So in the process of reviving my Folksy shop I thought I would see if the “Contact shop” works from my husbands email as I haven’t had any Folksy emails for months.
I then realised that to contact me from an outsiders perspective he is required to open an account or sign in using FB etc which amounts to the same.
Surely if people happened across a shop on here and wanted to ask a question regarding a product it would require them to be very keen to actually set up an account?
I don’t think I would!
Am I missing something or is this correct?
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BUT…
You can buy something as a Guest Buyer without setting up an account you just can’t ask a question.
As most of my buyers used to ask about personalising etc before they buy maybe this is why all by potential buyers don’t buy anything anymore!!
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I think you are raising an important point here! Even the slightest hurdle can put off a prospective purchaser, especially if they are new to using the platform. Since Folksy is not as famous as some of the other platforms, nervous new customers may be frequently put off.
This may also explain why my sales come from my FB page, or from people who often shop here but never from a Google search. It is all very well optimizing the visibility of the page, but if people can’t contact you then they will move on and go to a more trusted source.
I think that’s it really, despite the fact that “the auction site” is a terrible place to buy things from, in the view of a consumer it is still a “trusted site.” Folksy, despite the fact that it is an exceptional place to buy from, is not.
Sam x
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It would also help buyers to trust us if they could use their Debit cards rather than Paypal. These things give the Folksy platform a “shady” appearance that is completely unwarranted.
Sam x
I certainly think it will affect some shops greatly where as others not so much. If what you are selling is customisable I think there will always be a degree of discussion as to what you can do for them as a customer.
Agree about the cards too - since they changed it on the Dark Side I very rarely get Paypal used - 98% credit card sales now.
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I believe you can use a card here if you wish but I’ve never done that as I don’t use my card on the internet only paypal.
You can use a card via the Paypal system yes, but not a stand alone card transaction.
Interesting point - just thought I would tag @folksycontent to see if they can shed any light on this
Good thinking Roz! I didn’t in my opener in case I was doing something wrong trying to send a message and was missing something! It seems not though 
I do think that customers who are familiar with a Facebook page are more likely to buy, because they know they can always ask you on FB and get to know you as a person, but not everybody likes Facebook.
Sam x
And also you need the casual passing by person to be able to make enquiries and hopefully buy! If you have someone as a liker on FB then you have already done the grafting to connect with them on there.
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Was just wondering if @folksycontent @Folksyadmin had seen this discussion?
Have emailed Folksy in case they missed being tagged
I had to go and look at my old emails to check this as I’ve definitely been asked questions about my items and found that you are right - I hadn’t realised that each question came from a user ID with no stock in their shop.
Hopefully Folksy will sort this out - it can’t be that difficult if you can buy as a guest but not ask as question.
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I think this restriction probably save us from an awful lot of spam… but yes, it could well be putting off potential buyers if they can’t ask questions without having an account.
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“Everything comes with Spam…”
Sam x
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Happy to have a spam sandwich with orders as the bread!
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PS I have put my email in my shop header now as a trial!
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Would you be better off putting your email in the shop announcement rather than the header? Then it will be at the top of the item page rather than just on your shop front and all those people who click through from pinterest will see it.
oh that’s an Idea as Mine was in my meet the maker section we used to have
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