Thursday, July 23, 2020

Shopping Online

or what I did on my summer vacation........






3 days of this will eventually get you to this ↓




The blog has changed a bit.  There are new icons in the header above ↑↑↑↑ "mugs, bowls, teapots, shopping cart".   A place to buy work online has been long overdue and this is an immediate fix until I descend further into the nightmare called HTML and work out e-commerce.  I may have to go to ETSY as an interim if this doesn't work.  Alas, I am not a fan of ETSY but I only have one brain cell left and ETSY might get it.   I also know the shop is small but as I fire and build up new inventory I hope to add to the pages.  Heading with; Jars, Pitchers, Woven and/or sculptural work and a potters feast of Miscellaneous.

I set up all the buttons and gadgets needed to shop online and then at 3 am last night, I realized I had no idea how get the mailing address of anyone who ordered anything.  I don't think paypal sends a mailing address.  My email is listed on each and every page.  Yes, you must email your mailing address or where you want pottery to arrive.

I have set up a postal account, got the postal scale, a stack of priority boxes, a bit of bubble wrap and newsprint, a sharpie marker and a printer.  May the force be with you!

I am trying real hard to put my big girl pants on and make this happen but truth be told I like making pots a whole lot more than selling pots!  Or maybe bartering should be in future.  A bag of magic beans for a mug please 😉

Stay safe out there!

8 comments:

  1. I would SO much rather make than sell. Not a good way o run a business, to be sure.

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    1. I think it’s a learning curve. If I ran shows for 35 years maybe I can do this for the next..... ☺️ I’m getting really good at watching YouTube LOL!

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  2. If it wasn't for online sales right now, we would be starving! We sell primarily on Etsy. I know some people dislike it but it works for us. They have lots of great tools for what you pay in fees. All online selling is a lot of work to set up, but it does get easier. Wishing you lots of sales!

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    1. Oh Michèle thank you for your input!! I have a feeling that is where I will end up. I already have a store there. I couldn’t figure out how to do the out of state sale tax and just read an article that Etsy is doing the sales tax now. I had nightmares of sending 30 checks out at the end of the year! Thank you!

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    2. It's great to not have to be concerned with sales tax anymore. They collect and remit it, easy peasy.

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  3. I am gritting my teeth and getting more things posted on Etsy (don't ask about selling bike stuff on eBay!).
    A couple of sales in so many days is heartening. Good for you for organising your website.

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  4. Hi gz! Old dog learning new tricks..... happy to be off the computer and back to gardening and pottery! My bike is on rollers in the back room. Watching baking shows and pedaling these days 😂

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  5. When I went online a few years back I used Big Cartel ... it was an easy add to my website ... altho' I'm not sure how it would work with Blogger - maybe just with a link to your Big Cartel store which is what my daughter does with her FB shop. I abandoned online sales because of the amount of back end work required to maintain accurate online inventory and ship but the Big Cartel part was easy.
    Hope you can make it work for you ... I am still plugging along here with having work at the artist co-op gallery ... and yes, with inspiration from you, I now have a bike but have obtaining the stationary conversion part is still on my to-do list ... b

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