SOUTH PACIFIC
This GUIDE continues where my previous ( A - F ) GUIDE left off.
Here are the South Pacific countries ( G to N) that have issued stamps, and I have added links, so that you can find that country more quickly.
German New Guinea- former German colony with last stamp issued in 1919.
Gilbert and Ellice Islands- colony divided into Gilbert Islands and Tuvalu in 1976.
Hawaii Islands- now forms part of the continental United States
Karolinen- also known as Caroline Islandsformer colony of Germany
Keeling Islands- Cocos (Keeling) Islands are a Territory of Australia
King Edward VII Land- New Zealandnear ROSS ICE SHELF
Kiribati- former Gilbert Islands issuing stamps since 1979
Mariana Islands- as German colony issued stamps until end of World War I in 1919
Marianen- German spelling which may lead you to more okay auction lots.
Marshall Inseln- also known as the Marshall Islands German Colony until 1919
Marshall Islands- click both versions and you will see different auction lots.
Micronesia, Federated States- formerly known as Caroline Islandsissues since 1984
Nauru- stamps issued since 1916 when Great Britain issued overprinted stamps
Netherland Indies- Ned Indie- changed name to Indonesia in 1948
Netherlands New Guinea- Nieuw Guineaissued stamps from1950 to 1962
New Britain- G.R.I. on Deutsch-New-Guinea- Neu-Pommern Islandissued until 1915
New Caledonia- Nouvelle Caledonie- Dependency of France
New Guinea- stamps of Papua New Guineawere used after 1937.
New Hebrides- British New Hebrides- French New Hebrides now known as Vanuatu
New South Wales- now stamps from Australiaare used here.
New Zealand- issuing stamps since 1855
New Zealand Antarctic Territory
Ross Dependencystamps issued since 1957
Niuafo'ou- forms part of the kingdom of Tonga
Niue Island- also known as Savage Island, dependency of New Zealand
Niutao Island- issues stamps and is part of Tuvalu
Norfolk Island- Territory of Australia issuing stamps since 1947
A few more "N" will be listed in the next GUIDE.
Please look out for it.
If you are interested in learning more about the South Pacific Islands, why not join
The Society of Australasian Specialists/ Oceania, where you will meet others, who also share your interest in Palm Trees and the South Pacific. Simple use your favorite search engine and input " SAS OCEANIA".
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Helpful Hints for Setting Your Table Entertaining
Helpful Hints for Setting Your table
General Rules for Setting your Dining Table For Entertaining
I am going to explain some general rules for setting your formal dining table for entertaining and for special meals
Allow for 24" to 30" for each place setting to avoid over-crowding
Place settings should be 1" from the edge of the table
All silverware is placed in the order of use. What is to be used first is placed farthest from the plate
Knives are placed to the right of the plate, with the knife's cutting edge facing the plate
Spoons are placed to the right of the plate and to the right of the knives
All forks are placed to the left of the plate, in order or use. THe only exception is the cocktail/oyster fork, which is placed to the right of the place spoon
If salad is to be served as a first course, the salad fork is placed to the left of the dinner fork, left of the dinner plate. If the sald fork is to be used as a dessert fork, it is placed to the right of the dinner fork, next to the plate. The dessert fork and spoon can also be placed, European style, above the plate. The spoon, its handle to the right,goes above the fork. The fork's handle points to the left.
General Rules for Setting your Dining Table For Entertaining
I am going to explain some general rules for setting your formal dining table for entertaining and for special meals
Allow for 24" to 30" for each place setting to avoid over-crowding
Place settings should be 1" from the edge of the table
All silverware is placed in the order of use. What is to be used first is placed farthest from the plate
Knives are placed to the right of the plate, with the knife's cutting edge facing the plate
Spoons are placed to the right of the plate and to the right of the knives
All forks are placed to the left of the plate, in order or use. THe only exception is the cocktail/oyster fork, which is placed to the right of the place spoon
If salad is to be served as a first course, the salad fork is placed to the left of the dinner fork, left of the dinner plate. If the sald fork is to be used as a dessert fork, it is placed to the right of the dinner fork, next to the plate. The dessert fork and spoon can also be placed, European style, above the plate. The spoon, its handle to the right,goes above the fork. The fork's handle points to the left.
Denby Stainless Flatware Silverware MOD FLAIR CURVE
Denby Stainless Flatware
Silverware by Denby
The Denby gepany (located in the UK) is best known for their unique and stylish Pottery lines. Did you know that they also make stainless patterns to match some of their most sophisticated pottery patterns. The Flatware is an exclusve Denby USA line.
The flatware, exclusively designed by Denby, Cutting edge designs that capture the essence of each Denby range. Understated and stylish cutlery with discerning details which make them a pleasure to use whatever the occasion. Crafted from the highest quality 18/10 stainless steel, your Denby cutlery will look good for years.
There are several patterns.
Classic, A timeless design with rounded edges and classic curves. Designed to geplement classic styles
MOD, A contemporary design with scultpted edges and elegant lines. Designed to geplement modern designs
FLAIR, A dramatic design with angular edges and strong lines. Designed to geplement contemporary styles. Also available in a matte finish
CURVE, A shapely design with soft edges and gentle curves. Designed to geplement elegant designs. Also available in a matte finish.
Designed to reflect the same contemporary style and high quality of all Denby. Denby USA Limited. Lifetime quality guarantee.
Silverware by Denby
The Denby gepany (located in the UK) is best known for their unique and stylish Pottery lines. Did you know that they also make stainless patterns to match some of their most sophisticated pottery patterns. The Flatware is an exclusve Denby USA line.
The flatware, exclusively designed by Denby, Cutting edge designs that capture the essence of each Denby range. Understated and stylish cutlery with discerning details which make them a pleasure to use whatever the occasion. Crafted from the highest quality 18/10 stainless steel, your Denby cutlery will look good for years.
There are several patterns.
Classic, A timeless design with rounded edges and classic curves. Designed to geplement classic styles
MOD, A contemporary design with scultpted edges and elegant lines. Designed to geplement modern designs
FLAIR, A dramatic design with angular edges and strong lines. Designed to geplement contemporary styles. Also available in a matte finish
CURVE, A shapely design with soft edges and gentle curves. Designed to geplement elegant designs. Also available in a matte finish.
Designed to reflect the same contemporary style and high quality of all Denby. Denby USA Limited. Lifetime quality guarantee.
Selling Collectibles Antiques and Vintage Items on s
So.....your ready to jump into okay to start selling your antiques, vintage items and collectibles?Heres a little guide to help you on your way.First off, in my experience, this is one of THE hardest catagories to sell in. Reason: There are not 50 million people looking for your product. There are only a select few that are searching for only "certain items" which they collect. Most of these buyers are not searching all the time. They search when they want to, there is no big HOT RUSH to get the items, and most times they stumble upon the items they are looking for by accident.Now if your selling just a certain type of collectible, such as figurines, then hopefully you will achieve a "cult following" if you will. These buyers will gee back to you time and time again, PROVIDING you give excellent shipping, packaging, and customer gemunication. More times than not, these customers are more impressed with getting a super quality item at a fair price, with great customer service all the way through the transaction. Here is the really tough one. If, like me, you decide to begee a "Jack of All Trades" when it gees to your collectibles selling, then you DEFINITLY are going to have your work cut out for you. I sell everything from glassware to old toys and books. In doing this, I have found that there are 5 HUGE pieces of advice I have to offer:Research: RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH! In this type of setting, you MUST do your research on each and every item your selling. This can be extremly time consuming, so be prepared. Remember, your buyer knows EXACLTY what you are selling and what the going price should be based on the condition of the item. You MUST be at least 1/2 as knowledgeable about your item your selling as your buyer. If not, then either your item is not going to sell because your price is too high, or your buyer is going to get a STEAL on an item you had no clue about.Best times and days to sell: There are HUGE amounts of information available on sold items though MANY different market analysis programs and web sites on what time of day, or what day to sell your items. These services do cost money, usually a monthly subscription fee. FORGET THEM! Save your hard earned money. When your talking about IPods or Xbox, these items are really great tools. They will in fact show you alot of information. If your into selling these items I would actually regemend that you go ahead and get one of these subscriptions. It may actually help you. However, if your into the collectibles, dont bother. WHY? Well, its simple. This goes back to what I was saying about this being the toughest catagory to sell in. There are NO right times, no right times of day, and NO listing times that are set in stone or proven to help in these catagories. Well, I take that back. I would in fact regemend (if your selling collectibles) to have your listings run as long as you can, (7 days for low end items and 10 for high end) to attract the buyers your looking for. As I said, these people look for only certain items and they do so when they WANT to. This is NOT an "I NEED IT NOW" catagory to keep up with the neighbors.Open an okay store: Again, we do NOT have 50 million people searching for our "1 particular" item on a daily basis. They buy "when" they want to, and "what" they want to, usually only after viewing the item and the items description NUMEROUS times. I have had items sell from my store MONTHS after the original auction listing went up one or two times, then was just parked it in my store. With an okay store, you get the first month free which will give you time to get some auctions up, and be able to "park" the items which didnt sell at auction in your store. Once your store is established, make sure to place links to the store in ALL of your auctions as many times as you can. If you make 2 sales a month out of your $15.95 store, then your covering your costs right there. DESCRIPTION!: I empahsize this one, and CANNOT stress it enough. YOUR BUYERS NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE CONDITION OF YOUR ITEM IS! When your selling in these catagories, even the smallest scratches, dings, nicks, or imperfections, can DRASTICALLY affect the value of your items not to mention REALLY ticking off your buyer when they receive an item with a flaw that you failed to mention. Do NOT rush your descriptions, hold the item in your hand and look it over VERY carefully, then describe EXACTLY what you see. This will not only save you TONS of questions and emails to answer, but could very well just save you from that negative feedback.Keywords and Title: Dont EVER put works like "L@@K" or "WOW!" into your auction titles. Though they seem great, these words are actually taking up space of another word that a buyer in this catagory could actually be SEARCHING for. When you go into the okay search bar, do you search for "L@@K?" Well, neither do I and Im willing to just bet that 99.99% of the people searching on okay dont do that either (the other .01% is the left for the "Eccentric People"). Instead of L@@K you could put RARE if the item is a hard to find item. When making your titles, put words in there that YOU as a collector would SEARCH for, and USE ALL THE LETTERS ALLOWED if you possibly can. I hope that these tips have helped you on your way. I made Powerseller in 6 months following these rules. Will I keep it? Probably not. I am only selling part time on okay, however, Buyer satisfaction is my FULL TIME JOB!.
Things to consider when buying a Shopping Cart Cover
Does it cover 100% of the seating area?The main purpose for using a shopping cart cover is to protect your child from germs and bacteria found on shopping carts and restaurant high chairs. If your cart cover doesn't cover everything your child touches, your child can still pick up harmful germs and begee sick. Make sure the cart cover you choose puts a barrier between germs and your child. Also, if the whole seating area is covered, it provides protection from hot, cold, and wet carts.
Does the shopping cart cover gee with its own safety belt?Children need to be strapped in to prevent injuries. How many times have you seen carts with broken or missing seat belt straps? How clean do you think the cart straps are? Would you let your child teeth on them? If you use a contaminated seat belt, it defeats the purpose of covering the seating area. Your shopping cart cover should gee with its own safety belt to secure both your child and the cart cover to the cart.
Is the cart cover machine washable?A shopping cart cover should make your life easier, not harder. With your busy schedule, you want something that is easy to care for. We all know that children can spill their snacks and drinks. You will want to wash your shopping cart cover to keep it clean for your child.
How easy is the cart cover to install and remove?If you are like most parents, you have your hands full. You will want a cover that can be installed with one hand while you hold your baby in the other. Ease of installation and removal is important...especially if you have a young child or multiple children. It should be quick and simple or you are likely not to use it every time.
Does it fit in restaurant high chairs?Restaurant high chairs are almost as dirty as the grocery carts. Many times they are sticky and have leftover crumbs from another child. We wash our children's hands before they eat. Shouldn't we make sure that what they touch while sitting at the table is also clean?
How much padding does the cart cover have?A younger child will require more padding for gefort and protection from the bars and metal on the cart. Does your cover have enough padding in the seating area to lay a baby in the seat to sleep if needed? An older child may not require as much padding. However, keep in mind that if you plan on having more children, a cart cover should be able to last through more than one child.
Does the cover gee with pockets? How large are the pockets?Pockets can be a very convenient way to store things without having to lug a full diaper bag in everytime you go somewhere. Pockets can hold diapers, wipes, toys, wallets, cell phones, and keys. Be sure to check to see how the pockets close - Velcro, zippers, etc. If the pockets are open, the child can get into them or your things may fall out. Also check to see where the pockets are located. Are the pockets next to the child, or are they behind the seat and out of the child's reach?
Does the cart cover have toy loops?Loops on a cover are great for attaching toys or pacifers to keep the child content. Attaching them also keeps them off the dirty floor.
Does the shopping cart cover gee with its own safety belt?Children need to be strapped in to prevent injuries. How many times have you seen carts with broken or missing seat belt straps? How clean do you think the cart straps are? Would you let your child teeth on them? If you use a contaminated seat belt, it defeats the purpose of covering the seating area. Your shopping cart cover should gee with its own safety belt to secure both your child and the cart cover to the cart.
Is the cart cover machine washable?A shopping cart cover should make your life easier, not harder. With your busy schedule, you want something that is easy to care for. We all know that children can spill their snacks and drinks. You will want to wash your shopping cart cover to keep it clean for your child.
How easy is the cart cover to install and remove?If you are like most parents, you have your hands full. You will want a cover that can be installed with one hand while you hold your baby in the other. Ease of installation and removal is important...especially if you have a young child or multiple children. It should be quick and simple or you are likely not to use it every time.
Does it fit in restaurant high chairs?Restaurant high chairs are almost as dirty as the grocery carts. Many times they are sticky and have leftover crumbs from another child. We wash our children's hands before they eat. Shouldn't we make sure that what they touch while sitting at the table is also clean?
How much padding does the cart cover have?A younger child will require more padding for gefort and protection from the bars and metal on the cart. Does your cover have enough padding in the seating area to lay a baby in the seat to sleep if needed? An older child may not require as much padding. However, keep in mind that if you plan on having more children, a cart cover should be able to last through more than one child.
Does the cover gee with pockets? How large are the pockets?Pockets can be a very convenient way to store things without having to lug a full diaper bag in everytime you go somewhere. Pockets can hold diapers, wipes, toys, wallets, cell phones, and keys. Be sure to check to see how the pockets close - Velcro, zippers, etc. If the pockets are open, the child can get into them or your things may fall out. Also check to see where the pockets are located. Are the pockets next to the child, or are they behind the seat and out of the child's reach?
Does the cart cover have toy loops?Loops on a cover are great for attaching toys or pacifers to keep the child content. Attaching them also keeps them off the dirty floor.
How to Create Your own Perfumes
This is a guide for the novice perfumer, which details the basic steps to create your own signature perfume blends.
Getting Started
Fragrances are divided into top notes, middle notes, and base
notes. The top note is geposed of the lighter and more volatile
fragrance materials. This is the first impact or first impression
experienced as one opens a bottle of perfume. The middle note is the
body or heart of the fragrance, which really defines its main
character. Base notes are made up of the least volatile,
longest-lasting ingredients, such as plant resins and woods. Base
notes have a fixative character and can be discerned on the skin long
after most of the fragrance has evaporated.
Perfumers organize their raw materials in a "perfume organ." This
is a set of stepped shelves in a semi-circular shape, so named because
the shape resembles the pipes of a cathedral organ. Professional
perfumers work with hundreds of ingredients, but you can create many
blends using just a handful of essential oils. Three to ten of
your favorite oils will produce dozens of unique blends.
Here is a basic list of what you'll need to get started:
Essential Oils (at least three, your selection should include top, middle and base notes)
Denatured or Grain Alcohol
Coffee filters cut into strips
Ground Coffee
Notebook
Amber Glass Bottles (to protect your perfume oils from light)
Perfume Bottles
Formulating Your First Blend
The scent of an oil sniffed from the bottle is just the first page in
its story. Before beginning your blend, get a notebook! You
will want to be sure to keep an accurate record of the ingredients and
ratios you use. You can easily get caught up in the creative
pleasure of formulating a good blend, but you don't want to create your
perfect signature scent only to later realize you didn't write down the
recipe!
To get your feet wet, try a three-oil blend. Pick three oils that
interest you: a top note, middle note and base note. First,
open the bottles, place them close together, and sniff. This will
give you a very general idea of the character of the blend.
Describe your initial impressions in your notebook.
A simple ratio to begin with is three drops of the top note, two drops
of the middle note, and one drop of the base note. Roll the
capped bottle containing the blend between your hands to mix the oils
and warm them a bit. Give them a few gentle shakes to make sure
they are well-blended, then sniff. The top note may seem to
overpower the other oils, but it's the nature of top notes to express
themselves first. They also fade the fastest, so don't make a
snap judgment about the blend.
Place a drop of the oil on a smelling strip made from a sliced-up
coffee filter and allow it to dry for fifteen minutes. Now give
it a try. Has the scent evolved? Are other notes more fully
present? Describing perfume is often like describing music.
Has the base note drowned out the rest of your blend? Has the top
note begee too quiet? Can you discern the middle note at
all? You want your perfume to have geplexity and depth.
You want the notes in your blend to harmonize with one another.
Work in a well-ventilated room and be sure to take frequent fresh-air
breaks. Essential oils are highly concentrated, and inhaling
their fumes directly for extended periods of time can make you feel
dizzy or nauseous. Breaks are important for another good reason -
you don't want to overpower your sense of smell. Your nose needs
a rest! Besides fresh air, try breathing in the aroma of ground
coffee to periodically refresh your sniffer.
The Final Product
Once you are satisfied with your initial perfume oil, label the bottle
with the date and name. Now you can decant into your perfume
bottle and add the appropriate amount of denatured or grain alcohol as
a solvent. The general ratios of perfume oil to solvent for
various types of perfume products are:
Perfume - 20 percent perfume oil
Cologne - 15 percent perfume oil
Eau de Cologne - 12 percent perfume oil
Eau de Toilette - 5 percent perfume oil
Alternatively, you may wish to create a body oil by adding a carrier
oil such as sweet almond, jojoba, etc. Body oils should be
diluted at approximately a 6:1 ratio of carrier to perfume oil.
Most perfume oils created with essential oils will be too strong to
wear undiluted on the skin. Ten to twenty drops of perfume oil
will make a nicely scented bath.
Denatured alcohol is preferable as a solvent, as grain alcohol may not
fully incorporate all essential oils, forming layers, and will most
likely overpower the scent until the blend has aged about a
month. Regardless of the solvent you use, remember that your
perfume will evolve over time. Shake the mixture twice
daily. If you are using denatured alcohol, the scents should be
pretty well incorporated by the third day. You may notice some
surprising changes!
One caveat - you'll find it's terribly addictive. Have fun!
Lynn PhillipsTyping Monkey Apothecary
Getting Started
Fragrances are divided into top notes, middle notes, and base
notes. The top note is geposed of the lighter and more volatile
fragrance materials. This is the first impact or first impression
experienced as one opens a bottle of perfume. The middle note is the
body or heart of the fragrance, which really defines its main
character. Base notes are made up of the least volatile,
longest-lasting ingredients, such as plant resins and woods. Base
notes have a fixative character and can be discerned on the skin long
after most of the fragrance has evaporated.
Perfumers organize their raw materials in a "perfume organ." This
is a set of stepped shelves in a semi-circular shape, so named because
the shape resembles the pipes of a cathedral organ. Professional
perfumers work with hundreds of ingredients, but you can create many
blends using just a handful of essential oils. Three to ten of
your favorite oils will produce dozens of unique blends.
Here is a basic list of what you'll need to get started:
Essential Oils (at least three, your selection should include top, middle and base notes)
Denatured or Grain Alcohol
Coffee filters cut into strips
Ground Coffee
Notebook
Amber Glass Bottles (to protect your perfume oils from light)
Perfume Bottles
Formulating Your First Blend
The scent of an oil sniffed from the bottle is just the first page in
its story. Before beginning your blend, get a notebook! You
will want to be sure to keep an accurate record of the ingredients and
ratios you use. You can easily get caught up in the creative
pleasure of formulating a good blend, but you don't want to create your
perfect signature scent only to later realize you didn't write down the
recipe!
To get your feet wet, try a three-oil blend. Pick three oils that
interest you: a top note, middle note and base note. First,
open the bottles, place them close together, and sniff. This will
give you a very general idea of the character of the blend.
Describe your initial impressions in your notebook.
A simple ratio to begin with is three drops of the top note, two drops
of the middle note, and one drop of the base note. Roll the
capped bottle containing the blend between your hands to mix the oils
and warm them a bit. Give them a few gentle shakes to make sure
they are well-blended, then sniff. The top note may seem to
overpower the other oils, but it's the nature of top notes to express
themselves first. They also fade the fastest, so don't make a
snap judgment about the blend.
Place a drop of the oil on a smelling strip made from a sliced-up
coffee filter and allow it to dry for fifteen minutes. Now give
it a try. Has the scent evolved? Are other notes more fully
present? Describing perfume is often like describing music.
Has the base note drowned out the rest of your blend? Has the top
note begee too quiet? Can you discern the middle note at
all? You want your perfume to have geplexity and depth.
You want the notes in your blend to harmonize with one another.
Work in a well-ventilated room and be sure to take frequent fresh-air
breaks. Essential oils are highly concentrated, and inhaling
their fumes directly for extended periods of time can make you feel
dizzy or nauseous. Breaks are important for another good reason -
you don't want to overpower your sense of smell. Your nose needs
a rest! Besides fresh air, try breathing in the aroma of ground
coffee to periodically refresh your sniffer.
The Final Product
Once you are satisfied with your initial perfume oil, label the bottle
with the date and name. Now you can decant into your perfume
bottle and add the appropriate amount of denatured or grain alcohol as
a solvent. The general ratios of perfume oil to solvent for
various types of perfume products are:
Perfume - 20 percent perfume oil
Cologne - 15 percent perfume oil
Eau de Cologne - 12 percent perfume oil
Eau de Toilette - 5 percent perfume oil
Alternatively, you may wish to create a body oil by adding a carrier
oil such as sweet almond, jojoba, etc. Body oils should be
diluted at approximately a 6:1 ratio of carrier to perfume oil.
Most perfume oils created with essential oils will be too strong to
wear undiluted on the skin. Ten to twenty drops of perfume oil
will make a nicely scented bath.
Denatured alcohol is preferable as a solvent, as grain alcohol may not
fully incorporate all essential oils, forming layers, and will most
likely overpower the scent until the blend has aged about a
month. Regardless of the solvent you use, remember that your
perfume will evolve over time. Shake the mixture twice
daily. If you are using denatured alcohol, the scents should be
pretty well incorporated by the third day. You may notice some
surprising changes!
One caveat - you'll find it's terribly addictive. Have fun!
Lynn PhillipsTyping Monkey Apothecary
Eliminating Customer Complaints
How to eliminate potential geplaints:
1. Include enough of a description to satisfy all of the questions your buyers may want or need to know. This includes size, measurements, shipping method, etc.
2. Make sure to have a clear TOS. Make your TOS as simple to follow as possible. If you accept multiple forms of online payments make sure to use the same email address. This also cuts down on buyer confusion. You do not want to make it difficult for a buyer to pay you.
3. Be very careful about what issues you bring to a public forum. Will your buyer have access to what you are saying? Are you saying anything that could cause them to have negative feelings towards the transaction? Feel free to ask for help, but be sure not to insult your customers (especially in a forum where you can pick up additional customers). How you handle adversity can very well gain or loss you customers.
4. Let your buyers know everything you are doing for them. Just because you may know, doesnt mean they do. Do you include any extras? Is your packaging superb? Do you keep in constant contact with your buyers throughout the buying process? A ME page is a great way to let your buyers know what you do for them and what you get out of the selling process.
5. Be easily accessible. Don't make it difficult for your clients to reach you. Include your contact information in all emailsmand in your listings. However, you don't want to appear needy or too flexible. Set your business policies and stick to them, including when you are available and working and when you aren't.
6. Correct your own mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. Be willing to admit your mistakes and errors. Then arrange to correct any damage that may have been experienced due to your mistake. And, no, you can not charge the client for your expenses and time required to fix your mistake.
7. Adhere to all laws incumbent upon your business. Make sure you are operating in the clear with all regulations and laws that are applicable to your. The best plan is to follow the law or regulation as its written. If you are caught and prosecuted (in any way), it is not a defense to say that others have done it too or that those who police it let you get away with it before.
8. Don't waste time on activities that can be automated. For instance, use a template to build new pages for your site. Automation frees up your time so you can concentrate on the important stuff.
1. Include enough of a description to satisfy all of the questions your buyers may want or need to know. This includes size, measurements, shipping method, etc.
2. Make sure to have a clear TOS. Make your TOS as simple to follow as possible. If you accept multiple forms of online payments make sure to use the same email address. This also cuts down on buyer confusion. You do not want to make it difficult for a buyer to pay you.
3. Be very careful about what issues you bring to a public forum. Will your buyer have access to what you are saying? Are you saying anything that could cause them to have negative feelings towards the transaction? Feel free to ask for help, but be sure not to insult your customers (especially in a forum where you can pick up additional customers). How you handle adversity can very well gain or loss you customers.
4. Let your buyers know everything you are doing for them. Just because you may know, doesnt mean they do. Do you include any extras? Is your packaging superb? Do you keep in constant contact with your buyers throughout the buying process? A ME page is a great way to let your buyers know what you do for them and what you get out of the selling process.
5. Be easily accessible. Don't make it difficult for your clients to reach you. Include your contact information in all emailsmand in your listings. However, you don't want to appear needy or too flexible. Set your business policies and stick to them, including when you are available and working and when you aren't.
6. Correct your own mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. Be willing to admit your mistakes and errors. Then arrange to correct any damage that may have been experienced due to your mistake. And, no, you can not charge the client for your expenses and time required to fix your mistake.
7. Adhere to all laws incumbent upon your business. Make sure you are operating in the clear with all regulations and laws that are applicable to your. The best plan is to follow the law or regulation as its written. If you are caught and prosecuted (in any way), it is not a defense to say that others have done it too or that those who police it let you get away with it before.
8. Don't waste time on activities that can be automated. For instance, use a template to build new pages for your site. Automation frees up your time so you can concentrate on the important stuff.
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