Stores FAQ
How much does it cost to set up a store and what are the on-going costs involved?
Setting up your own store starts from just $49.95 per month for a basic web store and a range of plans are available for a more sophisticated and customised sites.
How do I get started and sell my clothes online?
Simply log on to Swappler and browse the available store plans. Once you have chosen your plan you will be given a user name and password and instructions on how to start building your own store. You will also be given a URL that includes your label name i.e. www.yourlabel.swappler.com
Once you have built the basics, simply upload images of your collection, fill in the drop down boxes about each item and wait for the world to pounce.
Is my Swappler store secure?
Absolutely. By utilising the latest in e-commerce facilities we can guarantee your customer’s payments (by VISA, MasterCard and Pay pal) are 100% secure. The security of your own store is guaranteed with password protection and SSL.
I’m a young designer. Do I have to register my business name or have an ABN in order to sell my clothes online?
If you’re looking to make an income from selling your label online you it’s probably best you apply for an Australian Business Number (ABN) if you are based in Australia. An ABN application can be completed in around ten minutes whilst you’re online at this address – www.abr.gov.au
If you’re unsure about applying for an ABN or wish to discuss your options, we would advise you contact the Australian Tax Office on 13 28 61 or check out their site www.ato.gov.au
For traders living outside of Australia, we suggest contacting your local government tax office.
What control do I have over my store? Can I change the look and feel whenever I want to?
If you choose the premium Swappler store plan you are free to completely customise and/or change the look and feel of your store at anytime.
I have a whole pile of excess stock in my storeroom, how can Swappler help me sell it?
Due to its content, Swappler.com attracts hundreds of fashion conscious users from around the world, all eager for an affordable and unique purchase. If you wish to get rid of excess stock you can place a notice on your site alerting users of a sale or advertise it in our weekly e-newsletter.
Can I access and edit my store from my home computer?
You sure can. When you register with Swappler.com you will be given a username and password that can be used on any computer. If accessing your site from an external or non-home computer, make sure you log off properly and delete any passwords.
Can I shut my store down if it’s not working? Do I have to pay a penalty fee?
If you find you’re not selling as much as you hoped, we would suggest contacting the Swappler crew at support@swappler.com for advice about how to make your site more attractive or your images more appealing to potential buyers. If you’re still not satisfied and wish to shut down your store you can do so. You must provide sufficient notice or you will incur a fee.
How can I make sure my clothes look good online?
Think about the clothing sites you visit and what makes you attracted to particular items. Usually it’s the clarity of the image, allowing you to easily visualise how the item sits and how it will fit. Make sure your images are always taken in a clear, naturally lit environment (this is especially important for darker or black clothing). Clothing looks better when it’s draped over a mannequin or a body. If possible shoot clothing on someone, rather than flat. The Swappler team is always happy to receive questions via email if you would like more information or advice contact support@swappler.com or phone +61 3 9417 0571.
How does Swappler attract an audience for my store?
Thanks to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) your Swappler store can easily be found if someone googles your label name or even if they google any of the words used on your site, i.e., young Australian fashion designer.
How to Use Your Store
STORE SETTINGS
Store Status
You can choose to hide your store while you are making changes, or testing the content and design of your site. If you choose to hide your store, a temporary holding page will replace your store. You can preview any changes from your personal Swappler account while your store is hidden.
Your store will be deactivated in the case of non-payment of accounts owed to Swappler, or in any case of a breach of your agreement with Swappler. You will notified via email if your store is to be deactivated. Your store will be reactivated as soon as any debts or other issues are rectified.
Sizing Chart
This will be available for customers as a pop up image in your store's individual item view pages. You can download Swappler's sizing chart template here, and input your own values, or upload your own sizing chart as either a .jpg, .gif or .png file.
Please make sure the measurements in your sizing chart relate to the items in your store. Any variations in sizing should be noted in the individual items' description fields.
Analytics
Google Anaytics provides information about where your website's viewers come from, how long they stay and which pages they view, among other useful information.
To set up analytics on your website, sign up to an account at analytics.google.com. Once you have entered your store's details, you will be provided with a tracking code. Cut and paste this into the field in the Store Settings page in your Swappler menu.
You can log into Google Analytics at any time with a Gmail account to view details of traffic on your website.
Selecting Your Store Components
You can add or delete any store features at any time. Any extra charges incurred will come into effect from the beginning of the next billing period.
Free Features
These features are available to all Swappler users.
- About
A short profile of your label and history. Some templates allow for an image on this page.
- Collections
Upload images of your past, present and future collections
- Designers
For boutiques stocking more than one designer, you have the option to display images from a range of designers in individual collections of images for each label.
- Stock
This section of your site allows you to upload images and details of your stock to sell to the world.
- News
Keep your followers up to date with all of your latest news, events and images
- Stockists
List your stockists for customers
- Press
Upload your press clippings
- Newsletter
Import your customers and fans, manage and design your newsletter
- Contact
Displays your store's contact details
- Terms and Contitions
Control your own store Terms and Conditions in relation to sales, exchanges and refunds. These must comply with your agreement with Swappler's storeowners Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
- Privacy
Swappler's Privacy Policy relates to your site, and is not alterable.
Add Ons
These features will incur an extra monthly cost.
Payment Settings
Your credit card will be billed monthly based on your payment plan, and the past months sales.
You can view your accumulative bill on your Payment Settings page. You will receive an email notification of charges owing at the end of each billing period. Your account will be debited directly from your credit card at the end of each billing period.
You must enter a valid PayPal email address in order to make sales. Make sure your PayPal account has been confirmed before making your site visible (this may take up to 5 working days after signing up to PayPal).
Sign up for a PayPal business account here.
Orders
When a customer makes an order from your store, you will receive a notification from both Swappler and Paypal. There may be a short delay between receiving your notification from Paypal, and one from Swappler. This is caused by a delay in payments being processed by Paypal; you will receive notification as soon as this information has been processed.
Your orders will be stored in your Orders page. Here, all postage and item information will be visible.
Once you have sent your order to the customer, change the order's status to Sent. The customer will receive an email notification letting them know that their order has been cancelled, completed or sent.
Your past orders will be archived for your records.
When an order is made, your stock quantities will automatically depreciate, so you will never sell an item that you have run out of.
Store Design
Selecting a Template
Select the template you want to use from the menu in the Create Store page.
You can change your template at any time. Any design changes will come into effect immediately.
Note that any design changes may change the way your content is displayed. You may need to remove images or text, and upload them again after making any changes.
If you do not want to use a template, you can choose to design your own store. Contact info@swappler.com for more information.
Favicon
A favicon is the icon displayed in browser tabs to represent your website. Any small image (usually your logo) can be used as a favicon. The image must be either an .ico, .jpg, .gif or .png file, under 2 megabytes in size.
If you do not upload a favicon, the default Swappler favicon will be displayed.
Home Page
Upload an image or video to be displayed on your store's front page.
Can't upload a video? Make sure you've chosen it in your store's settings.
Your store's design may or may not allow a description on your home page.
Privacy Policy
The Privacy Policy is controlled by Swappler and relates to the handling of all information provided by customers and subscribers to your website. If you would like to amend any part of this policy, please contact Swappler at info@swappler.com.
Fans
Your fans are people who have subscribed to your website or newsletter on your Join or Subscribe page. Their details will be imported into your newsletter mailing list when they subscribe to your store.
Collections and Designers
Give your collection or Designer a name and description.
Description not showing up? Your store design may not have room for it. If you're using a Swappler template, you can change templates in the Store Design menu.
If you have had your store custom designed, contact your designer.
Uploading Images to your Collections or Designers
Use the Choose File button to find images on your computer, then click upload.
You can upload multiple images at once by browsing and clicking upload after selecting up to 10 images.
Your images will be resized, and may take a few minutes before becoming available to view and organise.
Once your images have been uploaded, you can tag their contents with items for sale in your store. These items must be uploaded into your store before you can tag them in your collections or designers sections.
You can also give your items a description to be displayed with the image.
You can organise the order in which the images are viewed by dragging and dropping them into place on the Organise page. The first image will always be the collection's cover image and first viewed.
Shipping
Shipping Profiles
The shipping options you make available to customers are up to you. Secondary items can be charged at a discounted or no cost, if you wish, when shipped with another item. The Primary Cost is the cost for customers to have a single item shipped. The Secondary Cost is the addition cost, on top of the primary cost, of shipping a second item, or more.
Swappler will automatically detect whether customers are eligible for International or Local shipping options.
Stockists
Group your stockists into states or regions.
Stock
Adding Stock
Include a description of the fabric content of the item, the fit, specifics and any other details you want to include. This gives the customer a better understanding of what they are buying and confidence in their purchase.
The stock levels will automatically depreciate when an order is made. When stock levels get low, you will receive a notification from Swappler to let you know, so that you can top up your stock as you go.
Swappler automatically generates a style code for each item you upload, but if you have an existing style code for your items, you can overwrite the default code.
To increase searchability for your designs, make sure you tag each item with relevant words and phrases.
Uploading Images of your Stock
Upload images of various angles, details and colour variations of each item. The more images you upload, the better idea a customer has of the item.
Your images should be 72 pixels per inch resolution, and we recommend that they are at least 430 pixels wide. Ideally your images should be 1000 pixels wide, so that your customers can enlarge them for a better view.
Your image files must be .jpg, .gif or .png format and approximately 250k in file size. They will be automatically resized for thumbnails where necessary and for your store gallery.
You can re order the sequence your items will be viewed in the Organise tab. The first image will always be the first viewed.
Need to remove an item from your store?
Just find the item and either delete it by clicking the delete button below the thumbnail, or click 'Edit Item' to remove quantities from the 'Stock' field.
Contact
Your store design may allow you to include an image or a Google map on this page.
Include contact details for your head office or studio, press and sales here.
Google Map
To embed a map to your store in your contact page, first find your address on maps.google.com
Copy the HTML code from the textbox after clicking "Link to this page" on the right hand corner of the map. You can customize the size of the map and preview it before embedding.
Paste the HTML code into your Swappler contact page.
News
Update your news on the go, with images and links. Add these into the body of your entries using the icons in the right hand corner of the text field.
Press
Your images should be 72 pixels per inch resolution, and we recommend that they are at least 430 pixels wide. Ideally your images should be 1000 pixels wide, so that your customers can enlarge them for a better view.
Your image files must be .jpg, .gif or .png format and approximately 250k in file size. They will be automatically resized for thumbnails where necessary and for your press gallery.
Terms and Conditions
Your store's Terms and Conditions are controlled by you, so long as they comply with your agreement to Swappler's Terms and Conditions.