AAA Cafe' Daily Chat 02/11/2014

[#1]

Welcome to new members, welcome back to returning teammates! If this is your first time here - this is a place to ask questions, share your most embarrassing secrets, or just chat about the slow and boring bits of your day…we want to hear from you!!

Be sure to check out the discussion board. There are games to be played and threads to explore. The more you promote your fellow team mates, the more you get promoted, so be sure to participate on a daily basis. Check out our blog and our Facebook page, as well as the other links provided below.

IMPORTANT LINKS:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/301427606658253/
Etsy Calculator: salecalc.com/etsy
Etsyology: www.etsyology.net/
Online Photo Programs: fotoflexer.com/ or www.picmonkey.com/
treasurypin.com./
Etsy Craft Tools: www.mycrafttools.com/
Etsy Gadget: www.estygadget.com

Hi everyone. Well, it's still cold in Ontario, but at least we haven't had anymore snow for a few days and none is expected for the time being.

Today is problem day. Problems with your shop, marketing, listing, promotion or anything else you'd like an opinion on. Feel free to share whatever you please.

QUOTE of the DAY:

"Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines."
~ Robert H. Schuller

[NaturalClocks]

Thank you for that link Vicky, I'll check it out!
Adele, what a wonderful thing you daughter did, bless her! I'm in the UK, so our postage costs and rates are different than yours, sorry I can't help you there.
Alanna, I think that putting your shop on vacation while you are re-doing your totes is probably the best solution, at least you'll be free to concentrate on that and then start afresh.
Chickydoddle, I really can't believe some customers. I wouldn't even call that person a customer as she hasn't really given you any custom, just a headache and a money loss! I agree with Mary, I'm wondering too if it's a problem with tax and she simply refused to collect the parcel because of it. I think that Paypal can be rather disgusting with their incessant siding up with buyers regardless of the circumstances. Really sorry that's happened to you.

We all seem to agree that more hours are needed in a day! To be honest, I haven't done any promoting the last couple of days. I agree with Lagney, sometimes I just need to switch off from my Etsy shop so that I can get on with other, sometimes more pressing, things.

[Former_Member]

Mary: I use GIMP to adjust lighting levels and it works pretty well. I'm not a fan of Fotofuze and other image enhancers--the stark white background blinds me, to be honest! What I need to do is take a few medium distance shots of my items and save the closeups for the other item slots so people can see the entire button, bracelet, etc. in the first shot.

[chickydoddle]

Thanks for the support guys :)) I never thought of the Customs issue. I just wished she would be honest and not blame me for everything. Hope I won't get another customer like that for a long long time!

I agree with SurrealMythDesigns, GIMP is an awesome tool to adjust the lighting level. I use it all the time.

[NatalieOriginals]

Hi Guys! Wow what a day everyone has going!!

Alanna, Good luck with your new totes. We can't wait to see them.

Glen, what kind of lights are you using? We switched over to the white LED's and, even with the light box, it's made a big difference in the definition and detail in our pictures. (The old pictures are the ones with the dark grey background. I'll be re-taking them VERY soon :-) )

Adele, We understand your shipping concerns. Many of the items in our shop are of different sizes, and that makes for a lot of varying shipping costs. We solved that by creating a chart with the basic items, then calculated shipping for the US and overseas. We also figured out our packing materials, either into the shipping costs or into the price of the item. This really helped what we're charging for shipping with what it's costing us.

Our only problem right now has been that sales has dropped off to nothing since January. Like everyone else, we could use more hours in the day to get all this work done to get more product in the shop. We're looking to start getting our Easter line up in the week, along with some new products.

A great day to everyone, later

[Former_Member]

Well, foks, my shop is now on vacation. My message directs people who try to convo me to my email address: starlady2013@outlook.com.

I'll continue to come to chat. See you all later!

[Former_Member]

Sooooooo, today was interesting. We had decided to take a day off today since we had been working incredibly hard to get ready for a pop-up shop that we sold at last night...but then we wound up getting featured in an article on huffington post this morning. So it's been a very exciting day! Hasn't really translated into sales so far, but I am not complaining one bit! You guys can check it out if you want! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/11/valentines-cards-awkward_n_4757404.html?

Also, added a new set of cards to the shop, but seriously, that's the least interesting thing that happened today. lol
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/179078563/blank-notecards-mature-cards-im-sorry?ref=shop_home_active...

[Former_Member]

Alanna, will love forward to you being back.

[Former_Member]

I am very happy with everything. It is going fairly well. I must realize that not every customer will be happy. I found that out when one of them gave me neg on a photo that others had given me 5 stars on. The old saying is correct: "You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." However, I try my best.

I have been on Etsy only a month tomorrow and have had 23 sales. I'm very happy here and I'm learning a lot about customer service and business in general, so it's all good.

[homecraftframing]

Brandon, The lady did not give you a negative. She gave you a good report but not 5 stars on the one photo. Since this person bought two of your photos, I bet she accidently hit the 4 star instead of the 5 because she gave you 5 stars on the other picture. By the way, I have a couple of those myself. Although, you are right, you cannot make anyone 100% happy and you should not even try. So all is good with your shop and keep up the great work. I love your new photos and have faved them as well.

[naturepoet]

Dona, she did give Brandon a negative but he contacted her and worked it out.