Delivering Your Craft Product

Did you know that the time it takes you to ship your product to your customer has a direct relation to whether or not that customer buys from you again? Although this seems like common sense, many crafter's just "don't get around to" shipping their crafts to customers who have already paid for a week, or more.

If you order something online, you expect it to be shipped within a reasonable amount of time. Three days is reasonable. Thirteen days is not. And the faster your turnaround time is, the more likely you are to get a reorder, particularly from someone who is shopping competitors too.

If your policy is to ship within 24 hours of payment, or every weekday be sure to place that prominently on your ordering page. If you only ship on Saturdays, state that on your ordering page, so that people who may need it as a gift can decide accordingly if they still wish to order. If you will make exceptions, be sure to mention that too.

When a shipping time frame is not mentioned, potential customers will either assume the best or the worst. If you ship in 7 days, but your customer assumes you would ship immediately, you could end up with a cranky customer who demands a shipping or product refund.

You should also take special consideration on how your items are packaged, and what a customer would reasonably be expecting. I recently received a pair of Baby Gap shoes in a paper envelope. What was a reasonable expectation? A bubble envelope, Tyvec mailer, or a small box, particularly since the shipping costs would still have been the same. And on top of the price of shipping, I paid almost a dollar extra for handling. Would I likely order from that seller again? Not a chance.

Also decide on your international shipping policy before hand, whether it be United States only, North America only, or worldwide.

It is also common customer courtesy to send an email to your customer when you ship the item, or the date it will be shipped. That way he or she knows that the order was received. This will also save you lots of time in the long run when people email you asking if their order has shipped, but without including any order information, then the email tag about the order begins. This could have all been saved by emailing your customer when the order was received in the first place. This will also give yourself a record of when each order ships, if you do not keep extensive written records of each order.

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