hey guys, i have just opend a shop on folksy, i design baby wear from new born to 12 months, i have only put a few items in my shop but from what i have listed i am looking for advice and honest opinion please…
are my items at the right price range, or should i be adding a few pound or cutting a few off?
are my pictures good enough? i dont have a child mannequin at the moment or a child model so any suggestion of how eles i could modle my garments would be appriciated.
are my descriptions upto scratch? am i missing any thing or is there somthing there i should leave out?
are my product titles ok? to long to short?
are my packaging and postage prices at the right price range? i will be sending all items recorded delivery so tracking numbers will be provided.
hope you can help im still in the learning process on selling as i am fairly new to internet selling.
I’ve just had a quick look at the pink polka dot dress and I must say you have only really used one photo. You need to use all 5. Customers can’t pick up your item they can only go on your description and photos. They need to see an overall shot, close up of different bits and of course the back/reverse side.
The title doesn’t say baby dress which means it will not show up when someone types baby dress into the search box.
The ribbon appears to be pink not white as in the description but that might be my monitor.
You might want to put the sizes in both imperial and metric.
As for price of the dress that looks about right to me but then only you know how much it cost you in materials, how much time it took to make and if you’ve accounted for paypaly charges and folksy fees.
As for postage if you’ve charged what it costs in postage and added on whatever it costs in packaging materials then that’s all you can do.
Don’t worry too much about mannequins and models for the moment. Laying the dress out on a plain background is fine and you can also try using a baby/toddler clothes hanger like I have with my baby crochet cardigans. You can get a small pack of 5 for a couple of pounds on ebay.
I would suggest filling out your meet the maker section.
Some of your photo’s the background is rather dark. Try taking your photo’s in natural light even outside.
Dark colour backgrounds can be great for white items. Try to keep your backgrounds as uncluttered as possible as they can detract from the item being sold.
I would recheck your grammar and punctuation in your descriptions there are a few spelling errors and you have forgotten to use capital letters at the beginning of your sentences.
I hope some of that helps and all the best with your new shop.
Likewise, Eileen has picked up on most things. I would suggest that whatever the colour, light or dark that you use plain, uncreased backgrounds for your images - I find patterned backgrounds very distracting especially if the item is patterned. Also I would suggest you either take your photographs in a square format, or take them so that when cropped to a square format the whole item is visible in the shot. I usually take my photos with a largish margin and crop them square before uploading.
Can I also add that on your knitted hat and bootees set, (as an expert …spent over 40 years designing and knitting) it is clear that the yarn is 100% acrylic yet in materials you say WOOL…
Acrylic is not WOOL…
Wool comes from a sheep…acrylic is man made.
Some people don’t like wool as it can be itchy…especially for babies…others will only buy wool.
Perhaps in the materials you could put “Yarn” or just “acrylic” but certainly NOT wool…that is a totally different fibre and could confuse your customers.
Hi and welcome to Folksy. I can’t really add much to what has already been said. I think an important point is using all 5 photo slots, showing the back as well as the front of items is good and maybe one or 2 off the dress on a baby hanger.
Do you have a facebook page? if you do you can add the link to your shop page. Good luck and best wishes.
To add to the above regarding photos. You want to make sure that you crop your photos so that they show the complete item in the thunbnails. It could take a few manipulations to make sure the photo is centred and the whole item shows but it will be helpful.
thank you so much everyone all thse pointers are really helping me out. as for the wool/yarn point, i though yarn was an american term for wool, i like to knit but dont know much about they types ect but now i do, thanks, i will see to these pointers, you are a fab lot helping me out like this thank you
Wool blends are also called yarn, such as merino/silk merino/bamboo or Merino//Tencil… Superfine Merino wool is extra soft not itchy and suitable for babies. I have tested it on my best friend’s grandkids, they all seem to like the things I knit them. So yeah, bamboo/silk is lovely n soft to knit purrrrfect for babies.
Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you may want to have a look at your descriptions. I’m one of those people who are totally put off by poor spelling, grammar and punctuation. I’m afraid there are a lot of us. Fair enough if there is just one or two that have genuinely been overlooked, but I always think it looks sloppy, quickly written and as though there’s not a lot of care put into it, which then makes me wonder about the product itself. Sorry, I know it’s annoying and silly, but I know I’m not the only one! I know some people type them up in Word or something first just so it picks out most of the errors.
I quite like your photos without the outfits being on anything though. On a real baby is fine (though difficult to get photos!) I find when people put them on dolls it’s a bit creepy. I also think them being on dolls makes it look a bit like a market stall. Not sure if there are any more interesting/unique ways to display them. It may help them come across as more modern and stand out as being a little different if you can. Maybe worth having a look at how bigger shops/companies display their clothing online?
Anyway, sorry for waffling. And apologies for being pedantic.
I know your comment is for aminiwardrobe lady, I think your advice is fine for other people too me included. I can’t always get down to the Main Lounge, or go outside, can, walk or stand by myself without my Zimmer frame, so my ohotos are usually inside. I shall in vest in a white sheet. Would adjust the white balance on my iPad or camera on my mobile help?
I also have a digital camers, studied Digital Imaging at College, Teacher was not much help in showing me how to take pix for my Folksy shop.
I would not suggest in your listings that your item might be a bit dear it makes it appear you are being apologetic for your craftsmenship, time and cost of materials.
I would suggest if you have a white sheet or even a large white pillowcase laying that on a flat surface and placing your lovely socks down on that and take a few photo’s some with the flash then see which ones look the best.
Thank you for your comments, i have amended description for the socks. I don’t have any white pillowcases mine are patterned, I have a digital camera but have lost the USB and charger plug so can’t use it. I use my mobile and iPad for photos.
I have a pair of mannequin feet so I will take photos on them.
I don’t know how much postage I should charge either. I will get info at Post Office tomorrow. I have some scales but don’t have that postal size thingy with slits.
Hi Stevie, I have just read your reply to theminiwardrobe, and would like to thank you very much, for posting all that information. I am new, and about to set up my shop, and have found your help invaluable. I will certainly be checking it out again as I stock my shop.
Thanks again.
Lesley
thank you