Category: About The Village
Happy Birthday to The Village!!
WOW!! It’s hard to believe that it has already been 2 years since we launched The Village! We are once again having a site wide Birthday celebration! Lots of shops are setting up coupons and sales! Keep checking the Shops with Sales page in the link below as more shops are added over the next few days!
Why “The Village?”
Hey ya’ll, aren’t we having fun?!;-) It is so exciting to get The Village up and rollin’! It has been months in the making, and a lot of thought, time, and discussion has went into it. This was a brainstorm that hit us one day, and we started hashing as sisters do… there is so much talent out there, so many awesome things being created, and so many artisans and businesses that are trying to reach customers, why not bring them all together in one place and make everyone more visible and easy to find! We decided to call our brainstorm “The Village of Artisans” ( ˈär-tə-zən )
We want to explain just a few things about the site to you:
First of all, the SignBoard. This is a place where we can communicate with everyone. It is mainly to post information, such as this. If we have a new feature or issue that needs to be explained we will post it here. But actually, there is no telling what all might show up on the SignBoard- A new favorite recipe? An inspirational Quote? We might just post that too:-)
And don’t you like our snazzy banner? We do:-) This will change periodically also to remind us to shop for upcoming special days (such as mother’s day), tell you about different types of products, etc.
As you can see, the Main Street shows a few featured shops at this point. For now these are the shops that are the most set up and ready to go. This all will change as time goes along- different shops will be featured.
Window shopping is similar but shows items, our goal is to select a few items from each shop to be featured on the home page.
Right now we have a quote plugin running at the bottom of the page. These are random quotes just to give us something interesting to think about. If at anytime you see something inappropriate pop up down there, please excuse it and let us know. We can “unplug” it.
Although we spent a lot of time testing the site before we went live, we still find a bug here and there that needs to be fixed. If you run into a prob with something not working correctly, again, just let us know.
Happy shopping!
All About Shops!
Hello! We are excited to announce the launching of “The Village of Artisans”!
This is a modern website for our people who have goods and services to sell. Its purpose is to bring us all together in one place so shoppers can come to one site and find the perfect gift, customized item, business, or service they are looking for!
Among our people we have sign makers and potters, quilters and seamstresses, bee keepers and cheese makers, travel agents, people who have gift shops, build custom furniture, roast coffee, sell fabric…, the list goes on and on. Each seller is trying to connect with potential customers. Many are not even known about by someone in another state! Our goal is to bring us together in one place, one Virtual Village, and deliver a comprehensive shopping experience to all!
All about Shops
Shops are designed for people who have products to sell. Perhaps you have a craft or hobby on the side like roasting coffee or sewing garment bags? Then a Shop in The Village is just right for you! Maybe you have a bulk food store and would like to reach out to more customers online? A Shop in The Village would suit you perfectly. Do you design custom signs? Make wedding gifts? Sell a special brand of cleaning supplies? A Shop would work great for you as well. As you can see the options are endless.
Setting up Shop
-The process of setting up Shop is streamlined and straightforward. Simply set up an account in The Village and select that you want to be a vendor. You can add a catchy banner to the top of your page, name your Shop, and start adding products. Details in settings can be added as you go. The site is optimized for mobile, so you can easily work from your smart phone or tablet as well as a desktop PC.
Shipping
– Now, what about shipping? The Village knows this is a very important part of online shopping. We have made it a streamlined step by step process to set up in your shop. It is easy to tweak your shipping costs to offer low shipping or free shipping if you want to. Also when an order is completed you can add tracking info and your customer is notified with an email.
Shop Page features
-On your Shop Page are some other fun features. You can drop a pin on Google maps to show shoppers where you are. If company is visiting your area they will be able to find you no problem!
Each Shop also has its own QR code to post wherever you want; on products, business cards, flyers, etc. This takes people directly to your store in The Village when scanned with a smart device.
New Shops and items will be posted on the Home Page for a period of time!
Pricing
-Maybe you are wondering “What does all this cost?” Well here is the good news, it does not cost anything to set up your Shop. The Village will collect 4% of sales to support the website. This offers you a risk free startup with no front end costs and no monthly fees. It also lets you know we are committed to helping you make sales, and that’s how it should be!
Transactions
-All money transactions are handled securely by PayPal. Simply link your account to your shop and withdraw your earnings whenever you wish. Paypal charges a fee to use their secure platform. We collect a 4% fee to cover those fees also. It is all automated and you don’t have to do a thing.
This is a Christian website with a mission of serving others and is meant to be for the benefit of all. Every potential seller will be screened and approved by the administrators of the site to ensure a clean, quality shopping experience.
Coming SOON!
“Business Pages” – full page, full color, fluid advertising for businesses with smart links to your existing websites!
“Village Bulletin” – a place for ads and notices for folks who have one item to sell or want to post “help-wanted” ads etc.
We are so excited to get this going and have big ideas for the future! We will be enhancing the website, adding new features, and possibly creating an app as we go along!
So now… Take a stroll through The Village, peek in Shop windows and see who is on Main Street! Join The Village by starting a Shop to market your own unique items. Become a part of The Village and watch us grow!
Have questions? We are happy to help! Contact us at:
~the administrators,
Valerie Unruh & Monica Koehn