Hanukkah is early this year and so is the MeFi Mall!

November 14, 2012 3:04 PM

After five years the MeFi Mall is going self-service. Sort of. It's that time of year when people who like that sort of thing can buy/sell stuff to/from other people who like that sort of thing. Last year we had over seventy participants. Interested in being involved in this year's Shops by MeFites? Read on...

Every year we make a little page which links to things that creative MeFites are selling or have for sale. We'd like you to be a part of it. Here are the guidelines.

- Your stuff. Stuff you've designed, created, built, made or otherwise had a hand in. Etsy stuff and Cafe Press type things are AOK.
- Available online. No brick and mortar stores please. No linking to a pdf price list or facebook group and saying "Contact me for details"
- Short and simple descriptions. Aim for 30-50 words or less. Long descriptions may be edited.
- MeFites only. If you want a friend or family member to be listed, get them a gift account.
- No auctions or one-off items for sale. This is for stuff you've created or worked on, not a yard sale.

This year we're going to try to have people write their own blurbs & we'll go through and approve them. This is a simple process. Go to this link. If you had a shop last year and want to use the same blurb, just click the "Looks great! Use this again." button. If you need to make changes or add a new shop, you can use the box and add a new description and choose a category. Here is a link to last year's mall, for reference.

As with last year, we're going to have a sidebar of photos on the shops page. You can add a few photos [1-3 please] to this MeFi group on Flickr. Ask here if you have other questions. Thank you!

Past announcements: 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007

posted by jessamyn to MetaFilter-Related at 3:04 PM (51 comments total)

Flippin' 'eck, that was quick! I hit submit, made a cup of most excellent camomile tea, c0me back and it was already approved and in the mall. MetaFilter mods, not for the first time you unnerve me with your speed.

Also, thanks!
posted by Wordshore at 4:10 PM on November 14, 2012

Awesome. I love packing up stuff that I made and sending it off to people I don't know. And hoping they liked it. I wish there was a way to know how it was received.
As ever, thanks for doing this Jessamyn.
posted by chococat at 4:23 PM on November 14, 2012

My shop link/description appeared for awhile, but then it disappeared. Are Spoonflower shops not OK for this? (Posting here instead of sending straight to mods in case there are other Spoonflower users.)

Either way, I love this and it's actually making me look forward to holiday shopping now. Thank you!
posted by dayintoday at 4:32 PM on November 14, 2012

My shop link/description appeared for awhile, but then it disappeared. Are Spoonflower shops not OK for this?

Nope it's in there, we just queue everything up so that the mods can have a chance to take a peek at it before it goes live. Last year I was doing all the copy/pasting myself and that was ungreat for a number of reasons. So the workflow is

- if you have a thing from last year, you can basically enqueue it with a single click
- if you have no previous thing you have to write up a thing and then enqueue it
- if you want to edit your thing from last year, you have to edit your entry and then re-enqueue it

The only reason Wordshore's seemed instant is because we're all watching this right now and can approve things immediately, but I just approved yours and it's up there now. Thanks for being a guinea pig for our new system.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:42 PM on November 14, 2012

The previous example goes to naught, so I'll ask: Is this more for handmade crafted items or are folks like me with a chinzy zazzle shop with some shirts they designed okay?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:02 PM on November 14, 2012

robocop: mine's a zazzle shop. Or, as we say here in England, Ye Olde Zazzle Shoppe.

We don't really, but some Americans like that kinda language.
posted by Wordshore at 5:04 PM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hooray!
posted by Glinn at 5:24 PM on November 14, 2012

Yeah, there doesn't appear to be much in the link to last year's mall.
posted by grouse at 5:26 PM on November 14, 2012

Weird, let me fix that....
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:27 PM on November 14, 2012

pb fixed it!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:30 PM on November 14, 2012

Urf. Just realized my shop description was way long. Might want to jive the 30-50 words on this page with the 100 on the form.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:40 PM on November 14, 2012

Thanks for this! I've got seps done for a new shirt -- this'll maybe spur me on to get it printed & up on my page.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:46 PM on November 14, 2012

Jessamyn, thank you again! This has been very helpful over the years ...
posted by woodblock100 at 11:20 PM on November 14, 2012

eep! Gotta get some of mine arts in this time.
posted by louche mustachio at 3:28 AM on November 15, 2012

I didn't see an option to use last year's text, but that's okay because I wanted to update it. Thanks for doing this MetaFilter, and thanks to all the people who have bought things from us in the past to help our efforts to preserve our rare-breed Navajo-Churro sheep.
posted by terrapin at 8:03 AM on November 15, 2012

Yay! Thank you, Jessamyn. (And while some might say that MetaFilter doesn't do bow ties well, the orders I received from MeFites last year prove otherwise!)
posted by usonian at 8:54 AM on November 15, 2012

Might want to jive the 30-50 words on this page with the 100 on the form.

The upper limit is 100 for people who need it but generally we want people to aim towards the middle. Thanks to all who have submitted stuff so far.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:00 AM on November 15, 2012

I have two. One Etsy one, which I just submitted, and a CafePress one. Any way to submit both?
posted by MsMolly at 9:18 AM on November 15, 2012

You've got to link them both in one entry, there is no feasible way to have two entries in different sections for one person. I could delete your entry and you could entr it again, I think?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:19 AM on November 15, 2012

Sounds good. Let's do that.
posted by MsMolly at 9:23 AM on November 15, 2012

OK try it again and see if it works. If not, please send a note to the contact form because it may be a pb-level thing.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:26 AM on November 15, 2012

It worked. Thanks, Jessamyn.
posted by MsMolly at 9:32 AM on November 15, 2012

Just wanted to say thanks for the MeFi Mall and for this post about it!
posted by sleevener at 9:48 AM on November 15, 2012

GOD YOU PEOPLE!

I don't have money, space or friends enough for all of the things I want to buy. Could we just...tone it down on the awesomeness for a while? Like long enough for me to make money and buy a big house*? Thanks.

*I'm giving up on the 'get enough friends' side.
posted by Lemurrhea at 11:33 AM on November 15, 2012

I don't have a shop, but I do want to give MeFites my money! This looks great!
posted by chatongriffes at 11:45 AM on November 15, 2012

This is awesome! Submitted my shop, easy as pie. Mmm, pie.
posted by bedhead at 12:14 PM on November 15, 2012

Can we put this on the sidebar?
posted by Lemurrhea at 12:54 PM on November 15, 2012

yeah, maybe once people have had a chance to submit their shops we can put something in the sidebar. It feels a little early right now.

We did put a link in the footer under the search form.
posted by pb (staff) at 1:06 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

Awesome, I was thinking about making a yarn colorway specifically for MeFites.
posted by keli at 2:03 PM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

A couple of questions: mine is an actual website. Is it okay to submit? I have to specify that I can only deliver to people in Canada. Is that problematic?

(For the curious, I'm a vegan baker. I mail delicious things. To people in Canada.)
posted by Kitteh at 2:44 PM on November 15, 2012

I think that's fine.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 2:51 PM on November 15, 2012

Are there MetaFilter t-shirts, or did I imagine reading that somewhere? If they do exist, could / should they be in the mall? I have no problem with that.

MetaFilter mods are people too, my friend.
posted by Wordshore at 4:59 PM on November 15, 2012

Thanks again for doing this, Team Mod.
posted by mintcake! at 7:49 PM on November 15, 2012

Is it cool to link to the main website for my pen-and-paper RPG that contains a link to the place(s) where you can buy it? (None of the links are brick-and-mortar; I just have a webpage for the game itself, and then links to online stores where you can buy it.)
posted by jiawen at 9:13 PM on November 15, 2012

That seems okay to me, as long as there is 1. info about the thing 2. a place to buy the thing, that is what we are looking for.

Wordshore: not sure what the inventory is like on shirts. You can still get them via topatco.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:28 PM on November 15, 2012

Cool. Thanks!
posted by jiawen at 9:46 PM on November 15, 2012

Idea: randomize the order of the shops in each category, so everyone has a chance to be the top listing.

Thanks for setting this up, mods. I've vowed to do all of my shopping online this year, and that task just got a little easier. Hooray for supporting fellow mefites!
posted by chrisamiller at 6:22 AM on November 16, 2012

Yay, thanks mods! This was super easy - I was able to do everything from my phone while laying in bed 3000 miles from home!
posted by alynnk at 8:57 AM on November 16, 2012

I had no idea that "MeFi's Own" Sully was the author of You Are A Cat! - just found that out perusing last year's MeFi Mall. MeFites are so creative!
posted by flex at 10:25 AM on November 16, 2012

I've had a mini-flurry of sales on the "Use Libraries and Learn Stuff" Zazzle page over the last few days, which can only put down to the MetaFilter mall. Thank you.

Thinking about this. It's free advertising that works, for something I don't really run to make a living (am getting a buck / buck fifty per sale; Zazzle get the rest). I just like seeing the text pop up in odd places :) Am therefore happy after Christmas to either make a donation to either MetaFilter or to a charity which accepts Paypal donations.

Perhaps the mods (or maybe all MetaFilter users) could suggest, especially for this time of the year, appropriate charities for people (anyone, not just mall shop owners) wishing to donate? Groups, food banks, support networks, shelters, vulnerable people, animal protection, whatever people are into?
posted by Wordshore at 5:06 AM on November 17, 2012

There's usually a good AskMe thread about worthwhile charities this time of year. I know we all have our own favorites but based on our userbase, I'd be telling people to give the money to your favorite NY/NJ/PA Relief organization whether it's Occupy or the Red Cross or the Queens Public Library.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:00 AM on November 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Neat! Just added copies of my eponymous zine, with a special beanplating bulk back issue discount for any of you lovely folks.
posted by Scram at 8:50 PM on November 18, 2012

Will a link to the MeFi shops be added somewhere to the main page as we get closer to the gift-giving holidays? I've been buying little things for various friends of mine, but I keep having to navigate back to the second page of MetaTalk to find the link.

(Of course I could just add a bookmark in my browser, but that would make SENSE and we can't have that.)
posted by Narrative Priorities at 2:03 PM on November 23, 2012

There's a link at the bottom of every page on the site. You'll find it under the search form on the far right. It says: Need gifts? Try the MeFi Mall.
posted by pb (staff) at 2:05 PM on November 23, 2012

....okay, that's so weird. I see it now, but didn't when I posted this?

Anyway, YAY! Thank you! My first MeFite purchase just shipped and I'm pretty jazzed!
posted by Narrative Priorities at 8:59 PM on November 23, 2012

We added a mall banner to the header today.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:55 AM on November 24, 2012

We added a mall banner to the header today.

Could we please have a hide button again?
posted by zamboni at 7:54 PM on November 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sure, got that added.
posted by pb (staff) at 9:27 PM on November 25, 2012

Just got my first MeFite order of the season. You guys are the best!
posted by usonian at 10:29 AM on November 26, 2012

Thank you, Jessamyn!
posted by coevals at 1:06 PM on November 28, 2012

A bunch of stuff from the Slumbering herd (both for myself and as gifts), on my recommendation a friend is buying Chococat's shirt for her husband, and a few other possible purchases from friends. I also have a wishlist a mile high.

Thanks, MeFites!
posted by Lemurrhea at 10:00 AM on November 29, 2012