May Be Days of Chat, Metal and Stone

[#1]

As you were....

[cgwhitfield]

In that specific case I'd definitely refund. And then remind then of whatever policy you want to follow for a custom order.

[cgwhitfield]

In a minor sense most of my stuff is custom in that it is sized. Only have a couple of items sitting here waiting for the right person to come along.

Sized custom rings with unique stones...totally different. Happy to stay away from stuff like that. I know I would suck at enforcing a policy that will make someone unhappy. That's not advised behaviour, just that I know myself.

[cgwhitfield]

Hummingbirds have arrived, two days after putting up feeders.

[SilverCedarJewelry]

Thanks Jay! Enchanting sunset is probably better branding than senior citizen!

[JayCuneo]

Pennee, policy queen! Thank you. Yes I don't refund custom work generally. This was a one of a kind piece that was ready made. I thought "oh boy, easy transaction." because it wasn't made to order and I could just send out right away. Turned out not to be the right fit (it fit, but just not right for my customer) so the exchange initiated, but then a month gone by with no decision and different ideas that were possibly custom pieces that would take even more time to discuss and create. I was very generous with my time and sent pictures, a sketchup for comparison...I know its a challenge shopping online.

I really think it was a matter of me putting my "foot down" so to speak. Because seems like we have a resolution (knocking on wood table). I love my customers, I genuinely want people to walk away from my shop with their "soul mate" in jewelry form, but there's only so much I can do as a "match maker" and only so much time I can spend with one person if we are going in circles. Just something I need to realize about my own management approach. I seriously appreciate feedback from you guys, otherwise I'd be wading in the water trying to figure out how to swim the riptide! Lol.

[cgwhitfield]

I prefer experienced citizen....

[PPennee]

love Irene's comment!

Not the policy queen by any stretch but I have had some bad actors that made me decide, I can do what I want, and be as flexible as I want when it comes to policies- but better to have it in writing for those that are abusive, nasty or just plain bad actors.
And I agree about the time thing- I have spend time, 30-40 convos to have someone bitch me out- threaten me etc when they get something and it isn't what thy pictured but exactly what they ordered. I am just too old for that- I want no drama

[JayCuneo]

Policy queen or not, I appreciate the advice from the experienced :) I feel very lucky that so far I've had no bad actors but I have way less sales under my belt...Its unfortunate that you've had to come around these policies because of disgruntled folk, but I guess thus is the nature of business. Another reason why I am most definitely reserving the right to write my own policies here on Big E lol!

There are some people that cannot be pleased...I feel like in person, its easier to tell right away if a transaction is going to go smoothly or not. But online you just don't know until it goes south sometimes...

The less drama, the better. And I definitely want to rewrite/adjust my policies because like you said, its good to have in writing to serve as a backbone for dealing with a potential situation gone awry.

I guess the plus side to balance out my stressing for the day is 2 lovely reviews. The last one in particular darn near gave me butterflies.

[GreenJeweler]

Thanks Jen ,Erin, CG, Teri, Laura Beatriz,and Penee & Wendy gratitude your seasoned, honest input.
Also, Erin I really love the carved horn face pendant it has a great ancient world feel to me.

I'm so happy to be able to plant a garden here, I tore out most of the lawn and put in food and medicine for us.

Sorry to be tiresome but....
I guess the big question -what is your best "real world" strategy to bring people to your online store .Especially if you live in the bush.

[cgwhitfield]

That's not a tiresome question....

I relate to the in the bush. The answer has to be social media. Others can advise on that, I don't really use it. Lots of potential there.

I do think there is a lot on intrinsic traffic already coming to etsy, hard to get a foothold in search but my thought would be identifying some items that will appeal to many and make some of that. There is a place for boring but well made and well presented. If you can stand it....

[heartsabustin]

Thank you!

I find Instagram to be my best audience. I've cultivated a few good buyers from here on Etsy and over on IG, and it's been a big help to my business.

[heartsabustin]

Food in ma belleh. Yum.

[LauraStasa]

I'm still trying to work that out myself Andrea. I'm on IG but most of my followers are other jewelers. I'm also not terribly consistent there and I still feel reluctant to post "the same old thing" so I don't post as much as I probably should.

I decided to skip town meeting tonight. My ankle is killing me from all the use it got today doing yard work. I've got it up and on ice.

[cgwhitfield]

Why do I think Laura may not be completely unhappy to miss that meeting? Just a hunch.

[heartsabustin]

I wonder if my refund and cancellation is killing my sales. I still haven't paid my Etsy bill.

*worryworryworry*

[2di4jewelryoriginals]

Hi Andrea! I can't offer any help in the sales department. I'm still working on how to increase views to my shop. I think I also make things that don't have a wide appeal. Or sometimes any appeal. LOL. At least that is what it feels like.

[LauraStasa]

Actually, I struggled with it CG. Then I thought about sitting on a hard folding chair for two hours or more and figured no one would fault me for missing it:)

[GreenJeweler]

Thanks All for the input- I don't have knowledge of IG ,more for me to learn.
Laura hope your ankle feels better

[GreenJeweler]

And Dianna your work is really beautiful.

[Untwistedsister]

Andrea - I can tell you that the more full your shop, the more likely you will be to get seen and I also suspect it may have something to do with Etsy's SEO algorithm. When I first started in 2011, I started with over 50 items because I had a big inventory from doing shows. From the time I opened my Etsy account to launch for the shop I took about 3-4 months to get all my listings in draft and get my policies worked out. As I jumped up my items from 50 to 100 I noticed a bigger jump in views. And having a few items I can make quickly that sell over and over has served me well.

On the policy discussion. I feel like I have tightly written policies but handle most things with a generous heart and spirit. For custom designs I try not to make something that I wouldn't want in my shop and odd requests or sizes may have a restocking fee which will be mentioned in the design process.

[Untwistedsister]

The other thing I did that wasn't done to get me views, but did, was spend time in different forums. From there people would check out my shop and maybe someone would favorite something and their followers would see it.. Remember that most Etsy sellers are also buyers.

[PPennee]

Terri I wish I could spend more time in other forums, I used to for sure, but I know for me its hard making and even keeping up with my 2 main teams here and IG. I barely participate even on FB any more. I have no idea how people keep up with all the social medand teams. Boggles my mind

[cgwhitfield]

That's so funny coming from Pennee....you seem to be everywhere, I can barely find time to observe let alone participate. My last FB post was last October.

[2di4jewelryoriginals]

Thank you Andrea for the kind compliment! :)

I'm still learning about instagram, and trying to build an audience. Out of all the social media, I enjoy it the most.

Question for those that use acetylene, how low do you let your tank get before exchanging it? I remember reading that it can be dangerous to let it get too low, but I also don't want to waste gas.

[PPennee]

CG, my Facebook posts are because they come from IG. I just hit the share button! I get an email if someone comments and do respond but that's about it. I haven't even had time to read stuff on groups I belong to. I swear I have no idea where my day goes anymore. I used to keep up better when I worked