Selling FAQ

How do I become a Seller on Smashing Darling?

CLICK > SIGN UP in the up right corner of the homepage. Check the circle that say 'I want to sell on Smashing Darling' and the propper form to fill out will pop right up. If the form doesn't pop up try downloading the browser Firefox. www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox and viewing the site with Firefox. If you still can't see it CLICK > CONTACT at the bottom of the page so we can figure it out together.

How do Smashing Darling fees work?

Very simply, when an item sells there is an 18% fee, otherwise, it is free to be there with as many stores and items as you would like.

I'm not in the US, can I sell on Smashing Darling?

Contact us at info@smashingdarling.com

Why should I be here instead of somewhere else?

• Stores are FREE! If you don't make money we don't make money.

• We don't hide you! We are the only site out there promoting all of you, and letting you make your brand stronger. We give you and the consumer full access to each other.
• Your customers always have your newest items right in front of them.
  Through RSS feeds, Invites and Subscribes your customer can know the
  second you put anything new online, and buy it immediately from you.
• You have access to all of our features for FREE:
  
  • As many stores as you want, FREE
  • As many images of each item as you want, FREE
  • Access to our forums for networking, collaborating, finding
    events, etc. FREE
  • Links to videos, fashion shows, video interviews FREE
  • RSS feeds sending you messages about specific stores or specific
    categories on the site FREE
  • Invites and Subscribes to keep your customer base aware of new
    listings FREE
• In one day you can sign up, create a store, and be selling FREE
• You can use the site like an online catalog. Instead of having to pay
  for printed material, wait for a few weeks to get the pieces and then
  another for the customer to get it...You can show them new material
  TODAY by being on Smashing Darling. Not only are you being a little
  bit greener to the environment, but you get your stuff out there that
  much faster. Oh, and the price for that is FREE!

Who can be a seller?

Any Independent designer in the fashion industry including textiles  or purveyors of vintage clothing. Must be 18 years or older.

What does a Smashing Darling store consist of?

Every seller on Smashing Darling gets their own store free of charge, located at http://www.smashingdarling.com/store/1234 (the numbers at the end are the numbers to your specific store) . This is the link you can share to easily direct people to your items for sale. Every item you list will automatically show up in your store, in addition to being placed in the department & category you listed them in.

Can I upload my logo?

Yes, after you log in CLICK > YOUR ACCOUNT , Click on the name of your store, then CLICK > UPDATE STORE SETTINGS, scroll down to the bottom of that page and you will see where you can upload your logo. Make sure you have properly sized your logo to the specified optimal size. If it isn't beg a freind to do it for you or people won't be able to read your name. If you don't have a logo or it is the wrong size, the site will just use default text from where you typed in your store name at the top of the page.

I already have a buyer account. Can I become a Seller?

CLICK > CONTACT at the bottom of the page to email us so we can switch it over for you.

Can I change my username?

Yes, Go to your account and under Account Settings click on change your name, e-mail address, or password.

Can I change my store name?

Yes, after you log in CLICK > YOUR ACCOUNT , Click on the name of your store, then CLICK > UPDATE STORE SETTINGS and change the name.

Can I have more than one store?

Yes, we understand as indie designers you may create many different things or want to merchandise specific items together.

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Selling Policies

What items can I sell on Smashing Darling?

We want to help the indie fashion scene. Items designed by indie designers, for clothing, textiles, and accessories made from textiles. We also want to help these designers find the supplies they need to make there product. We have included vintage because it is fashion from the past. To make it easier to understand we think all things textile related in the fashion industry.

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Featured Sellers

How do I become a Featured Seller?

Take big beautiful clear photographs of your amazing product.

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Setting Up Your Store

Can I feature items in my store?

Yes, when uplolading your product photo, check the 'this is one of my featured items' box

Are my store featured items related to the home page featured items?

There is no relation between them.

Can I change the order of my listings in my store?

No, right now the items in your store are sorted by date listed (from new to old).

What if I have multiple sizes/variations of the same item?

List the first configuration          ex: COLOR: Blue  SIZE: small  QUANTITY: 3
CLICK > ADD ANOTHER CONFIGURATION
List the next configuration         ex: COLOR: Blue:  SIZE: medium  QUANTITY: 2
CLICK > ADD ANOTHER CONFIGURATION
List the next configuration         ex: COLOR: Green:  SIZE: small    QUANTITY: 4 

How do I delete an item from my store? 

Log in to your account. Choose the store the item is located in. Choose the item to be deleted. Click on Delete this item. A drop down menu will appear prompting you to input the item number, and then press ok to delete. 

What are Tags?

Tags are single- or multi-word keywords that you attach to an item listing.

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Images

How do I add/upload Photos to my listing?

Log in, CLICK > YOUR ACCOUNT, CLICK > on the store name you want to load to. CLICK > CREATE A NEW ITEM. CLICK > the BROWSE button so you can browse and load the images from your computer.

What should the size of my images be?

As long as your image is at least 700X700 pixels at 72 dpi, then you are just fine. If they are much smaller we can't feature you on the homepage. We LOVE being able to show off your beautiful photos, so keep them at least that large, and no larger than 250K and you'll be set.

Can I add a Photo that exists on the web?

No, the image must reside locally on your computer.

Can I remove Photos from my listing?

Yes, CLICK > EDIT AN ITEM, CLICK > on the photo, and delete the photo.

How many Photos can I add?

You can have as many photos as you think you need to sell your piece.

What happens if I don't click Finish?

If you don't click the finish button when you're first listing an item, and then navigate away from the listing steps, everything will be lost.

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Shipping Options

Log in, CLICK > YOUR ACCOUNT, CLICK > on the store name, CLICK > UPDATE STORE SETTINGS, scroll down to view shipping options and select which you prefer to use.

How is shipping payments handled on Smashing Darling?

When a seller creates a store they are given the choice of how they prefer to ship their items. The buyer is charged by Smashing Darling for the shipping, and after our 18% service fee is taken the remainder is paid directly to the seller to reimburse them for the cost of shipment.  

What is combined shipping?

When more than one item is purchased from your store by the same buyer, the buyer is charged the shipping feefor the first item purchased and then .99 cents extra for each additional item for USPS, $1.99 for 2nd day, and $2.99 for overnight.

Can I put in my own shipping prices?

Yes, we have default shipping prices set up, but you may change them by typing in your prices. See above shipping options, this is where you will find it in your account. 

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Expired Listings

Does my listing Expire?

Your listing will not expire but we do recomend that you keep your store fresh and new.

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Images

What size should my images be?

Ensure that the file is 250k in file size or below -- the official limit is 2mb, but those on slower connections will timeout before uploading that much data. Ensure the file is a properly encoded JPEG. Is there a firewall that could be blocking your uploads? This might be the case if you work for a large and/or slightly paranoid company and you're trying to upload from work. Try to alter your firewall settings or take the firewall down briefly to test the transfer.

As long as your image is at least 600X600 pixels on each side at 72 dpi, then you are just fine. If they are much smaller we can't feature you on the homepage. We LOVE being able to show off your beautiful photos, so keep them at least that large, and no larger than 250K and you'll be set. 

Why do my Thumbnail images keep getting cut off or misaligned?

All the thumbnails on Smashing Darling are a perfect square, so unless your original image is that same shape, there will be a bit of cropping. We crop from the center out.

What size (dimensions) are the Thumbnails?

Thumbnails are 100X100 pixels square @ 72dpi.

Why do my Photos look wrong (blurry, distorted, etc)?

Make sure your original image is at least 600 pixels wide. If it's not, we'll stretch it and this will cause unpleasant effects.

What file format can I use for my Photo?

The following file extensions are valid: JPEG, JPG, GIF and PNG. All images are resampled as JPEGS with a quality of 90. Uploading animated GIFs won't work.

What size (dimensions) do my Photos appear in the listing?

The detail image in all item listings is 430 pixels wide. We retain the aspect ratio of your original, so the height is variable.

Should I use CMYK or RGB for my listing Photos? (What do these mean?)

You should use RGB, which stands for Red/Green/Blue. CMYK is only for print (and stands for Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black).

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Transactions

Items Sold

What happens after I sell an item?

When you sell an item you are sent an email containing all the pertinent info for the sale (item, buyer, )The item's quantity is automatically reduced by the number that were sold, and will show up in the Items Sold section of Your Store.

How do I find a record of Items Sold?

All your sold items are located in Your Shop > Items Sold and click the Details link to view the full receipt.

How do I contact the buyer?

Go to the buyers store and click on the contact link (you must be logged in to do this though). 

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Payment

When will I get paid for items that are sold?

Once an item has been purchased payment goes into a 2 week hold. After the 2 week hold the payment is put in line to be paid out to you. We trigger payments on the 1st and 15th of every month. For example an item purchased on the 7th, the payment will be on hold until the 21st. At that point it will be put in line to be paid. The next payment day would be the 1st.

Can you automatically settle the account for me every day?

No, we cannot automatically settle the account every day.

How do I get refunds for a transaction gone awry?

Contact us at info@smashingdarling.com

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Store Features

Why Select Favorites?

This is where you put other designers in your favorites so your customers can search the site based on your recommendation.
We believe your customer will trust who you are recommending.
If we all have favorites, we all start sharing customers, the more our individual customer base grows.

What is Invite Contacts? 

when you invite your contacts, they receive an email inviting them to your store and to subscribe to you. If they subscribe to your store, every time you upload new product, they get an email
with a link to that product. We think this is great because it keeps your product in front of your customer without you having to lift a finger!

What is Subscribe?

Any one who visits your store can subscribe to you. Even if it wasn't one of your original contacts or customers.
So whoever subscribes to your store would once a day or week will get an email with the product right in the email and if they click on the photo they go right to where they can buy it!
How is that for helping you keep your product in frontv of your fans!

What are Badges and Widgets?

These are great viral marketing tools that we give our designers. If you have a blog or website you can download the badges and widgets into these other places to advertise your store with us!
All with the sole purpose of driving traffic back to you and your store.

What is a Sample Sale? 

We built a feature so designers could have sample sales online! We know this is an important part of the business.
We also built them short and sweet just like in the real world. They time out after 4 days. So we recommend that if you are going to have one,
You let all your contacts know!
You can create sales as often as you like and we put them in a sample sale area
so they wouldn't clutter up the full price merch in the designer stores!
Bonus, regular store and sample sale store are linked!