Thanks so much for your lovely words Latona, you’re very kind. xx
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Thanks for this. Of course, if we shut, the post offices may have to close. However we do all need to protect others. I don’t think there is a clear right or wrong currently. Challenging.
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Of course if my local post office shuts then a lot of people who rely on it for their food supplies will be stuck as we are several miles from a town and the town shops are far more dangerous places to be than our post office. There is no possiblilty of online shopping for the foreseeable future.
Off to my post office now as we have no cereal.
xx
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Royal Mail are saying they are very much in business and post offices are open. I will limit my visits to the post office, but keep my shop open for now.
BBC News at lunchtime reiterated that all online shops can continue trading.
If the Royal Mail comes under too much pressure for whatever reason, I’m sure the advice will change. For now, I’m going with the advice. Plus I need the money because my other self-employed income has gone completely.
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Good afternoon everyone. I hope you are all keeping safe… I’m having a rethink about my shop. I have seen some comments on here about online postage. Can anybody tells me how it works. I don’t think I could post out picture frames etc again until after this crisis is over but have had a thought about coasters. If I just posted them out in a Jiffy Bag, protected with a sheet of cardboard either side it would be classed as a Large Letter and would fit through a letter box. If I used the online postage system I could walk round to the post box and away they go. What do others think, would customers be ok with receiving the coaster in this way rather than be wrapped up and presented nicely? I could wrap them in tissue paper I think. Hope its ok to ask this but I would appreciate thoughts and comments. Carol
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Hi Carol, absolutely you can send out coasters in the way you describe, I can’t see why anyone would have an issue with that 
Online postage is super easy, just go here: https://parcel.royalmail.com/
Click on the “Get Started Now” button half way down the left hand side, and away you go!
I’m more than happy to help anyone who wants to switch to using online postage.
Stay safe,
Poppy
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Thank you very much. I think I will give it a go. Carol 
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If my customer has paid with PayPal, I go to PayPal and print the postage label off, it’s very easy.
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Yes that’s a good option if they have paid with PayPal, good shout
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Joy, thank you for the link. I have seen these boxes and never known what they were! I haven’t got one very close, but could use as a last resort with a short car trip, it’s a little way past our normal supermarket.
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Hello. We’ve updated our article about the Coronavirus, following the increased restrictions announced last night https://blog.folksy.com/2020/03/17/coronavirus
Essentially – as this BBC article also explains https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-51176409 – government guidelines say that online shops can stay open (and are encouraged to do so), but anyone who sells online should act responsibly to reduce the risk to themselves and to others, and minimise interactions with others. So if you do go to the Post Office make sure you stay 2 metres away from staff and other customers.
We’ve listed some other options that may also be useful in the article, including collating all orders and only going to the Post Office once a week, or using Royal Mail’s Click & Drop service and Parcel Postboxes. But please, if you are in a vulnerable group, do not put yourself at any risk. Put your shop in holiday mode or just sell gift vouchers for the time being and hide all other listings.
Keep safe everyone.
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My post office is just a small shop (but post office counter is to one side so plenty of room to keep my distance and I can pay for groceries with the post … which I did)
There is a notice on the day… only 3 in shop at a time… and she has handsanitiser for you to use. I love my local post office
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I have concluded that I could essentially create my own outside my post office if necessary .Just place them in a box outside the door and knock on the door to tell Jo they are there…but at the moment I’m going in to the counter with care
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Hi Poppy, can I ask when you use online posting do you print out a label? Can you print onto paper and attach it or does it have to be on a proper label? Thanks Carol
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Hi Carol, I just print them out onto normal copier paper, then I cut them out and stick them to the packages using sellotape.
I have a Royal Mail Click & Drop account which means I can purchase lots of postage labels all in one go. If you sell via certain platforms you can automatically pull your orders in which is a real time saver. It would be really good if Folksy was also able to connect to C&D - maybe one for the enhancements requests.
The other bonus with having a Click & Drop account is that it prints out four labels to an A4 sheet, so you don’t waste any paper. If you would like to set up a Click & Drop account and need help, I’m very happy to talk you through it.
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Thanks for your advice Poppy, it sounds easy! I don’t imagine I will be getting lots of orders over the next few months but I will certainly try it out. I will give you a shout if I need any more help.
love, Carol
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I’m keeping my shop open and adapting the way I post. If we’re asked to cease non-essential trading I’ll of course close, but until then reckon people will continue to have a need for online shopping of all kinds - all birthdays and Xmas may yet get cancelled, but hopefully not.
I don’t get sufficient sales through Folksy to judge the likely impact yet, however I’ve recently seen a rise in sales and enquiries from the USA and even a large sale from Italy (was delivered relatively quickly!) for second hand items I sell on a popular site - presumably a result of lock down - always sad that 2nd hand goods get more interest than hand crafted items!
I generally buy and print postage online anyway and over last couple of weeks I’ve been able to tie in posting with other essential trips to my local shop for prescriptions and banking (I’m lucky it’s at end of my street and is a combined grocer, post office and pharmacist).
It now feels wrong however to queue at the post office counter even if I’ve had to go in for something else so I’ve switched to posting the majority of small and relatively low cost items in the post box while out for a walk (used to do this when was working and didn’t live near a post office - it was v. rare for anything to go missing). For larger and more valuable items I’ll book a contactless courier pick up (small extra cost) and leave the parcel in a safe place.
I’m hoping the post office come up with a way of dropping off larger parcels without going inside e.g. a large drop box outside. Also considering Royal Mail scan and track (for their own benefit) most parcels where you’ve bought and printed postage online, I hope they reconsider the need for obtaining a receipt as proof of posting for compensation - that would really help reduce the exposure of their counter staff.
I hope many can find ways to keep going as long as it’s possible to do so safely and we can provide a service / bring some joy to others until we come out the other end of this Best wishes to all X.
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you can also buy large letter boxes in different sizes , I buy mine from ebay
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Well it is now official, I have been told to stay home! Not that I was going any where. Hope you are all well
This morning. I had a wobble yesterday but have sorted myself out with a daily schedule. Take care x
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@feelfeltfound, I like the phrase ‘adapting the way I post’, do you mind if I use it in my shop announcement. Much more succinct than all the old waffle I’ve written!
I will be staying open for as long as possible, trying to improve my shop while I have extra time to do so. I have renewed my plus account and will be listing regularly.
My main reason is that I want Folksy to still be here when all this is over.
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