Designer FAQs
- A fully-managed e-commerce site focused exclusively on global independent designers.
- We provide the technology, logistics, fulfillment and other managed services to help independent brands thrive.
- We track e-commerce trends, latest technology and customer behavior to help you grow despite the ever-changing technology and e-commerce landscape.
- We manage your web store, marketing and every other aspect of your business so you can focus on creating.
How many items can I have for sale?
- You can have as many items for sale based on what plan you choose. You can take a look at the plans here: https://www.indiefaves.com/pages/designers-apply.
- We charge a 10% commission on each sale of item that can be reproduced, and 15% commission on a one time sale of a unique, one-of-a-kind piece. For example: If your retail price is $200.00, once an item is sold we will only take 10% of $200, which is $20.00. The designer pays for the shipping but keeps most of the profit.
- Our high-level sales process works as below: It’s really straight-forward because we are very transparent with our designers.
- We work with the designer to determine what pieces are a good fit. If the designer has photos they can send those to us, or we can take photos for them. If we take photos, we would need the pieces.
- We do keep an inventory for the designers, but if you choose to keep your own inventory, we inform you when a sale occurs and you drop-ship the item.
- Once an item is sold we inform you of the sale. Once the customer receives the item and does not return it in 14 days, we pay the designer through their preferred form of payment (Paysend, PayPal etc.) after the 10% commission and any applicable taxes and shipping costs.
- If we keep the inventory the benefit is that we can ship it immediately to the customer and the payment cycle remains the same.
- All returns are received at IndieFaves headquarters to make the process simple for the client. We can discuss if you (the designer) want the returns to be processed differently.
- Once the items are returned to us we inspect the item and make the final determination on refunds especially if the customer says the item was damaged when shipped etc.
- If the item is not damaged and the customer just returns it because they don't like it, we pay 50% of the return shipping and the designer pays 50% of the return shipping.
- If the item was damaged when the designer shipped it or there was another issue with the shipped item (in case of drop-shipping) then the designer pays 100% of the return shipping.
- We ship worldwide except to Alaska and Hawaii. Shipping to Alaska and Hawaii can get really expensive up to $130.00 for a small 1 lb package.
- You do not have to be in the United States since we represent designers from all over the world.
- The designer pays for shipping above a minimum order amount.
- The customer pays for shipping for orders below that minimum amount.
- The customer always pays for Two-Day, Overnight, Same Day or Express Shipping.
How do you calculate the shipping costs?
- We provide a general price range for the shipping costs at checkout. Standard shipping above a certain price point is free for the customer.
- E.g. We offer free standard or first class shipping above $25.00 within the United States and above $200.00 worldwide.
- Customer always pays for Two-Day, Overnight, Same Day or Express Shipping.
- We encourage designers to find out the best shipping service to each continent from the location of shipping origin (where the item will be shipped from).
- For items that are heavier, it is helpful to provide the weight for us to be able to calculate accurate shipping costs upon checkout. Most jewelry weights the same but due to the unique nature of some pieces, weight is helpful.
Any recommendation on the shipment of the pieces ? Is 1 week O.K. or is it better that it is less?
- If you have the pieces already available in your inventory, provide a shipping timeframe of less than a week as people like to get orders shipped right away.
- However, it is also very normal to expect a little bit of wait for orders from emerging designers.
- The maximum time we say is two weeks for a designer to create something more complicated but one week would be ideal. It really depends on how much time you need to create and ship that item once an order is placed.
How are you different (compared to sites like Etsy)?
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Our model works a little differently from the above sites.
- On Etsy and other sites designers open and manage their stores themselves.
- IndieFaves is based on the idea of giving designers a fully-managed platform so they just have to focus on creating, while we do the content management, marketing, SEO and sales management etc. to help the designers grow their business.
- Some independent designers use us as an alternative to their personal site as it is cheaper and convenient. We understand that designers are not tech savvy and have limited time, so our model allows them to focus on what they do best, production and we take care of everything else including helping them stay ahead of technology and consumer trends.
- Unlike other sites, we do not charge a high upfront fee.
What kind of photography is required for my products?
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We believe that clear and crisp photos are the most essential element of online selling.
- To maintain consistency, a certain standard across the platform, and benefit from the zoom functionality so a customer can see the details of your products we will inspect your photos to ensure they meet minimum requirements.
- If your photos are accepted, we will photoshop one photo per product for free (based on your plan) and additional photos can be photoshopped for a small charge.
- In case you want us to take product photos for you, the fee is $15.00 per photo, still a great price and includes any photoshop. In this case you will have to send us the products that we can then send back to you.
- Editorial photos services for visually arranging the project on a model are available for $10.00 per photo.
- Since indie designers have always struggled with getting quality product and editorial photos we wanted to provide that service with extremely high resolution photos at a great prices for designers who want it. It's in no way required but helps with sales.
Do you run sales or promotional campaigns?
- We do regular promotional campaigns for IndieFaves as well as specific campaigns just for your brand. The number of campaigns per month is based on the plan you choose. If you have a smaller plan but want us to run more campaigns, we can provide that service for a small additional fee.
- We also run coupons based on percentage off, free shipping and offer other discounts plus we send regular newsletters and email campaigns to our subscribers.
- We also run paid social media (Instagram, Pinterest etc.) and Google advertising (which are already included as part of each plan).
Anything else I should know about IndieFaves?
- We are constantly evolving and in the process of introducing features such as 360 degree videos and customized jewelry where the client can design a piece in real time based on the options provided by the designer.
- We are limited to independent designers so you will never be competing against established, luxury and mass-produced brands
- Customers come to us looking for something unique with excellent quality which is why we are a curated site and not everyone is accepted.
- We understand technology, Google Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Google search algorithms, new marketing techniques etc. so your brand will always be in good hands with a company that is staying on the forefront of changing technology and trends.
What do you need from me (the designer or brand owner)?
- As the next step, if we haven’t already, we will send you a questionnaire asking about availability of your products (will you need to produce when you get an order or will you be able to do immediate shipping), price points, number of pieces, materials and photographs. This is the information we'll need from you to build your store.
What if my store needs updates?
- Anytime your store needs updates, including changes in product photos, descriptions, pricing or you want to update your designer information, you will email us at designer@indiefaves.com and we will make the changes for you.
Who do I contact with additional questions?
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If you have more questions please email us at one of the following:
May Gañán - Operations Lead
May@IndieFaves.com or at Designer@IndieFaves.com
