On the Buy page, you will see a Galleria of ‘choice’ items on display. Product categories are located down the left hand side. Click on a title to display available sub-categories. If you think that no category exists which will suit your products, then please send a request for an additional category or sub-category to contact@thecraftconvention.com for our consideration.
In your studio, you may only display crafted items, which you have already made for sale. The photo shown must be of the actual item(s) that is(are) for sale. Group photos of multiple stock items are permitted. It is not permissible to describe additional items for sale, which are not yet made or displayed e.g ‘similar, but available in other colours’. You may stock as few or as many items as you wish in your studio, so please display every item in your range. If you wish to sell customised, commissioned or bespoke items, please use our Subscribers Directory service.
Please do not add personal e-mail or address details in your descriptions. This may compromise your privacy and could be open to abuse.
Failure to comply with these requirements will lead to your items not receiving approval.
- Getting Started
Have your:
Digital photo(s) of each item accessible on your PC;
Your email address and The Craft Convention password, as entered on your Studio application.
- It may help you to print out this list of instructions.
- Next Steps
On the Home Page, click on My Studio (top right hand corner)
At the Login Box, put in your email address and the password.
You will now arrive at the Noticeboard page. Here, you will find details of goods you have sold and other news on a daily basis.
- On your first visit click on My Profile, so that you can check and, if necessary, update your details. You can change your password here at any time.
- Click on My Items. Here you can add new products or change the details or pictures of items already on display.
a) To add a new item, click on Add at the top of the page.
b) At the Add Item screen, fill in the information, as requested:
● Give your product a name
● Choose a category and a sub-category where it will be displayed (you can select up to 3 different locations)
● Write a description of the item – go to Description Hints for essential information
● Add the dimensions and weight – if your product is an irregular shape, give the maximum sizes in each direction, you can always explain in more detail in the description box.
● Add the price in GBP (£)
● If you are V.A.T. registered, you must charge V.A.T. and show the amount separately here.
● Add the cost of postage and packing by recorded delivery, special delivery or courier service - go to Postage & Packing Hints
● Add the number of this item that you have in stock.
c) Click on Add Product. Click Yes at the check box.
d) You will return to the My Items page.
Now you will see:
● An empty picture frame ready for your photos,
● Your product name. (Click on this to review your Description. You may update the information if you want. If you don’t want to make any changes, click on My Items at the You are here prompt to return to the previous page.) Below are listed the categories you have selected.
● A red cross button on the right hand side. (This will remove your product from your list when you have sold it.)
● The stock level. When adding a new product, you are asked for an 'Opening Stock' level. When items are sold, your stock level will depreciate accordingly. To adjust you stock levels, simply click on the stock link under each product in your items list.
e) To add a picture of your product, click on the empty picture frame. You will now go to the My Items: Upload Photos screen. From here, you will be able to add a photo(s) of your item from you own computer – see Photo Hints.
f) Click on Browse and a Choose file prompt box will appear. Locate the picture of your product from its source (e.g. your My Pictures folder on your PC ), click on it and then click on Open.
g) You will return to the My Items: Upload Photos screen. The location of your selected photo will now appear in the Browse box, click Upload. A check box will appear asking you to confirm your actions. Click Yes.
h) You will see the upload process taking place – this may take a few seconds. When it is complete, you will return to the My Items page. You can now check that the picture of your product has been added to your list.
i) On the right hand side of the list, you will see Awaiting Approval. Your newly added items will normally be approved to appear on The Craft Convention Buy page within 24 hours. The approval system is simply to ensure that products are hand crafted and meet the criteria cited in the Terms and Conditions.
- Repeat the processes in Section 5 to add as many products as you wish to your studio. When you have finished, click on Log out in the My Studio menu (top left hand section of the page).
- To return to the home page, click Home at the You are here prompt, or Buy at the top of the page.
The My Blog and Preferences prompts are currently under development.
Description Hints
The words you use in your description are crucial with internet sales.
You have got to be found!
A few well-chosen words will help a customer find your product amongst all the others on the web. Imagine yourself as a customer wanting to buy your product. What words could you type in to a search engine to find it? These are known as key words.
You do not want goods returned!
If your description is incomplete, the product may fall short of your customer’s expectations, so then they return the goods and they are entitled to a full refund including postage and packing. This is costly and looses credibility and so needs to be avoided.
Include a wide range of key words in your description;
Specific colour (e.g. emerald green)
Textile (e.g. mohair in addition to wool)
Material (e.g. beech in addition to wood)
Product type (e.g. photographic print or original artwork)
Product description. This is your opportunity to be entertaining and captivating as well as adding descriptive detail and technical accuracy.
Give a clear indication of its purpose (e.g. dining-table or coffee-table)
Posting, Packing & Dispatch Hints
Make sure you know the cost of postage and packing in advance.
The total price of your product must include the cost of postage and packing. You will need to calculate this for each product that you are selling and enter it in the appropriate box when ‘adding items’ to display in your studio.
When one of your products is sold, you will be notified and then it will be your responsibility to send the goods to the customer within 5(five) working days. Clearly, you will need to package it so that it is adequately protected against damage in the post.
To avoid fraud, only dispatch to the billing address, not to any other address given.
Your product must be sent Recorded Delivery because it is important that the progress of your product can be tracked from the moment of dispatch until it’s delivery to avoid future disputes about whether it was sent or received.
Prices are currently approx £1 to £3:40, depending on weight, up to 1kg. Maximum compensation for loss is £32. Heavier items can be calculated, but you should compare with the cost of Special Delivery.
If your product is especially heavy or valuable, you should use Special Delivery, which includes both recorded delivery and greater compensation in case of loss. Prices currently start at £4:10 and can cover items up to 10kg weight and £2,500 value.
For some large, valuable or fragile goods (e.g. furniture, ceramics or glass) you may prefer to use a Courier Service. Again, make sure you know exactly how much this is going to cost in advance.
Royal Mail produce a useful leaflet ‘Pricing Made Easy’ and a booklet ‘Mail Made Easy’ which will help you, or go to www.royalmail.com for current prices.
Photo Hints
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Tempting photos sell products, so it is worth taking the time to photograph your products carefully.
Taking a good photo with a digital camera.
Make sure your products are well lit so that the photo gives a true reproduction of colours. Use strong natural daylight or flash, provided you can avoid unsightly or confusing shadows. If you are using artificial light, then use daylight bulbs, as these will give the best colour rendering.
Think about the colour balance and composition of the picture. Arrange your products artistically, but ensure that the customer will have a clear and full picture of the product – no unexpected surprises just out of view!
Make sure the image is sharp, avoid camera shake by supporting it if necessary. The resolution of the picture should not be too high, and as the image will be cropped to a square shape for display on the Buy page, try to arrange the view to fit within a central square area. Once the buyer selects an image for a more detailed look, the whole picture will be displayed in its original format.
Currently, you can upload one photo of your product, but we hope to increase this to three pictures of each product soon.
Preparing to transfer the pictures to your Craft Convention Studio.
Once you are happy with the photos you have taken with your digital camera, plug your camera in to your computer, Download and Save them in the usual way. If you are experienced in digital photography, you may wish to enhance your photos before saving them. Make sure you have rotated any pictures that need it, so that they are all the right way up, ready for uploading into your studio.
Make sure you know where your photos are on your system (e.g. your My Pictures folder within your My Documents folder). Check that you can easily see which picture is which (e.g. ensure that in the View command, you have selected Thumbnails).
You will use this same route to locate your photo with the Browse button when you Upload Photos. |
