Friday 4 April 2008

Problems with Listing Products

In the event that you have problems listing any products and the system states that you have an 'invalid format', below I provide the best way to identify the problem.
Start by listing the very basics to add a product: ie: Product Name, Price (remember no £ sign), leave picture blank, Shipping put as 0 for each destination, Category, just put in one ,Description leave blank.Do not tick the active box. Now submit product. This should load easily , if it does not then there may be an oddity in your pricing, or description. In this case take out any stars,commas, underling, exclaimations etc.
Now go back into the product under ADD/EDIT PRODUCT. Repeat each step adding one extra thing each time. It is advisable to start with the picture (this is usually the cause of an invalid format) Make sure you have run it through the resizer on the Home Page and that you are trying to upload the correct copy that you saved and not the original 'big' file. If you follow these steps you should discover which area is causing you problems.
I hope that this helps, if not please contact me directly .

Sunday 30 March 2008

What is Youcraftylot.com

Youcraftylot.com is a website dedicated to the buying and selling of handmade crafts of all kinds.
It has been set up by Hazel Ann Allen to provide the cheapest venue for sellers to display their goods and not be charged enormous fees for doing so. It is free to join and set up shop, there are No Commission fees on sales, there is just a small 10pence per item listing fee, for 4 months listing. Based in the UK, the site is open to all crafters from around the world. It has been designed to be as simple as possible , and below are instructions for setting up shop, and advice on how everything works once that is done. This is sure to become one of the biggest sites for craft makers everywhere. The site went live in Nov 2007 and this month alone we have had
153 thousand hits, not bad for a new site.
If youre a crafter, this site is not to be missed, where else could you advertise for 10pence for 4 months!If your a buyer, then come on in and take a look at all the very talented people and the crafts they make.

How does YouCraftylot.com work?

Congratulations, you have set up your shop.
To help you find your way around, here are some instructions on how things work.

When you log on you are presented with your Seller Account options;

Update contact/ address info Change information by deleting what is there and adding new information. You can not change Seller Name/Shop Name or Picture.
Add/Edit Product Add a new product or edit ANY of the existing product details.
Adding a New Product. Before using this option make sure you have resized photos. You MUST Use the link on the HOME page (bottom left hand corner, click on the word HERE) The resizer not only makes your pictures smaller, but also reduces their mega bytes and keeps the picture in focus. By doing this the site loads quickly when people are viewing your products. It takes 40 seconds approx. If you try to do this whilst adding a product, you will be ‘timed out’.
Product Name. This line appears on your Sales Invoice, so if you have multiple identical products it is best to put a code number here.
Price. Do not add £, $, € just the price ie .50 or 1.25
Shipping. Again do not add currency signs. If you do not ship abroad, put 0 and make it clear on your listing and Seller Profile where you ship to. In addition as each product is added a box under ADD/EDIT PRODUCT asks you to tick if you are able to ship abroad.
Categories. You can put your product in up to 6 categories. Category A identifies what the item actually is, Category B is when you know who you’re buying for but not what you want. You can change the categories under EDIT product. Products placed in clearly the wrong category may be moved by admin.
Active Box. Click this to activate a product to show in your Public Shop. If you take your goods to a craft fair/ go on holiday, you can un-activate them for a time, however the four month countdown will continue.
Description of Product. What is it, what is it made from, how was it made, its size, how you will post it, gift-boxed etc. Any details you feel the customer should know to make an informed choice on your product.
Submit. Details should load in at most 30 seconds. Look at them in your shop to check all details are correct.

Expired Listings. Once you add a product it shows a date 4 months hence when it will expire. Upon this date, your product goes to Expired Listings as does any sold product. In this way, if you have another similar product, you do not have to reinput all the details. You then decide if you wish to relist. You will need to check that the item is active in your shop, and that the details remain correct. (in line with other craft selling sites we have recently changed the 4 week listing to 4 months, your product may show the incorrect expiry date, this is currently being altered by the coders. When completed all products will have the correct 4 month expiry timing, we apologise for this .)

Postage Discounts. If a customer buys more than 1 item, you can choose the amount of items it would relate to and the amount of discount allowed. I.e., if you choose range 2 to 4 items at 50% and your postage normally is £1.00 , then if the customer orders 3 items , the normal postage would be £3 but it is reduced to £1.50 . ( this is all done automatically by the system)

Orders. When a customer orders and pays for an item, Paypal will send a confirmation note to your own email address , stating if the funds are cleared, the customers registered address, what they have ordered, and any special notes to the seller.
You will also get a New Order notice in your YCL New Orders Section.
It shows what they have ordered, their registered address with YCL and most importantly their Shipping Address. The customer can change the shipping address whilst processing the order and payment, and this is the address you should post to.
You must include an invoice with your order, and it must contain contact details other than just your YCL address.

Insufficient Funds. Paypal will inform you if payment has cleared or is pending awaiting funds. Quite often customers have insufficient funds left in their paypal account to pay what is owed. (this is not a problem, most people do not keep large sums in their Paypal account) If they are Verified, (ie linked to their bank account) Paypal requests the funds automatically, however it can take upto 10 working days for the funds to clear, and you are advised Not to dispatch your order till clearance is confirmed by PayPal. In this event, please email the buyer so that they are aware of the situation.

Amount Owed. This is the amount of fees owed to YCL. It is now 10pence per item. When your total reaches £2 you will be prevented from adding more products until the fees have been paid. When you press PAY it will take you to Paypal. Some shops will never reach £2 as their items are complex and only a few are made. If this is the case, effectively they will never pay any fees, as we will not collect under £2.

Cancellation. You can cancel your shop at any time, please contact Admin and this will be done for you. Shops that remain empty of goods for approx 8 weeks will be deleted, however the seller may rejoin at a later date.

Home Page. This shows the last 12 items listed.
Shop By Store Name. These will be rotated so that all stores (except empty ones) will appear on the first page from time to time.

You Crafty Lot is all about YOU the crafter.
The site has been set up and is run by Hazel Ann Allen (Hazel’s Crafts)
I have crafted for 30 years and aim to provide a way
for you to show your goods to a worldwide audience
without having to pay vast sums of money for the service.
I will never charge a commission fee
because you should not be penalised for doing well.
You are welcome to check out our stats on http://www.youcraftylot.com/stats/
Welcome and Good Luck
We have recently joined Top50Crafters, if you click on the logo at the bottom of the home page once a day, we will soon be on our way to the top of the list.

How do i set up shop on Youcraftylot.com

How do I Set Up Shop/ Sign Up as New Seller


There are some simple steps you need to take before filling in the Sign Up as a New Seller Form.

1. PAYPAL. You need a Paypal Account which allows you to receive money from customers. You can use the link on the sign up screen. When completed you will find that your PayPal ID is your email address. (Although we provide a link to Paypal it is a totally separate company and we do not hold or have access to your financial records.)


2. SELLER NAME. This should be your real name or at least the name on your email address.


3. PICTURE. Using the resizer link on the Home page (bottom left hand corner, click on the word HERE) and reduce your pictures in size.( 600 x 450pixels and under 1.3 mb). It takes about 40 seconds.. Use this facility to resize your product photos and they will load quickly onto this site. You can not change the photo later for your shop, but product photos can be changed. Even if you have a resizer on your computer, for some strange technical reason, our system only accepts it if run through the resizer linked to this site. The resizer facility is free.

4. Telephone Number./Address This is required by UK distance selling laws and must be input here.

5. SHOP NAME. What do you want your shop to be called? This can not be changed later.


6. SELLER PROFILE. Briefly tell people a little about yourself , and any standard information about your shop/products ie returns policy etc. You can add to this later. It is also a good idea to put a contact email address here
Once you have set up a shop I will send some notes on how everything works, although I have tried to make things as simple as possible if you have any questions I will only be too happy to help you.