We have been trading in handicraft since past 35 yrs and through our experience of dealing with customers we came upon some real problems which plagued both the sellers and buyers. Since then we have been trying to develop a business model which sees off most of these inconsistencies and ensures equal advantages for everyone involved. Finally we came up with the concept of It’s Handicraft through which we have tried to eliminate major issues and gaps in the traditional model and evolve a more responsive and impartial business model.

Traditional Business Model: In the Traditional Business Model, say the artisan creates an item and sells it to a trader (middleman) for $10. In turn, the middleman marks up the price of the item by another $40, and sells it in a different market for $50.

Its Handicraft Business Model: The Itshandicraft Business Model can be further sub-divided into two distinct Business Models:

In addition:-

Its Handicraft has a new feature of Bulk retail discount –

In the Itshandicraft Bulk retail discount model, the seller offers multiple discounts on bulk purchase based on quantity and the buyer gets immensely benefited as he can buy the exact quantity he wants and enjoy discounts based on his purchased quantity. The more he buys the bigger discount he gets.

For example, if an artisan (in India/ Turkey) creates a handicraft and lists the item on Itshandicraft for a retail price of $10, he may set variable discounted wholesale rates of $8/ 1+ units, $7/5+ units and $6/ 25+ units. On the other hand, the Wholesale Buyer (in UK/ FR/ DE) would be able to purchase the lot at these prices, thereby making huge savings while purchasing.

Wholesale Model: Wholesale Business Model by It's Handicraft has been derieved after careful analysis of day to day queries within buyers and sellers trading environment where we found out that Handicraft industry run by few types of suppliers and It's Handicraft Ltd. (UK) has designed its business model to cater all possible scenarios as defined in chart below.

This chart shows results while taking feedback on supplier's routine of handling orders:-

Note: Please review supplier type before moving forward.

It’s easy to shop on Itshandicraft.com. Simply follow the steps mentioned below to complete your first purchase on Itshandicraft.com

There are two types of buying criteria in Its Handicraft.

Retail buying and wholesale buying

In retail buying, customers can buy with the listed price within applicable Quantity based retail discount. However, in wholesale buying criteria, retail businesses require to get an approval by submitting online application to our compliance team ( For more information, visit https://www.itshandicraft.com/wholesale-buyers ) and once they qualify as a wholesale buyer, their accounts automatically start displaying discounted prices.

Basic common steps in both criteria are listed below:

Step #1: Visit Itshandicraft by typing in the URL www.itshandicraft.com on the address bar of your browser.

Step #2: Select a category of products from the drop-down menu on the homepage from where you intend to shop.

Step #3: After you have selected a product category, type the name of the product in the search bar and press the search button to carry on a more specific search.

Step #4: Now select a product from the product catalogue that comes up.

Step #5: Click on the image of the product that you want to purchase and its corresponding page opens up.

Step #6: Select the quantity of the product that you want to purchase.

Alternately, you may also specify a quantity to place the order. For example, let’s say that you want to purchase two units of the same product. In that case, you need to type in the quantity in the box and press the refresh button.

Please note that at this stage, It's Handicraft.com offers you following 3 options:
Quantity Available: This option simply means the number of units that are ready available for shipping right away. For example, in the above scenario, 23 units are in stock. Therefore, any order ≤ 23 units would be shipped within the stipulated period set by the seller.

Made to Order: On the other hand, if your ordered quantity exceeds the amount of available quantity, it would be classified as a Made to Order and will be delivered at a deferred date as and when the ordered quantity is ready to be shipped.

Step #7: Once you are done with the quantity part, go ahead and hit the Buy Now button to place your order.

Make an offer: Alternate to above 2 options, you may also negotiate with the seller regarding the price and make an offer by clicking the Make an Offer button.

Step #8: Create an easy account
Once you are done through Step #7, Itshandicraft.com would ask you to create an account (if you are a new user)

Just put in your sign in details and hit the Sign In button to sign in.

or ask you to sign in (if you already have an account).

step #9: Shopping Cart
The Shopping Cart opens up and lists all the items that you intend to purchase along with their prices, taxes and shipping charges.

Step #10: Payment Authorization
Last but not the least, select your payment method and hit the Proceed with Payment Button to complete the purchase.

Step #11: Add Your Shipping Details

Step #12: PayPal or World pay Checkout
Please login using your PayPal details and checkout.

Open a Shop - Opening a shop on itshandicraft.com is as simple as opening a user account on any other website.

There are two types of selling criteria with Its Handicraft.

Retail and wholesale

Any seller can be a retail seller by just opening a shop with us. If you wish, you can offer retail discounts based on quantity.

On the other hand, to be a wholesale seller, you have to submit an online application with our compliance team and only after you get approved you can become a registered wholesale seller with us. The major benefit over normal seller you can have is that you can now list wholesale prices for your products in addition to routine retail prices. This wholesale price will only be visible to registered wholesale buyers of Its Handicraft.

Basic steps to be followed in both types of selling are: 

Step #1:

Visit the link http://www.itshandicraft.com and click on the top right corner button ‘Open a Shop’. Alternatively, you may also use the direct link:
http://www.itshandicraft.com/open-a-shop to create a Shop profile on ItsHandicraft.com.  

Step #2:

Select one of the packages from the selling options (Retail or Wholesale) as per your requirements..
More about wholesale sign up process

Step #3:

Follow the sign up process and your shop is ready to go live.

Wholesale sign up process guide

Step # 1: Read through the wholesale package details by visiting the following link
http://www.itshandicraft.com/sellerlandingpage & click on the Sign up button.

Step # 2: Create an easy account

Step # 3: Fill in the form to enter your Store Information such as;
- Store Logo
- Store Name
- About Store etc.

Step # 4: Start Adding a product

(a) Upload Photo-
You can add your product photo in 2 ways:

• Upload from PC – This is a straight forward click and select procedure of adding images of the products stored within your PC or device. Please make sure you add clear photos with minimum resolution of 500 x 500 pixels of your product and be sure not to use flash while taking photos.
• Upload via URL – If you already have your product listed in another website, you can upload it here by just copy pasting that link here and thus, save your time.

(b) Product details - In this section you can start adding your product specifications Fill in product details so that your customers can know everything about the product- like who made it, what is it and when it has been made, the category to which belongs etc. This helps the buyer to get important information and provides a clear picture about the product which gives him more confidence that he is really buying an authentic piece.

(c) Selling options - As a wholesale seller, you have the option to sell either in retail or wholesale or both. You can choose whichever option you like.

(d) Product variations - Specify the variations in your product like as color, size, shape etc. (if any). This will help the customers to order the exact variation of your product that they want.

(e) Order specifications - Put in the number of pieces you have in stock for sale at the moment, weight of the item and both the retail and wholesale prices you have set for your product. Your wholesale prices will be visible only to the wholesale buyers with Its Handicraft. Then fill in the minimum quantity the buyer has to order and the minimum value of the order. The more details you fill in, more will it make the selling process easier and free of hassles.

(f) Retail discount - Add your retail discount (if you want to offer any) Add quantity and price you want to set a discount. If you have 40 items but the order placed is of 110 items, even so the customer can place the order. But the delivery date will have to be different than the one specified because you need to create the 10 extra items and ship it. Both you and the buyer have to agree on an extended time frame. You can provide big discounts on such bulk orders.

(g) Important features - Give an idea about your product by filling in product specifications like color, functions, style, shape so that customers can have a fair idea about it. Be sure to mention important keywords which would highlight the best qualities about your product.

(h) Shipping details - Tell your customers about your shipping details like the place from where you are sending the items, how much you require to prepare the items for shipping, where is it supposed to ship, which type of service you are using to ship it and if or not you will charge for shipping.

(i) Refund and returns policy - Specify your refunds and returns policy – how many days the customers has to notify you if he wishes to return the product and the time limit within which the customer has to return the product. Knowing all these before making the purchase will help the customer to avoid later hassles.

(j) Search boosting keywords - Add easy to notice and important keywords of your product that will help your customer to find your product quickly through the search engine.

To safeguard against the buyer cancelling the order when you are actually in the process of packaging and posting the product, you can stipulate a cut off time for cancellation notification. For example, you plan to post the package at 1pm so you can stipulate the cut off time as 1pm. You then notify the buyer that the product has been shipped and send the tracking code to the buyer. You can confirm delivery of the product via the tracking code. You do not receive the payment until a seven day refund & return period has expired which starts as soon as the product is received.

Returns and refunds
You have to specify whether you accept returns or not. It’s in your interest to offer a refund policy as it helps establish bona fide credentials. You can choose from a returns policy based on 7, 15, 30, 45 or 60 days. However to qualify for the returns policy, notification of return must be made by the buyer within 7 days of receiving the product.

Step # 5: Payment Settings
(a) How you'll get paid?

ItsHandicraft.com uses PayPal to disburse all the payments to its sellers. You need to have a valid PayPal account with a working e-mail ID to accept the payments.

(b) How would you trade?

Select the type of trader that defines you better. You could either select the Retail or Wholesale mode. Please note that while the Retail option comes for free with no additional charges, the Wholesale option comes for £39 monthly fees with added perks to boost your business.

(c) Business Billing Detail

In this section you need to fill up your billing details through which you would be billed for the monthly membership charges for Itshandicraft.com.

The Wishbox is a feature available in Itshandicraft that lets you create a

list of products that interest you and which you might consider buying at a later date.

Creating a Wishbox

To create a Wishbox, you need to follow the below mentioned steps.

• Go to www.itshandicraft.com
  
•  
• Click on the Wishbox icon on the top right hand corner
  

How does the ‘Make an Offer’ process work?

As a Buyer:

We offer the most affordable prices for our products but if in any case, you- the wholesale buyer, are not satisfied with the listed price of any product that you wish to buy or if it seems a bit overpriced in comparison to your customer base, you have the flexibility to quote a new price to the seller. In that case, you simply click the Make an Offer button.

Doing this, opens up a dialogue box asking to fill up the Quantity, Price/Item and Remarks for you to fill in. You can also see the country from where the product is being sold, type of service the seller is using to deliver it and the shipping cost.

Here, you have to put in the number of items that you need and the price that you are comfortable with for buying the item.

Once you fill up the dialogue box, and click the Submit button, a request is sent to the seller to change the price and a confirmation message pops up on the screen.

As a Seller:
If a buyer asks for a revision of price to you, then you will get an email asking for your response. Alternatively, you will also be notified through the dashboard regarding any offers or revisions.

You can either accept the offer or reject it or even let it expire. In case you are not satisfied with the offered price, you can suggest a different price. Also you can make a different kind of change. Suppose you offer no cut in the original price but free shipping. If it does not appeal to the buyer, he can propose another offer such as a little hike in the rate from his original bid and a small percentage for shipping. Now if both parties agree the deal can be reached.

On clicking the Offers button, you will be redirected to the page consisting of all the offers made by the buyers.

As a buyer:
Its Handicraft offers you- the buyer a very unique option called Made to order. Suppose you like a product and want to buy it immediately. But the seller does not have the exact quantity that you wish to buy. In other shopping platforms, this means you cannot go ahead with the purchase. But here, you still can put the order for your required quantity. You and the seller can settle a deadline within which the seller will make the extra number of items and ship it to you.
You can see the option for Made to order in pink background. Suppose you wish to buy 110 pieces of the product. Then you just put in the number of pieces in the quantity box and refresh.

The specific box which comes closest to the your number of pieces ordered will get selected automatically and the Buy now button will now show as Send buying request

When you click Send buying request a new pop up window showing Made to order opens up. Put in any remarks (if you wish) and click submit.

When you click submit, you will get an notification confirming your offer. The seller will be notified of it and when the seller sends you a reply you will be notified of it.

As a seller:
With Made to order, you no longer have to lose a customer even when the item wanted by the buyer is not listed in your inventory at that moment. If a buyer wants a product which is either not listed for sale or the amount listed is lower than what he needs, he can still place the order and you and the buyer have to decide on a time limit in which you will make the products and ship them to the customer.
You will be notified of any offers under Made to order in the top right hand corner of your page in the box Shop. Also you will get an email intimating you of the offer.

Click on offers and view. You can accept, reject or even edit the offer received. The buyer will be notified of your response and both of you can communicate regarding finalizing the deal.

If you- the seller have a verified PayPal account, the payment is routed directly to your PayPal account. But you wouldn’t be able to access the funds, unless and until the buyer confirms the receipt of the goods and the returns period has expired.

On the other hand, if you have an unverified PayPal account, the payment is routed directly to your PayPal account which can then be accessed immediately. However, this might cause a sense of uneasiness in the buyer as a result of which, the order might get cancelled altogether.

Please visit the following link to verify your PayPal account:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/acc/seal-CA-unconfirmed-outside

If you have any doubts or questions about a product, you can easily communicate with the corresponding buyer/ seller/ affiliate through Chat Live and resolve your doubts. In order to activate the Chat function, you need to click on the Chat Live button which is situated just below the Buy Now button to the right. If the seller is online, it would read as Chat Live.

On clicking the Chat Live button, a new chat window pops up through which you can ask anything you want regarding the product. If the person on the other end is online, they would be notified immediately of this so that they can respond right away.

If the seller is offline, it would read as Discussions and your query would be sent to them as an offline message which would be responded to as and when they come online.

Chat History

All the conversations on chat get saved automatically for review purposes. This helps you to find an answer to your query easily at a later date.

Automatic Language Translation

The Chat Live component features a facility of automatic language translation, through which one can converse in his own language; however the person on the other end sees the messages in their own language. For example, if the seller is Spanish, the buyer’s messages to the seller would be sent in Spanish. On the other hand, if the seller types a message in Spanish, it gets converted in the language of the buyer automatically when it shows up on the screen.