The DON’T DO list, pt 2, to avoid negative feedback

In order to have a successful transaction in internet sales, you need to deliver a great product in a timely fashion, but that is not enough. You must also understand the expectations of your buyers. It is critical to know PayPal’s policies for both buyer and seller protection as well. There are many ways in which good sellers with great products incur negative feedback on Etsy. Some of it is unavoidable, but keeping a high score overall greatly helps your success. As a team of successful sellers with good feedback, we’ve learned how to resolve or avoid most of the situations that result in an unhappy buyer. Here are our best tips to avoid negative feedback:

1) Always reply quickly, and communicate with thorough details and respect. As Estella from Staroftheeast  (feedback score 2333, 100%) says,

Don't keep a question of a buyer or potential buyer unanswered, no matter how bad, negative or annoying the question/problem is. Not answering is the worst you can do, and will only make a buyer very angry :)
p.s. I have seen lots of sellers who got their neg. or neutral feedback because of lack of communication and/or not answering convo's.

handmade necklace entitled Dragon’s Skin from Staroftheeast

2) Give precise details in each listing. Buyers are unhappy when something is larger or smaller than they imagined.

Diane of SignsByDiane (feedback score 855, 100% positive) says:

Please don't leave me guessing just how large or small something is....and since this is a US based site please have measurements posted in inches too.

This Shabby Chic Wedding Sign by SignsByDiane shows the scale of her piece in the listing photo as well as in the listing copy.

3) Take responsibility for your part in the transaction problem. Don’t get overly defensive or blaming- that just polarizes the situation.

As Sarah-Lambert Cook from TuckooandMooCow (feedback score 855, 100%)says:

Don't be afraid to own your mistakes. Customers appreciate knowing and you can often win a fan for life by owning your own mistakes and fixing them right away.

hand painted watercolor earrings from TuckooandMooCow

4) Understand a Buyer’s Rights as interpreted by both PayPal and Etsy.

As Lee of OneClayBead (feedback score 1482, 100%)  has learned:

Don't tell a buyer whose package has just gone missing that they are flat out of luck. Whether you think it is fair or not, you will be held liable for non-delivery in most cases. PayPal will side with a buyer unless you have delivery confirmation and a confirmed address. And even if PayPal sides with you, the buyer can appeal to their credit card holder for a chargeback. So the best approach with a buyer who hasn't received their package is to respond immediately with any info that you have, and a concerned and friendly tone. Make efforts to track down the package. And be prepared to refund all or part of their money if necessary, with courtesy. Having insurance for expensive pieces helps!

ceramic wine goblets, wheel thrown from OneClayBead

5) Actively work towards a win/win resolution. Refrain from unprofessional insults to unhappy buyers.

Heather of HeatherKent (feedback score 691, 100%) wisely advises:

Don't burn any bridges - You don't know which customers will come back and order dozens more items from you! Treat every customer as if they are your only customer.

personalized original art necklace from HeatherKent

Pt 1 of this series is here: http://artisansgalleryteam.blogspot.com/2011/10/dont-do-list-pt-1-shipping.html

Pt 3 coming Monday, 11/24/11

We welcome comments and further suggestions!

Friday what are you working on

Today we start off with StaroftheEast showing us their works in progress.  Staroftheeast, Ester and Estella currently live in Turkey. (their shop profile is quite interesting you should go check that out) Their work is varied and never ever dull...any time I visit their shop I feel like I've gone to an exotic land.  So, today's piece is called The Time Traveler's Wife, this necklace itself is mainly made with vintage watch movements, parts and faces. Below are their photos/descriptions and final results.

 The Time Traveler's Wife (work in progress)

First thing is finding the right material to be able to make what I have in mind. Searching through our nice collection of vintage watch faces and movements. Then finding the correct filigree pieces for the back sides and adorn them with vintage brass flower. The watch movement is on a vintage piece and gets a little face.

Then, I puzzle around to see how I'm going to put the pieces together and I search for the right chains to connect the pieces. As watch and clock pieces are not ment for jewelry I have to clean up the sharp pieces with my good old Dremel.The large piece has no holes so needs to be marked and drilled to be able to attach things on it. And slowly all pieces get connected.

 Besides the necklace I also always create a huge amount of mess

end result!

We where inspired by the magical book of Audrey Niffenegger 'The Time Traveler's Wife'. The Time Traveler's Wife is the extraordinary love story of Clare and Henry who met when Clare was six and Henry thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock periodically resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future. In the face of this force they can neither prevent nor control, Henry and Clare's struggle to lead normal lives is both intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

The gorgeous necklace itself is mainly made with vintage watch movements, parts and faces. Clare is deeply mixed up with the time, the little face is handmade of polymer clay. The necklace is 15'' (38cm) and adjustable till 20'' (51cm). A truly one of a kind piece, perfect for an extraordinary jewelry collection!

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Lee from OneClayBead blogged about her Owl House ornament.  She says, 'When I stare at the chalky grayness of clay,  I use my mind’s eye to give it color. Unlike paint, glaze contains little resemblance to the final fired color, so I have trained myself through the years, to mentally try on my various glazes until I visualize the ones I want. I also choose, first in my imagination, the little embellishments like the wire twig on my Owl House ornament.'.  This item has already sold (congrats!) but she still has other ornaments listed here, go get one before they are all gone!

Shop item description: An owl in its tree hollow, with leaves for it's roof... this is a MUST HAVE for any owl lover! This piece is entirely hand formed out of stoneware clay, with real leaves pressed into the clay, and an individually formed owl inside. I've used permanent oxides and glazes, and a paper and wire hanger with berries. Owl House is 3 3/4" H without the hanger, and a total of 5" with the hanger.

My holiday ornament theme is Woodland Magic, and these are pieces that will go beautifully on a Christmas tree, and may be used as year round decor, too. Owl House can stand alone on a desk if you like.

The owl is a symbol of intuition, and the ability to see through deception. Those who are drawn to the owl are said to have these traits themselves. The Wise Child is my ode to moms who teach the value of intuitive wisdom.

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Jessica from GreenGardenStamps is 'back to work'.  She recently blogged about the behind the scenes of how she makes her digital stamps.  Below:  I first start with a hand drawn pen and ink sketch on white paper, as seen above. I then scan the image and open it in Adobe Illustrator.  (see blog for more photos)

And above, finished product.  This digital stamp was hand drawn and perfected in Illustrator ready to be printed out and used in any number of craft projects! You can re-size it, flip the image, color it in a photo editing program or hand color a print out. Just be sure to test water mediums as printer ink is different than your typical rubber stamping ink. I also like to print it out full sized for the kids and I to color like a coloring book page.

When you purchase this digital stamp, I will email it as a png file measuring approximately 6" x 6" at 300 dpi to you in 24 hours or less to your Etsy email address. If you'd like me to email it to another email address, just leave a message to the seller during checkout. You can also request a jpg file if you'd prefer.

Use this digital stamp for personal use or handmade items to sell on a small scale (like greeting cards or pre-made scrapbook pages). You may not re-sell the image or print outs of the image or use on print on demand sites like Zazzle or CafePress. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

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Thank you for sharing what you are working on!

Creative development

Many artists either have blocks or periods when they don't or can't work at their craft. Today's post will focus on how 4 different artists deal with these challenges and their personal muses or inspirations.

Estella from Star of the East checks in her drawers full of materials for guaranteed results to any creative blocks. She knows that by manipulating and matching the materials, the end result will often be surprising and completely different, "but it did trigger me to create something." Her highly original jewelry is proof.

Laura from Blue Terracotta has preferred rituals when she begins work on her wonderful mosaics and sculptures; "For me, ideas flow when I do what I enjoy, like reading or watching birds from my window, orvisiting a museum. It's not about copying, just that these activities spark creative ideas." She mentions a NY Times article on the endangered northern spotted owl.

"The journalist described it as looking like it was made from Harris tweed. I love making fabric birds, so I thought about starting with an interesting fabric, one that looked like an owl's feathers. I looked for vintage Harris tweed, and some other wools and found a fun vintage plum colored herringbone. Whoever heard of a plum herringbone owl? Maybe no one, but my owls will be warm this winter."

Laura also reads the blog Morbid Anatomy that served as inspiration for her lively Memento Mori piece.

Annette from Dragon House of Yuen collects images for her many scrapbooks and tiny plastic animals as inspiration for her marvelous soft sculptures. She abstracts each animal's scale to create their stuffed counterparts.

She says, "I would spend many hours on the floor with my scraps all around me. They'd be sorted into colors and I would assemble images to compliment each other, and on other pages I would tell a story..."

Annette uses anything that's printed; advertising, postcards, tea bag packets, perfume sample spray sheets...

My own way to get beyond a block is to start by rummaging through my library of art books to not only discover other artists' processes, but to also be inundated by beauty and/or ideas. I'm inspired by reading artists' biographies and the struggles and successes that they experience.

I also watch videos on artists, in which they discuss their own approaches and how they work. One of the best series was created by a former NY gallery owner, Bill Maynes. I recently met an artist, James Lourie, by posting on another art critic's blog. He has a wealth of artist videos stored on his own site. These are a great jumping off point to stimulate a stagnated creative impulse.

One artist in the videos, Grace Hartigan, said that painting creates ideas that then keeps the ideas flowing. I like that.

And I keep all my materials close by and ready - the easel stays set up with dropcloth in place, my box of paints open.

Art really is like everything else; practice makes better. But finding inspiration in everyday things can also create a life long discipline that encourages continual creativity.

Sunday Details

Gold

Staroftheeast

OneClayBead

AmaliaVersaci

 knotoriginal

*KnotOriginal took a Sunday off!  This isn't so easy but I did the best I could! :)