Selling

How selling works

Go to the Sell Fashion link. There, you’ll be asked to register or log-in and then you’ll be taken through pages that will prompt you to add images and text to describe your product.

You’ll be asked to set a retail price, shipping charge and a maximum quantity of orders that you can accept in one go.

Once you submit the item, it goes into a rating area for 48 hours. During this period, our virtual panel of experts leave ratings and feedback on the quality of the design, production, images and product details.

To make sure that the site sells the very best designs available, a large proportion of the lowest rated submissions are declined.

When a customer buys one of your items, they’ll pay you directly using a method of your choice. We’ll send you an email confirming the order and the delivery address, and then you take care of shipping the item to them.

After a transaction, mutual feedback ratings are used as a way of highlighting the most reliable users of the service.

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Frequently Asked Questions about selling

Selling

Sizing

Approval of submissions

Delivery

Charges

Returns

Feedback

Selling

Who shops on Catwalk Genius?

Our research shows that your customers will probably be aged between 18-35 and they’re most likely to live in the UK, the US or Ireland.

They look for high quality, ethical production of their fashion and care more about individuality than they do for huge brand names.

Can I sell in my home currency?

At the moment, you must sell using GB Pounds, Euros or US Dollars. You choose this currency in the registration pages and you may edit your choice through My Account at a later date.

Shoppers will see an approximate conversion to their home currency on your product adverts once they are logged in.

How and when do I get paid?

When you first sign up, you’ll be asked to specify the payment methods that you’ll accept from buyers of your work.

Once a customer adds one of your items to their basket and then checks out, they’ll be directed to pages that instruct them how much they owe and how to pay.

They must then issue payment to you for the full retail price directly within 24 hours.

How much does Catwalk Genius cost me?

It’s currently free to submit and display your product adverts, so if nobody buys your products, you pay absolutely nothing.

When you do make a sale, we charge a commission that’s calculated as a percentage of the retail price that you have set. On the 1st day of each month we’ll add up all the commission you owe so far,send you a bill and charge your Paypal account

The current commission rates are tiered in retail price bands. They’re shown here, but we’ve tried to make the maths easier by building a calculator into the pages where you create an advert. When you input your product’s retail price, it works out what we’ll charge you and what profit you’ll make.

What will you charge in future?

We may introduce a small monthly subscription fee in future (to appease our bank manager).

However, we’ll base it on consultation with regular users and the activity levels we experience, so we’re not sure how much it’ll be yet.

However, we promise not to do anything sneaky, like introducing extra fees without telling you or locking you into deals automatically.

How do I pay my monthly bill?

Go to My Account > Sales Made > Pay Your Bill.

From there, you can check each item that appears on your bill and click ‘Pay Bill’. This will take you to Paypal, where you’ll be able to pay us securely in a few clicks.

What kind of images must I submit?

Your goal should be to allow the people viewing your product to get a good idea of what it looks like from all angles, given that they can’t pick it up or try it on like they would in a shop. You can find our guide for taking pictures here. Please read it carefully, if your picture isn’t of the right quality your designs may not be approved for the website).

Can I add more photos to my item's description?

We recommend that you at least 3 images to your item’s advert – they’re free, so you may as well.

You can then add up to 7 more images at a small price for each (shown on the page). You can keep track of how much you’ve spent as you add each extra image and once you’ve submitted your product advert, we’ll add the cost to your monthly bill.

How many items can I sell?

You can submit as many different adverts as you like, as long as you can produce the item exactly as you’ve displayed for buyers.

Once an approved product goes on sale, you can sell as many as you like.

I can't produce small quantities. Can I set a minimum?

Not really, this is a retail site, so your customers will expect to be able to buy just one.

In some cases, it may make sense to set up an advert for multiple products for one price (for example, a set of 3 T-shirts). However, you should make it very clear what a buyer can expect to receive in the advert’s text.

I don't have any products in stock because I make goods to order. Can I sell on Catwalk Genius?

Yes. When you create an advert, you choose whether you have items in stock, whether you make-to-order or both.

How do I make sure I don't receive more orders than I can fulfil in one go?

We ask you to set a maximum order quantity for each product you advertise and this automatically prevents any new orders once the maximum has been hit.

You can edit the stock quantities available for each item at any time in My Account.

What if I have a product available in more than one colour?

You’ll be able to show that an item is available in multiple colour ways. To represent the choice, you just need to add the names of the colours in which the item can be produced. You can then set the quantity currently available in each colourway.

You can then set different quantities available per size in each colour.

I can customise my designs for customers. How do I indicate this on my sale advert?

The easiest way to do this is to include details of the options available in the free text areas used to describe your item.

When a customer makes an order, they’ll be able to send you a message with any preferences they have.

How does the Sale section work?

If your stock remains unsold after 3 months of being advertised, you can increase your chances of making a sale by choosing to set a discount and have it appear in a ‘sale’ section.

You can choose to have this happen automatically when you set up an advert, or else you can set the discount manually later.

How long do product adverts appear on the site?

Indefinitely, for as long as you remain an active user – that is, logging into the site at least once a month.

How do I stop selling one of my products?

Go to My Account and locate the product in the ‘Items I’m selling’ section. Click on ‘deactivate’ and the item will remain archived on this page until you choose to reactivate or delete it.

Can I edit a product advert after I've submitted it?

Yes, you can change most of the details by editing the product via My Account/Items on Sale. To keep our database in check, you won’t be able to edit the uploaded images, the category it appears in, the colour/stock-type choices and sizing convention.

How do I update the quantities I have available for sale?

By clicking through My Account/Items on Sale and clicking on Edit next to the appropriate product. You’ll be able to skip ahead to the Sizes & Quantities page, where you can update the quantities per size in the table.

How do collections work?

Every item that you advertise sits in a collection, which groups together items that you deem belong together. When you create an advert for a new product, the last thing you’ll set is the collection to which it belongs.

You can manage your collections by going to My Account/Collections. There, you can move items from one collection to another, archive or delete live collections, create new collections or choose an image to represent each one.

Who owns the intellectual property once I've posted a design?

You do. Whenever you upload images of your work to the internet, you’re taking a risk that other people could attempt to copy it and we don’t promise to protect you from that.

However, you don’t transfer ownership of your designs to us when you sell items here. You must agree to our terms and conditions, which state you’ll pay our commission charges and abide by site rules, but that is the extent of our claim on your work.

If you participate in our back a designer scheme, a different agreement applies to the sale of your ‘funded’ collection – see the back a designer FAQ for more information.

Can I sell items that are also sold elsewhere?

We’re happy for you to do this, but you should check your contracts with other retailers for any exclusivity rights.

Our only requirement on this point is that you don’t set a price on Catwalk Genius that’s higher than a customer might pay for the same item anywhere else.

Can I advertise my own website on Catwalk Genius?

Yes, you can put a link to your personal or business websites in your profile page.

All we ask is that you don’t use our service to attract customers and then try to avoid paying our commission fees on sales you make.

Sizing

How can I be sure I'm displaying the correct available sizes?

Before setting the sizes that you can produce, please check our size guide to make sure the measurements are the same as we advertise.

My size chart is different from the one on Catwalk Genius. What do I do?

The best thing to do is to display the size that we offer which is closest to yours in measurement. It also makes sense to include specific measurements in the advert’s description so that customers know there could be a difference.

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Approval of your work

Why do you have an approval step?

We want to make sure Catwalk Genius has a reputation for hosting the work of the internet’s most talented independent designers.

Since anyone can submit designs for sale, our experts’ ratings help to keep the highest standard possible.

Who are the Expert Panel and how do they judge my work?

The panel is made up of individuals invited from all fields of fashion, from academics, stylists, business owners and members of the digital and traditional media.

They allocate a rating from 1-5 and may use any criteria they deem relevant, although we provide some recommendations. They’re set out in the answer to the question below.

How can I make sure my items are approved?

The best submissions meet these criteria:

In which category will my designs be shown? How can I showcase my collection in The Boutique and on the homepage?

Most designers work will be available on The Shop Floor. If you would like your collection to be showcased in The Boutique, please contact us at talktous@catwalkgenius.com with a sample of your collection images and we’ll get back to you.

How do I get my work onto the homepage?

It's a meritocracy folks - which means you need to create the best possible work you can and represent it as well as the guidelines above describe.

It can also help if you're also willing to give us an interview or provide some footage or images of you working your design magic!

Why don’t I appear in the list of designers?

You will only appear in the list of designers if your profile is completed and you have something to sell.

Make sure you have uploaded an image of yourself or your label, have completed some interesting info about you and your collection and of course that you have some items up for sale.

I've had an item rejected. Can I re-submit it?

Yes, if you alter your submission in line with the feedback you received, the panel will take another look.

Had more than a couple of rejections? Try another item – this one probably isn’t going to make it.

I've had an item sent back to me requesting some changes before it's live. What's this all about?

Sometimes, we may ask you to change your product advert before we’ll accept it. In most cases, we simply need you to add some images to make sure people can see your product as clearly as possible.

My advert looks different now that my product is on sale from when I submitted it. What's going on?

Sometimes we remove the background of images to keep a consistent look to the pages where lots of items are listed.

We occasionally make some changes to spelling or grammar in the advert text to make sure it’s easily readable.

We don’t alter the main substance of your words or pictures, or dispute the basic concept of free speech.

If you really don’t like a change we’ve made, drop us a line and we’ll try and work it out for you.

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Delivery

How does delivery work?

When a customer places an order for some of your stock, you’ll receive an email containing details about what you need to deliver and where.

If they’ve bought an ‘in stock’ item, you should deliver it within 2 days of receiving payment. If it’s an item that’s ‘made to order’, you should meet the timescale that you indicated in the product advert.

We’ll provide some packaging and you should use this for your deliveries.

How do I charge for shipping?

When you create an advert for your product, you will be prompted to set a charge for delivery within your home country.

You can also choose to sell to selected overseas countries and set a charge for International shipping.

The delivery prices you set will be shown in your product’s advert.

Can I set a reduced shipping charge for customers who order more than 1 item?

Sorry, not yet.

Where can I obtain suitable delivery packaging?

We can provide you with some branded, cotton shoulder bags, tissue paper and security tags.

They’re free to order from My Account >Packaging, but there’s a charge for delivering them to you. You should use these for delivering all of your orders. If you have any problems using them, then please get in touch at talktous@catwalkgenius.com.

How do I tell my customers when they can expect their order to be ready?

As well as setting an estimated timescale for made-to-order items in your stock adverts, you’ll also be able to leave a message for your customers through the Sales Made page of your Account.

It’d be nice of you to let them know once you’ve shipped their item, so they know when it’s likely to arrive.

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Charges

How much does it cost for me to post a design?

It costs you nothing to submit a basic product advert for one of your designs.

It still costs you nothing when your item’s approved and the advert goes live.

We charge you if you choose to add more than 3 images to your stock advert.

Apart from that, we’ll only charge you for using the service once you make a sale. Our fees are calculated as a percentage of the retail price that you set.

How do I check how much I owe?

Go to My Account > Sales Made > Pay Your Bill, where you’ll be able to find an itemised bill.

How do I pay?

We only accept Paypal payments, so you must have an account to use our service.

On the first day of each month, if you’ve got any items owing on your bill we’ll email you a statement containing links to the Pay Your Bill.

Click ‘Pay Bill’ and you’ll be taken to Paypal, where you’ll be able to pay us securely in just a few clicks.

What taxes must I pay?

You’re responsible for paying any local taxes or duties that are payable on the income that you earn from sales on Catwalk Genius.

Irish tax laws require us to charge EU-based designers a VAT charge for our service at 21.5%, so we do (it’s built into our charges).

I'm not obliged to pay VAT. Can you remove it from your charges for me?

If you’re a VAT-registered business, you can claim back the VAT you paid to us from the Irish Revenue Commissioners.

You need to give us your VAT number if you plan to do this – Make sure you include it when you register, or update it in your Account pages if you didn’t.

We’re working on making the VAT deductions automatic for eligible designers.

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Returns

Can I refuse for certain items to be returned?

No. You must accept returns. You may impose certain conditions such as timescales and payment of delivery charges, just make sure you describe these in the relevant section when you create a sale advert.

It’s your responsibility to make sure that your returns policy complies with distance selling regulations in your home country.

What happens if a buyer returns one of my items?

You may negotiate the terms and logistics with your customer by exchanging messages with them.

Once the item arrives back with you, go into the ‘Sales Made’ section of your Account pages and click ‘cancel sale’ next to the appropriate entry.

If you want to re-advertise the product, you can either re-activate the advert or increase your stock levels through the ‘Items on Sale’ page.

What if a returned item has been worn, or if I don't receive something a customer says they've sent back?

If you have a dispute over any transaction, try to reach an agreement on how to proceed by exchanging messages with your customer.

If you can't reach a conclusion, contact us on talktous@catwalkgenius.com and we'll contact both you and your customer in order to establish what's happened and try to find a suitable resolution for both of you.

Can I re-post a design that's been returned?

Yes. You can reactivate an archived advert by clicking ‘reactivate’ next to the relevant item in the ‘Archived Products’ table in ‘Items on Sale’.

If the advert is still live, you can increase your stock levels by clicking ‘Edit’ next to the item on the ‘Items on Sale’.

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Receiving feedback

Why do you ask shoppers and designers to leave feedback?

Feedback scores help users of the service to judge whether they can trust the person they’re thinking of transacting with.

It’s also a good incentive for everyone to act nicely towards each other.

What does the feedback score mean?

The score represents the number of transactions for which the user has received feedback and the percentage of those that were positive.

For instance, a user with a score of 98.4% , 248 would indicate that that person has had 248 transactions and 98.4% of those people (244) were happy with the result.

How do I leave feedback for a customer?

Once you’ve completed a transaction, it will appear in the ‘Feedback’ section of your Account as an item for which you need to leave feedback.

Find it and click on ‘Leave Feedback’. You’ll be taken to a form where you should allocate either a positive, neutral or negative rating and leave a comment to explain your rating.

What if I don't agree with a negative feedback rating I've received?

If you believe a feedback rating is unfair, you can choose to ‘report a problem’ through the link next to it.

When you do this, we contact both parties to find out what’s happened and try to reach an agreement over what should happen next.

A feedback rating can never be removed, but they may be mutually withdrawn if both people agree that’s the best course of action.

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