Mesha, but you're not a seller !

Hello again :)
Already halfway through September and I've not blogged at all. I'm really sorry.
At this point, I'm trying my best to adjust my schedule to what used to be my life. I hardly have time for "myself" so I'm really trying hard to get stuff done while juggling everything else. Blogging has always been important to me, so even if I'll take a while, I'll keep blogging for you all :)
I saw this in Etsy front page today and it completely made my day, sleepyking did it again with one of her Halloween items :D I guess I'm not the only one really excited about this holiday ! - it might come as a totally radical change in topic, but last night I went into Etsy chat for the first time in weeks. I was surprised to see how many of my "regulars" have been replaced by people I had never seen. It's kinda sad, but eh, life goes on :] I did find Linds from LathersbyLinds and she gave me a sneak peek of her upcoming products. Whipped soap, anyone ? Am I the only one who can say for the first time this soap REALLY looks edible ! Resembles some sort of meringue dessert to mind, and I can already feel my stomach grumble. It must smell as good as it looks and I'll have a very hard time trying not to eat it when I purchase :'D
Anyway ! my last post was a very impromptu poll, for which I got only one vote and am okay with, since I know it's nobody's fault but mine. Someone said you gotta keep the public entertained, which I haven't done properly :'D Either way, said poll was to get a little help with a post, so I'll take the idea I was given.

More seller tips, from a buyer's insight ! It's funny how many people have said "Mesha, but you're NOT a seller !" - this is why it should be even more helpful, I'm giving you the pro's and con's from a buyers POV, but well well, to each their own ;]

Who doesn't love presents ? I've always had a weak point for packaging, specially the packaging of stuff I got off Etsy. Back in the day I made a post about steppie's outstanding packaging and secretly asked myself why not all my packages had been that pretty. See, the thing is that when you buy something you love an awesome outstanding presentation. Have you ever been to one of those fancy bakeries ? They wrap up everything in tissue paper, then a box and a cute ribbon. Can't you tell me we all love stuff of the sort ? I'm sorry, but wrapping my items in bubble wrap and stuffing them into a mailer is just not enough. Even bubble wrapping is an art, perhaps you could use some really cute decorative tape ? Tissue paper even ! I once got a pretty journal that had been wrapped in matching tissue paper and then bubble wrap. It was something small and maybe you'd think it just wouldn't matter, but believe me, small details ARE important ! If you're selling a scarf, fold it nicely, wrap it in tissue paper and use a coordinating ribbon. Most fabric items( clothes, bags, accessories...) can be wrapped this way and it gives your shop a great presentation. I've seen some shops have their own personalized boxes/mailers made. I know it must be pricey, but you could get a nice stamp to personalize your packaging. The key, is being creative. Even packaging has etiquette ;]

Now, making your packaging pretty and outstanding it's not everything. It has to be durable. The other day I got a package that was gorgeously wrapped, but one of the items(stationery) got here in pretty bad shape. The seller decided to shove my papers (wrapped in a cute cello bag and tissue paper) without a hard backing. I don't know most of you, but I live in Mexico City and packages take their sweet old time to get here. What's worse, is that some sellers ship whenever they're pleased and don't bother on letting me know when they do. I've had items arrive to me a day before they are marked as shipped. Seriously ? There's a difference between forgetting to mark items as shipped and actually forgetting to ship. If your shop policies say my items will be shipped in 1-2 business days I expect them to be shipped in 1-2 business days. It would be very nice if you could contact me explaining why my purchase will not be shipped until 3 days later or a week. I'm a very difficult customer, especially when it comes to shipping times. I know I can expect my items to arrive within 8 days, so I can get a little feisty when they haven't gotten to my doorstep in 10. Make sure to let your customers know when their items have been shipped - maybe not a conversation, but at least mark the item as "shipped" when it has been done. Regular buyers check their items' status almost daily (or 3 times a day in some cases... Lol. Image bellow is from SpiceRakDesigns, they have the cutest vintage style aprons on Earth).
Now, speaking of difficult customers. Have you ever had to deal with that "picky" person ? You know, the ones who will change their mind every few minutes. Or those who want a return/refund because their item didn't look exactly like the one pictured. Dealing with returns is very hard, and as a buyer I'll advice to not offer refunds. Maybe store credits, that's a good idea, but cash(paypal) just don't seem like a smart idea. I think it's safe to say not everyone out there is a reasonable or rational as we'd expect, so sometimes you can just hope for the better. When you have to deal with a difficult person, the best is to just sit, listen and try to be patient. Think of it as being in an actual brick and mortar shop and having to watch the lady try the same blouse in 29 different shades. I've heard people say "anything for a sale !", well, this is one of those "anythings", be patient and you'll be rewarded.

Patience didn't do much for you ? Then this is a worst case scenario. Your customer is just not happy with their purchase. Now, there will be those customers who just shrug it off and said "well, I got it off the Internet..." which is terrible, one less person around your venue. Luckily, or not, this is a very rare case. Most of the time you'll be contacted by a less than please customer - you need to be careful about this. Give a partial refund in store credits, replace the item or make a great offer, but remember what they say: the customer is always right. In the handmade business, as much as in any other, it's a constant tugging game: you put this, take that, give and lose. It's all for the well being of your shop and someday you'll look back and be thankful you decided to be careful, pleasing and rational.

Random poll

So I'll be out of town this weekend.
I have to work on;
~3 school projects
~2 letters
~1 story update
~2 blog posts
Though, my 2 blog posts are due in a long-term kinda thing, so I need your help guys !
I'll take the first comment on this one: what do you want me to write about ?
Whoever gets it first and it's something worth my time and some common sense I'll gladly post about it.
In the meantime, have a lovely weekend, heard it's a 3 day-weekend ? :o
Mesha♥

Well herro there

Hello everyone ! This is a quick post to announce a few things :)

First, I'd like you to know I'm pretty aware of not having blogged much last month. This will change as for September, I promise to have many surprises under my sleeve this month :)

Now if any of you remembers, last week a giveaway for a chance to win a sampler pack of organic tea was running, and now I've picked out a winner ! The process as usual was completely fair and random, and well, the winner for the tea giveaway is...
Congrats Skatterbrainz ! I'll be contacting you shortly for your information :) Thanks everyone who joined, I got a total of 24 entries which seems fair for an non-blogging month, my bad ^^;

Anyway this is it for now, very short post I know ! There are still 2 ad spots left for this month so if anybody is interested you can go here and purchase your spot before the 10th :)

Mesha♥

Good for your soul; good4you

~News & Announcements~

~School started on Monday :D It's trying to murder me only in the first week, so I haven't been able to get on much. Rumor has it I've been missed but who knows ;]
~I have a few surprises stored for you guys ! All to make up for the lack of posts, has anyone noticed how I've had less than 5 posts for August ? Omg :o
~There are 4 ad spots open for September, come and get yours now :D
Now onto the cool. How many of us like tea ? I know many of us do. It's my drink of choice everywhere I go, let it be breakfast, lunch or dinner I'll always drink tea (or orange soda, but that's besides the question). It's very hard to find good blends here you know ? They're all either pre-made or simply someone felt like mixing chamomile with hibiscus and that was their brilliant idea. I like intricate flavors and mouthwatering scents, and those two are what you'll be able to find in good4you.
~What is good4you?
Good4you is a small organic handmade tea company run by one, me Jess!

~When was the idea born, were you taught to make all your blends?
I was inspired to make these teas after taking an amazing class in college. It was a basic class on herbs, but it was in a greenhouse. I was so drawn to the fact that plants have amazing medicines to offer us. Also one night I had a stomach ache/really bad cramps. One of my good friends made me a blend from whatever was in the kitchen. Using herbs like rosemary, peppermint, cinnamon, lemon balm and even cayenne! It was such a weird tea but it worked wonders! Starting with ginger and peppermint, I started making more teas like this for people in my dorm. Then requests for new teas were born from all my friends! Blends are still inspired today from good4you fans!
~Do you sell locally? How easy is it?
I sell to natural food stores and coops in my area. It's seriously just a phone call away to have your products in your town's shops! I can get pretty shy, so it's a good thing for me to break through this and get out there! It's super rewarding too.

~What's your opinion regarding mass-produced teas vs. organic blends ?
In all cases, I believe handmade is the way to go. Then organic is a great choice! AN even better choice I've found is to have your own garden. This year I managed to grow over half the plants in my tea! I hope to grow even more herbs next year. Mass produced teas tend to have sat on store shelfs for a really long time. I think more thought and love gets put into locally made and hand made goodies!
~Overall, why could you recommend organic blends ?
Organic blends are pesticide, fungicide and chemical fertilizer free. All these components tend to leave a really bad impact on the environment. If land has been un-naturally fertilized, the chemicals could potentially live in the soil for years as well as "running off" into our rivers and water supply. Organic methods, if done correctly, as more environmentally friendly and farmers tend to have more care for there work. All around, I believe organic has more love put into it, especially if you know the farmers. I definitely go with intention.
~Is there any advice you have for Etsy sellers?
I would find your favorite, most successful shops and pick and choose your favorite qualities about them to help your own business. Whether it be awesome pictures, good customer interaction and of course promotion! I'm still learning, I think we always do, so don't ever get discouraged. Just find a new approach! And no matter what, remember you're doing it for fun and it makes you happy!
good4you wants only the best for your body and soul, so guess what ? That's right, lovely Jess is having a giveaway ! The lucky winner will get a Chakra Sampler Pack ! All you have to do to enter is comment here :D(1) you can also go to good4you shop and let us know in a comment which is your favorite item(1) ! For another 2 additional entries you can either blog about this(1) and tweet(1) ! Make sure to comment each entry separately with links to your blog or twitter. This giveaway starts today, Saturday 22nd and ends on Monday 31st so hurry !
Another surprise ! With every purchase you can get a free ounce of Pure Bliss Chai Tea ! Just enter the code "Tea4you" at checkout in the 'message to seller' box (convo me if you have any questions and need a walkthrough the checkout process) and you're set :D Any purchases made from today until the giveaway ends are entered into the drawing too so comment here letting us know what you purchased :D
That's it for our August interview, I hope you enjoyed this and make this giveaway as successful as the others, you know you'd love to win one of this amazing blends !
Mesha♥

News, Giveaways and Hello Kitty

Hello everyone !
I know I'm a little behind the usual schedule of interviewing on the 15th and 30th of each month, please bear with me school has just started and even if I love my blog to bits, school is first and foremost for a teenager, isn't it ? At least it should be haha.

I know I haven't been in Etsy chat a lot either, stuff has been going on and I've found myself feeling a little alien there, so I'd rather stay out of it for a while and until I feel like osm Mesha again ;] I can assure you there will soon be an interview posted ! I'm working on something with two amazing Etsy sellers so you'll have something worth the read soon, and I also want to give you a heads up on an awesome giveaway !

Sarah, owner of Sarahahaha & polygnome is hosting her second Hello Kitty giveaway in her blog ! I'm a huge HK fan so this seems like a great opportunity to me. Go visit her blog and don't miss out on this one !
You could win a Hello Kitty MAC nail polish and some other goodies, go enter now ;]
I promise to update more soon !
Mesha♥