Hello, I’m new to Folksy and last night I thought I’d made my first 3 sales, but my pleasure was very short-lived as the buyer was having problems paying. As it was my first sale I thought something was wrong, and indeed it was as I hadn’t actually linked my account properly to Stripe. In the meantime I had emails from Folksy saying that the buyer couldn’t pay and the buyer had sent links for payment to be covered by Royal Mail which I thought was very strange. The buyer said all I had to do was press the link and after I gave my card number payment would be made. This really rang alarm bells.
I did a bit more research and contacted one of the other vendors on the site. I also noticed that the address wasn’t a specific number but read, near by the street. I thought who has their address like that.
I sorted out the Stripe account as far as I could and emailed the buyer to try again using Folksy and I said I wasn’t going to use the Royal Mail method (it was obviously a fake page).
Funnily enough, they didn’t get back to me. I then emailed Folksy and to their credit answered quite quickly and confirmed that it was indeed a scam.
During this whole process I was scared that I’d made a complete muck up of my first sale and wanted to make sure it went as smoothly as possible. I felt completely unsupported and it would have been very useful to have had the opportunity to phone someone. Emailing is all well and good, but it’s slow and when you want immediate help it would be useful to have that.
I still have no idea what I’m doing with Stripe as it seems as clear as mud to me, but I’ve never been great with finances.
The fact that I haven’t made one sale in 3 months and all the hassle I’ve had with this scammer it doesn’t bode well for the future and I’m strongly considering closing my account.
Hello Margaret, I don’t know if you have read any of the other threads on the forums but it appears that there were a large number of scam purchases yesterday unfortunately. I know they happen occasionally but yesterday there seemed to be a huge spike. I’m glad Folksy helped you and I know others affected were impressed by the speed that they acted, other sites don’t seem to act as quickly. I’m sorry that this has happened with your first sale, please don’t be disheartened as these scams are rare. Good luck with your shop and I’m sure you’ll have your first real sale soon.
Thank you for your kind message and words of support. I see from your page that you worked for the NHS, I did too for 30 years until I took early retirement. I’m trying to make a little cash, if nothing else to recoup money from all the craft stuff I buy. It has taken over the house! I just like making things
I’m hoping that I will be able to get help from the Forums now. For some reason I couldn’t find it but have now saved the address.
Yes, 40 years in the NHS and I opened my Folksy shop a year ago for exactly the same reason as you and to make a bit of money for charity. You’ll find a huge amount of support and help on the forums so it’s well worth joining in
It’s such a shame that this happened to you when you are so new here. I’ve been here many many years and can honestly say that I feel the Folksy team is very supportive of us sellers and the help from other Folksy sellers is fantastic. So please don’t give up, come and join in the forums and get to know everyone and if you use FB or IG, come join in the pages there too. The other day when FB was down, the first thing I did was come to the forum and yes, someone had posted that there were problems so I knew it wasn’t just me, it’s very reassuring. Best of luck with your shop xxx PS, don’t expect to understand everything all at once, just take each thing as it comes up.
You have lovely items. Very talented crafter!
Sales are slow, please hang in here longer and, as suggested, use the treads to show us your items. I use the “Daily Listing Challenge Thread”. It is some work, however everyone is very supportive and we help each other.
Also you can be a plus member one month and update and add more listings that month. Cancel and you are set for four months before another payment needs to be made. If you have no or hardly any sales this may be a cheaper option for now.
(I was also working in NHS)
Thank you so much for your kind words. I was doubting my abilities and thought the lack of sales was due to my work not being very good. Your encouragement has given me the incentive to carry on.
Oh, thank you so much Teodora, I’m absolutely delighted. I really hope that you will be happy with your purchase. Any problems please let me know. I would have posted it today, but the post office here shuts at midday, but I’ll post it as soon as it opens on Monday.
I would just like to thank everyone for their kind words and support. It has given me such a boost and I’m going to happily craft the rest of the day. Thank you all. Margaret xxx
What a lovely shop you have Margaret. It does take a long time to get established when you first start selling online, there is so much to learn before those first sales come in and it is a very slow business, it can take years before you get it all right. However it is worth persevering and Folksy is a great place to learn all about selling items online - but do use all the resources on offer, they include ‘talk Folksy forums’ and ‘selling tips’. Best of luck and I’m sure you will have more sales soon.
Thank you so much for your encouragement and kind words. It’s lovely to know that people actually lie what I’m making. I’m addicted to making things so I will keep on listing hoping that someone will buy. In fact I’m just waiting for some paint to dry on a new pair of earrings. Warmest wishes.
Margaret x
I got your earrings today and they are absolutely gorgeous! I have a big collection of earrings and I am happy to add yours to my collection. They are exactly what was missing - real plants and flowers preserved in resin. Thank you so much for the little present and the card :). xx
Oh, thank you so much Teodora. I always worry that customers won’t be happy with their purchase, so that means a lot. I made 2 new pairs of earrings today which I will list shortly.
Your items are very pretty xx