You have an account but are you gettting your discount?

   Are you getting your wholesale or returning customer discount when you order your bookplates from me?

  Lately I've noticed orders coming in from customers who are listed as faithful return customers or booksellers, librarians, teachers or other shop owners. I can see they have have faithfully logged into their accounts - but there is no discount showing.   Since others are getting their discounts, I thought the answer might lie in the peculiarities of my software system.

First you need to set up an account.  Then you need to let me know you've set up an account by e-mailing me (check out the website for how to do that).  Wait for me to manually set you up. Now, the important part.

In order to get your discount you need to FIRST sign into your account, then place items in your basket.  The discount will ONLY apply to items you place in your basket AFTER you have logged in to your account.

If you wait to sign in until the check-out process, the discount won't apply. 

This info will be tweeted, too -  when placing an order - please log in first!

Of snow and thoughts on fear of setting up an account with Friendly Spirit

Unrelated topics - snow storms and reflections on the fears some seem to have about opening an account on my website- I wanted to post on the latter, but the former is on my mind!

We're in the beginning, I think, of round two of the Big Snowstorm of 2010 here in Ohio... the East Coast (from whence I came) is getting it much worse, so I am not about to complain. Just reflecting on how the power these days seems to go out, and stay out, more often than it did when I lived back East.

Even if the electricity manages to last through this bought of snow (it did fine through Round #1) I anticipate that the weight of the snow has got to do something to the connection to the internet at some point. Not a huge problem except that means I can't receive orders or process them until it's back on... we'll see how she goes.

Meanwhile, about setting up accounts -- much like "why don't people use discount coupons?" I find it puzzling when repeat customers don't set up accounts. It makes it easier to fill out the information to ship to stuff. There's nothing about credit cards or ss# or any of that personal stuff I wouldn't share with my own mother. Perhaps they think I'm a huge conglomerate (5'6, 140 pounds.. is that really THAT huge?) or that I'll bombard them with e-mails....

Actually, this blog is taking the place of most e-mails sent out to customers, aside from order confirmations which are all automatic. So, no, setting up the account just means you log in if you can remember your user name and password, and your bill to ship to info is all filled out.

I've also started adding those who have accounts to the special list of those who get a 10% discount, just for logging in (unless they have a wholesale account -- sorry, no double dipping!)...

Now, I could start on asking how come people who want to get wholesale won't open an account, even though the instructions explain you have to have an account, or I can't set you up as a wholesaler...

Perhaps there's the idea that I'm trying to lure people in to set up an account so I can collect information that will do something for me in a capitalist manner. Maybe there is something I could 'collect' but I simply am not sophisticated to know what it is.

There's really nothing evil in my intent to ask folks to set up an account - as far as I know, the account itself doesn't give me any information about people that I don't already get when an order is placed without an account (name, e-mail and shipping address).

And frankly, though I love doing business with my customers, I'm just not that into them...(I don't collect or sell info - as stated somewhere on my FAQ section).

Enough..time to go stare outside at the snow.