You Voted: What was your Inspiration for your Shop's Name

Nothing is more important in the beginning stages of your indiepreneurship than choosing your name. It is the link to the impression your business gives to the world, your brand.

Last month we asked you what was your Inspiration for your Shop's Name:

And you answered:

It seems that most of our crafters choose their name, inspired by their personal information and others from their crafting category or the area they specialize in.

Let's take a look at some answers of yours:

"It's a bit of a combination. Partly it's a reference to hubby, and partly to what the Wombles did - recycling stuff. I try and recycle/reuse as much as I can: zips, buttons, fabric, cards, containers, furniture etc, so in that respect I am working in a Wombling way." - WomblingWay 

"Mine is a combination, Monz being short for my name and Creationz as I work with various crafts and so Monz Creationz came about." - monzcreationz 

"I chose the funky part to mean fun and a little bit different and the frippery, meaning adornments, so that I could expand my range in the future to other 'adornments' not neccessarily jewellery, but maybe things for the home too! I have lots of ideas just need to organise my family and time better, and lack of space is a hinderance, but hopefully not for much longer." - Funky Frippery 

"Mine is a cross between my name paulines and passions because I am so passionate about the things I create I love the way things come together and the satisfaction of making things for people." - paulinespassions

"Just made mine up as I'm always busy (who isn't these days!!!) I'm no 6 footer, and I love (and own) chickens!!Simple really....bit like my avatar!! : )" - Busylittlechicken

See related post: Pick the Right Name for Your Online Handmade Business

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Listing Tips: How NOT to Price your Handmade Goods

You know what they say – “you get what you pay for” or “buy cheap buy twice”. Both phrases hint at the idea that if you pay a low price for something, chances are it’s low quality. And yet, time and again, crafters are some of the worst when it comes to pricing their handmade goods.

For many craft sellers it seems to be a race to the bottom in terms of pricing strategy, with the main thinking being that undercutting competitors will guarantee sales. We have lost count of the number of times we have seen crafters underselling their goods in the misguided belief that the lowest price is always the best price.

Of course we know that this idea doesn’t bear out in real life. In reality, when you walk into a retail store cheap and cheerful products sit alongside luxury and the £3 lipstick doesn’t put the £23 lipstick out of business. Some small part of us knows there can’t be a huge difference in quality and yet feel assured by paying a higher price. Because price is the first indicator and differentiator of value, customers believe they get what they pay for and are willing to pay a higher price if they perceive a product to be ‘worth it’.

All this means that the price you choose for your handmade goods says a lot about how YOU value what you make. Just as you meticulously research craft materials and painstakingly put together each item, so should you take time to find the right price for your work.

Related Post: How to Price your Handmade Products

If it is the case your items are not selling, try other things like better photography or better promotion before resorting to dropping the price. It’s easy to think that if you’re not selling, the price is too high. In the long run, underselling your work does more harm than good so you may indeed be pricing too low. If need be, raise your price – looking at other sellers of similar goods should give you an indication of the most people are willing to pay. It’s a little bit of trial and error, but with any luck you may find you’re worth more than you bargained for!

source: business.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk

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Listing Tips: How to Write Your MISI Shop Policies

One of the most important things you have to do in your MISI Shop is to fill out Shop Policies.

Shop Policies tell your customers what to expect from you. They look at your store policies to judge what kind of customer service you will offer; if there is nothing there they are likely to walk away. Also when you have filled out your Policies you can:

• Create a much more professional look
• Help the store owner stay consistent and have actions in place for certain situations.
• Raise your sales. Stores with no policies have fewer sales.

( You can edit your Shop's Policies by clicking here )

1. Payment

• State what methods of payment you will take (PayPal, cheque etc)
• State that you will not send packages until payments have cleared.
• Encourage buyers to contact you if they are having any problems with payment
• Tell your buyers what you will do in the event of non-payment. 

2. Shipping

• Describe how your items are packaged: Do you gift wrap? Are your items sent in boxes? Do you include a certificate of authenticity? If you use recycled packaging write that in here too, MISI buyers love sellers who do this.
• Tell your buyers what shipping company you use.
• What shipping do you offer? (priority, standard, first class, registered mail, online tracking?)
• Can customers request faster shipping or insurance for an additional charge? If yes, ask them to contact you for more information.
• Give information on estimated shipping times. If you have already done a lot of shipping you will have a good idea of how long a package takes to arrive in certain parts of the world. If you have not done much shipping yet, ask at your post office, and then add a few days to their estimated times.
• If you ship overseas, state that customs can delay packages by up to 6 weeks, say that this does not happen often but that it can happen. It is better to forewarn your buyers about this possible problem.

3. Refunds and Exchanges

• If you don't want to do refunds and exchanges then put it politely. Something like "I'm sorry but at this time [insert shop name here] cannot accept refunds or exchanges, please purchase seriously" comes across a lot better than "No exchanges or refunds accepted"
• If you are going to offer refunds and/or exchanges then put your terms and conditions here. How long after receiving an item can people ask you for an exchange or refund? Will you refund only the cost of the item or the shipping as well? If a buyer returns an item to you who is responsible for the return postal costs?

Good luck with your policy writing and selling your handmade items.

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