#3 Etsy - Even though all the shops are independent, sellers are mostly honest and as quick as humanly possible. Items are usually wrapped nicely with a little note and often a story. I have never been disappointed with an Etsy purchase. (same for Independent sellers on Artfire and Storenvy, not Asian factories selling as indies)

#4 Walmart - OK so you don't like to buy from Walmart, well I do. their shipping is great and their prices are low and honestly have you ever been to one? Some of those low paid employees wouldn't have a job at all if not for Walmart. But I digress. Walmart has low prices and seriously, most of that they have in the store is available online. I have purchased, canned and boxed food, vitamins, shampoo, soap, furniture, towels kitchen ware and containers. All at a great price, and over $50 gets free shipping (sometimes less) and some items automatically have free shipping. They also have other retailers on their site, just click the Walmart button to see only Walmart items. Shipping can very from the other sellers, but in most cases Walmart shipping is stellar and almost always arrives far sooner than stated at purchase. They use a variety of shippers, mostly Fed Ex and USPS.

#5 KMart - Yes they really do ship quickly. The offering is not so great, but what they do have ships quickly. I think that as Sears is the same company, it would be good too. You can buy from both on their website, although that is a bit confusing. I usually only buy cheap knock around the house clothing from KMart, but I am pleased with the quality and as I've said, shipping is not just great, but amazing. I'm sure kids toys would be great to buy there too.

#6 Target - I used to really love Target and I have purchased several items for my home there. Online is not the greatest experience and of course someone out there is probably selling my data. but I usually buy with my PayPal Debit card and I will be protected. My experience with Target online is just OK. Not the same sales as in the stores (I really don't get this) You can get much better deals in the store. Shipping is OK, but the online experience is just not the same as in store experience.

#7 Ebay - A few years ago Ebay would have been at the top of my list. There have been changes at Ebay that have really disappointed me and honestly ruined my shopping experience. However there are some things that I can only find on Ebay so I continue to shop there. Ebay no longer has the lowest prices as they charge an arm and a leg in fees. So you will not get the best prices on Ebay. They have instituted a one day shipping policy for sellers to get discounts and higher ranking, but sellers have learned that they only have to PRINT the shipping label to qualify and some sellers don't put your package in the mail for a week or more. Some even just mark the items shipped and print labels through another service days later. I bought an item that was marked shipped in one day, it was drop shipped by another retailer and I received it 17 days after I purchased it. Ebay unfortunately is so hungry that they are eating their own foot off.

Some Sellers Just Don't Get It

I'm going to tell you a little story about a seller with a bad attitude. I'm actually including their name so you can avoid the shop. See, for a while I watched a LOT of Judge Judy while I was going through depression from Menopause, I and I know you can't get sued for slander if the thing you are stating is the truth.

Can you imagine watching Judge Judy every day. Now that's depressing.

To the point. I purchased an item on eBay and was hounded by the seller, at my email address, to leave feedback, to the point where I felt it was harassment.

Here's how the conversation went. And BTW I blocked this seller before I sent the message. I love that ebay feature.

Dear 860playitagain,

I really do not appreciate being hounded for feedback. I get enough spam, I do not need it for purchases too. I leave feedback when I'm darn ready. I suggest you stop this nasty habit as it's a real turnoff. I've been selling and buying on ebay for 10 years, and whenever a seller hounds me for feedback I NEVER buy from them again.

- poppyswickedgardentoo

This was the reply I received.

Dear poppyswickedgardentoo,

fine, then do not buy from me again, I am going to block you since you have a bad attitude anyway, this is an automatic feature, since we have over 40,000 sales, and only 9000 feed-back, I pay ebay for this reminder service for lazy buyers who refuse to leave feed-back, good day sir! john pia

- 860playitagain

Talk about good customer service eh? BTW that was sarcasm. I know that I have no friends here that would act so offensively to a buyer.

I suggested he not pay for that feature as it was a waste of his money and thanked him for blocking me so I didn't have to try to remember his shop name.

Running With Scissors - Buyer Requests

I'm going to tell you a little secret. I'm going to risk the chance that my buyer will see this and find out I was having fun at her expense. I have had some real odd requests in my days as an online seller, but this one tops them all. Sorry buyer, but this was... well... not really thought out.

 Request went something like this: "I work in a bakery and we have to wear red Aprons. I love this Apron a would really like it, but could you make it with a red background instead of white?"

But seriously, how do you respond to something like that? I mean this is rare vintage, 20+ year old fabric, and stated on the listing. Did she think I printed the fabric myself? Did she think at all? OK, so not to turn down any request, because that's not good for business, and laughing in the face of the buyer is not good either, I made a suggestion.

I explained that I did not make the fabric and that the fabric was vintage and already printed with a white background. I suggested that I could color in the background with a red fabric marker, but for labor, it would be around $100 extra, or she could get a red fabric marker (or two or four) and color in all the white on the apron in herself.

She didn't even have the courtesy to reply back with at thank you for your time. I guess she decided to find an all red Star Wars apron somewhere else.

It wasn't the first time I've had requests to change prints on fabric, it was just the silliest of the requests.

So here is my question? What is the oddest request you've gotten from a buyer? I'd love to hear your response to this one. And if you're worried about your buyers, just leave me an anonymous comment.

Biz Buzz - Fond Farewell and Marketing Tips?

I wanted to dedicate this Bizz Buzz to saying a fond farewell to the Clown that Ran Etsy But You can read about it at the Inc article or the Great Farewell that Etsy Bitch wrote HERE

I would also like to note that with what has happened in Norway, everything we do here seems so small. So many children lost at the hands of a Madman.

I decided instead, to write about something that came to mind after a few events this week. It has to do with your audience. Who are you selling to? I was trying to come up with search terms for my jewelry. Because it was unique, I wanted to come up with some terms that the average person would use to search. I was thinking about my product and I was thinking of all the other handmade product. I'm not including vintage here, because they have a greater chance of people searching for their items than handmade sellers do.

I thought about all the lovely handmade products and artwork, I and I thought about all the nice things that people had said about my flowers. I thought about how we are pushed by ourselves and our sites to create something so unique that it stands out against our competition. And I thought that if it is so unique, how will people find it. If you designed handkerchiefs for Elephants, that would be unique. Maybe useful (they would have to be pretty big) But who would search for it.

It popped into my head, that the people who are looking at my work, or your lovely work, are mostly artists, or people involved with or admirers of the arts. Is that my target audience? Wouldn't it be nice if the average person, or at least a percentage of the overall population would like my work?

I pass QVC sometimes and see things that are not as lovely as our handmade craft, but mass produced, sell by the thousands. I used to work for a company that sold to QVC and it was not our usual lovely inventory. But that's another story.

And then there was something that Poppy said this week. She was listing a biker T-shirt that had previously sold for $250, and she was debating weather to list it auction, or buy it now on eBay. She was discussing how much to list it for and I said was it too much in this economy. She said people with money have money and they don't really care, they buy what they want. She's right you know. We struggle to sell our beautifully hand crafted wares for under minimum wage and someone pays $1800 for a Lego Millennium Falcon still in the box. (I'd rather have it built for that price).

We work our tails off at the craft we love and yet we could take a $1 t-shirt we found a the thrift store and turn a $200 plus profit on it.

My point isn't despair. It is, how the heck do we get the guy spending $250 on a T-shirt to spend a few bucks on our handmade? How do we inspire the "want monster" (I hate that term and wish it would go away and die forever) to absolutely love handmade. What we really need is not a clown but a Marketing Genius to help us out. Barry Manilow will you write us a handmade product jingle for the new millennium? There is more to marketing than just good SEO. SEO does not inspire desire. How about "I'm wearing Handmade Today" "I just hung Handmade on my walls, did you?" "I'm cooking in handmade."

Posted on Artfire - Etsy Fees Vs Artfire at $9.95

Posted in the Artfire Forums I didn't think this was a controversial or negative post. It was just a little bit of brain boggling math that I thought I would like to point out to the sellers that think Etsy fees are cheaper than the proposed $9.95 minimum fee that Artfire will begin charging.

For those of you who aren't involved or have the time to wade through forums here is my post

"Sorry, haven't the time to read through all of these to see if it's been mentioned. $10 a month for Artfire VS Etsy "reasonable" fees. If you want to have your items seen on Etsy, most people list/relist one item a day @ $.20 so that's $6. Many list/relist at least 2 a day $12 then if you sell there are fees as well. How in the World do any of you think that it is cheaper to sell on Etsy? My fees were $50 to $100 a month there. If you are paying less than $10 a month at Etsy, you are not selling anything, I can guarantee it. If you are making an average of $6 minimum wage (give or take in your state) for a 40 hour week $240 X 3.5%, you would be paying $8.40 in fees above your listing a WEEK. So if you are working Etsy as a business, the minimum you should be paying is $45 a month. That is just making minimum wages.

Brain hurting yet. I know mine is. Again, if you are actually paying less than $10 a month at Etsy you are wasting your time selling there, because it's not working for you."

I'm not even saying which is the better deal, because I sell a lot on eBay and the fees are even higher and the buyer expects to pay less. I had an offer of $8 for a $39 apron, when my materials alone are more than that, let alone fees. Etsy fees are higher, but so is the traffic right now.

I guess the wasting time thing wasn't too nice. But at $10 a month, with Etsy fees, you are not selling anything. I never had a month at Etsy where I payed less that $10, even in a slow month at a slow shop. However, most of us don't make above minimum wages at any of our venues. I know I don't. Just Saying...

Biz Buzz - Christmas in July

Well it's almost my favorite time of the year (not) Time to pull out the Red, White and Green rugs, Jewelry, Table Covers and promote, promote, promote, all things winter that no one really gives a damn about this time of year. That's not entirely True, the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing Winter now (you know Australia etc) and I'm SURE they need to be reminded.

I am talking about the worse marketing scheme EVAH - Christmas in July. There is a long history of Christmas in July starting in 1892, but I won't go into it, you can read about it on Wikipedia.

Christmas in July conjures up images of Santa on the Beach, catching waves with his elves, and the Mrs. Reading her Romance novel.

I hear that Christmas in July is enjoyed in New Zealand, because they don't get to celebrate Christmas in the Snow, like we do. Whopee.

Not that I don't want to think about snow or have a tall cool drink while I'm at the beach, but I really don't want to sit there, wearing a Red and Green striped bathing suit and Snow Man earrings, because people are just going to think I'm Freddy Krueger in Drag.

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas in December, but seriously, do you think that many people want to spend the whole month of July sitting by the TV watching what QVC has to offer in the way of "Holiday Previews"? Summer is for Fun in the Sun!

I know all the seller sites are promoting "Christmas in July" but can't we be a little more creative and original? Maybe there is a reason that sales are down in July and way up in December - NO ONE WANTS CHRISTMAS IN JULY!!!!!

Come on all you wonderfully creative people. How about Summer Sizzle, or Hot Deals - Cool Creations. You think of something better...PLEASE... and post it in the comments. Maybe we can start a Handmade Revolution. NO MORE CHRISTMAS IN JULY.

Introduction to Etsyquette 101

Etsyquette is little kindness and proper behavior on Etsy. It is Excellent Customer Service. Good Manners on Forums and Treasuries.

I will be Gleaning Forums and Twitter Posts to Find the very Best suggesions on Etsyquette And Bringing you a New Lesson Monthly. I will Start with Customer Service followed By Treasury Posts and then Forum Etsyquette. These are going to be focused on Seller Etsyquette, but may include buyer Etsyquette also.

Please convo any suggestions you have to akaCINDERS.etsy.com or tweet or DM me at akacinders and let me know if you would prefer to be anonymous.

The following are some suggestions from your fellow Etsians.

CrabappleVintage: Contact your customers in some way after their order. It gives them confidence that their order didn't fall into a void and gives you an opportunity to have another positive interaction. I'll sometimes send a convo if I get an order on a Saturday and can't mail it til Monday or if I'm waiting for a pending payment. If I know I'm going to ship an item right away, then I'll simply leave feedback after shipping.

RoughMagicCreations: I find it off-putting when I convo a seller to say I've featured his or her item in a treasury, and the seller replies that, as a special "thank you," I can get a discount on a purchase from that shop.

GlassRiverJewelry: If someone makes a mistake when posting in the forum, many people feel the need to post in the thread pointing out the error that the original poster made. It would be nice if people would not continually point out the error and just let the admins do their job.

Peaseblossomstudio: How about derailing threads on purpose and constantly calling out FP makers. URRRRRGH! Those bug me more than anything!

arosha: 1. If you ask me a question, and I responded (I ALWAYS do, BTW) - then I expect some response back. Even "I read it, thank you" is sufficient. Sometimes buyers have very complex requests that require a lot of effort to answer - and then leave you with no response at all to your detailed answer.

2. Let me know if you blogged about me! I would love to leave a comment and spread the word - but I need to know it's happening.

3. Let the seller know you have some problem with your purchase before leaving a neutral or negative feedback! Most issues can be handled and solved by communicating.

Future Posts will include a wonderful interview with a seller who has taken their shop from ordinary to fantastic, with a lot of hard work,and how she accomplished it. And I will also have an insightful interview about SEO with tips on what it is and how to.