Revamping my shops.

Sounds impressive to have shops. I almost feel grown up.

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Shop 1

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Shop 2

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I spent a lot of time yesterday trying to set up a website, other than Etsy, or Tictail, from which I could sell my jewelry. I already have my own domain website, which I’ve created myself using I Web, which Mac doesn’t support hosting anymore, but is still available to me as a template designer. I use Go Daddy for hosting that.

Wow, it almost sounds as if I’m website savvy. Believe me when I tell you – I’m not.

Here’s my website.

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I really like the freedom I have with the Mac. I can do almost anything with it, I have control of how it looks, AND it’s idiot friendly, but although I have access to PayPal shopping carts, etc., it’s a pain in the you know where to add a cart to each and every item on these particular templates. I’m still working on it, and am determined to figure out how I can have it my way, (always stubborn, I know), but for now this website is pretty much just a portfolio.

Insert disappointed sad face here.

Etsy is great. It’s easy to use, using their posting and insurance services is a cinch, but it’s huge and I feel lost there, and although it’s only 20 cents per item to list, it all adds up and I want that money to go to my charities.

Another sad face.

I’ve looked at Squarespace, which looks great, but I’m not ready to spend $8 a month as I’m such a small fry right now.

Wix, which doesn’t look as great.

WordPress ecommerce templates, which never got back to me when I signed up for their free trial.

And yesterday, omg! Shopify. This is the one I wanted – here. Let’s just say that I don’t have a hair left on my head.

I opened up my Tictail shop maybe a year ago, but wasn’t sure about it as it was new, and just looked so low key behind the scenes that it somehow didn’t seem right to me. The themes are limited to about five, or were when I joined. But I found one that is crisp, clean and really quite nice looking. And it’s free. Great for a beginner like me. But I still wasn’t sure.

I couldn’t set up sales tax just for Texas, and got worried about that, but then I found out that it wasn’t my fault (forums are a wonderful thing) and that they just hadn’t got around to doing that yet.

Paypal worried me. I had a friend buy something to check it out, and then refunded her, but she never got the money back. It’s still lurking around somewhere in the depths of the Paypal vaults. I think.

Or is it?

So that freaked me out a bit, I mean what if that happened to a real person.

(Sorry J, I know you’re real too).

Also, I’d have to use a third party for shipping insurance unless I was prepared to charge mega bucks for posting internationally with insurance from the usual suspects. But Shipsurance seems easy enough to use. I just haven’t tried it out yet.

With all that I’ve been ignoring Tictail.

But after yesterday and the whole Shopify drama, I decided to give Tictail another chance. So we’re dating again.

To be honest selling my jewelry freaks me out. I get all het up nervous about doing something wrong, and worse, not living up to the buyer’s expectation.

I feel anxious just telling you about it here.

Where’s that SuperChicken outfit when you need it?

Well I’m not going to worry about it. Tictail and I have kissed and made up, and I’m just going to leave it at that. I just hope it doesn’t mind too much that I two time it with Etsy.

Gosh these relationships are hard.

Now I’ve got to stop worrying about that, and start feeling sorry for myself because I have to clean the house.

My dad’s coming from England tomorrow to visit for a couple of weeks, AND next week my sister’s coming! So the shops will have to be put on the back burner for now.

Blood is thicker than water as they say, and family first, right?

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If you’re looking for an online shop, go check out Tictail and let me know what you think.

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