Question 1

What are the guidelines for product photography?

Accepted Answer

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS MUST BE DIFFERENT

Endless images that are all the same is a sure fire way to bore the pants off your customers!

The website pays to optimise all images uploaded to site, so please only ever upload images that meet our requirements. Failure to do so could result in account closure.

Perfect Product Photography Guidelines

When selling your work online, the product photos you create are as important as your actual products. Unlike a physical craft fair, it is your product photography that will sell your work for you, making them the most important assets of your online business.

The days of taking pictures of your products on the kitchen table are long gone. The bar has most definitely been raised, but this does not mean than you have to rush out and buy expensive equipment, and spend hours setting up studio lights.

There are some awesome sauce software products that can help you to take amazing shots in minutes, using nothing but your phone. You'll find a tutorial in the seller Academy, showcasing what we feel is the very best, free app to do this. Here is an example of what you can achieve in minutes!

LEFT Original - RIGHT edited in minutes!

The original shots are on the left and yes, these are BOTH THE SAME PHOTOGRAPH!. You can achieve these results in minutes, just check out the tutorial in the seller Academy for all the info and instructions.

Format Matters

Brand consistancy is a term that I'm sure you've heard, as a small business owner. Please try to remember that the Silk Purse Guild is also a small, Handmade business, just like yours. To keep our brand voice consistant, we ask that all product photos be of your products ONLY. We will not approve collage images, computer generated templates, watermarked images or framed photos. We do NOT support video or MP4 files, we are not Tik Tok!

NOT APPROVED on the left YES PLEASE on the right.

Attention to Detail

Obviously, images should be in focus.

Question 2

Why are my listings having to wait for approval?

Accepted Answer

All listings Pending Admin Approval

When you first join the Silk Purse Guild, all of your listings will be checked over by admin, before being published on the live site. This is to make sure that you know the ropes, and are following the listing guidelines set by the Guild, which can be found in the Academy.

Why you get Stuck in Pending

There are a few reasons why you can get stuck in a pending state, having to wait up to 5 working days for your listings to be edited, checked and approved by the admin. Here are a few of the reasons that could cause this to happen -

Product Titles are too long (4/5 words MAX)
Product Titles that include colours, sizes or dimensions
Incorrect or mismatched FONT - We use LATO size 12 exclusively
Excessive spelling or grammar errors
Use of Capital Letters in your descriptions
Product images not meeting the criteria
Failure to assign a shipping class to your listing
Failure to enable the Product Stock Management

This list is not extensive, and if you find yourself stuck in pending, shout out in the group and Sara will go through it with you. Our aim is to get you out of pending as soon as possible, and hand you the keys to your very own shop, live on the Silk Purse Guild.

You can find all of the information you need, regarding listing criteria, in the Academy.

Question 3

What no Greetings Cards?

Accepted Answer

Greetings Cards

At the Silk Purse Guild we are dedicated to showcasing unique and talented artists, designers and makers. Greetings cards will only be approved if they meet the following criteria -

Your own artwork, either original or print
Professionally printed custom designs
Statement cards such as explosion boxes or exploding cards
Die cut cards, using mass produced, craft materials will not be accepted

There may be an exception to this rule, should the product be for CHARITABLE FUND RAISINg or you have an established business specialising in this niche. Approval is on a case by case basis, and nothing personal. We do not, as a rule, sell Handmade greetings cards.

If in doubt, reach out and shake your makes at us!

Question 4

How do I list a product?

Accepted Answer

Only Approved Guild Members can List Products

In order to gain access to your vendor Dashboard, you must first work through the shipping tutorial, and successfully complete this process. The tutorial can be found on the website, in the Academy.

How to Access the Academy

The Academy is located on the website, and you will need to log in to enter. Inside you will find all of the information you will need to set up your shop successfully on the Silk Purse Guild.

Shout out in the Facebook group if you need any help with shipping formulas, and contact Sara directly to help make sure you have set it up correctly. All set up's will be fully tested for you, to make absolutely sure that you are ready to rock and roll.

Finding your Vendor Dashboard

As soon as you've been approved as a Guild Member, you will be able to access user protected content on the Silk Purse Guild.

You WILL NOT be able to list products until you have worked through the SHIPPING TUTORIALS and can correctly set up your shipping formulas. These tutorials can be found in the ACADEMY, which is located on site, see the NAVIGATION BAR.

Let us know how you have calculated your shipping formulas, by email or EVEN QUICKER, in the Facebook Group, and once we are sure you've got them worked out correctly you'll be given access to your own Vendor Dashboard. This is where you can control all areas of your store on the Silk Purse Guild.

Listing Products once you have unlocked your Vendor Dashboard

Firstly, go to DASHBOARD which is located in the drop drop menu, top right of the screen under MY ACCOUNT

The DASHBOARD itself is a place to keep a record of all of your purchases, because of course you're bound to be tempted by the fabulous products listed by fellow Guild Members! To access the VENDOR DASHBOARD, follow the link

Don't panic! The VENDOR DASHBOARD can be a little overwhelming at first, but once mastered it will be a valuable tool for your business. You will find walk through videos in the Academy too!

Question 5

Can I sell Digital Products

Accepted Answer

If you're selling digital goods, then you'll know all about the 20% Digital Goods Tax. With the fantastic VATMOSS scheme coming to an end, after the departure of the UK from the European union, paying digital goods tax has become an absolute mine field.

Sellers of digital goods now have to account for the tax in all of the countries they sell to, in various languages and currencies. In order to avoid this headache, for both you and your customers, we've made the decision to treat all digital products exactly the same as the physical products on our store. To put it simply, if you wish to sell digital products on the guild, you must be able to email them to your customer directly, without the use of any automatic download link.

This system actually gives you a few added benefits. You will have the chance to really connect with your customers. You can let them know about products you're working on, as well as up and coming offers and sales. The Silk Purse Guild is not for companies wanting to provide thousands of downloads a nano second. We are here for small, handmade businesses who are willing to go the extra mile with their customer service.

It is your responsiblity to keep up with the ever changing rules, regarding your digital products. The best resource I've found online for this information is HERE

Question 6

Who is the Silk Purse Guild?

Accepted Answer

In fact, the Silk Purse Guild is actually me!

I'm Sara, known online as the Gilded Printer. I was born creative, and often receieve payment in herbal tablets from my family, for any cakes or creative work provided!

So who am I? I've been a small business adviser and trouble shooter for nearly 20 years. I started out in a traditional English restaurant chain called Bass, and it all happened quite by accident!

As a new Front of House Supervisor, joining a failing team within a poorly performing restaurant, I walked in the door and took their flagship Tavern from 42% mystery customer scores to an amazing 99% in just 4 months. I was 19 years old, with no previous supervisory experience. Believe me, I was as surprised as my line manager at the time. So I decided to sit down and really think about the steps I had taken over those 4 months.

What was I doing that was so different to the other Front of House Supervisor?
How was I able to motivate the same team that had failed to perform consistently for years?
Could I create a system that could be taught to other teams within the company?
Could I replicate this success or was it a fluke?

I was moved around by the company to 3 other restaurants within the chain, and quietly replicated the same success in each new venue in a very short space of time, with scores all above 89%. The company considered 86% customer service score to be excellent. I remember being rather confused, because the method was so very simple, and cost nothing at all to put into place, yet managers and bosses with years of experience compared to me remained utterly flummoxed. I bounced around quite a few jobs during my teens, and tested and tweaked my theory in each setting, with equally successful results, o matter the setting or role.

I'm a natural traveller, choosing to spend my life on the road, with a backpack and a smile in the early years, to living and working in the Greek islands for the last 10 years. No matter where I found myself, I was able to implement my secret sauce formula in a wide variety of roles, achieving success time and time again. From bars, to guided tours, Travel Operators and youth hostels, the system literally worked worked every time.

I'm not saying it was easy. In fact, when I managed to pull up a Greek island called Samos, (which was the laughing stock of the company, earning the lowest score in the program) to number 1 (based on what the customers were saying), my manager literally called me a weirdo, right to my face. It didn't seem to matter how I many times I explained the system, the response was always the same.......... bewilderment and disbelief. It took me 5 years to recover Samos from it's sad and sorry customer service scores, and I faced a great deal of criticism, but if you add the secret sauce, believe in yourself and put your head down, you will succeed!

No matter where in the world I lived, my creative skills helped me to make ends meet. Even working for one of the most exclusive Travel Companies in the UK, I was still earning less than a full time burger flipper! I made jewellery, worked on graphic design commissions and of course, cakes and it got me through some pretty tough times out in the islands.

So "what is this secret" I hear you shout.... quite simply, it's a blend of on point branding, high quality products and killer customer service.

I've seen so many of my creative friends struggle to make sales, pay endless listing fees and commissions, so I asked myself "How can I help?"

So buckle up, it's gonna be EPIC!

Some of my cake work and NO, it's not a scene from a serial killer documentary and I will spare you the details of the sugar work that went on top of that chocolate butter cream!

Question 7

I've listed a product, but can't see it on the website?

Accepted Answer

Pending product listings for new Guild Members

Pending product listings for new Guild Members As a new seller on the Silk Purse Guild, all product listings will be listed as "pending".

Pending products do not show up on the main site, and this is the reason why.

Most businesses have the option to meet applicants face to face. They have interviews to get to know them better, and presentations to view their products and work out if they will be the right fit. Online businesses do not have this option, and at the Silk Purse Guild we have only a registration form, Facebook Group and a mailing list.

The Internet is a scary place sometimes!

Lets face it, you wouldn't simply open your door these days, and invite any stranger to join you for a cuppa. You would be amazed to know how many hackers, bots and basically dodgy individuals are trying to get into your website these days. They often do this simply to see if they can, but sometimes the outcome is more sinister.

At the Silk Purse Guild, we value security, for both our stores and our customers. The last thing we want to happen is to showcase a store full of inappropriate content and spam. Spam is for tins!

Not every applicant will be successful

The Silk Purse Guild is dedicated to help small, Handmade Business owners in the UK, succeed. We aim to help them to improve, grow and become the top of their game!.

We also have a commitment to our customers. When visitors come to the Silk Purse Guild, we want them to find something fabulous in every single search. Carefully vetting applicants will ensure that we only work with the very best UK Makers, ensuring the highest possible quality across the board.

Product listings can be tricky, and tech does not come easy to everyone. The Silk Purse Guild will support ALL of its Guild Members, right up until the point where the training wheels can come off, no matter how long this takes.

All of our Guild Members are all shades of awesome sauce!

Question 8

How do I open a store?

Accepted Answer

The Silk Purse Guild is exclusively for small, Handmade Businesses based in the UK.

In order to be succesful you must provide the following details -

Name & UK home Address
Have a valid Stripe Account
Tell us about your business and products
Provide a link to your website, or Facebook Page

You will need to open a Stripe Account, so that you can conect it to the Silk urse Guild We work exclusively with PayPal Business accounts to process payments from your customers.

We aim to process applications within 5 working days and you will be informed by email. Should you fail to provide us with a way to view your products, this process will take much longer

The Quickest Way in the Door

To speed up your application, we suggest that you head over to out private Facebook Group and apply to join, using your business page. This way we can check out your business quickly which will speed up whole process for you

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE SILK PURSE GROUP ON FACEBOOK

If you are approved as a Guild Member - These are the Set Up Steps

Sign up on the website, by completing the registration for and joining the Facebook group Here is the link - https://silkpurseguild.com/register-to-join-the-guild/ You will not be able to access the seller area until your application been approved.
Open a Stripe Account Here is the link - https://stripe.com/gb
Have 5 killer products, with 4 photos of each and product descriptions written
Work through the shipping tutorials and find your perfect formulas. If you struggle with this, do step 1 and 2 and I will set your formulas for you. You can find the tutorial in the ACADEMY on the website. These formulas will ensure that the site can calculate multiples, and are unique for ever seller. We are all there to help in the Facebook Group if you get stuck.
Let me know when you are at this stage and I turn your store on – Whoooopie :) You will NOT be able to list products until you have completed the above 5 steps. Let me know when you get here and I will turn on your vendor Dashboard.
All products will be in a pending state, until you have been approved to post directly, due to a fair few instances of “winging it” with the shipping set up lol
YOU ARE LIVE!

Question 9

How do I give my Customer a Receipt?

Accepted Answer

Let's issue a Customer Receipt

Everything to do with payments is handled by Stripe, which you can access in your own Stripe Account.

If you need to issue your customer with a receipt, simply log in to your Stripe Account and open the PAYMENTS MENU

Once inside, locate the order in question from the list

To issue a receipt to the customer, open the ACTIONS MENU, by clicking the 3 dots. Then click RECEIPT

The Silk Purse Guild always issues your customers with an INVOICE for their order. This is what it looks like, and it is sent to them by email.

Question 10

Documents are Password Protected

Accepted Answer

Password protected content

As you work towards opening your shop, you may run into documents and trainings that are password protected. This is to ensure that only Guild Members are able to access members only content. You will need to be logged into your Silk Purse Guild account to access protected content.

The password for these documents can be located in the Academy, just look for Harry ;)

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