Those who sell patterns online

[Chiscrochetcrazy]

Ok I'm considering sellling a few of my toy patterns but I honeslty don't know if it's really worth the trouble.I was wondering if you have issues with people saying they don't get the emails with the pattern and other issues often:think I don't need the money it would just be to feed my habit nothing more but I don't want a huge headache either. So is it worth the trouble at all :think

[natalie058]

What about selling through Rachel's Crochet Pattern Roundup?? That would probably take away the hassle.

[Chiscrochetcrazy]

Well but I'd still be responsible for everything else it's just the exposure your getting there. I'm just wondering if you really do make enough to be worth any glitches you may run into. I'm considering where to sell but also if I should bother at all.

[threeolivemartini]

at the risk of sounding harsh ( and of course every one here thinks i am anyway so.. )


i say just do it and figure it out .. is it worth it to YOU to deal with the hassles.. some people can tolerate more glitches than others.. if you go into this thinking its going to be problem free then i would say you were not being realistic anyway ..

i think most ppl that are unsure about what they should do in certain cases are looking for reasons NOT to do it.. it might be too hard or might be problems.. so based on that they dont try at all because they are afraid it might be too much..

what i can say is this .. if you want the extra money .. and dont mind a few glitches here and there then go for it.. nothing is EVER problem free

if you want to sit back and try to make money with out having to work at it .. then i think you are barking up the wrong tree.. i dont believe any thing like this exists in the first place..

the total bottom line is .. is it worth it to YOU .. not any one elses opinion whether it was worth it to them or not .. their guidelines for making such decisions may be quite different from yours ..

[Chiscrochetcrazy]

I certainly didn't have the idea that it would be problem free or I would have done it allready. I would just like some other peoples experiences before I decide.I don't think me asking others what their selling experiences have been means I can't decide for myself I just want to make an informed decision. It's not like it's a major life decision just where better to ask than here about this sortof thing.

[Etaria]

I would have to agree with Olive... err... Elizabeth! (I love olives btw). Anyhow!

Take worse case scenario.. someone doesn't get thier order they want their money back and gripe at you in emails.. if that happened.. would you be devestated and not want to sell anymore? You have to ask yourself some questions...

You said you don't need the money,, it is more just to feed the crochet habit.. but then you say is it worth the money you make witht he glitches you may get...

I know for myself it is a LOT of work... glitches for me all the time (who knows maybe I am cursed)... lol! But I am good on customer service, always answer same day in a polite and professional manner.. Many do not get my PDFs because some have spam filters.. then others the mail goes into their bulk folder.. etc.. so far though I have not had a disgruntled customer...

Here is my worst story to date:I had soenone order my rugged mountain collection. She paid for PDF. I sent them say day along with a thank you note. A few days later I wrote her to make sure she had received them.. no word.. So...I decided to send her a CD for free and worte on the letter that I had tried to contact her 4 times through email and... Well.. a week later I saw a negative on my feedback! I couldn't believe it.. even after sending a letter wwhich i know she received and a CD for free.. so I called her :) I pulled her ph info on ebay and talked to her.. i think she was taken aback that I had actually called her.. i was very polite and was concerned she was unhappy... She said the files were too big so her ISP disallowed them (so she had proof i sent them but left me neg anyway without ever even emailing me after i sent her a free CD)... So.. i nicely told her I would send her printed versions in the mail for free... I think she was so shocked... she agreed to withdraw the neg from ebay..

So..

think about it.. it is a big responsibility and it is your reputation, and people rely on you when they purchase.. and yes a LOT of work.

[mimicat]

Hi Alisha! :)
Since you asked about experience in selling patterns I have some to relate to you. I dont know what its like too, but I went ahead anyway.
First of all, I had a pattern (2 of them) that I thought might sell.
Second, I thought how can I make it available to those who would want to buy them. Since I had only 2, I cannot put up a store at Etsy or Ebay or whatever, and I dont want all the hassle. So I thought maybe a site offering only crochet patterns would be better and thanks to Rachel, it is now a reality with Crochet Pattern Roundup! (wishes do come true!)
Third, I had my pattern only in a word document and I do not know how to put it in pdf file to make it presentable to buyers. So I made some research and found out it was quite easy to do. Now I am pleased with how my pattern looks on the computer!
Fourth, now that its published on CPR site and I'm waiting for someone to purchase it. Just yesterday someone did and I had my first buyer, I was thrilled!
Now I dont know what is next, if I'm able to sell many or a few, whatever is already out of my control.
So what I'm saying here to conclude, that I did what I could, I went for it and now I'm going to take things as it comes and deal with the next step when I have to.
I hope I have contributed something in writing this.
Alisha, I think your stuffed toy patterns are so cute, but I cannot say whether it will sell or not. If you ask me, should you try, I think you should since there isnt much to lose on this anyway. You said you were not after the money, so if you are after the experience, then might as well do it.

Take care :hug

[dhaunae]

To be honest I kinda read your post as a 'I don't really want to do this, give me a reason not to' too. Any time you sell anything anywhere it's going to be a headache, and selling online even more so. I did a year or two of going to auctions, buying stuff, and reselling on eBay. I had some great buyers, I had some who were just flat out pains in the tush. I had people claiming they hadn't gotten my emails, claiming they hadn't received their merchandise (delivery confirmation rules!), and so on. I had people I wished I could leap through my monitor and strangle. It's part and parcel of selling online. YOU are the only person who can say whether it's worth the headache that it IS going to be.

[Chiscrochetcrazy]

Maybe I am trying to talk myself out of it :think Oh well :lol

[Etaria]

Well.. if you want to try.. i would definitely recommend CPR... (crochet pattern roundup!)

All you have to do is like sell one pattern to pay for it and the rest is all for you! She will post everything and put up everything for you.. all you have to do is give her the info and then mail the patterns when the sale(s) come in...

Take your time and think about it...

[Katchkan]

Only you can really decided if you want to share your patterns enough to do the work and put up with a few hassles. There are hassles yes, but None of it is so overwhelming that it can't be done. It pays to be organized and have some idea of how you plan on handling different aspects of the business. Keeping records. helps a lot and a weak point for most beginers.
I have been so lucky with all the people I have dealt with and have alway managed to fix any mix up that has arrose. Its amazing how many ways a PDF can become lost or never delivered. Some people just aren't computer savy and miss the boat because they never saw it come in. Good Customer relations to me is the biggest key. I treat each and every one with respect and that their order is number one with me, and truly it is.
But after 2 1/2 years of having my website I don't regret it one bit. I enjoy most of the people I come into contact with, and the few headaches are few and far between.
If I had to do it over again? yes I would. By Golly it was through my site I found you guys at Crochetville and that right there sort of makes any hassles I have had worth the while.
Point is if you are going to dip your toe in, Expect to get wet.

[irikel]

:applause :applause :applause :applause


[QUOTE=threeolivemartini]at the risk of sounding harsh ( and of course every one here thinks i am anyway so.. )


i say just do it and figure it out .. is it worth it to YOU to deal with the hassles.. some people can tolerate more glitches than others.. if you go into this thinking its going to be problem free then i would say you were not being realistic anyway ..

i think most ppl that are unsure about what they should do in certain cases are looking for reasons NOT to do it.. it might be too hard or might be problems.. so based on that they dont try at all because they are afraid it might be too much..

[aliciasjoy]

Hey Alisha,
I think you ought to go for it. It really isn't all that much of a hassle. I don't sell patterns, but I sell my jewelry on the web, and have been doing it since 1999.
I think I can count on one hand the times I was truly annoyed, and that isn't so bad for all those years, right? Keeping the site updated can be time consuming and sort of boring, but you just sit down and do it a couple times a month. Once you get the initial site set up, your cart and method of payment, all the rest is really just customer service, and that's fun!
Decide in advance how you want to deal with a worst case scenario (someone being unhappy with your pattern and demanding her money back?) and have it all written down on the site somewhere and then if it ever happens you just do it. Taking a loss of a couple of dollars is worth it if she then goes and says how sweet and helpful you are on a bunch of message boards.
If you hate it, take the site down, or stop selling, but if you love it then you'll be really happy!
I think the patterns of yours that I've seen are good, so you should at least try.

[Chiscrochetcrazy]

Thanks Alicia :) by the way great name ;)

[Melissa]

I only have two patterns I sell at the moment, so it's very small-scale. I sell patterns two ways: I list on ebay (usually just a Buy it Now listing) and I sell patterns on my blog (see how I'm set up here (http://toomanyhooks.mycrochetblog.com/?page_id=55)! ;)) . Of the two methods, my blog listings are by FAR less hassle, and yield more profit for the same sale price. The reason I list on ebay is to make MORE sales (I don't get the most traffic on my blog patterns...am seriously considering CPR :scrachin).

Anyway, I ONLY sell PDF patterns, no hard copy (this is written clearly on every listing) which is the only thing that has caused problems. Once I sold to someone with AOL email, which has better security than the White House (I eventually had to get an alternative email address) and another time a quite...non-computer literate woman.... bought a pattern, realized it was a download, and sent me an email asking me to send her a hard copy because her printer was broken. I politely told her that wasn't possible, and sent about four emails explaining how to save a copy of a PDF file. ("There's a big button that says 'Save a Copy.' That will save a copy, then you can print it out LATER.") Eventually I emailed the pattern to her as a word file. But those two people are the only problems I've had so far...

Oh, right. The reason my blog sales are nearly completely hassle free is that I use Paypal, to get the payment, and I also use something called Payloadz (http://www.payloadz.com/) which automatically emails a download link to the customer upon payment. (I think this would avoid the AOL attatchment laser-filter, but I'm not sure.) Paypal of course only charges a small transaction fee, and Payloadz is free until you use it for over 100 dollars worth of deliveries in a 30-day period, at which point they require you to upgrade to a version that costs 15 dollars a month. (so far that hasn't been an issue... :lol) Usually I never hear a peep from my customers, I just get email notification that more money has been sent to my Paypal account.

Personally, I like that.

[NexStitch]

Ok I'm considering sellling a few of my toy patterns but I honeslty don't know if it's really worth the trouble.I was wondering if you have issues with people saying they don't get the emails with the pattern and other issues often:think I don't need the money it would just be to feed my habit nothing more but I don't want a huge headache either. So is it worth the trouble at all :think

Yes, I've had that before, but my scenario might be different than others. I pay for a service that instantly sends an email with a link to the pattern. They pay via PayPal which also (apparently) includes a way to the pattern. I used to get lots of emails asking where the pattern is, when in fact, the email with the link probably made its way to their spam filter before their PayPal receipt made it to their inbox. It was annoying. I did some updates on my site in the FAQ's page and I rarely get an email asking me where's the pattern, to my reply I just copy and paste the email with the link and everything is always fine.

I've only ever had one difficult person who had bought from Ebay. I think they didn't read the auction and thought they were buying an actual shawl (despite it being clearly marked as a pattern). I would get threatening emails from them in which I would respond nicely and explain the situation. And then I'd get more emails as though they had never received any of my other emails. It was horrible. Eventually, I did get through to the person and after they threatened to contact PayPal, I encouraged them to do so because they were in the wrong! And then it was over. THANK HEAVENS.

Besides that, I've dealt with very pleasant and friendly people from all over the country (and the world) who leave me nice comments from time to time or reply to my emails thanking me for the great pattern. So, there's always good and bad.

I would agree with some of the comments above that state you must be able to work with people via email to solve any problems they may have with downloading etc. You must be able to come across in a friendly manner because that's good customer service. And you must be prepared to handle any problems or errors the pattern might have ASAP. Luckily, that only happened once to me and it wasn't a big "oppsie." Otherwise, you could be fielding tons of unnecessary emails. ALSO, people sometimes have issues with whatever version of software you're working with. I had that one yesterday. Someone didn't have the latest Acrobat Reader on their computer and they opened the file and it was blank. That's another example of how you need to have good problem-solving skills and be able to define, target, and solve issues quickly.

I hope what I contributed helps you out. :)

[NexStitch]

...and another time a quite...non-computer literate woman.... bought a pattern, realized it was a download, and sent me an email asking me to send her a hard copy because her printer was broken. I politely told her that wasn't possible, and sent about four emails explaining how to save a copy of a PDF file. ("There's a big button that says 'Save a Copy.' That will save a copy, then you can print it out LATER.") Eventually I emailed the pattern to her as a word file. But those two people are the only problems I've had so far...

Oh, right. The reason my blog sales are nearly completely hassle free is that I use Paypal, to get the payment, and I also use something called Payloadz (http://www.payloadz.com/) which automatically emails a download link to the customer upon payment.

Melissa, I've had that first problem happen too, a few times. I had to go back and forth more than several times trying to explain how to do it. I had someone who just wanted me to send a hard copy because she'd had someone else do it for her and they did. I, for the same reasons, said, "No" withouth actually saying it. I just talked her through the steps of how to download and run the software to open it. I think it took like 5 days in total to solve the issue. You definitely have to be a patient person when those issues arise, otherwise you could come off as being cross.

As for PayLoadz, that's the way to go if you want to be hassle-free. I pay the $15 a month and enjoy not having to send patterns individually. People get their patterns quickly and I get the satisfaction of spending that extra time focusing on what I love: designing. Anyone who is planning to sell files online should go that route. Plus, there's the option to have your item include in their online store which gets your name out there (they come up in the search listings pretty high).

[laffingliz]

You have nothing to lose except your time have you? Why don't you try a couple on :ebay if they are e-version patterns and see how you get on then re-evaluate the situation?

As a pattern browser I look for something "different" and I think the pic makes all the difference as to whether I purchase or not.

Give it a go, you may surprise yourself!