Customer Impressions

Packing up items, shipping them, getting them to the post office and finding shipping supplies. Probably not your most favorite part of selling online. Interestingly though, it is to your customer. Receiving their etsy package in the mail is a moment filled with anticipation and hopefully happiness. How you handle it on your end can greatly affect their perception of your item and service.

Set of Wedgwood Pimpernel China by HamiltonBay

To start with: shipping supplies. Are you using old Corona boxes that have Sharpie marker scratched all over them? Are you using old newspapers, plastic bags from Target and other such sundries? I'm all for being green and recycling, but don't take it to extremes. Remember that moment when your customer opens the package. Looking professional is vital.

1940's Lamps by justbecauseshecan

You can get almost all of your shipping supplies for free (I get tape off Amazon through their Subscribe & Save program). I put ads up on my local freecycle group and I get flooded. Insist on boxes being in good shape, no big wrinkles or dents, no major Sharpie attacks, and no major logos (except for the Amazon.com swoop). It's not hard to find good boxes, bubble and peanuts these days.

Herman Miller Chair by TheFancyLamb

How you package your item is critical. A while ago I bought a figurine set on Etsy with plans to resell it. I bought it for $35 and it was worth $400+. I failed to note the seller was new. When the package arrived, the box was a tight fit and my beautiful set was smashed into millions of pieces. The seller had wrapped each large bisque figurine in one single sheet of newspaper (never mind that newspaper stains bisque!).

Huge Bread Sign by marybethhale

It's important to allow for space around your items. Machines are handling your packages most of the time now-not people. Fragile stickers don't mean squat to a giant conveyor belt. Wrap in bubble. If your item has a door/lid, wrap the door separate and leave it open so it doesn't rattle and break. Bury items in peanuts to protect them from impact falls (crashing 10 feet down into a pile of other packages). I make sure everything is secure and attach a business card with a future discount to the top of the bubbled item.

Dressmaker Class Sewing Machine by SurrenderDorothy

I ship generally USPS and if it's really heavy UPS. My local post office has a quick fingered worker that has hit me a few times. I've learned-if I insure an item, it's likely to go missing. If I don't insure, it'll get there. With the insurance printed right on the outside, I can see how this happens. I'm a big fan of insurance and do require it for my major sales-but then I ship those things UPS just to be sure. I want the items to arrive-that will definitely keep the customer happy!

Pink Lamps w/ Fiberglass Shades by jenzee09

The more care you take to use great looking and feeling supplies, the more professional you'll appear. You likely already do this-but this is a good reminder to stick to it. Look at your feedback-good shipping is almost always mentioned. How you package and ship will also greatly affect if your new customer becomes a repeat customer. Have fun wrapping!

It's December 8th. What Can I Possibly Do Now to Boost Sales?

Vintage Marcasite Bow by popgoesmyvintage

I am an all year holiday shopper. I despise malls and I prefer to find unique items. Etsy was a dream come true when the site launched. I pay attention to what family and friends are into and try to find one of kind gifts for each one.

My brother is the opposite. He wakes up from an over work induced fog around Dec 20. He then madly rushes around getting gifts-ordering them off the web and paying for the high last minute shipping.

My family asks for lists each year from us. We oblige, searching for things we need. (We really don't need much-except for more chicken, dog and cat food, a farm hand and snow chains-unique, but not very fun to gifts to give!)

No matter what kind of shoppers are looking, our Etsy vintage stores should make it easy for them.

20% off Sale on Opera Glasses by hautecountryvintage

1. Keep listing. Make sure the shop is fresh. Yes, renewing your items counts a bit. But for those shoppers that know your listings and are just hoping for that awesome-amazing-out-of-this-world find, you need new things.

2. Rotate your item photos. A secret to a fresh shop isn't just moving items around. It's also switching your photos. Hopefully you have more than 1 photo that would look great as a thumbnail worthy of a treasury. Change them around. Amazing how our eyes gloss over things and then notice the littlest changes.

3. Advertise. Make treasuries. The more I've made, the more I've been featured in. Get your store name out there. Use the Circles that are under the Activity Feed link at the top. People are finding other shops and items based on who their circle members are looking at. This is viral marketing at its best-use it to your advantage.

Silver Lipstick Case by tippleandsnack

4. Stick with a consistent avatar during the holiday season. While it's tempting to replace your standard store logo with a cute holiday decoration, I don't recommend it. You want your shop to look familiar to buyers. There have been so many shops this season that I don't recognize. (why did I mark them for a favorite? I don't remember them!)  Buyers want to buy from shops they trust-especially since it's now December 7 and people are starting to get nervous about shipping.

5. Reach out to your Twitter & Facebook fans. Offer them a deal: free or discounted shipping, free shipping upgrades, free gift wrap, a store discount, etc. You have a captive audience. Capitalize on it.

Vintage Dollhouse by vintagegoodness

6. Include advertising in your packages. Never forget-right after Christmas and January are big shopping times. It's chilly outside and people are indoors. A warm computer screen is so cozy, isn't it? Remind this season's shoppers that you'll be around in January to help them find the gift they really wanted to get.

Whatever you do or don't do,  I hope you have a wonderful Holiday season filled with bubble wrap, packing peanuts and the frequent hunt for just the right sized box to ship in!

Don't be an Antique Store, Be a Storefront

Ever walked into an antique store and been amazed by the vast inventory? I have. I used to wonder how they found things. It never occurred to me to ask how they sold things. Generally, most antique and vintage stores aren't completely in the business of selling. They're often more into the business of collecting and showing off those collections.

We're not in the business of showing off our collections. We're online storefronts. While it is important to keep interesting items in your shop to impress customers, it's also critical to price for volume sales. But equally as important is to make your shop accessible.

What are your barriers to entry? What keeps customers from finding you OR from buying? 

• Pricing (We've discussed this in previous blogs. Know your target customer)
• Getting found in Google Search (see this blog post)
• Quality photographs (covered in this post)
• Creatively presenting your item (this post discusses this)
• Shipping

Let's discuss shipping. Not altogether a sexy topic, but one that really can make or break a sale. Where do you ship to? Where WON'T you ship to? What won't you ship outside the country? 

A potentially hard to ship item

I see listings all the time that spell out all kinds of negative text for the buyer. "I only ship to the USA. I only ship Priority Mail, or UPS or whatever their chosen shipper is. I expect payment in 1 day or I will leave negative feedback!" Yikes!! Not a good way to start a relationship with a potential customer! (imagine if we started all relationships this way: "And if you don't put the toilet seat down, this is a no go!")

Frankly, I want customers. If they want me to bubble wrap it twice, wrap it in tissue, double box it and ship it to a small island off Brazil, I'm there. Of course, I make sure they pay for that. 

Don't assume your buyers know that "Everywhere Else" in your shipping means them. I put a lot of general countries in my shipping quotes so people get the idea I ship worldwide. Make it easy for customers. Don't make them hunt for information, or worse, assume. 

Yes, I've heard stories of scams. But if you ship it, insure it and package it well, you are protected. Why not reach as many customers as possible? Selling to a wide international base as been such a boon for me. I ship all over the world-from Spain to Taiwan to Argentina. Nearly 1/2 of all my sales online are from International customers. 

Easy to ship anywhere item

The post office picks up packages from your house now. UPS and Fedex do too. Priority Mail supplies are free. Yes, setting up a few different shipping profiles takes some time, but it's easy with the post office website (and some info from your local post office) and a scale. 

I have set up profiles for: 

1. Ephemera (light paper items)
2. Items up to 13 ounces USA only
3. Items up to 1 pound worldwide
4. Items up to 2 pounds worldwide
5. Items up to 3 pounds worldwide
6. Items higher than 4 pounds worldwide
7. Freight

Heavy, but under the 4pd 1st class limit

I just learned that while first class (snail mail) here in the USA has to be 13 ounces or less, worldwide it's 4 pounds! So shipping isn't as high as I've thought it to be. The reason I didn't know is because this information is NOT on www.usps.com. They push all international shipping into Priority or Express. I had to get this info directly from the post office, along with a rate chart. If you pay for a service like Stamps.com or Endicia.com you can do international first class. 

The barriers to entry for shipping have been removed for you. Now make sure you've removed them for your customers!