What Do I need?
In order to create a web site for you, we will need for you to have the following.
1. An internet connection
2. An email address for us to contact you
3. A checking account to set up PayPal and your shopping cart
4. Good pictures and corresponding descriptions of your items. A picture and its description need to be identically named or numbered for easy reference.
5. An idea of how you might like your site to look. For example; to match your current craft booth or shop space. A site currently online that you like the look of.
6. You need to figure out how much shipping would be on your items within the USA. We find it easiest to figure shipping then add it INTO the items price. That way you can offer 'Shipping in USA Included' for no surprises to your shoppers at the checkout.
If you want to ship outside of the USA as well, you can do that by having the customer contact you with their address and then checking the prices with whatever mail carrier you choose.
7. If you plan on having 'store wide' sales every now and then you will have to pay an extra $50 and let us know BEFORE we create your site. We will in effect have to create TWO sites for you, one with regular prices and one with all sales prices. Setting up the shopping cart and prices is very time consuming. Please keep in mind that when you Add or Delete any item from your site it will be counted as TWO items as we will have to update BOTH your regular site and your sale priced site.
If you only want a special 'On sale now' section with a few select items on sale, that can be done using your weekly changes/updates allowance. Just keep in mind you only get so many changes once a week in your package, or you will be charged $5 per change after your limit.
8. An idea of what you want your store's name to be. Website addresses can only be assigned to ONE person in the whole world. For instance if you get MyShop.com you will be the ONLY one with that web address. This is good in that you can then use that name with the .com on the end in your 'real life' store or booth and no one can sue you for using their name as you KNOW you are the only person who can use that address. It is also bad as someone else may already have the name you want. There are several other endings your store can have besides .com however, so it is still possible for you to get the basic name you want. For instance MyStore.info or MyStore.us instead of the .com.
Do I have to let you have access to my checking account to set up my account?
Yes, we will need access to your checking account number and routing number to set up your PayPal business account and shopping cart. You can however create a seperate checking account with just a small amount of money in it for your online store. You do not need to use your main, personal account.
If you already have a PayPal account set up, we will need access to it in order to set up your shopping cart. You can change the checking account on it to a new one before you give us access if you wish.
We have no intention of getting into your bank account, we only want to get your buttons set up through the PayPal account for your shop to use. And for that we need access to the PayPal account.
Do I need a DBA account to use PayPal for business?
No, you do not need a business checking account to use PayPal for your online business. This is good as it saves you money. DBA and business accounts can be costly.
How will I be billed?
We will bill you through PayPal. Your set up fee must be paid in advance before we start creating your site.
Your monthly store fee will then be on a scheduled, automatic payment plan through PayPal starting the month after your store goes 'live'.
If you do not have the money in your checking account to pay your dues your site will not be updated any longer until it is caught up, and if it is not paid for 30 days we will delete your store.
Why Use PayPal?
PayPal has many safety features for you, the seller, and for your customers. You can easily do refunds through it, you can easily transfer your sales money from PayPal to your checking account and most importantly there is NO monthly fee to use PayPal for credit payments. If you got a merchant account to handle credit payments you would be charged a monthly fee PLUS a per transaction fee. With PayPal you are only charged a small Per transaction fee.
Will my site have fancy things like a Flash intro page or music?
No. We create simple online stores. We note from our own online experience that people tend to skip those fancy animated introduction pages and most of the time have their speakers muted.
If an animated page plays before they can get into your store to see what you have to sell, or they suddenly have music blaring from their speakers most people will either:
1. Leave your site
2. Look for how to Skip your intro page
3. Mute the sound
So really having those fancy things could actually detract from your site and discourage visitors more than impress them.
Do you promote my site for me?
No, we create and maintain your store. You still have to get the word out the same as you do for a craft booth or Art event you might be in already. You can put a sign up at your current venue to encourae your visitors to try your online store. Put Ads in the paper with your online store's address, pass out business cards with the online address, etc.
We will create a mutually beneficial webring with our clients where we will have your link on our front page and you agree to have other's links on your page in return for them giving you a link on theirs. That way you can all share visitors by advertising each other's shops. *We will try not to have any links on your site to stores that carry the same type of merchandise as you.*
Another mutually beneficial project is having a newsletter. We will be creating an option for your visitors to enter their email in a newsletter to be informed when any of the shops we manage have new items or special sales. All shops can benefit from a mutual pool of shopper's email addresses.
How long will it take to create my store?
That depends on how long it takes to decide on your store's look and for you to send us your product pictures and descriptions.
We will NOT start on your site until your set up fee for your package is paid. After that it can take from 1-2 weeks to get your site built and 'live' online. The time line can also depend on how many people are ahead of you in line.
Do you have a question that was not answered above?
Contact us with the button on the top of this page