suggestion for your websites

[ilovecrafts]

Apologies in advance for the long post.

I’m no expert where websites are concerned, but as an end user, I do have a comment that could be worthwhile considering, to potentially increase your sales.

I have, since joining this site, looked at hundreds, if not thousands of craft sites, some belonging to members, and some are suggested links.
One thing I have increasingly noticed is the lack of information re P& P costs, especially for overseas orders. (I don’t live in the UK, so this is especially important to me).

If you don’t post overseas, fine, but make it clear at the beginning!
Something like:
We apologize but we currently only offer delivery within the UK. Please check back at a later date.

If you do post items beyond the white cliffs of Dover, (seeing as the world doesn’t end there) then also make it clear, again somewhere obvious. Maybe a scrolling banner type thingy on top of each page or on home page.

We deliver worldwide
(Even if you haven’t sold abroad before, it can look good and could encourage overseas orders)

Detailed postage costs
Many sites give a break down of costs within the UK, but nothing for overseas, but ask the potential buyer to contact by email or indicate that the site will advise the buyer of total cost prior to processing the order!
Better than nothing, but annoying. I like to know what something will cost from the outset. I love to see Free delivery worldwide, but understand that’s not really a possibility for small businesses. Exact pricing may be difficult, but some of you are regulars at the post office, so should be able to get some detailed information, and
publish some guideline overseas postage costs, if not exact costs.

I have seen sites with currency options, but which don’t say they post overseas, I can only assume they do, but there are NO details in P&P to so indicate nor any overseas postage costs.

I have seen sites that offer a flat rate P&P charge, that apparently sell abroad, but is the flat rate UK only or worldwide? Can’t be worldwide, (I don’t think), it’s too cheap!

Personally, I’m now looking, very early on, at the possible delivery costs, before even looking through all the products, and if the information isn’t there, or isn’t clear, I’ll just go to the next possible vendor! And that is a possible sale LOST for ever!

I doubt I’m the only person in the world who feels this way, so how many other sales have some of you possibly missed out on?

[Muddle Jewellery]

Delivery info is something I've really gotta sort out on my site, even though its only a temporary one at the moment.

[ilovecrafts]

Nice stuff there, Muddle!
I like the shopping BAG, have never noticed that before, so much more appropriate for small items, than a cart or trolley!
I appreciate it's only a temporary site, but could you not move the spiel about ordering only by email or phone to the top? Many won't scroll down and read the small print, and would be disappointed when they can't order online, and possibly just move on to next vendor! (I probably would!)

[Muddle Jewellery]

Thanks, it is a bit of mess right now, I've left that info at the bottom because you can order online, but if people prefer they can just email me or phone their order.

When the site it done, it will look a lot better, just waiting for my web designer to finish it and by that I mean my BF.

[Muddle Jewellery]

Just noticed what you were talking about, I've forgotten to remove the 'online ordering will be available soon' bit

Thanks for telling me that.

I'll remove that now.

[nattynetty]

It's realy interesting to hear your opinion as an overseas customer as overseas P&P is something we've found a complete nightmare to price up and I know our solution is far from ideal but the best we could think of.

We offer shipping worldwide (with some exceptions including countries well known for scamming) and we simply weren't able to make the P&P an easy understandable thing for overseas. There are some punches that sell for £9.50 but would cost £11 to send to Australia whereas other items are very light and a customer can order £40 of stuff with the shipping only costing £2.50 - trying to set a flat rate with this in mind is near impossible, I've tried.

Trying to cover our bums (in the instance of the heavy punches) and also trying to be fair to the customers we charge the actual postage cost from the Post Office. Unfortunately it does mean either a customer has to contact us first and pay through Paypal or pay a hefty P&P charge that our system will automatically apply and then be refunded the difference manually by me once the weight has been calculated. Our shop software can calculate the weight (and shipping cost) of an order if the weight of every single item is inputted onto our database but with over 2000 products it's something I can't even begin to tackle :mummy:

I know how frustrating it is having to contact the shop to enquire about P&P but it seems to be the fairest option available to us. Also, have to hold my hand up and admit we don't shout about shipping overseas, you'd certainly need to hunt around our site to find that info out.

Hmmm lots to think about for when our website gets revamped next month :confused:

[littlesnuggler]

Good point about overseas postage. I think I'll have a computer evening tonight (whilst watching Holby) and sort mine out.

Thanks for pointing it out.

[Sprinkles]

Hands up guilty as charged.

I have never thought about people from other countries looking at my site!
Im totally oblivious to anyone outside the UK!

Im going to look into oversees prices now.

Anyone have any idea how to work it out?!

[ilovecrafts]

nattynetty

i do fully understand the dfficulties, especially for a site such as yours, where the weight will vary so much.
I would think that many people will generally know whether something is going to be light or heavy, although not to the exact gramme of course.

Maybe marking the heavy items only as a warning, might be an idea.
Certainly putting on aGUIDE to postage costs, with pricing bands per weight, as charged by the Post office,would give the potential customer an approximate idea of what to expect.
It would also be useful to know the likely appx weight of the packaging as that could well also affect the final costs

[ilovecrafts]

Sprinkles

"Hands up guilty as charged. "

Not accusing anyone!!:D
trying to help really, cos , unless I'm totally weird,and the only person in the whole world concerned about postage, lack of clear information,or none at all could well = lost sale!

[ezzyam]

Great advice. I will make sure mine is changed too.

[ilovecrafts]

Little snuggler

yep, probs there too Helen
had looked at your site, nice stuff btw, but my kids are all past that age, so didnt delve into P&P!
You show a + £xxx for P&P, which must be UK only, but mention acceping cheques from Uk buyers only,whichimplies you'll sell abroad, so a customer could be forgiven for thinking the shown P&P is for everywhere.


BTW have you thought of making/offering adult snugglers, cos wrapping a blanket around always leaves a draught or two, and i have thought a few times how nice it would be to have somethinglike that on coldwinter evenings (no central heating!)

[ilovecrafts]

Natty netty

have just had a better look at your site

" Postage and Packing outside the UK but within Europe shows as a standard charge of £8.50 which will be automatically added to your order. However once the actual postage has been calculated you will receive a refund through Paypal for any over-payment you have made up to a maximum of £6.00. " etc for other countries


You mentioned earlier that you CANT do a flat rate, but the above implies to me that the overseas charges are a MAXIMUM. Is that correct?

If not and the payment can also be amended upwards, then the info needs to reflect that.
If it IS a maximum, may I suggest you change the P&P box on the right of screens to show Europe max.., Usa/Canada Max pp, etc, and then see our T&Cs for full details.

[Poppy4lee]

Re the overseas postage, to be honest, I would find it impossible to quote an accurate price, prior to knowing exactly what someone wanted.
I do quote a price on eBay but, in reality, it is over the odds (just to cover myself) and I do believe that quoting this price may actually be prohibitive, hence I've removed it from some listings.

Personally, I'm quite happy to contact overseas suppliers about their shipping costs (I do this on a frequent basis) & on some occasions it has actually saved me some money as they were able to base their costing on my precise order. Likewise, when overseas eBay customers contact me I can give an accurate cost, which is normally lower than the 'standard' amount I've quoted.

[Sprinkles]

I've been looking on the Royal Mail Webby, and found what i've been looking for!

Im going to weigh my jewellery and find an average weight.
Then find out the average cost to send to Europe, then the rest of the world.
Add my packaging ontop, then hope for the best!

Eeek, i find this kind of thing very hard!

[nattynetty]

You mentioned earlier that you CANT do a flat rate, but the above implies to me that the overseas charges are a MAXIMUM. Is that correct?

If not and the payment can also be amended upwards, then the info needs to reflect that.


Yup we'll never charge over those amounts for P&P - clear as mud isn't it? The number of times I've said to hubby that we need to do something with our overseas P&P as I know it's confusing.

I love your idea of putting an indication of whether an item is heavy to post and definitely taking on board the guide suggestion - as the site's being revamped it's the perfect time to draw up some examples to put on the FAQ section we'll be creating.

PS. And well done for actually finding the overseas bit on our site :D

[ilovecrafts]

ezzyam

Penny,lovely site and products.
don't think I looked there before, as married too long, kids are way past baby age, etc...

Only indication of P&P is once gone through to Paypal, and even then I presume that's UK only, so for me that's too late !

[ilovecrafts]

Popy 4 Lee
AS stsated i do appreciate the dificulties.
I would not necessarily have a problem contacting suppliers, but some indication can always be useful, as comparison of sites (for me) wouldnt just be the cost of items, but how muchp&p on top,which couldmake a big difference!
You P& P page is really good though, very clear and easy to understand, so with a site such as yours, and that information so clearly dispayed, I would contact you for prices for delivery!

[ilovecrafts]

Probably the best lay out I have come across so far for P&P costs is a belgian site bricolart (apart from the FREE worldwide ones:D)

an example is

Europe0-100gr100-500gr500-1000gr1-2kg2-3kg3-4kg4-5kg5-10kg2.00€3.50€5.00€6.00€8.00€10.00€12.00€18.00€Rec orded delivery : +3.50€.
If the order amount is higher than 100 € (excl. shipping costs and fidelity discount), we pay for recorded costs. So you only pay shipping costs on a standard basis.

AdmittedlyI wont know the exact weight of any order, but I would have a pretty good idea, and could contact them to find out the exact weight to either remove /add something, to make it more cost effective.The breakdown is quite clear, and they also show costs for courier delivery

http://www.bricolart.be/Site/VenteTableFraisPort_EN.php to see their complete layout shouldanyone be interested.

[ezzyam]

ezzyam

Penny,lovely site and products.
don't think I looked there before, as married too long, kids are way past baby age, etc...

Only indication of P&P is once gone through to Paypal, and even then I presume that's UK only, so for me that's too late !

Thank you for your lovely comments. I have e mailed my web guy ( I wish I was able to sort things out for myself!!) I also noticed that when I go to checkout it says if I use AOL to close page. If I do that how does the customer pay ( I was trying it out as if I was customer ) Does anyone else have the same problem??

[Focus on Life]

In the absence of a website, I only have my Blog for now but I only remembered to even add a comment about overseas orders when I read Ilovecrafts feedback to another forum member the other day - so thanks for these tips about our overseas visitors, we're lucky to have them seeing our sites, so its really valuable to see things from their perspective

I havent got my head around any postage costs for my stuff yet, everything differs in size so much! :confused: That's why I havent dived onto Etsy just yet, I guess I need to do some test packaging and weigh things to get a good idea of what to charge first

Until then, cos each of my items is quoted individually anyway, Ive just added a single line to say I can arrange to deliver overseas but will calculate P&P into the overall no obligation quote - hope that looks OK for now?

Shaz x

[Sprinkles]

Its numbing my head!

I have been weighing my jewellery, using the kitchen scales. My heaviest item with a box, tissue, jiffy bag, and jewellery came to 90g.

I then looked on Royal Mail site, picked a country, i choose Spain as Ilovecrafts is there ;)

This is what it came up with PRICES (http://sg.royalmail.com/portal/rm/PriceFinderResults?pageId=pc_sltc_rm_results&keyname=rmPriceFinderResults&catId=23500532)

I dont want to sound dense, but what is the best way to send it!? :o

[ilovecrafts]

That seems fine to me Shaz, especially as your items are all made to order, and the weight will vary depending on what goes in the frames. Obviously as you start selling more and more , you'll be able to give a rough guide based on size and weight of basic frame box. Obviously the weight of things like medals and whstle could throw the item into next price band!



btw Thanks for the rep!:D

[Focus on Life]

Obviously the weight of things like medals and whstle could throw the item into next price band!

btw Thanks for the rep!:D

Yeah, thats a point, glad you mentioned that - when the time comes, it'll be interesting to see the weight difference between a big frame with lightweight keepsakes in and another with medals & whistles & the like in......maybe I'll always have to calculate my postage individually per bespoke item?!.....oh I'll worry about that when I start weighing! :) ....so long as what I've put for now lets overseas visitors know theyre welcome, thats good enough for me!

Well deserved rep!
Thanks
Shaz x

[ilovecrafts]

Not really sure sparkles
cheapest option seems surface mail 0.77p, but that can take from 14 days, small air packet 1.19, from 3 days. both offer compensation up to £34 so also depends on value of item.
I wouldn't if it was me go for recorded delivery as it's a lot more, unless the customer wants it, (offer as an option) OR if 1st item is reported as not arrivig, then when sending a replacement I'd have rec.del, just in case customer is trying to pull a fast one! ( unless it's a regular customer you can trust!)
I'd suggest you get a few sample packages weighed at the post office too, just to make sure your scales and theirs agree!, and don't forget to factor in the cost of the packaging!

[Sprinkles]

Thank you :)

I have written down my new notes to add to my site tomorrow about postage.

Such a booooring task, but a well worth while one.

Ill add a suitable postage i think, £1.19 sounds good then add on my packaging.

Thanks again :D

Off to bed now :sleep:

[Funkyhand]

This is a really interesting thread. I have to admit that I made my life easy by having free postage and packing worldwide. But I know that's not an option for everyone. Good luck everyone getting something that works for you.
Anice xx:):)

[Poppy4lee]

Popy 4 Lee
You P& P page is really good though, very clear and easy to understand, so with a site such as yours, and that information so clearly dispayed, I would contact you for prices for delivery!

Thank you for that, it's always difficult to know how clear these things are to other people. It may be as clear as a bell to me but as clear as mud to someone else!

I'm really grateful that you've taken the time to look at my site - thank you.

[missXzzim]

I changed my homepage text last week to announce international shipping, and also a link to a break down of costs.....

This was all following a post i made in this forum asking about international sales, where i did get a suggestion that learning about P&P once you're in the basket was too late.

I couldn't believe my eyes when on Friday morning there as an order from Brazil in my inbox. I know it's mostly coincidence that this has occurred so immediately...but it certainly scared me about the number of sales i might have lost because international buyers looked at my .co.uk URL, read my homepage, and ran away.

I have accepted that i win some and lose some on postage- i have gone for free postage on £100+ spend, and have found that it encourages people to add more items to basket to top it over the limit.

Kerry

[Focus on Life]

I couldn't believe my eyes when on Friday morning there as an order from Brazil in my inbox. I know it's mostly coincidence that this has occurred so immediately...but it certainly scared me about the number of sales i might have lost because international buyers looked at my .co.uk URL, read my homepage, and ran away.

I have accepted that i win some and lose some on postage- i have gone for free postage on £100+ spend, and have found that it encourages people to add more items to basket to top it over the limit.

Kerry

Thats another good suggestion if you have a few high enough value items to make up a big order, I might be able to use that thought when the time comes - thanks :)

...and I've come to believe there are no such things as coincidences! You were meant to get that order, well done for heeding good advice so promptly!

Shaz x

[ilovecrafts]

Kerry

as your delivery charges are so simple ,and if you are worried that peopele may be put off by .co.uk, and not look further,why not consider putting something on home page
Maximun worldwide delivery £10
(maybe add a link ) see delivery page for full details.
lovely site btw. beautiful products! just wish I could knit,but can barely distinguish one end of a knitting needle from the other:sm: