The current Canada post strike has caused havoc for small online businesses around the world. Besides the fact that Canadian based online stores have had to close their doors, most online businesses, especially U.S. based online businesses, that have many Canadian customers are losing hours stressed out over the Canadian post strike.

I have tried alternatives to USPS / Canada post and they just are not viable. With packages weighing less than one pound and with a value of less than $100, UPS and FedEx charge an arm and a leg for both delivery and customs fees. For example, when sent by UPS, one customer was charged more in customs fees than the price of the item.

When people think about postal delivery perhaps they just think about the perhaps outdated service of letter delivery, like this article. However, with the development of the internet, postal service has become more than delivery of letters – it now is part of an intricate web of international business.

Perhaps the reason postal services are losing money is because they haven’t made the switch in business model from honing in on paper letters and advertisements to small packages and parcels. I am not sure. But what I am sure of is that postal service is necessary in the expanding online world of ecommerce.

If you want to remove the “As low as” price on the catalog view, then edit:
app\design\frontend\

\template\bundle\catalog\product\price.phtml

If your theme does not have this file, copy it from:
app\design\frontend\base\default\template\bundle\catalog\product\price.phtml

Then, comment out the code surrounding: <p class=”minimal-price”> ….. </p>

Read more about making changes to Magento for your Bundled Product configuration.

If your shop is set up anything like the TS shop, you don’t want that pesky quantity box at the bottom of your “Bundled Product”. There is an easy way to fix this – get rid of it in all your “Bundled Product” item pages. This is what aclever magento forum poster, tzyganu, suggested in this post.

To do this, you will need to edit your template. Go to this file:
app/design/frontend/”your_interface”/”your_theme”/template/catalog/product/view/addtocart.phtml

Save a copy of this file as addtocart.phtml.bak.

Now, edit the original file. Look for: “<!–?php if(!$_product—>isGrouped()”. Also, find the <!–?php endif; ?–>. In between these two, you should find a <label> and a</label>.

Delete this entire code and insert:
<!–?php if(!$_product—>isGrouped() &amp;&amp; $_product-&gt;getTypeId() != Mage_Catalog_Model_Product_Type::TYPE_BUNDLE): ?&gt;
<label for=”qty”><!–?php echo $this—>__(‘QTY’) ?&gt;:</label>

<input id=”qty” maxlength=”12″ name=”qty” type=”text” value=”&lt;?php echo $this-&gt;getMinimalQty($_product)== null?1:$this-&gt;getMinimalQty($_product) ?&gt;” />

<!–?php endif; ?–>

Now, double check your your work by visiting the product page of your bundle product and place the item in your shopping cart. Is the price coming up correctly? If not, it may be because you have set a minimum quantity greater than 1.

To fix this, go to “System” -&gt; “Configuration”.

Then go to the “Catalog” section on the left side and click “Inventory”.

Under “Product Stock Options” you will find “Minimum Qty Allowed in Shopping Cart”. Make sure there is nothing inserted there.

Your Bundled Product should now work without the quantity box in the item page.

Please let me know if you have any questions by leaving a comment below!

The TS shop is run on the open source Magento platform. I am proud to say that with the exception of one instance, I have been able to fix my shop all by myself. Yes, I am a proud DIYer.

Like any other shop software, I run into problems. When I do, I immediately do a search and sometimes I find the answer. The hard part is figuring out the lingo people use regarding the issue at hand.

Today, for the first time, I tried setting up a “bundled item” to allow my customers to mix different finishes or sizes in one listing and get the bulk rate. I had several obstacles:

1. No easy way to provide a bulk rate discount. SOLUTION: Set up “Shopping Cart Price Rules” – see below
2. Input quantity provided at bottom of my product page. SOLUTION: Manually edit the template – see the upcoming June 8 post
3. “As low as” price displays preconfigured low price. SOLUTION: Remove “As low as” price – see the upcoming June 10 post
4. No minimum quantity for the “bundled item”. SOLUTION: – coming soon

1. BULK RATE DISCOUNT VIA “Shopping Cart Price Rules”
This is a little tricky. My ideal price rules are such that when a customer purchases 100, they get a price break. Then, 240. Then, 600.

To make something like this, I first had to determine the total price of 100 pieces at the normal price. So if the normal price is $1/piece, 100 pieces would be $100. 240 pieces would be $240. 600 pieces would be $600.

Now, after logging into the admin side of Magento, create your bundled product via Catalog –> Manage Products. Remember to SKU for that product.

Note that because I have three price levels, I will be making three rules.
Look for PROMOTIONS –> Shopping Cart Price Rules.

Click “Add New Rule.”

Fill in the “Rule Information” based on your own parameters.

In “Conditions”, click on the “+” and then choose “Product Attribute Combination”.

Click the “+” directly below and choose “SKU”. Type in the SKU of the bundled product.

A. Again, click the “+” directly below and choose “Price in Cart”. Type in the price of 100 pieces ($100). Then, change the “is” to “equal or greater than”.

B. Again, click the “+” directly below and choose “Price in Cart”. Type in the price of 240 pieces ($240). Then, change the “is” to “less than”.

Now click “Save Rule.”

C. Now, go to “Actions.” I chose “Apply Percent of product price discount”. Then after determining what price you want per piece, you insert the percentage discount.

At the bottom, you will see “Apply the rule only to cart items matching the following conditions (leave blank for all items)”. Below that, click the “+” and choose “SKU”. Insert the SKU of your bundled product.

The second and third rule will be created very similarly. Name each rule with a slightly different name. The difference will be the numbers you include in sections A, B, and C above. For your last and final rule, omit section B.

After everything is finished, make sure to double check by placing the items in the cart at the respective quantity levels.

If you have any questions, please feel free to submit them in the comments below!

I just started on Pinterest just a couple of days ago and found so many inspirational images and tutorials. If you haven’t joined, you should try it out. Feel free to add me.

My favorite pins include ANIMALS, food, DIY TUTORIALS, bags, and bag patterns.

Key rings are so simple yet so complicated. Deciding on the finish is only the first step. Then, you need to decide on the size.

Its easy to size out your key rings when you have them in your hand since you can tell if you like the size. However, there are several measurements you must consider before shopping online.

There are three measurements, two of which can be used to calculate the third measurement. These are:

1. Outside diameter
2. Inside diameter
3. Gauge (width of the metal)

Although the picture to the left is an O ring, it will help visualize the various measurements I am referring to.

If you like mathematics then you can see that:

[outside diameter] = [inside diameter] + 2x[gauge].
Don’t forget that you have to add the gauge twice because we are measuring the diameter. (At one point I had only added it in once, causing me massive confusion.)

When I first started TS, I did not realize there was an inside and outside diameter. So, when I switched suppliers I accidentally ordered slightly larger key rings. After speaking with my supplier, I realized it was because my previous supplier spoke in regards to the outside diameter while my new supplier described items in terms of inside diameter. Most people simply speak of “diameter” so if you are looking for an exact size key ring, make sure you ask whether they are referring to the inside or outside diameter.

So now, in terms of TS key rings, here are the sizes (based on inside diameter) and finishes we provide:

1. 21.6mm copper split key rings (1.7mm gauge)
2. 23mm nickel and antique brass split key rings (2mm diameter)
3. 25mm antique brass split key rings (2mm diameter)

If you are looking for a larger or smaller key ring, please email el@tantalizingstitches.com . We are gradually increasing our selection and would love to hear what you are looking for.

Plus you save money.

Investing in an inexpensive scale will save you both time and money. With a postal scale handy at home, you can create shipping labels at home by purchasing postage online. If you have a small store, I suggest paypal for postage purchases for no additional monthly fee. If you have more packages to send out you may want to try a monthly service provider like Stamps.com.

With these online post age purchases, you can save on delivery confirmation (costs around 19 cents instead of 75 cents), you can print out a scan form, and you can even save on the base rate.

For example, if you send via priority or express mail, paypal, click n’ ship, and stamps.com will provide a discounted rate with free delivery confirmation.

If you send by first class mail, stamps.com provides a discounted rate and a reduced delivery confirmation rate.

I happened to stumble on a couple of used food scales (weight watchers) which are pretty useful as a postal scale stand in. I am providing them at $5 per scale and sending it priority mail.

Feel free to ask me any questions about paypal, stamps.com, or my food scales.

I just received a newsletter from Ann Ranlett about the upcoming AAARF Arts and Crafts Fair.

Location: Auburn Autohaus, 2855 Grass Valley Highway, Auburn, CA

You can find the AAARF on facebook.

Here is the Facebook Event. Check it out to see what other artists will be in attendance.

My friend Sandy is moving!

We met online through the Crafting for Animals Guild. The Crafting For Animals Guild is a group of artists and crafters on Artfire.com who are dedicated to catering to the needs of animals by either creating and designing items for animals or by supporting and / or raising funds for charitable animal organizations. I started the group several years ago. Sandy joined last year and was a big help in spiriting our group. Just like me, she loves animals.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances, she is moving and needs to find new forever homes for her furbabies. I have had to do this in the past as well. It really is a hard thing to do but sometimes the best things to do are the hardest to live with. If you are interested in knowing more about her little pooch, please let me know.

In addition wouldn’t it be wonderful if some of her creations found forever homes? Take a look of what she has to offer here.

Previously, I shared with you some tips on possible email vendors and ways to gain subscribers. I mentioned that you can ask paypal checkout customers if they would like to subscribe to your newsletter. This is how to set it up.

Should You Do This?

In general I would say, “Of course!” But after reading some etsy posts, I have decided to stop doing this. This is because the new etsy checkout system prevents this information from showing in your details section of your paypal transaction. (See below for information on how to retrieve the information.) Because of this, your customer is always asked whether she would like to receive your newsletter. However, you will not know whether she wants to subscribe.

Say you do set this up. You asked the customer (via paypal) if she would like to subscribe to your newsletter. She says yes but you don’t know it because she purchased via etsy. So then, you later send an email and also include another invitation to your newsletter. She may simply ignore the question because she is thinking, “Duh, I already said yes! Why do you keep asking me?”

I sell on several venues but I’ve decided that that the etsy problem is hampering the results of my paypal subscription option so I’ve deactivated this feature.

If you sell on artfire or zibbet, then I highly suggest adding this option to your paypal checkout.

Setting It Up

Go to paypal and log in.

In paypal, click on “Profile”.

Then, if you are in the new profile setup, click on “My Selling Tools”

Then, once you click that, you will find “Custom Payment Pages“. Click on “Update”.

Click on “Options”.

Then, at the bottom you will see “Offer Promotional Emails”. Check mark that.

Finding Your Subscribers

This is the more time consuming part. To find your subscribers, you must click on every payment detail.

Then, while in the details screen, you scroll to the very bottom. If you see “Subscribed (email address)” then you’ve got a winner.

If you don’t see any of this at the bottom, that means the customer did not check mark the subscription box.