Just Opened Up Shop on Facebook for FREE!
I am so excited! I just opened a storefront on Facebook for FREE! I only have about 40 items in it but it's a start. I did this because so many of my friends and family were complaining they have to sign up for accounts on Zibbet or Etsy in order to buy my products. Now, you're probably wondering why I don't just sell my stuff to them and bypass the Paypal fees? It's because it's important to me to keep my bookkeeping straight and everything is all nice and neatly packaged at tax time when I use Paypal.
Now, back to that FB storefront. They offer a basic shop for free where you can list an unlimited number of items and can even import CSV files to make opening shop easier. The options are very limited in terms of not being able to change the order of items after you add them. Of course you can get this option if you upgrade to a paid storefront. LOL
Anyway, I'm physched! Check it out for yourself.
www.facebook.com/UnexpectedTreasure. click on the SHOP HANDMADE link in the left column.
Views: 138
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ExCognito on -
gratulation! i allways sell to my FB friends using just an paypal invoce and that works too.
friends and local people just give me checks, what i love to avoid the PP fees.
on a long run, thats the easy and cheap way to go and it is not too difficult to include that in the book keeping.
of cours, i am mega german here, if i dont have to spand extra money i go the extra money free way and keep that money in my business...lol
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Permalink Reply by Unexpected Treasure (Anna) on
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LOL Just sending a Paypal invoice never even crossed my mind! How simple is that? :)
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Permalink Reply by Portable Graffiti Graphics Judy on -
I looked into that once because I do have friends on Facebook that will probably never open an account to buy.
But when I got to the part where Facebook asks to access all your information, I stopped. I thought, gee I don't even play games on Facebook and try to avoid all apps there that says they have to access all my information.
Still sipping my morning coffee so perhaps the brain isn't totally functioning yet, but this comes to mind.
It's interesting that some people would have no problem allowing Facebook to access all their information in order to use an app to buy something or play a game......and won't make an account on Zibbet where all you have to give is a name and an email address.
Perhaps we need someone to write an article that would convince any of our reluctant real life friends, family and facebook friends that it's easy and safe to sign up for a buying account on venues such as ours here at Zibbet.
Anna, Let us know how that works for you as an additional place to sell.
Judy
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Permalink Reply by ExCognito on
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yes judy,
that is so true.
i do not even use any services wher you have to log in wih your faceebook account.
i do not want to give FB all those informations about what i do where and how, i dont want em o know about my business and i dont wnt that they slaughter all my informations for their business.
connecting my business with FB means that they access all information and collect also al information from my "friends|
and Anna, from the whole business aspect, i can tell you that savin 10 minutes of extra work for the book keeping may cost you a fortune at the end of the year. the fees you pay with PP will be higher than what you save. if i can, i make people to give me checks...lol.. i even have friends who just send me checks in the mail.
free often does not mean there is no payment involved. payment in this case is that you and your friends are nacked for FB they are using and selling ALL informations they get from you and your friends.
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ExCognito,
You, too, raise valid points. :) FB isn't for everyone. I realize that. But it's a viable avenue for me to try at this point in my business. I'm trying to step outside of my comfort zone and try things I normally wouldn't this year. I also know that "free" doesn't mean there's no payment involved. The truth is that if we sell online we're going to have to pay a third money processor. There's no way around that. I glady accept cash, checks and money orders well. I mean who doesn't want their money right up front? LOL I'm just trying to reach a wider population. We'll see how it goes. And I'll keep you posted!
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Judy,
You bring up an interesting and very valid point. :) I made a test purchase from one of my friend's FB storefronts and I was caught by surprise when asked for access to my other FB information! I think this will be a deterrent for some just like having to sign up for an account on Zibbet in order to buy. But I also think that there are so many people on FB who already allow this type of access that it won't be a problem for them. That's the audience that I'm trying to capture. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on how this works for me. I've already had 10 new followers since opening my store yesterday! I hope that's a good sign. :)
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Permalink Reply by Sylvie on -
I had a shop on Facebook using "Payment" app, and did make one sale. But the listing process was not easy or convenient and like Judy said, they want access to lots of info, which for me is like closing the barn door after the horse got out because I have info all over the place. But, I closed the shop because I just didn't like the set up. This was last fall and I was using Payment app. I know there are lots of businesses using it so I hope it works for you. I am going to pass on it for now and maybe revisit later.
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Slyvie,
I was also put off by the listing process especially after I had such great difficulty trying to import a CSV file! But I'm willing to give almost anything free a shot. LOL I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
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Permalink Reply by Illusions by Donna on -
I tried a FB store a while back and found that I was a tiny fish in an ocean of sellers.. And I was competing with commercially made goods. I thought the upload process was a pain and for a period of time after they did an 'upgrade' I couldn't figure out how to get back into the section where you added and deleted products..So I had stuff still listed in there that I had sold on here. I finally figured it out and managed to delete everything.
I don't want anybody sending me checks. I have a Paypal debit card and being paid through Paypal is instant money to me. I can go to any Chase bank ATM and withdraw my money at no charge.
I've also never had one single person balk at opening a buyers account here. I have 160 sales here and I'm very happy with what I get from ZIbbet.. I have a couple of other sales sites that are free to me, but no sales on them either.. I do the bulk of my marketing on either my FB business page or my personal page.. 159 of my Zibbet sales have come from FB. the other one was from a seller here.
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