Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Happy Holidays !!!
We will be closed from December 20th- January 4th so we can enjoy the holidays and do our year end inventory. Any orders placed from now on will not be shipped until we reopen. (Order Numbers 8137 and earlier are either shipped or will be shipped by Wednesday, December 21st), unless we are waiting on a mock-up OK.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Christmas Shipping
I do my best at Christmas, but please remember I'm not Santa Claus and don't have a sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer! All I can do is get your order to the UPS drop off or the post office, packaged and labeled. We're all doing the best we can to get your bookplates to you in a timely manner, but nothing is guaranteed to arrive before Christmas unless you pay for that.
When ordering, make SURE you select the fastest method of shipment for holiday orders placed close to the deadline. NOTE: FREE SHIPPING GIVES YOU FIRST CLASS ONLY. Consider where you live (we are in OHIO) and adjust your shipping method to make sure. UPS is HIGHLY recommended for orders with an arrival deadline. You can check out UPS online to see how long it will take from our zip code 45387 to yours. Also, see Disclaimer below!
Ordering and Shipping Deadlines
* We are now past the deadline for INTERNATIONAL Christmas orders of any kind though you should check out the mini-bookplates - round bookplates - Deadline for ordering personalized bookplates is December 15th for rectangular bookplates provided you approve the mockups by December 17th if you requested them
. (deadline for mini-bookplates - round bookplates is 6 p.m., December 15th for Standard shipping, 6 p.m. December 20th for 2nd Day and 6 p.m. December 21st for Express, personalized or not - these are produced by a third party, Zazzle.com).
For bookplates not personalized, the order deadline is December 17th - if you want guaranteed delivery , you MUST choose UPS. For orders placed on our website, deadlines are the date the order was placed. For e-mail orders, this would be the date the mock-up is sent to you.
For regular snail mail orders, deadline is considered to be the date the order is received (not the post mark date).
For personalized bookplates, the deadline includes time for mock ups to be approved. Mock-ups will be sent within 48 hours of order placement.. Approval for any orders requesting a mock-up must be received by December 17th - if you have not seen your mock-ups in a timely manner, check your spam filter, then e-mail me! Orders will be completed in the order the mock-up approvals are received.
Customers who place their order on the deadline date should be especially vigilant in looking for and approving the mock-up. If you do not receive your requested mock-up within 48 hours FIRST check your spam blocker/folder..if it isn't there, contact us by e-mail immediately!
Requests made after the Personalized Order Deadline may not make it in time. Orders placed between December 16th and January 2nd will not be processed so we can enjoy the holidays and work on inventory!
Disclaimer: Shipping dates may change due to accidents, weather or illness though it is our intent to have all orders shipped out by December 20th. Delivery times are guaranteed by the carrier you choose, not by us, and may include extra transit time in case of unforeseen delays. We are not responsible for delays in shipping caused by the weather (we are not in charge of weather!) or carriers (all we can do is get your order to the carrier on time!) Late deliveries are always possible, but we've done our best to insure they are as infrequent as possible.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
No More Phone Number
Why do I no longer list a phone number on my website?
Because I don't use it. I don't ever answer it - my voice recording warned people of this - I rarely check it and this being an online internet business, I really prefer that people contact me via e-mail. I had a phone number because that's what you're supposed to have if you're a business. People want to know that they can call somebody.
Mostly that's because it's quicker. If you don't want to go through the annoyance of typing in an order, searching the website, it's easier to call someone. And when you're mad because you can't figure out something about placing the order, or because the order you placed Saturday morning to be shipped First Class didn't arrive this Monday morning, typing just doesn't do it. That indignant frustration gets out quicker if you can yell in person at someone.
So, no more phone number because I'm just leading you on to think I'd answer it or call you back. I won't and I don't.
Everything else can be done via e-mail, you know. You can place orders via e-mail though you have to type stuff out. You can type in caps and so yell at people, but sometimes it so much more satisfying to yell at a human being. I will answer questions and accusations, comments and all of that, via e-mail. I'm as real in e-mail as I am on the phone. Maybe realer. Using e-mail, you just have to be patient - the replies will not be instant. I'm not talking text messaging.
WHAT KIND OF A BUSINESS DOES THIS?
Oh my. Well, let me start by saying, despite the fears that some people have, it is not a business designed to rip off people of their hard earned $12.00 to $20.00 (average sized orders).
It is also not a business where a bunch of people sit by a phone all day, taking orders or making phone calls. It's just me.
I've been advised to hire people to do that - answer the phone. That's how my business will grow.
Yeah, no.
I'm a small time part time business now. Got the bookplates, need to do something with the inventory. And the money helps. But - this is not set up to be a business that will grow every year, bigger and bigger. At least not under my watch. I'm not a capitalist, I'm a Quaker. A rude Quaker.
This is a tiny little on-line business that was designed to supplement my retirement income some 10 years ago, grown out of a need to be busy and a love of bookplates.
Still not fully retired, but the internet and I have both changed. When I started, there was only one other site that sold bookplates on-line. They took big orders, I did small ones. Now there are a whole lot of bookplate businesses, plus a lot of places where the resourceful and/or creative can make their own.
Also, I'm around less, I'm doing other things because I'm realizing how short life is, and how much I'd rather be living my life. I long for the day when I can sell this little bookplate business and move on. Or just toss out the inventory I have and shut down the bookplate section and move on. That day is coming soon.
And then I will spend my time with grandkids, travel, friends and making stuff without having to do customer service, shipping, picking and packing and unnecessary complaints.
Because I don't use it. I don't ever answer it - my voice recording warned people of this - I rarely check it and this being an online internet business, I really prefer that people contact me via e-mail. I had a phone number because that's what you're supposed to have if you're a business. People want to know that they can call somebody.
Mostly that's because it's quicker. If you don't want to go through the annoyance of typing in an order, searching the website, it's easier to call someone. And when you're mad because you can't figure out something about placing the order, or because the order you placed Saturday morning to be shipped First Class didn't arrive this Monday morning, typing just doesn't do it. That indignant frustration gets out quicker if you can yell in person at someone.
So, no more phone number because I'm just leading you on to think I'd answer it or call you back. I won't and I don't.
Everything else can be done via e-mail, you know. You can place orders via e-mail though you have to type stuff out. You can type in caps and so yell at people, but sometimes it so much more satisfying to yell at a human being. I will answer questions and accusations, comments and all of that, via e-mail. I'm as real in e-mail as I am on the phone. Maybe realer. Using e-mail, you just have to be patient - the replies will not be instant. I'm not talking text messaging.
WHAT KIND OF A BUSINESS DOES THIS?
Oh my. Well, let me start by saying, despite the fears that some people have, it is not a business designed to rip off people of their hard earned $12.00 to $20.00 (average sized orders).
It is also not a business where a bunch of people sit by a phone all day, taking orders or making phone calls. It's just me.
I've been advised to hire people to do that - answer the phone. That's how my business will grow.
Yeah, no.
I'm a small time part time business now. Got the bookplates, need to do something with the inventory. And the money helps. But - this is not set up to be a business that will grow every year, bigger and bigger. At least not under my watch. I'm not a capitalist, I'm a Quaker. A rude Quaker.
This is a tiny little on-line business that was designed to supplement my retirement income some 10 years ago, grown out of a need to be busy and a love of bookplates.
Still not fully retired, but the internet and I have both changed. When I started, there was only one other site that sold bookplates on-line. They took big orders, I did small ones. Now there are a whole lot of bookplate businesses, plus a lot of places where the resourceful and/or creative can make their own.
Also, I'm around less, I'm doing other things because I'm realizing how short life is, and how much I'd rather be living my life. I long for the day when I can sell this little bookplate business and move on. Or just toss out the inventory I have and shut down the bookplate section and move on. That day is coming soon.
And then I will spend my time with grandkids, travel, friends and making stuff without having to do customer service, shipping, picking and packing and unnecessary complaints.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
A Tarot Deck Fundraiser.....do you know Regretsy.com?
I have been selling some of my work on Etsy.com, a very successful and well known source for artists and those who make handmade products. It can be a great source for that special gift - although lately you have to be careful you're not buying something not quite up to par from what many of us expect there.
My favorite place to hang out these days is Regretsy.com - run by April Winchell (daughter of Paul Winchell) - it's a fund-raising site that pokes fun at some of the bloopers and crazy things you might find on Etsy. In addition, Regretsy provides the service of pointing out the too many rip off artists and resellers (buy it in Taiwan, ship it here and say you made it yourself, etc.) who are trying to take advantage of Etsy.
Which segues into the video I want to show you all. 25 of Regretsy's artists are working together under the care of fellow artist Wendy Sheridan to create a unique deck of 78 Tarot Cards. The art is based on the humor found at Regretsy.
Warning: this is adult humor. And I mean adult. Please don't visit Regretsy in the presence of children (I don't go there when my 10 year old grandson is in the same room) or if you don't find cussing or reproductive or bodily function humor amusing. This isn't juvenile humor - it's witty, snarky, very adult humor. You have been warned. (the video is fine)
Here's a link that will take you to our fundraising project on Kickstarter and our video. Or you can just watch my video (I'm only on the other one a little)... or my bloopers...
I'm also looking for feedback on which of the two designs I did should be used for my contributing tarot card..if you want to take a look and pass a vote, please do! Go here to look and vote!
Thanks for looking!
My favorite place to hang out these days is Regretsy.com - run by April Winchell (daughter of Paul Winchell) - it's a fund-raising site that pokes fun at some of the bloopers and crazy things you might find on Etsy. In addition, Regretsy provides the service of pointing out the too many rip off artists and resellers (buy it in Taiwan, ship it here and say you made it yourself, etc.) who are trying to take advantage of Etsy.
Which segues into the video I want to show you all. 25 of Regretsy's artists are working together under the care of fellow artist Wendy Sheridan to create a unique deck of 78 Tarot Cards. The art is based on the humor found at Regretsy.
Warning: this is adult humor. And I mean adult. Please don't visit Regretsy in the presence of children (I don't go there when my 10 year old grandson is in the same room) or if you don't find cussing or reproductive or bodily function humor amusing. This isn't juvenile humor - it's witty, snarky, very adult humor. You have been warned. (the video is fine)
Here's a link that will take you to our fundraising project on Kickstarter and our video. Or you can just watch my video (I'm only on the other one a little)... or my bloopers...
I'm also looking for feedback on which of the two designs I did should be used for my contributing tarot card..if you want to take a look and pass a vote, please do! Go here to look and vote!
Thanks for looking!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
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!
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!
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