5 Steps to Shipping

As the Christmas seasons nears, it is time to take a fresh look at your shipping and get prepared. As the season nears, people want to be sure their gifts will arrive on time and you want to be sure you are prepared before orders come in.

If you haven't really thought out your shipping too much, now is the time to go double check if you are ready. Here are a couple of steps to go through to be sure you are prepared, starting with the most basic.

1. Be sure you have packing materials: enough boxes, padded envelopes, bubble wrap and tape are all a must. Try ordering boxes online to get the right sizes and price. Try not to have to rely on running out to buy boxes as you need them.

2.  Pick a shipping method and get pricing.  I use Paypal shipping for all shipping these days, using their multi-order option for non-Paypal orders. I use Paypal because it is free, works for all orders, and slightly discounted but find what works for you. If you use Payapl or any online shipping, be sure to get a postal scale to weigh packages.

3.  Set up Shipping Profiles on Artfire. This can be a big time saver. If you have items of different sizes, set up one for different sizes then it becomes a simple matter of choosing from a drop down rather than redoing it each time.



4. Review Shipping and Return Policies. Make sure they are clear but positive. Some thing to include are:

• How long it takes for item to be mailed - if items are custom made include this in the listing too
• Remember you are responsible for the package until it is delivered and insurance protects you not the buyer.
• State which address you will mail to, especially if you will only mail to the Paypal address and not the address on the order.
• Return policy. Make sure the policies are clear. How long will you accept returns. What will you accept returns for - not happy, breakage, etc. Try to keep it positive, people will often run if return policies sound too harsh or inflexible. 

5. State a Christmas delivery date, figure out what is the latest day you can guarantee Christmas delivery.If you need time to make items or get it shipped, be sure to factor that in. I would specify this is for US orders only (or what ever country you are in) 

Now good luck with your sales and let me know if there are any questions

Looking Christmas Bargains

It's the middle of October so it is really the beginning of the Christmas season. As for sellers, it's time to get started if you haven't already. There are lots of things to do but let's start with something simple.

The sense seems seems that the economy is picking up a little, so people may be more willing to spend, but sales may still skew towards the lower and lower mid range. People still are looking for bargains, they've gotten used to them, since for the last year, stores have offered free shipping, coupons and all sorts of ways to enticing people to buy.


Before you start to groan and say but it will eat into my profits, let me clarify, don't offer any discount, deal, or shipping that means you will lose money. There's no point in selling if you lose money doing it.

There are different discounts to offer free shipping, coupons, free gifts, lowering prices.Be sure to let people know the prices are lower by using a sale overlay.

Remember coupons will cover any of these options as well but to legitimately use the overlay for offering a coupon, you need to have the coupon widget posted in your shop.  You have to use the coupon overlay- not free shipping,etc.

Free shipping seems to draw in a lot of people. It's kind of a psych thing, shipping is a service, not part of the item, so it feels like an extra. Would you want to spend 5 dollars shipping on a 15.00 item. However free shipping on a 20 item feels good. You're still getting the same amount of money but your seller leaves feeling good and you don't loose money.


For percent off, you can use the sale mode, but that only works for all items. If you want to offer a percentage off only a group of items, you'll need to use a coupon code. One upside of coupon, now this is a secret, a lot of times people don't bother to use them.

Bogos can't be don't directly, so far there is no way to set it up automatically but there is an overlay. The same with free gift. I'd put free gift at the bottom of the pile, even if you have a section to choose from.

This is just a start for the season and there is more to do,but do keep this in mind,
People may be shopping more but they looking for bargains, so you really need to give them what they are looking for. Be sure to use the overlays to announce the deal as people search Artfire.

Tis the Season to be Jolly

Are you looking at this tree and thinking has she gone nuts? It's 90 degrees outside and I am sweating in the shade. I'm thinking about pools and sandals, not Christmas trees and scarves.

Time to wake up then. If you are selling online, actually the holiday season starts toward the end of August, if you include Halloween, even if you don't, by mid October your store should be fully packed with all your Christmas goodies. Truth be told, even though you'll find a few last minute shoppers, most people start earlier to allow for shipping just to allow for shipping. They are also willing to snatch up holiday items early just because they hadn't thought of it.

This doesn't just mean holiday themed items. Sales really can go up in that last quarter of the year. If you have some special pieces you've been postponing, now is the time to get them posted. Don't let the holidays find you with an empty studio.

My experience last year wasn't the pattern I was expecting. Even though I've sold online several years and last year was the first time I got involved in the actual holiday selling-wise. My sales peaked through October and November, with a only a few going into December. Last year Artfire gave Black Friday a big push, those trending categories are still there; I'm sure they will again this year. They can do so much, like promo labels and making trending categories- it's up to you to use them.

So even though it is August in the real world, in the virtual world, the Christmas season is almost here!!!