Crazing High USPS International Shipping Costs

Cute vintage spoons

 

 

No, these cute spoons don't have a thing to do with international shipping costs!

I'm just so frustrated with the dramatic increase that the United States Post Office has implemented for this Monday, January 27th!

I love my international customers, and I have several international repeat customers.  An item weighing less than 2 lbs, to Australia, would have been $22.59, and Monday, it will be $42.80...really!?

Why the dramatic increase?  Does anyone know?  

It's really tough to adjust all of my listings, since I have 3 Etsy shops, and my smallest shop (MyMilkGlassShop) has 206 items.  My largest shop (JensCloset) has 1,436 items!

I used bulk edit, and just adjusted everything to a higher amount, and then will gradually go through each listing to get a better estimate.  

I have an announcement in all 3 of my Etsy shops to let my customers know why there are crazy shipping costs.

You will want to have all of your updates done by tomorrow, because when you're shipping out Monday, costs will go way up!

Good luck!

Jen       

Fettuccine Alfredo

My food pictures never look to good, but believe me, this was yummy and quick to make!  Warning: it is not a diet food, although you could "tweak" it to be a bit more "figure friendly".

I used angel hair, much quicker than fettuccine noodles, and a bit lighter.

Boil cut up broccolli (or steam it).  While that's boiling, get your water boiling for the pasta.  And while that's boiling, melt some butter, 2-3 tablespoons, or so.  Add about 2 tsps of flour, stir constantly on low for just about a minute to get the flour cooked.  I gradually add 1 cup of a time of heavy cream (good place to tweek or tweak with a lighter version of something), as that thickens up you can add more cream.  I also add a dash of nutmeg, and salt and pepper.  Grate some parmesiano reggiano (I'm probably messing up on spelling but I'm excited), add that to the sauce.  While you're making the sauce you can dump in the angel hair, that only takes about 3-4 minutes too cook.

Done!  Put the pasta on a pretty plate (I always think it tastes better), pour the yummy sauce over it, and add the delicious broccolli.  Cheaper and quicker than going out!

Enjoy!

Jen

Martin Luther King Day

“I have decided to stick to love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

 

 

 

 

Remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's words everyday, not just on one holiday!

Love not hate.

It's simple.

Be kind to everyone, no matter what color their skin is, how much money they make, old or young.  Be kind.

Jen 

Marketing

As promised, another chapter review from Jason Malinak's book "Etsypreneurship"!

Smith Milk Glass Hobnail Bowl

 Since I love marketing (not like grocery shopping marketing), I thought I'd talk about Chapter 8 today!

The chapter starts with these 2 important sentences:

"Marketing is one of the core operational tasks that every Etsy seller performs.  Etsy sellers who don't perform this task typically go out of business fairly quickly from lack of sales."

So true!  For example, there are a ton of awesome vintage shops on Etsy, so I have to "kick-butt" to get noticed!

Jason discusses the 4 parts of the marketing framework; which are branding, connecting, advertising, and promotions.

Branding is all about you.  Your shop name, images, listing descriptions, etc, all make up how you/your shop are perceived.

Connecting is a way to build trust, relationships, and sales.  Even though I work from home, I am connecting with people all day and night.  Whether it's when I'm out shopping for items for my shop, chatting on twitter, or convo's with my customers, it's all important!

Advertising is so important!  You can list all you want, but if you're not doing some sort of advertising, it just ain't gonna work!  Advertising can be as simple as having a facebook fanpage and blogging!  One of my goals this year is to check into other forms of advertising.

Last but not least, promoting!  Jason says "A promotion is where you look to your existing connections to try to get them to take action."  Promotions can be deals such as coupons, buy-one-get-one-free discounts, etc.

So there you have it!  Another information chapter from Jason's book "Etsypreneurship".  I love this book!  Check it out on Amazon.com!

Happy Sales!

Jen          

Made Me Cry

The feedback I just received honestly made me cry!! A happy cry!  I'm not posting this to brag.  Great customer service is important to me, as a shop owner, and as a buyer!  When I receive wonderful customer service, I let the company know.  I also let them know if it's not so good, so hopefully they can improve from my "constructive criticism"!

 

"So elegant , such a lovely dish. Jen, many thanks for the quick shipping and for packaging it so well. This is a gift for a friend who collects rose things . However, I am so tempted to keep this dish for myself. I love all your wonderful things that you sell in your store. It's so hard to look without buying at least one thing. That is why I highly recommend anybody who is after a lovely gift for a special person or just something for yourself to take a peek at this stunning shop. Jen is such a dream to deal with. Gift wrapping your purchase is just another thing I love about buying from Jen, she is proud of what she sells and it shows. Jen is an Asset to Etsy!"

EtsyPreneurship

I'm practically famous!  I was interviewed for the Etsypreneurship book and am featured on page 168 and 169!

Etsypreneurship 

This book is a must have for all Etsy shop owners!  It was written by Jason Malinak.  After helping his wife with the business side of her shop, he thought others might like the same help!

I thought I would talk a bit about one chapter every so often. 

Chapter 3 talks about bookkeeping.  I have to admit, I wasn't the best at keeping books when I first started my Etsy shops!

Jason talks about the important bookkeeping words. 

 One is revenue; this is all the money you receive from customers.  It includes any money that you pay for your product, including sales tax and shipping fees.

Another important bookkeeping word is expenses.  Expenses are anything you spend money on to run your business.

Cost of goods sold; the cost of the materials used to make one product is the cost of the goods.  When the item sells, it becomes a cost of goods sold.

That is just the "tip of the iceberg" on Chapter 3!  This book is available for purchase on Amazon.com.  Etsypreneurship by Jason Malinak.  I highly recommend it!

Happy sales!

Jen  

Happy New Year

Cheers to a wonderful 2013!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 I hope everyone has a fantastic New Year!  Smile often!  Be grateful!

Cheers!

Jen