Hello, I have brought this up before, but it was a good while back. I really think a search facility is needed when we are managing our listings.

I currently have three pages of listings, and although archaic it is possible to use CTRL &F to try to search, but it isn't possible from a mobile.

I have closed my shop previously due to the unmanageable dashboard/clumsy workarounds, and hoped it had been resolved, especially as a decent Stats system had been recently given a facelift.

Also the option to delete/hide a listing when viewing the item would be very helpful, as we can search for items as a customer would and then delete/hide. We already have the edit function, However this does not give those options when clicked.

As we've all been told over and over folksy can't afford to fund the making of apps for smartphones, so why don't we crowdfund (is that a word?) them instead. Most of us know just how important apps are for sellers and shoppers, so we should put our money where our mouth is and chip in part of the cost.
I'm not saying we should pay for it all but maybe if we could come up with part of the money Folksy could come up with the rest??
This really is something we need to get the folksy brand out there and recognised by everyone

I had an enquiry from a buyer through Folksy las week wanting to know if I could supply an item that she thought was the perfect item in time for an anniversary gift. I replied immediately. And was surprised that someone so keen did not come back so I emailed another 2 times .....apologising in case she had changed her mind and wondering if my reply had arrived.
She replied yesterday saying that she had only just seen my reply in her spam folder........she thought I had not replied and had bought elsewhere.
One, this makes me look like I could not be bothered to reply and 2 this was a potential sale of £180 that I lost. This hurt.
Is it possible to flag up to people enquiring through Folksy that a reply will come straight from the maker and to check their spam.
What could I have done differently?
I know Etsy use 'conversations' for buyers and sellers to communicate and I have had lots of successful commissions. is this way of communicating something that Folksy could consider?

I have written to the Folksy operators to suggest that membership of Folksy should be "juried" or, perhaps a more appropriate term, "following approval". Folksy has a clear and serious problem dealing with the removal of unsuitable shops, products and applicants from the listings. This is primarily due to the easy, more-or-less-instant application process that is currently used.

Applications should include not only the person's UK address details but also a general description of the goods to be sold, along with actual images of a few products. It does mean that Folksy staff would have to manually check and approve each applicant. This may mean a wait of a week or two before being granted a shop and access facilities, but it would go some way to keeping control on inappropriate products and non-UK infiltrators. In addition, if possible, all new shops would be monitored for a brief spell.

I realise many people might not like the idea of being checked out and "approved" but from what I've seen of the products on Folksy, most genuine people shouldn't have anything to worry about.

Manpower may be an issue for the team on this one, but having now read numerous reports about inappropriate shops/products, something radical does need to be done.

Many new shops don't have the 'meet the maker' info filled in. I looked for mine just now and it took me ages to find it - it's in My Profile way down on my dashboard menu. And it is not at all obvious that the info you enter here is displayed to vistors when they click your name at the top of your shop.

Suggest that this is moved into the 'Shop Settings' page, and an explanation of how it is used to be added. Prompt people to say how long they have been crafting for, what techniques they use, and why they enjoy hand crafting/designing, even rename the box to 'meet the maker', to reinforce the message about the aims of the site.

You might even make it mandatory to fill this in.

When listing a product can the description area be bigger so I can see all I am writing and can I upload all my 5 photos at once instead of one at a time.

I have just joined and can add products twice as fast on my own website and three times on E*sy and Eb*y. I love the idea of a British craft site but am dissapointed by the backend set up.

I dont really expect to get some interest in my Folksy site untill I have at least 50 products listed but at this rate it will be next year before they are on.

Richard

Last year a shop which wanted to sell my items decided not to do so because they couldn't find my shop on Folksy. They presumably thought that my business card could not be trusted and therefore neither could I!

It appears that this is because the search box does not make it clear that you can change it from searching for items to searching for shops.

I doubt if I am alone in this experience and of all the websites I use Folksy has the least user-friendly search box.

My experience of human nature is that very few people persevere to find information if it is not presented to them immediately. We live in an instant results world after all.

We need a folksy app for mobile devices and for our facebook pages. To keep up with other selling sites we need to have similar options for potential customers. They are not going to buy from us if there is a simpler way to go through an etsy/ebay app and find things from their phones etc It is really falling behind not having this option, these days its strange there's not an app for it! Folksy should be a bigger name within the uk than other selling sites as it is uk based and this would help toward that! Ease of use is everything for customers, i think we need the app options to provide a simple way for customers to view our products

We need to be an equal marketplace to others and this would help make that so

Instead of sellers having to get hot under the collar when a new shop infringes Folksy's terms and conditions of what can be sold, wouldn't it be easier if new shops were vetted by Folksy before they were published. It would save a lot of trouble, use of the report button (does it work?) and mildly annoyed emails when we spot these things. This would also give a new seller the chance to set up their shop properly before it goes public. At present they have to publish before they can see whether it looks right and has all the necessary information on display. Unlike the Dark Side there is no facility to sve a draft version.