Thursday, June 5, 2014

Happenings

I am working on some new projects as well as a tutorial but I have been experiencing a new bout of tiredness.  Not sure if it is the anemia coming back or if I'm getting sick because I am experiencing a bit of a sore throat and headache.  Because of this I don't have any business advice for you today.  Instead I thought I would share a little bit about what I'm up to.

Another supply box from my Mom arrived today.  This time I took a taxi home from the post office instead of trying to carry the box on the bus like the near disaster that happened last time.  It was full of doll clothes, wigs, fabric and other supplies.  One big thing I was excited to receive was new business cards and hang tags.  I order my cards from Moo.com.  I really like Moo.  I like that I am able to basically design my cards myself.  They always come out so nice and I love the feel of them.  I think maybe they are a little expensive but I think they are worth it.


I think I mentioned at some point that I used to always send little gift packs along with my dolls.  I would include stickers, cards, pencils, pins, magnets, things like that.  You can see a customer review video with my packaging on Youtube here.  I've been feeling so insecure and bad about my packaging lately so I couldn't wait to order some gifts and things so I can start packaging my dolls the way I used to.  Recently I changed my website from bebe-babies.com to bebebabies.com so I needed to change the graphic for my buttons.  Unfortunately the lady I used to order from closed her shop so I was hesitant to find someone new.  I decided to give Rockerbye Buttons a try.  I was very very happy with their service so I highly recommend them.  They helped me change my graphic in a timely manner and didn't charge me extra.  


The other thing I have needed to get sorted out is tags.  I have always made my own tags for my dolls.  I print out the graphic onto iron on paper and then my Mom would iron them onto white bias tape.  I am now out of tags for my dolls but I have purchased a printer and am hoping to get some BeBe Babies tags made up soon.  

However I needed tags for the items I have been making for my other shop, Mexican Fabric and Fashion.  I decided to order these from Tagtopia.  I picked a special font and the proof I was sent looked good.  Now that I received the tags I don't know that I will order them again.  It's not because anything is wrong with them, or that they are totally not what I expected.  I just feel that I could make them myself.  I also don't like how the font turned out.  I wanted the letters to look a little rugged or damaged and they really just look like any regular bold font.  I don't think they have much character.  I also think they might not be heavy duty enough for clothing.  I think I would rather have woven tags.  I will give them a try though and see how they look on the items.



Recently I saw a post on the Etsy forum about packaging.  The woman was saying how she does not appreciate when she purchases something on Etsy and it comes packaged all pretty.  She doesn't like it because she feels like she is paying extra for packaging and the item and/or shipping would cost less without all the goodies.  Commenters were going back and forth.  Some were saying they like receiving items which are packaged up pretty, it's like receiving a present.  Others agreed with the poster that it is a waste of money.  I think it's an important argument because while I don't agree with the poster (I like pretty packages) I think her concern is valid.  

I think I will be adding to my shipping policies that my shipping prices include only the cost of shipping plus basic packaging materials (tape, box/envelope, and the cellophane bags).  Any extra goodies come out of my pocket and are just little gifts to make receiving a BeBe Baby and extra special experience.  How do you feel?  Do you like pretty packages with extra goodies?  

3 comments:

  1. Hi!!!! Yes I love the pretty packages!!!! I love the handmade card you sent in my little bunny package too!!!! LIttle things matter and make things more special!!!! When I saw how much you had to pay for postage on such a small package, I was floored...that was a lot for you to have to pay out,,,,So I really appreciated my winnings!!!! Thank You

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  2. You are very welcome Carla! I like doing little extra things for my customers. :)

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  3. Yes, pretty packages is the way to go. It's all about presentation and surprise to me. It shows that you took the time to go out of your way to present your item in a pretty and thoughtful way.

    Thanks,
    Debbie

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