Online Store FAQs

 

 We offer Online Stores!

Online stores are a great, risk free way to get your branded merchandise in the hands of your supporters, customers and employees! They can also be used to make any group orders easier (even when the individuals placing the order aren't paying for the orders).

No more order forms, spreadsheets, collecting payment and even running around delivering the orders!

With an online store, you select what you want to offer and we set it all up. You promote or share the link the to store for everyone to place their order and we do the rest!

We have successfully run stores for many organizations and companies you know (you may have even made a purchase in one of these stores). Here are just a few examples:

Schools: Anne Roberts Young Elementary School, Baldonnel Elementary School, Bert Ambrose Elementary School, Bert Bowes Middle School, Christian Life School, Ecole Central Elementary School, NPSS Musical Theatre, SD60 Band

Companies: City of Fort St. John, FSJ Public Library (and Friends of the Library), Halfway River Group, Industrial Scaffold Services L.P., WL Construction

Clubs/Sports: FSJ Flight Basketball, FSJ Huskies, FSJ Minor Lacrosse (Grizzlies), Inconnu Swim Club, Northeast BC Predators Hockey, Northern Lights Invitational (NPGA event), North Peace Gymnastics Association (NPGA), Peace Fusion Dance Society

Stores have been used to:

They are likely easier to see than to explain so check out our demo store here.

If you're ready to make your next group order easier, contact us today!

 

Have questions? We've collected some of the frequently asked questions about online stores - click below to see the answers.

 

How do I know if an Online Store is right for me?

 

There are a lot of different ways online stores can be used for teams, organizations, companies, or fundraising projects. They can even be used to “gift” items (no payment collected from person ordering online).

There are a few things that are required to make an online store effective:

  • Clearly defined target market with an anticipated 12+ orders.
  • An easy way to efficiently communicate with potential customers to let them know the store is available.
  • You have the time needed before customers need their products (5-7 weeks).

Here are a few types of successful stores we have run:

  • Sports teams – offering casual products to the athletes and fans; collecting uniform orders by gathering sizes in a quick and efficient manner (with or without payment required).
  • Groups/Clubs – offering a yearly offering of branded products as a fundraiser (or not).
  • Companies – “gifting” stores when you want to provide customers/employees with an item but want to let them pick or customize that item, employee purchase stores where employees select items and pay with company provided gift certificates and/or personal credit card.

 

What is a “pop-up” store?

 

A “pop-up” store is open for a period (generally 7-10 days) to collect orders. Once the store closes, all orders are produced.

 

Can we keep our store open all the time?

 

We do not encourage this as it increases the price of the items you are offering. When items are produced “on demand” (when orders are placed), it adds a lot of additional costs, so items have a much higher price to your customers.

  • Shipping – when we order all products at once, the shipping costs are significantly reduced. If we order a few items per week, the shipping associated with those orders could be $10-$20 per item (in many cases, the shipping is more than the cost of the item!), when we order everything at once, we are generally paying $1-2 per item (or less).
  • Decoration – part of the cost of decoration is setting everything up to decorate the item. Consider this, it could take 15 minutes to decorate one item but if we were decorating 6, it would likely only take 3-5 minutes more. So, 1 shirt = 15 minutes/shirt, 6 shirts = 3 minutes/shirt, these extra labour costs end up in the price your customer pays.
  • Decoration options are very limited when only decorating a small number of items. When producing small quantities, we are left with the most expensive decoration methods. For example, screen printing is one of the most cost-effective methods but can only be done with larger orders (16+ of the same design) – for a one colour full front decoration, the difference could be as much as $10-15 per item for the decoration alone!

 

What does it take to set up an online store?

 

Getting your first online store set up is pretty straightforward and the good news is that we both learn so much from your first store that subsequent stores get easier and easier!

  1. Choose the products. We’ll help you with this but will need to know what types of items you want to offer.
  2. Choose the decoration. Again, we’ll help but need to know what you’re looking for as far as logo/design, location, type.
  3. Let us know how many orders you expect. It’s hard to know for the first store but if we understand the size of your target market, previous experience selling product and how much demand you’ve had, we can help.
  4. Let us know if you want to have a fundraising component. We can help you determine how much fundraising to add to the products.
  5. Let us know if you have any specific graphics, pictures or information you want on your site and how you want customers to get their orders. We’ll generally pull images or information from your website or Facebook page to help customize your site but if you can point us in the right direction, it helps. We can be your pick up location, can add a shipping option or you can pick up and distribute the orders.
  6. We give you a sneak peek of your store. We get your store set up and show you what it looks like so you can provide feedback and we can make changes before you go live.
  7. Your store opens and you promote it with your target audience. We’ll give you tools to help with this.
  8. Your customers go in and make their purchases online. We’re here to help any customers needing assistance.
  9. Your store closes and we produce the orders. Depending on the pick up plans, we pack the individual orders and contact customers to let them know their items are ready.
  10. If there was a fundraising component, we credit your account (for future purchases) or write you a cheque for the amount raised.

 

What types of products would we sell?

 

Almost anything you’d like! Most stores start out with apparel options as you don’t have to sell a certain number of each one for us to produce them (if the decoration is the same on the items). T-shirts and hoodies are always the most popular options.

You can also offer “hard goods” like water bottles, mugs, technology, etc. but generally there are minimum order quantities which mean we can’t produce them unless enough are ordered on the store or you’re prepared to purchase the extras. For example, if the minimum order is 25 and only 10 sell on the store, we can’t produce them unless you purchase 15 of them.

We do recommend that you do not overwhelm your customers with too many options. It doesn’t lead to more sales; it generally leads to more order procrastination as people have trouble deciding. Especially for your first store, start with less to get a better idea of what your supporters want to see.

 

Can items be personalized?

 

We can add personalization to most apparel items and even some hard goods. We can offer that option to your customers, and they can select personalization (for a fee) when they place their order.

 

What will my store look like?

 

Your site is customized with your branding! The more information you provide us with, the more you can help us create the look and feel of your site.

You can check out a demo store here.

 

How long does it take to set up a store?

 

It depends. Once we have all of the information we need (products, decoration, pick-up details), a store can generally be created in under a week.

That said, there are times when we have lots of requests for stores or if you’ve selected a number of products that are not yet in our store catalogue it could take longer for your store to be built.

To have sufficient time to help you select products and decoration for the store, it’s best to come to see us at least a week before you want to have your store open. (Which would be 6-7 weeks before you need your customers to have their products ready.)

 

How is pricing determined?

 

We work with your estimate of the number of sales expected and our experience with stores like yours to price your items. We can also add fundraising for you. Because there is quite a range of items available, we’ll talk about the price points you feel your supporters want to see – will they pay more for a brand name or more retail oriented fit and style or do you want the “best price” available?

You will see all the pricing for your approval when you get your sneak peek at the store. If you feel that adjustments need to be made, we can definitely work with you to find other items or decoration methods that achieve the price points you’re looking for.

 

Can stores be used for fundraising?

 

Yes! We do a lot of fundraising stores. We can add a fundraising component in the pricing (eg. 10% of the selling price or $2 for a t-shirt) or even add a donation button.

If you have a fundraising component to your store, we reconcile that when the orders have been completed (just so we’re sure we’ve been able to produce all the products ordered).

 

How is payment collected?

 

The online store accepts all major credit cards and for most stores, your supporters pay for their order when they place it. For those wishing to pay debit or cash, orders can be placed in person at SJA Promo.

If you have set up a “gifting” store or a store just to collect the sizes for a group order, we would invoice you in the same way we would if you came in and ordered the products without running the store.

 

How long does the store stay open?

 

We suggest 7-10 days because we don’t produce the items until the store closes. It takes 3-4 weeks to produce the orders once the store closes so when stores are open for too long, customers who purchase when the store first opens feel like it takes forever to get their items.

Stores open for longer periods of time don’t get more sales. We find there is a rush of orders when the store first opens and another just before it closes, very few orders in the middle.

If the demand exists, we can always look at reopening the store for those that have missed it or want to order more. We suggest this rather than extending the store because those that have already placed orders end up having their items delayed with every extension. Plus, if you do regularly extend deadlines, people will come to expect this and will be expecting it for future stores.

 

Can stores be re-opened?

 

Yes! If you feel the demand exists, we can definitely reopen stores. Opening right after a store closes may require some price adjustments as subsequent stores generally have fewer orders and so some of the costs increase. We can discuss this with you if it applies.

 

How do our members/supporters/employees find out about the store?

 

This part is up to you and your success with the store will be dependent on getting the word out.

We’ll help! You’ll have a link that’s easy to share via social media, email or add to your own website. When you share on social media, there will be a custom graphic encouraging them to click to place their order. We can also help with the creation of a flyer or poster if you feel that would help. Depending on the type of store, we can also help by promoting on our social media.

The key to success is to get the word out early and often while the store is open. Make sure you continue to communicate the closing date and that orders can’t be placed once the store closes. I know people can feel like they shouldn’t post the same thing over and over again but remember, especially with social media, if you scroll past a post when it’s not convenient to order, you may not see the post again and most won’t go back to find it. It’s okay for them to see the post many times over the week the store is open. (We have one customer who used to track orders after she would email or post again and normally each post or email generated another flurry of orders. We can often see it on our end too, a number of orders followed by a pause and then another grouping of orders!)

 

When do customers receive their items?

 

The average production time is about 3-4 weeks from the time the store closes. The day after your store closes, we get everything ordered and into production (this is why we can’t take late orders and need to know if you would like additional products right away). Any delay in getting the orders placed and production started, delays all orders from being completed.

 

How do customers receive their items? Do you offer shipping?

 

We will talk about this when setting up your store. For some, it makes sense for the organizer to collect all of the orders and distribute them. This is the preferred option for many companies, schools and organizations that meet regularly (have practices or meetings). For others, it is easier for your individual customers to pick up at our location. We can even offer an option for customers to select the best pick-up location for their order.

Note that because orders have already been paid for, it doesn’t have to be the person who placed the order that picks it up. We find this is helpful for people who are out of town or work the same hours as we’re open.

We can offer shipping as an option for individual orders for a fee (to the customer placing the order). Please note that we don’t do enough shipping to have preferred shipping rates, so the costs are the same as personal shipping.

 

Can items be returned or exchanged?

 

As every item is custom made to order, we can’t offer refunds or exchanges on products. That said, if we’ve made an error or the item is defective in some way, please contact us right away and we’ll make it right. We only succeed when you are happy and satisfied with the things we make for you.

If the issue is related to an error when ordering - wrong size or item has been ordered or personalization was misspelled on the order form - we are not able to provide refunds or exchanges. We work hard to ensure the store descriptions provide the necessary information and size charts are available for your customers.

 

Can I order more product to have my own inventory of these items?

 

Yes! And we encourage this for many groups as you can leverage quantity pricing. If you want to have an inventory of products to sell or give away, your best price will be if you add it to the bulk order.

For example, if you wanted to have 24 hats to give away and there were 24 sold on the store, now you are purchasing them at the 48-piece price rather than the 24-piece price. It can also help even if you just want a few pieces.

 

 

 

 

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