When you list your products on Makers.im, you have three options for how you want to list your product. Each product can have an image gallery with it so you can upload photos of different options etc. Also, there are options for stock management if you require it so you never sell more items than you’ve physically made.

Simple – a basic product with one selling price and optional (chargeable or free) customisation options e.g. engraving names, or some other personalised customisation.

Variable – a product which is available in different styles, colours or sizes. These can also have optional customisation options. Different product variations can be different prices.

Downloadable – gives you the option of being able to add products which users can download once they’ve purchased it.

Each seller can set their own shipping prices and shipping times. Sellers are responsible for dispatching their sold items to buyers. You can create free postage and local pick-up options as well as standard postage rates.

Postage can also be calculated as a percentage of the items in the order e.g. one t-shirt could be £2.99 postage, but three t-shirts could be £3.99 etc.

Makers.im Messenger is a tool for messaging between a purchaser and a seller on Makers. Think of it as email just for Makers.im members. To view your conversations, sign in to your account and go to Dashboard > Makers Messenger.

When buyers and sellers need to communicate about an item or order, sending a Makers Message is the best way to do it. Buyers and sellers can attached files to their messages. The sizes can be up to 10,000 x 10,000 pixels or 100MB.

All Makers Messenger messages are recorded so if one of the parties deletes a message, Makers.im can access them in the event of any dispute.

We’ve all seen it while shopping online: that little coupon code box that shows up in the cart or during checkout. With Makers.im, you can create your own for your shop.

• X% off: Codes for these discounts take a certain percentage off and can apply to your whole order for your shop, or only select items.
• £X off: These will take a fixed pounds amount off the order with your shop. Alternatively, they could apply to one single item.

Any of these code types can be applied to no-minimum purchases, but generally you would create the coupons to require a minimum order amount in order to be redeemed. Codes can apply to most items you sell, or only to specific items or categories.

The important thing to remember is that these codes only apply to items in your shop – they are not site wide.

An example for coupon usage: if you’re at a local market and you want to actively encourage a sale on an expensive item, you could create a 5% off coupon valid for 48 hours after the event has finished for customers to purchase from your online store.

A non-exhaustive list of reports that the sellers can download from their dashboard:

• Overview of sales by month/week/custom range
• Top Seller (product) by month/week/custom range
• Top Earner (product) by month/week/custom range
• Stock Report (per product)
• Top coupon used by month/week/custom range

Once you’ve decided on your shop name and set it in your dashboard, we will create a Makers.im domain name for you which you can use to advertise your shop. If your shop is called “My Shop”, your domain name would be configured as www.myshop.makers.im. This will redirect directly to your own shop front. Be sure you’re happy with your shop name. Whilst you can change the name of your shop at any time, you can only change your shop domain name once for free. There will be an admin charge to make future changes.