I’ve written a few posts before about my own experience with accepting credit cards, but I’ve finally put all of info together in one place. Enjoy!
When I first decided to start taking credit cards, it took me weeks to sort out the fees, the terminology and the parties involved, and even longer to feel secure that I was buying what I needed at a reasonable price. To save you some of that hassle I’ve laid out the process below.
Step 1: Estimate whether your business can afford to accept credit cards.
For a small business, accepting Visa and Mastercard for in-person … Read more »
The annual Providence, RI holiday season craftavaganza (yeah, I said it) is back and the application is now up. The show takes place 12/4-12/31. Craftland works a little differently than most other shows you’re used to in that they don’t charge a booth fee (it’s in a retail store), they take a commission — 30% if you volunteer 12 hours, 40% if not. This makes it a really good first show or one to try out new products — you only pay money if you make money. It’s also good if you … Read more »
This past weekend I participated in the Renegade Craft Fair’s first ever Los Angeles show. I’ve never done a Renegade show but I kept hearing form other vendors that the L.A. show was nowhere near as good as last year’s San Francisco show, which is coming up again next week.
Renegade L.A. was held in the California Market Center, the same venue where Unique L.A. is held. It’s not my favorite space. Firstly, it’s downtown, which is dead on the weekends, so … Read more »
Is it worth all the trouble to give my customers multiple shipping options?
Well, that all depends on what you mean by “options.” I wouldn’t necessarily recommend offering multiple carriers but it’s okay to offer multiple speeds. In other words, choose just one company to ship with, such as UPS, FedEx or the US Postal Service. If your web site’s shopping cart automatically calculates shipping costs, you can offer multiple delivery options such as First Class or Overnight, but if you have to enter those prices manually it may not be worth … Read more »
Just got back from the Indie Mart. I’m exhausted. The sun was directly in my face all day and I spent a lot of time chasing down things that the wind blew over. The poor guy next to me had to decide whether to leave his awesome woven collages in their condensation-filled plastic sleeves or to let the vintage paper sit out in the UV unprotected.
I don’t normally do outdoor fairs because they’re so uncomfortable. I think I’m going to have to forgo them completely, though, from now on. Sweet Meats just don’t sell very well … Read more »
