BIG question - If you could fix one thing on Folksy what would it be?

The option to apply a discount or preferably free postage for orders over a certain amount - in order to encourage people to buy more items! Eg, spend over £35 and get free postage. I would love to be able to offer that in my shop! Thanks for asking! :smiley:

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I’m torn between a better search function and promotion… to me both are connected as what’s the point of doing lots of promotion if buyers can’t find what they want when they get here

I took a break from listing on Folksy from January 2018 (after 6 years) returning in September last year… but in 2018 exactly the same problems where being discussed so, without wanting to incur the wrath of the Folksy bosses, I am not holding my breath things will improve

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Got to be the search function, but would also like the shop announcement back on individual items as customers don’t always look at the shop front and could miss important information

Totally agree with you - when I saw them say just one thing no cheating , it reminded me of once trying to get an appointment with the doctor and had 2 problems, the receptionist said you can only book an appointment for one ailment for the other you will have to book again so choose which one is more impotrant!

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Not that I have a dog anymore but I wouldn’t search for “dog Jackets”, I would search for “dog coats” if I were a customer.

I am fairly new to Folksy but I find the Search function really bad, in fact I have already contacted Folksy twice since I joined but their suggestion was basically re-educating customers on how to search which is not practical. I feel that until the search function is ‘fit for purpose’ we will be struggling to get sales.

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Well if that was their suggestion to ‘re-educating customer’ , then it’s a bit insulting to be honest because we are all not only sellers but customers too when we look for presents here! :thinking:

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I agree with promoting Folksy - a lot of people I know always buy handmade but NOBODY has heard of it. I promote Folksy wherever I can but maybe some downloadable promtional material to printout and take to craft fairs would be possible as not everyone is on social media

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It would have to be the search function for me it throws up so many random results and definitely is not user friendly and really frustrating. I’m sure buyers give up and go elsewhere.

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@PawsOnly This thread was made because we have a massive list of improvements and new features that we want to work on, but we can’t do it all at once. We need to work out what to prioritise, and although we already have some issues which we consider a priority (including the search), we want to make sure we’re not missing anything which is a major issue for a lot of sellers.

If asking what can we improve in general, we’ll get all sorts of suggestions including those which would be nice to have but aren’t immediately necessary. Asking for only one each should hopefully help narrow this down to the most urgent needs, and then once we’ve got through those essential improvements, we’ll be able to look into the other suggestions.

@DawnChorusCreations Please understand we didn’t just say that customers need re-educating on how to search and that’s the end of it. We gave suggestions on how to get the best results while searching with how the search is currently returning results while we work on improving this. Unfortunately it isn’t something with a quick fix and there will be a period of time when this search still needs to be used while we work on these improvements. We want it working to bring accurate and relevant results as much as the rest of you, but we need to make sure we’re replacing it with the best search for how customers will want to use it, and not that we’re just replacing it with something which will turn out to have an equally frustrating problem.

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Just wondering- I guess not everyone uses the forum. Would it be worth sending out a questionnaire via email to all makers? Then you could collate the answers a bit more easily.
I wouldn’t have particularly suggested pets, as I don’t have one currently (though, if anyone does have a long-haired dachshund that they need extra tummy-tickles for…) However I appreciate it’s a big market, so definitely needs a search to work for that.

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@sjpjewellerydesigns There are already some downloadable banners, logo’s etc. that you can use for promotion.

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The question is also asked on the Facebook group.

Actually you hit it on the head about educating people in how to search!

I have seen endless shops moaning about the search process saying they can’t find the products and yet when you go to the items in their shop they haven’t used the words they are looking for in their titles, description or tags!

I am getting fed up with comments on this issue of the search function, you don’t go into a supermarket asking a shop assistant for every item on your list (unless you have a disability) you look at the sections and then look within the relevant section.
So if I am looking for frozen peas I go to the freezers not say “well that shop is no good I went in searching for a green vegetable and I couldn’t find it” because that is the equivalent of what I am hearing in the groups.

Sorry if I have offended anyone and no doubt I have but @folksycontent do a wonderful job and have their work cut out without people making a mountain out of a molehill.

Sorry again, rant over

Most urgent thing right now is sorting out the issues on Trustpilot Folksy Reviews | Read Customer Service Reviews of folksy.co.uk (there is also another thread about this). There’s a case of mistaken identity going on which has the potential to harm Folksy and everyone here.

People who are unhappy with a carpet company https://joyousandfolksy.co.uk/ have been leaving bad reviews against our Folksy. Over the weekend the good peeps on here have done a great job at increasing the rating from 2.5 to 3.2 by leaving their own reviews - everyone can help with this btw so please feel free to leave your own.

What’s really needed is for Folksy to contact Trustpilot and ask them to remove the reviews which clearly don’t relate to their business - I’ve flagged this as a reviewer and reported incorrect reviews but think it’d have more weight for the Folksy to contact them directly. Someone has also pointed out that Folksy need to claim their Trust Pilot profile to help prevent further issues.

Unfortunately Trustpilot probably currently have greater brand recognition with customers than Folksy do, so it would be a shame to allow the situation to continue and potentially deter new customers.
.

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It does say that the company (folksy.com) has not claimed the profile, see below

This company hasn’t claimed their profile yet and might not know it exists. Trustpilot currently has no records of them asking their customers to review them. In some cases, this may result in a lower star rating. Any company can claim their profile and ask their customers to review them for free. Customers can always write reviews on their own initiative without being asked by companies. Those are called organic reviews.

Sorry but you can’t compare going into a supermarket where you can see all the goods laid out in front of you to an online shop where you can’t but since you have , in some instances when searching for items on here it is like finding bags of flour , yoghurt , cat biscuits etc amongst the veg! :slightly_smiling_face:
No one is saying that Folksy are not doing a good job, they have asked the question and we have responded with what is important to each of us. They have done a great job with the new look shops and took on board what people were concerned about for example the description being partly visible so that you can click for more info if you want to .
and yes to be honest with you , you did offend when you said in you first line “you hit it on the head about educating people in how to search”. because you are implying that we are idiots!

I was not implying you are idiots!

When people go on a course or to school to LEARN something they are not idiots are they? They are going to be educated in a certain subject or field so they can understand how that subject works.

Etsy have a good section on their website (other platforms are available with this info too) about searching for items and using specific keywords and tags for your products to get seen. Possibly @folksycontent or one of the admin team could put together a similar blog for Folksy as it is certainly needed.

This topic is getting far to boring now to waste further time with, I have better things to do.

The search function isn’t functioning though, Zoe. Not for multiple word searches. To use your example, if you put “frozen peas” into the search on Folksy you’d get items using the word "frozen " and items using the word “peas”. It’s rather disheartening to then have to wade through all these items to find something you want. Yes, you could eliminate categories by refining the search, thereby getting rid of Elsa in her icicle dress and a painting of peas (silly examples I know), but it doesn’t actually find what you asked it to, not easily. I’m sure it used to, and don’t expect it’s a quick fix, but Folksy have acknowledged it is an issue that they’re working on.

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Great thanks