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.