Dear Makers,

We are not currently accepting new stall applications. This is because we are in the process of launching a new membership scheme for local makers in Brixton. This will come with exciting new opportunities for makers, regular networking events, discounts and much more. This website will also change as a result.

We are currently in a preparatory stage, and will be making the changes in June. We’re very excited about taking Makerhood to the next level!. If you’d like us to keep you informed about the scheme, and how you can join, please register your interest here.

The rest of this guide has instructions for current sellers, and will apply until the new membership scheme is introduced.

Selling on Makerhood
What can I sell on Makerhood?
What can’t I sell on Makerhood?
How much does it cost to sell through Makerhood?
Do I need a PayPal account to sell on Makerhood?

Stall name
Strapline
Stall Image
Stall description
Categories and keywords
What type of maker am I?
Adding your email address for your PayPal account
Stall contact information
Stall policies

Adding goods
How do I add an item?
Name and description
Pricing
Made to order
Delivery options
Delivery charges
Goods images

Payment and delivery
What happens when I sell something?
How do I see all the orders people have made from my stall?
How do I get paid?
How do I deliver items to buyers?
What do I do if an order is cancelled?
How do I make a refund?
What happens if the buyer doesn’t pay?

Managing my stall and goods
What if I go on holiday?
How do I remove an item from my stall?
I sold my goods outside the Makerhood website - what do I do?
How do I get on the homepage?
How can I promote my stall?

Legal obligations
Product safety
Legal obligations for food sellers
Public liability insurance
Tax
Distance Selling Regulations
Contacting Makerhood

Selling on Makerhood

What can I sell on Makerhood?
You can sell anything that you have made or produced yourself within the areas we cover (Brixton, Camberwell, Clapham, Dulwich, Herne Hill and Stockwell), from food to furniture, plants to paper goods, bicycles to books.

What can’t I sell on Makerhood?
You should not sell illegal, hazardous or prohibited items or goods of an adult nature.

How much does it cost to sell through Makerhood?
It's free to sign up to Makerhood and set up your stall. When you sell an item, you pay 4% of the price (excluding delivery) to cover the cost of maintaining the website. If you don't sell anything, you don't pay anything.

Do I need a PayPal account to sell on Makerhood?
Makerhood uses PayPal to ensure that all transactions run smoothly and securely. To sell on Makerhood you need a PayPal account (personal or business) so that buyers can pay you and you can pay your Makerhood fees. If you have a PayPal personal account then buyers will have to use PayPal to pay for your goods. If you have a PayPal business account then buyers will be able to pay for your goods using PayPal or credit and debit card. Although not essential, it is best if you verify your PayPal account so you can easily take money out of your PayPal account when you have sold something.

You can sign up for a PayPal account here: https://www.paypal.co.uk/uk

See our guide for how to set up a PayPal business account

Stall name
Your stall name forms part of the web address, or URL, of your stall - for example, brixton.makerhood.com/my_stall_name. You can use this to help promote your stall, so it's a good idea to pick a name that is easy for people to remember. You can change your stall name at any time by going to Your stall -> Edit.

Strapline
The strapline sits below your stall name, alongside your stall image. You can use this line to tell people what your stall sells - for example, if your stall name was ‘Easy Rider’ your strapline might be ‘Custom-made bicycles for all ages’.

Stall image
Your stall image sits alongside your stall name on your stall page. When people are browsing all the stalls on Makerhood, this image sits above your stall name. On your stall page this image is 80 by 80 pixels. When people browse the stalls it is 215 by 215 pixels so it’s important it looks good at this size. Images will be resized and cropped to a square format automatically. You can upload jpg or png files for your stall image. The file you upload cannot be larger than 2MB.

Stall description
This sits below your stall name, stall image and strapline and you can use it to tell people all about your stall and what they might find there. You might like to tell people who you are, what you make, where you learned your skills and what inspires you. Tell us your story! You can edit your stall description by going to Your stall -> Edit

Categories and keywords
Adding your stall and goods to the appropriate categories helps people find your stall and goods more easily. Makerhood categories are shown on the left-hand of the webpage under ‘Browse stalls’ or ‘Browse goods’. You can add your stall or goods to more than one category by holding down the Ctrl key (use the Cmd key on a Mac) while you select your categories.

Keywords let you attach more descriptive words to your stall or goods. For example, if you’re a cake maker you may choose ‘cup cake’ as a keyword for your stall. Whenever a visitor to the site enters ‘cup cake’ in the search field, all the stalls and goods tagged with this keyword will be displayed. Please only use keywords that are accurate for your goods. We may remove categories and keywords from stalls and goods that are tagged incorrectly.

What type of maker am I?
Makerhood welcomes every kind of maker - professionals and those who enjoy making as a hobby. Telling people which type of maker you are helps them understand whether this is a full-time occupation for you or fits into your spare time. You will need to decide for yourself which category you are in!

Adding your email address for your PayPal account
Once you have added the email address you use with your PayPal account, you can receive payment when someone buys something from your stall. It is very important that the email address you enter here is correct so that transactions go smoothly. If you need help setting up your PayPal account see our guide to setting up a PayPal business account.

Stall contact information
To comply with the Distance Selling Regulations we need to have a postal address for you. Giving us your phone number helps us contact you if necessary. We do not share this information with anyone else.

Stall policies
Your stall policies should cover how you will deal with delivery, cancellation and refunds. As long as you include the points below any additional policies are up to you. Please note that they should comply with the Distance Selling Regulations. The key provisions in the regulations are:

• delivery should be within 30 days of the order being made
• buyers have 7 days after receiving the goods to cancel the order (this does not generally apply to fresh foods and items that are made to order)
• if an order is cancelled you must refund the money within 30 days.

  If your goods are faulty in any way, you must offer a full refund, including delivery costs.

  Adding goods
  How do I add an item?
  It’s easy to add goods to your Makerhood stall.
  - Enter the name of item you want to sell
  - Add a description of this item
  - Choose the appropriate categories and keywords
  - Set the price and tell us how many you have in stock
  - Tell us if you will make the item to order and how long it will take
  - Select your delivery options and your delivery charges if necessary
  - Set ‘Show these goods now’ to ‘Yes’
  - Add one or more images of your goods
  - Click ‘Save’, then add another item

  Name and description
  Use the title and description of your goods to tell potential buyers as much about your goods as possible. You might want to give people practical information such as what the item is, how it was made, what materials is it made from, its size and weight and what colours it comes in. You might also like to tell people some more personal details - for example, why you like to make this item and how you learnt to make it. 

  Pricing
  You choose your own price but when deciding, it can be helpful to ask people for their opinion on how much to charge for your goods, or to look at websites that sell similar goods. You will probably want to make sure that you charge enough to cover the cost of materials and your time in making these goods. The Makerhood fee (4%) is deducted from the price you set, so the price you put on the site includes Makerhood fee - the buyers don't pay the fee on top. Delivery charges (if there are any) will be added to the price when buyers place their order. You can change the price of your goods at any time by going to Your goods page -> Edit.

   

  Made to order
  If you say that you will make an item to order then it will remain on your stall, and available to buy, even if the number in stock is currently zero. The item will appear out of stock but can still be purchased. 

  Delivery options
  As Makerhood is a local service, you have several delivery options.

  • Deliver it yourself:  As Makerhood is based on local connections, you may like to deliver the item yourself. You can use Makerhood’s private messaging service to arrange this.
  • Buyer collects: If you have a physical shop or studio, your buyer could drop by during the shop's opening hours, so make sure you advertise these on your stall. Even if you don’t have a shop, they may be happy to come and pick up the item personally and meet you. Again, Makerhood’s private messaging service lets you swap details and make arrangements without telling the whole world.
  • Postal delivery
  • Meeting points: You can arrange with the buyer to meet at a well-known public place in the area. Makerhood uses the following meeting points:
    • Battersea Arts Centre
    • Brixton Library
    • Brixton Village
    • by The Bishop, East Dulwich
    • by Camberwell Library
    • by Negril, Brixton Hill
    • by The Sun and Doves, Camberwell
    • Clapham Common Tube
    • Herne Hill Railway station
    • Stockwell Tube

  Delivery charges
  If you use postage or deliver the goods yourself, you can charge for delivery.

  Goods images
  You choose one of these photos to be the image that is shown when people browse goods. On the goods page other photos are shown below this main image. These small images are enlarged, temporarily replacing the main image, when they are clicked on. We recommend images should be 640 by 480 pixels as this will be the maximum size image used on the site. The file you upload cannot be larger than 2MB and should be in jpg or png format. It’s important to use the best possible photographs of your goods, as this is the only way buyers have of seeing what you are offering.

   

  Payment and delivery
  What happens when I sell something?
  When someone buys something from your stall you will receive an email telling you what has been bought, who the buyer is and their preferred delivery option. You should contact the buyer through the Makerhood private messaging system to make arrangements for delivery. The new order will be listed on your stall orders page. There will be a link to this page in the email you receive when the order is placed. You can also get to your stall orders page by going to Your profile -> Stall -> Orders. The order will be listed under Orders Pending Payment until PayPal confirms that the buyer has paid. You can click on ‘Go to order’ to see information about the order, including the buyer's preferred delivery option. When payment has been received and the money put into your PayPal account, we will send you an email and the order will be moved from Orders Pending Payment to Orders Awaiting Action. You will also receive an email from PayPal.

  Now is a good time to meet the buyer and deliver the goods.

  Once the buyer has received the goods you should login to your Makerhood account to mark the item as dispatched. You can do this by going to Your profile -> Stall -> Orders then under Orders Pending Payment click on 'Go to order' next to the item you want to mark as dispatched. Click on 'Mark this item as dispatched'. An email will then be sent to the buyer telling them that they will receive, or have already received, their goods. You will receive a copy of this email. When all items in the order are marked as dispatched it moves to your Sales page (Your stall -> Sales). This page shows you all your past and completed orders.

  How do I see all the orders people have made from my stall?
  You can see a record of all your past sales by going to Your stall -> Stall management -> Sales.

  How do I get paid?
  When a buyer pays the money will arrive in your PayPal account. Go to the PayPal website and login to your PayPal account to see the balance of your account.

  How do I deliver items to buyers?
  When you receive an order you will have the contact details of the buyer. You should contact them through the Makerhood private messaging system.

  What do I do if an order is cancelled?
  You can mark an order as cancelled in Your stall -> Sales -> Go to order.

  How do I make a refund?
  You can look at payment received in PayPal and click on 'Issue refund'. Unfortunately, your Makerhood fee won't be automatically refunded at the moment, but if you contact us we will refund this to you.

  What happens if the buyer doesn’t pay?
  The order will remain under Orders Pending Payment until PayPal has received money from the buyer.

  Managing my stall and goods
  What if I go on holiday?
  You can use the ‘Status update’ to tell your customers you’re away and when you will return.

  How do I remove an item from my stall?
  We don’t allow sellers to delete their items because we need to have a record of all goods sold through the site. However, you can hide the item so it no longer appears on your stall. Go to the page for the goods you want to hide, click Edit and then set ‘Show these goods on my stall now’ to No. The item will still appear on your Stall Inventory page which you can get to through Your stall -> Stall management. You can set the item to appear on your stall again by clicking on 'Edit' by the item on this page and re-setting ‘Show these goods on my stall now’ to Yes.

  I sold my goods outside the Makerhood website, what do I do?
  If you have sold something outside the Makerhood website so that it is no longer available, you need to update the number of these items you have in stock. Do this by going to your Goods page and changing the number in the ‘Number in stock’ text box. If you no longer have any of the item in stock, put ‘0’. If you no longer want the goods to appear on your stall, set the dropdown menu ‘Show these goods on your stall now?’ to ‘No’.

  How do I get on the homepage?
  The items we feature on the homepage are chosen at the discretion of the Makerhood team.

  How can I promote my stall?
  Your stall has a unique URL or web address that you can use to send people directly to your stall. This will be brixton.makerhood.com/your_stall_name. You can give this URL to people and it will take them directly to your stall. The Makerhood logo is owned by Makerhood Ltd so you can only use it to promote your own stall and goods - for example 'Check out my Makerhood stall!'.

  Legal obligations
  Don't be scared; this section will help you understand what you need to do legally - loads of people have gone through this before you. As a seller, you are responsible for complying with legal requirements appropriate to your products. Please consult relevant legislation, or get in touch with your local council or other authorities on the specific requirements that apply to your situation. These vary, depending on the nature of your business and your goods. Below, we outline the basics on Product safety, Legal obligations for food sellers, Public liability insurance, Distance selling regulations and Tax. Phew!

  Product safety
  General product safety requirements apply across different product types. Some product groups might have additional requirements - for example, children’s toys and clothing, electrical goods, furniture fire safety and nickel in jewellery. Depending on the nature of your products, weights and measures and labelling rules may also be applicable. If in any doubt about rules that apply to you, please contact your local council  who will be happy to advise you:

  Lambeth Council
  Web: http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Lambeth.WebApps.TradingStandards/
  Email: tradingstandards@lambeth.gov.uk
  Tel. 020 7926 6109

  Southwark Council
  Web: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200098/trading_standards
  Email: tradingstandards@southwark.gov.uk
  Tel. 020 7525 2000

  Another useful source of advice on general product safety is BusinessLink.

  Legal obligations for food sellers
  If you sell prepared food, you will need to register with your local council. In some very rare cases, approval is required (extremely unlikely here). Registration is free and can even be done online. In some cases you may not even need to register - for example, if selling a small amount of surplus from an allotment for non-commercial purposes. Please see the relevant pages for your council for more information on food safety:

  Lambeth Council
  Web: http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/Environment/FoodSafety/
  Email: foodsafety@lambeth.gov.uk
  Tel. 020 7926 6110

  Southwark Council
  Web: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200045/food_safety
  Email: food@southwark.gov.uk
  Tel. 020 7525 2000

  Public liability insurance
  In general, you’re not required to have public liability insurance. However, it may be advisable to do this, to insure yourself against third party claims.

  This guide from BusinessLink provides more information on public liability insurance
  < href="http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1074301656&type=RESOURCES">http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1074301656&type=RESOURCES

  Tax
  You are responsible for paying taxes on any income you earn through selling on Makerhood. In some cases your selling activity may not be considered as trading (and therefore outside of tax rules) - for example, when selling items at cost or selling unwanted items. Please consult your local tax office.

  BusinessLink provides help resources on tax matters for small businesses:

  http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1081677261&type=CAMPAIGN

  HM Revenue and Customs provide a guide, and the necessary forms, for registering as self-employed for tax purposes.
  http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/selfemployed/register-selfemp.htm

  Distance Selling Regulations
  The Distance Selling Regulations include requirements on clear product descriptions, delivery, cancellations and returns.

  The key provisions in the regulations are:

      * delivery should be within 30 days of the order being made
      * buyers have a 7 day 'cooling off' period after receiving the goods during which they are entitled to cancel the order (this does not generally apply to fresh foods and items that are made to order)
      * if an order is cancelled you must refund the money within 30 days.

  If your goods are faulty in any way, you must offer a full refund, including delivery costs.

  Distance Selling Regulations do not apply uniformly and your obligations may vary depending on your type of business - for example, business to business transactions are excluded, as are private 'non-business' transactions, perishable items do not have a 7 day cooling off period, and so on.

  The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) provides a useful guide to the requirements http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft698.pdf

  Contacting Makerhood
  Makerhood is a voluntary organisation at the moment and we don’t have people to spare to answer the phones. However, if you send us an email at hello@makerhood.com, one of us will respond as soon as we can. We understand this is not ideal if your question is time sensitive, but we will do our best - and hopefully some day we'll be big enough to change this.