About online shopping

Living overseas with an FPO box, we shop online A LOT. There is no neighborhood art store or craft store or fabric store. Well there might be, but translation is hard. And I like my American products. I have learned a lot about what I like and don't like, what I want to be sure to pay attention to when I open my own business.

Little things matter!
I recently ordered valentine's cards from http://www.youngamericancomics.com/about.html
I can't say whether the package was the best part or the contents. That she took the time to draw on the envelope and handwrite my name made such an impression on me. It was like getting mail from an old friend!


I have ordered from http://www.reprodepot.com and she also added a nice touch. The fabric was wrapped with a ribbon tied around it.

Ordering from Laura at http://www.sacredkitschstudio.com is always a treat. She put a cool label on her package and included a little note. (It may have been because we are online friends, though.) :D

Communication is so important!!
Because I have an FPO box, mail takes a little longer to get to me. I appreciate when senders let me know when they sent the items out. Then I know when to expect it and when to start bugging my husband to check the mail.

Backordered or discontinued items should be communicated before my order is shipped. I open my boxes expecting lots of cool stuff, only to find a few items with a list of stuff backordered and canceled from my order. This always annoys me.

Basically it all comes down to communication. I don't care how bad you screw up my order, if you explain to me what happened, I am much more willing to forgive.

Now that I have thought about how I want to treat my customers, I need to figure out what I want to sell! :D