Cargoh.com and Windows Live Writer

Tweet After all that yammering about Artfire last week (I did sign up for the free option), I ended up going a completely different direction and opened up a shop on cargoh.com.  Never heard of it?  Don’t worry, neither had I until a week or so ago.



Cargoh is based in Vancouver and is a new marketplace still in beta.  They are evidently trying to cultivate a hip, indie vibe.  Now I’ve never categorized myself as the hipster type, but I was sucked in because the shops are juried – you have to apply and be approved to sell on Cargoh.  I can’t resist a challenge and I just HAD to know if my stuff was good enough to pass.  Right now Cargoh has no monthly fees; the only fee is 3.5% of sales.

I applied late Friday night and got my approval letter early this morning.  I set up my shop, which was easy enough – I used some of my information from Etsy and just redesigned my banner and avatar for Cargoh’s size specs (which includes MASSIVE shop banners, btw).  I have a few listings up now and I’ll probably add a few more this week.



For comparison’s sake, these are the front pages of my Cargoh shop and my Etsy shop.  The Twitter feed and Facebook widget on the right side of the shop on Cargoh are kinda nice, and I like the overall look of the site.  It’s way better than the slightly janky feel over at Artfire.  I guess Cargoh REALLY annoyed some Etsy sellers last month by closing down some established shops – if you want more on that story, check out this Etsy forum thread.

I’ll keep you updated on how things go at Cargoh.  If you’re interested in the listing process (which is pretty simple) or any other specifics about starting up a shop, leave me a comment and I’ll give you more details.
This is also my first post using Windows Live Writer, which is a free program you can find here.  It’s basically set up like a word processor.  You type up the post, add links and pics, and export it to Blogger.  I’ve been looking for a better blogging solution because adding pictures and links on Blogger sometimes makes me want to stab myself with a pencil. 

I’ve got loads of new stuff to work on this week.  The results are in for the Epi Pen case product testing, so I’ve got my redesign all sketched and ready to be sewn.  I’m also working on some reusable snack bags and a cute hanging hair stuff organizer for the bajillion barrettes Bridget has accumulated.  Have a great week everyone!