Shipping Dilemmas - Getting Your Crafts Into The Hands Of A Buyer
December 4th, 2008

It doesn't matter if you run your business offline, online or both you still come up against shipping dilemmas from time to time, but there is always way to prevent it and increase your shipping times. Here we will look at some ways you can prevent yourself from shipping problems and get your products into the hands of your buyers quickly, efficiently and without hassle.

Before you sell:

Sometimes things can go wrong before you even get to the post office, and can result in some very unhappy customers. Here are some ways to prevent it happening to you.

The first thing you should do is make sure you always have the item in stock so when a person does want to buy your item it is ready. This will save the shopper the inconvenience of having to wait for the item, if they were not aware of the delay in shipping before they committed to buy.

If there is a delay in shipping, always tell your customer before hand, especially if the buyer is overseas.

If the item is an order, give your customer an idea when the item will be finished. Once you have finished creating the item, send it to your customer the fastest way possible and through a reliable source.

Always give your customers a rough estimate of how long it will take for the item to reach them.

Preparation and shipping:

This is where most things go wrong with shipping as many times packages tend to get lost, are sent to the wrong address or become broken and damaged while they are in transit. Here are some ways to prevent these sorts of things when it comes to shipping your items.

Always take a second look at a customers shipping information to make sure it is written down correctly. When you go to ship the item to your buyer make sure that it is always on hand and ready to go.

If the item is breakable or fragile take all the necessary actions to ensure that it won't be broken or damaged while in transit like adding extra packing and attaching warning labels.

With all items, no matter how inexpensive they are, take out postage insurance. This way if the item gets damaged or lost while in transit you and your customer have cover.

Another thing you should do when you ship your item is use a tracking service, you and your customer will be able to keep track of the item while in transit with the number that is supplied.

Using a courier:

Many craft business owners tend to use a courier more often than a normal postage service as it is a safe and reliable, especially when most of the crafts are valuable or fragile. Using a courier will set both your mind and your customer's mind at ease. Here are some ideas when and why you should use a courier, if you aren't already.

You should use a courier when the item is too big to send through the postal company.

Also use a courier if the item that you are sending is expensive, very fragile or too awkward to send any other way.

A courier is able to take your shipment almost anywhere in the world and deliver it safely to your customer's door.

You are able to track where your item is in transit.

If you do not usually use a courier, use it as an option for your buyers as some prefer to use this service instead of a postage service.

Once your item is in the hands of your customer:

Always try and get feed back from your customer once they have received the item they bought as this can aid you in future shipping arrangements with other customers. You should ask for feedback on shipping times, packaging, and the shipping method and ask if they have anything they would suggest making the whole process faster and efficient.

The whole process of shipping your craft items to your customers is very important, from start to finish, before hand and beyond. Always take the best care when packing and shipping your items and receive feedback from your customers so you can better the time and the way you ship to all your future products to your buyer

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