New Apparel Packaging

Do you care about the packaging and presentation of your orders? We do too, so well be working on some improvements this year! Starting this week, all apparel in orders will be rolled and wrapped in a recycled paper band, held together with a sticker. We think it looks great and we hope you do too.

Special thanks to the CafePressVoice representatives for their input and helping speed this project along.

Ever hear of Tag Spamming?

Yeah we have too, and it’s a problem many Web 2.0 companies are talking about these days. Basically it’s the result of web users adding improper “tags” to their content.

We see it all over in the CafePress marketplace. A great example would be if a search result for “Hillary Clinton” turned up T-Shirts featuring Rudy Giuliani or Barack Obama - obviously not the products the shopper was searching for. We’re sure you’ve run across this at some point while searching at CafePress and other sites.

Part of the problem may be the result of a tool that identifies “suggested tags” to Shopkeepers based on current tag usage.

When Tags were first introduced to the community, it was a great tool that helped Shopkeepers learn about tagging, and how they might want to think about tagging their own items. Unfortunately “bad” tags are now being suggested.

Many Shopkeepers have expressed that they’d like to see this feature disappear, and as of today it has!

True or False - I’m always impressed with the packaging I receive when I order stuff online.

Based on our experience and a little research we think you probably answered false.

We think most online retailers could use some package presentation improvements; CafePress included. We’ve also seen that shoppers feel better about the stuff they buy online when it’s presented well, so we’re looking at what we can do to improve the experience a shopper has when they open their CafePress packages.

We have a few things we’re working on, but starting today we’re launching step one - new receipts!

Until now our receipts have arrived in the form of an 8.5″ X 11″ printed piece of paper, often poorly folded, and simply not reflecting the quality and care that has gone into the product design, or the product itself.

Beginning today we’re sending a new and improved receipt with every order. For the most part the information on the receipt is the same, but it now includes the shop/product URL (example: www.cafepress.com/shopID/product#) for each product listed, and it looks more like a receipt you’d receive when you make a purchase at a department store.

To make the presentation complete each receipt will be placed into a “receipt jacket” featuring artwork and copy designed to help buyers understand the unique nature of the item they’ve purchased, the diversity of merchandise available at CafePress, and the vast network of Shopkeepers that make it all possible.

You’ll see the final product on your next order, we hope you like it as much as we do!