On 24 December we are leaving for a 2-week camping holiday (yes, it's summer here in Oz!) I will probably not be able to go online often in those 2 weeks. So it makes sense to put my shop in holiday mode... but I'm very worried that being invisible for 2 weeks will ruin what I have just built up in the last 3 months!
Do you think I can put a note (in caps) in my shop announcement saying that I am away and that all orders will be shipped on January 9? Maybe add a coupon code for a discount to make up for the waiting? I think I have seen this earlier at some of my favourite shops.
My problem is that if someone finds an item they like and hit the buy button, they will not see this announcement (or the coupn code) until after they have bought it - and maybe not be happy... Unless I copy paste the announcement to al my 70 listings... something i do not look forward to... (or is there a way to add this to all listings at once?)
I would definitely leave a note/notice of some kind so that people wouldn't be frustrated or worried to not hear back from you. A coupon sounds like a nice idea too, but it looks like you're doing so well that many people might be just as happy to buy your items without a coupon... :) Good luck! Enjoy your trip! :)
I agree completely with lewisandbucky. If you put a note up, they read it and still buy from you, it means they are prepared to wait. Those who can't wait won't. If you added a discount code, I would personally think there is a chance it might be much later than that and you're trying to sweeten them up beforehand!..lol..
Thanks lewisandbucky and TDcrochetpatterns - maybe no coupon code! ;-) But do you think I should add the note to all my listings or is it enough to put it in my shop announcement?
Howdy form West Oz Ive been away for 4 weeks and always leave my shop open.I put notices up in my shop description and in notice to buyers about how long I'm gone and date I will post items on return. if I have access to the internet, I will pop in occasionally and reply to any sales and convos reminding the buyer about my notice of absence.
I'll be going away as well and although I don't get that many orders I'm planning on putting the going away announcement everywhere I can. That includes on top of the product descriptions. If you use craftopolis.com you will be able to type in the announcement and add it to all your listings with just one click! So try it out. Someone also mentioned changing your banner to indicate when you'll be away and when you'll be back. And worse case scenario if customer still hadn't read it and isn't too happy with it you can always cancel sale and offer a good discount for them to be back later.
I thought an update here might be useful for others- I did leave my shop open during my holidays. I put a note in my shop announcement, in my note to buyers and used craftopolis to add it to all my listings.
I had 3 orders during my holidays, 1 shortly after leaving, another after a week or so and 1 just before I came home. I sent them an email directly after returning on Saturday and shipped the orders on Monday. Everyone seemed to be happy with this.
I was featured in a few treasuries during the holidays and some of my items were favourited. So next time I am away I will definitely do this again!
