Seller FAQs
If you need any help regarding how to sell a product, please take a look at the possible answers below. If the answer you are looking for isn’t included in the following questions, please email Best Handmade at vendor@besthandmade.co.uk and we will be able to answer it for you.
How much does it cost to open a store?
It is completely free to open a store with Best Handmade! The only time a small fee is charged is once you have made a successful sale. This fee is just 9% (+1.4% + 20p to cover transaction fees).
Does Best Handmade charge any additional fees on top of the 9%?
No, 9% is the highest commission you will pay to Best Handmade. Once you have made a sale, your earnings come to us, and we pay out your funds within 7 days business days. As funds come straight to us, the payment transaction fees, such as Stripe fee (1.4% + 20p), is deducted in addition to the 9% commission Best Handmade receives.
I don’t live in the UK, can I still create a shop and sell?
Absolutely you can! We have recently opened our doors to Sellers outside of the UK. However, Best Handmade will promote UK based sellers as priority. If you require any assistance setting up your Best Handmade shop, please email us on administrator@besthandmade.co.uk
How do I open a store?
To open a store, you need to click on the ‘My Account’ button and fill out the form with all the information required and select Vendor. Make sure you choose a password that is easy to remember but hard enough for someone else to guess.
What can I sell on Best Handmade?
You can sell anything on Best Handmade providing you made it. Items which infringe copyright are prohibited. If you have a product that you would like to sell but you are unsure if you can sell it on Best Handmade, please email us and we can discuss (vendor@besthandmade.co.uk)
Am I allowed to sell food and drink on Best Handmade?
Yes, food and drink is allowed to be sold on Best Handmade, providing you hold the current licences and certificates to show that you are allowed to sell it. You will be asked to provide a copy of these documents to Best Handmade to prove this.
Am I allowed to sell handmade alcohol on Best Handmade?
Yes, the sale of alcohol is allowed on Best Handmade providing you have the correct licences and certificates to prove this. You will be asked to send a copy of these documents once you have signed up to prove this.
Am I allowed to sell handmade beauty and fragranced products on Best Handmade?
Yes, the sale of beauty and fragranced products is allowed on Best Handmade providing you have the correct licences and certificates to prove this. You will be asked to send a copy of these documents once you have signed up to prove this.
Can I sell downloadable products such as patterns and pictures?
Yes. You can do this by adding a new products and under to option to make it a Simple or Variable product, you can check the box that says downloadable. You can then add the file so when a purchase has been made, the customer has instant access to it. You can select how many times your customer can download it and when the download expires.
How do I add products to my store?
Once you have set up an account, go to your dashboard and click on Products and on the right hand side of the window, you will see a button saying ‘Add new product’. Under that tab, you can add as many products as you would like to completely free.
What if you don’t have a category for my product?
If we don’t have a category suitable for your product just email us (admin@besthandmade.co.uk) tell us what you require and we will add it for you.
Can I edit my products once I have uploaded them?
Yes, you can edit and update your stock levels as many times as you want completely free!
I have variations to my products, how do I let customers select the one they wish (e.g size)?
Once you gone onto the second page of creating a product, you need to scroll to ‘Attribute and Variation’. Click ‘Add Attribute’ and enter your variation type under Name. For example Size, Age, Pack Size.
Under Values, enter the variations the buyer can choose from. For example Small | Medium | Large, 2-3 years | 3-4 years | 4-5 years or Pack of 50 | Pack of 100 | Pack of 150 etc. Make sure the ‘Used for Variations’ box is tickets and then click ‘Save Attribute’.
Next to the Add Variation drop down box, click ‘Go’. Select the variation you would like to start with then click the little down arrow on the right hand side. This will extend the box and will allow you to complete it with as much information as you would like. Once you have completed this, click ‘Save Variations’ and then repeat this paragraph until you have completed all variations.
How do I change my stock levels?
When you are setting up or editing a product, scroll down to Inventory and tick the ‘Enable product stock management’ box. You will then be able to update your stock levels, set a low stock threshold and decide if you would like to accept backorders.
How do I set up shipping costs?
Once you have signed in, go to your Dashboard and click on Settings then Shipping. Under Zone Name you will see ‘United Kingdom’. Hover your mouse over ‘United Kingdom’ and click Edit. Hover your mouse over ‘Flat Rate’ and click Edit. Scroll down to ‘Shipping Class Cost’ and enter a cost under each option (Letter, Large Letter, Small Parcel, Medium Parcel and Large Parcel). Before clicking ‘Save Settings’, select which Calculation Type you would like to use. Click ‘Save Settings’ then unselect ‘Limit your zone location’ then ‘Save Changes’.
When creating individual products, you can choose which one out of your Shipping Class Costs you would like to use for each product you upload.
How do I ensure all my products include postage even if more than one is purchase in the same order?
Where you set your shipping class costs, you need to add *[qty] after each amount. This will then increase the postage each time a product is added to the basket.
For example, if one product with a letter shipping cost of £1.00 was added and the customer added another to their basket, the postage would be £2.00.
My product can be personalised, where do customers let me know how they want them?
Once they go to checkout, there is a box called ‘Order Notes’, there, customers can insert all personalised information. We recommend that you mention when to do this in your description
How do I set up payments?
On the Dashboard, click on ‘Settings’ then ‘Payments’ where you can add your PayPal email address and your bank account details for bank transfer payments.
My earnings are showing less than I thought. Is 9% the only fee?
You are correct, 9% is the only commission Best Handmade will receive from your earnings. Depending how the customer pays for their order will unfortunately show different amounts. If they pay by Stripe (debit/credit card), the fee is 9% (+1.4% +20p). If they pay by PayPal, our system removes the PayPal transaction fee automatically from the order. Best Handmades fee is still 9% (+2.99%) to cover PayPal Processing fee.
How do I request a withdrawal of my earnings?
There is no need to request withdrawals anymore as we will automatically transfer your earnings to your preferred account within 7 business days of the order. You will still need to change the status of your order to Complete once you have posted it.
As we are now using the process above, any payment issues/refunds etc are dealt with between yourself and the customer.
How do I know when someone has ordered something?
When you login and go to your Dashboard, click on ‘Orders’ and all your to-do, completed and cancelled orders will be listed there. You will also receive an email to say that you have received an order.
Can I mark an order as complete?
Yes, once you have completed an order, you can change the status to complete. Once you change the status, the buyer will also receive an email to see that it will be on it’s way.
How do I close my account?
If you have decided you would like to close your account, please contact us and we can do this for you.
