One night last week I had the idea to open an apparel shop for Artisan 82. I was looking at print-on-demand companies in hopes of getting a shirt to wear to craft shows and thought that it would be awesome to offer my designs on apparel to the general public.
With excited enthusiasm I jumped into editing images, uploading files, and trying to feel my way through some simple HTML code. Late that same night, I had a pretty decent looking apparel shop. Awesome. I shared the link to the Artisan 82 Facebook Page, asked my friends and family to help promote and got some really encouraging feedback on the designs.
And then... and then...
I went to order the shirt that had started me down the apparel shop road and encountered an $18 shipping fee. Gah! $18 to ship a t-shirt. Are you kidding me?!?
This is the bane of the Canadian online shopper's existence. In a world where so many of the products we want to buy are sold from the USA, it is so frustrating to painstakingly pick out an item you want, only to find out that shipping is cost prohibitive.
As an online seller, I've faced similar frustrations with shipping items out. For instance, it is cheaper for me to ship an item from Ontario to Southern California than to southern British Columbia. I hate that I have to charge Canadian shoppers more for an item that originates in their own country.
With excited enthusiasm I jumped into editing images, uploading files, and trying to feel my way through some simple HTML code. Late that same night, I had a pretty decent looking apparel shop. Awesome. I shared the link to the Artisan 82 Facebook Page, asked my friends and family to help promote and got some really encouraging feedback on the designs.
And then... and then...
I went to order the shirt that had started me down the apparel shop road and encountered an $18 shipping fee. Gah! $18 to ship a t-shirt. Are you kidding me?!?
This is the bane of the Canadian online shopper's existence. In a world where so many of the products we want to buy are sold from the USA, it is so frustrating to painstakingly pick out an item you want, only to find out that shipping is cost prohibitive.
As an online seller, I've faced similar frustrations with shipping items out. For instance, it is cheaper for me to ship an item from Ontario to Southern California than to southern British Columbia. I hate that I have to charge Canadian shoppers more for an item that originates in their own country.
So the point of this rant? I shut down my original apparel shop. I can't ask someone to pay those kinds of shipping rates. I won't.
The great news is, I've got a new apparel shop, with awesome international shipping rates. This shop is hosted by spreadshirt.com and these are their shipping rates:
The great news is, I've got a new apparel shop, with awesome international shipping rates. This shop is hosted by spreadshirt.com and these are their shipping rates:
$5.50 to Canada! So much better! AND another great feature of this site is that users can print their own products, to their own specifications, using my designs! So, if your Great Aunt Millie desperately needs a coffee mug with my Very Dapper Beaver, and I haven't listed that product in my store, YOU CAN MAKE IT! (More on how to do that later.) I'm so thrilled with SpreadShirt! Check out my shop-in-progress here:
Artisan 82 Apparel Shop at spreadshirt.com
Are you wishing for any products that you don't see listed? I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions on items to add.