Help & Support

If we have a query about invoicing, payments or any other financial matter it is useful for us to have a designated Finance Contact. We will also send regular items such as Statements, Remittance Advices and Invoices to this contact.

I don’t have a Finance Contact what do I enter?

If you do not have a specific Finance Contact then please provide the details of the person to whom we should direct any queries about invoicing, payments or any other financial matter. We will also send regular items such as Statements, Remittance Advices and Invoices to this contact.

Why do you need my Bank Account Number?

All payments from Green Elephant are made by electronic funds transfer. You will need to provide a nominated Bank Account Number for us to pay you for the sales you have made.

How safe is my Bank Account Number with you?

We take every precaution to protect all of our Customer and Vendor data. All personal information stored by us is kept on a server in a secure environment. Once you have set up your Store, basic account details including the nominated Bank Account Number will be locked for editing.

How can I change my registered Bank Account Number?

After the initial Store set-up, if you wish to change your nominated Bank Account Number you will need to contact us. We will take you through a number of additional security steps before we change the Bank Account Number on your behalf.

Why do you need to know whether I am GST registered or not?

For all items sold on the Green Elephant Marketplace GST collection and payment to the Inland Revenue is the sole responsibility of the Vendor concerned. Where an order is placed with an overseas delivery address, GST is not chargeable therefore the price for items sold by GST registered Vendors will be reduced by the GST content. For non GST registered Vendors there will be no such price adjustment.

Why do you need my GST number?

We collect your GST number to reinforce that you have selected the correct GST status and for completeness of our records.

Where do I find my GST number?

If you are GST registered you should be familiar with your GST number as you will already be using it on your invoices. If you have any doubt as to whether you are GST registered we suggest you contact the Inland Revenue for guidance.

I have just become registered for GST what do I do?

If you were not GST registered when you set up your Store but have recently become registered then you should update your GST status and provide your GST number on the My Account page from the Vendor Menu. You might also like to consider whether you need to adjust your product prices. Once your GST status has been changed any order placed with an overseas delivery address will have the prices reduced by the GST content as GST is not chargeable.

Store Profile & Settings

My Store Name is already taken what do I do?

In the event that your choice of Store Name is already in use by someone on our Marketplace we suggest you either choose a different name or contact us. If you believe someone is incorrectly using your name then we will happily look into it for you.

What is the Vendor Directory?

The Vendor Directory is a list of all Vendors on the Green Elephant Marketplace. Each entry displays the Vendor logo and a short description about their business together with links to their Storefront.

What is the “Your Store in Brief” entry used for?

Your Store in Brief is the short description used for the Vendor Directory. It is also displayed with the logo on a scrolling banner on our homepage and on the About the Vendor tab on the product listing page.

Where can I tell my story?

The About You and Your Store text box is your opportunity to tell Customers your story or share anything else that you think they may be interested in. You may use multiple paragraphs and format this to get the look you are after. This information is displayed on your Storefront along with your Store Name, your logo and optional photo.

What should I write in the “About You and Your Store” section?

That’s entirely up to you. We encourage Vendors to make their Store unique to reflect their business and personality. If you are not sure what to write then start with who you are, what you do, and what you love about your products. You can always add to it at a later date on the Store Profile and Settings page from the Vendor Menu.

I don’t have a logo what should I do?

If you haven’t got a logo for your business you may upload another suitable image or photo to represent you or your products. This is a required setting so you cannot leave it blank. Any logo or image uploaded will be displayed on your Storefront, in the Vendor Directory and on the Product Listing Page. If you decide to get a logo designed at a later date you can always update your image on the Store Profile and Settings page from the Vendor Menu.

What format and size does my logo need to be?

For our Store design the ideal logo image is square and sized 190 pixels wide by 190 pixels high. If you load an image larger than this it will automatically be downsized until it fits into an area 190 pixels wide by 190 pixels high. Your logo must be loaded as one of the following file types: jpg, jpeg, gif or png.

If you load an image smaller than 190 pixels wide by 190 pixels high we will increase the image size until the first of either our required height or width is met. Note that in this instance some loss of image quality may occur.

I am struggling to get my logo to look right can you help?

If you are having problems then please get in touch. We will do what we can to help.

I don’t have a “Store Photo” what should I do?

The Store Photo and caption are both optional entries. If you like you can load a photo of you, your team, your products or another image that is meaningful to you. This is displayed on your Storefront as part of your profile. If you don’t want to load a Store Photo that’s fine but your profile may not look so personal.

What size and format does my photo need to be?

For our Store design the ideal photo size is 350 pixels wide by 350 pixels high. If you try to load an image smaller than this it will be rejected.

If you load a rectangular image wider than our requirement it will be automatically resized to 350 pixels high and then cropped at either side to make it 350 pixels wide.

If you load a rectangular image taller than our requirement it will be automatically resized to 350 pixels wide and then cropped at the top and bottom to make it 350 pixels high.

Your photo must be loaded as one of the following file types: jpg, jpeg, gif or png.

Is the Store Photo compulsory?

No, the Store Photo and associated caption are both optional entries. If you would like to you can load a photo of you, your team, your products or another image that is meaningful to you. This would then be displayed on your Storefront as part of your profile.

What is a SKU and why would I want to use them?

SKU stands for Stock Keeping Unit. It is a unique code used to identify each of your products. If you only have a handful of products you might not use them but as your product range expands they can be very useful to avoid confusion for Customers and your staff. You can turn SKU functionality on or off on the Store Profile and Settings page.

What happens if I assign stock levels for my products?

If you assign stock levels to products then we will keep track of what has been sold. When a product’s stock level reaches zero we will still display the product to Customers but they will not be able to order it unless you have also selected to allow back orders. We will also send you an email to let you know one of your products is shown as out of stock.

An Out of Stock product listing will remain active for 20 days at which point it will be automatically amended to an Unpublished status and will no longer be visible to Customers. During this 20 day period you can reinstate the listing by enabling back orders or updating the stock level or you may choose to unpublish the listing manually if it is unlikely that the product will be available in the short term.

How does the back order function work?

If you have enabled back orders then Customers can still place orders for up to 20 days and will be notified at the time of ordering that a product is on back order.

If you do not enable back orders then we will still display the product to Customers for 20 days but it will be shown as out of stock and they will not be able to place an order.

To avoid customer complaints we suggest you only enable back orders if stock replenishment is timely. Back order functionality is enabled or disabled from within the Store Profile & Settings; once the function is enabled you can set whether to allow back orders or not on each individual product or Variation.

Additional Info – Terms & Conditions, Returns and Delivery

Where do I put my extra Terms and Conditions?

If you have anything to add to the standard Green Elephant Terms and Conditions then you can enter them in the section titled Additional Info for Terms & Conditions, Returns & Refunds and Delivery. If you have already completed your initial Store set-up you can find this under the Store Profile & Settings item on your Vendor Menu. This information can be accessed by Customers from your Store menu.

If I don’t add to the Terms and Conditions what applies?

In all cases standard Green Elephant Terms and Conditions apply to users of our site.

What sort of things can I put in my Terms and Conditions?

What you put in your additional terms is entirely up to you and depends largely upon the type of products you are selling. You may feel nothing extra is needed or there might be something specific that you need to clarify. Whatever you write please try to keep it simple and fair. This information can be accessed by Customers from your Store menu.

Why would I want to add to the Green Elephant Returns and Refunds Policy?

To make buying products safer and easier for our Customers we operate a standard returns policy for all items sold on our Marketplace. As a bare minimum all Vendors must comply with our policy but might also like to add some further information or clarification that is relevant to the products they sell. This information can be accessed by Customers from your Store menu.

What is the standard Green Elephant Returns and Refunds Policy?

You can read our full Returns and Refunds Policy here.

What is a Green Elephant “No Worries” return?

We want Customers to buy with total confidence when they buy products online from our Marketplace. To achieve this we decided to go further than the Consumer Guarantees Act and allow Customers up to 30 days to return products for any reason. Products must be returned in an unused resaleable condition at the Customer’s expense. With a valid explanation certain products can be excluded from the No Worries return – you can find out more by reading our full Returns and Refunds Policy here.

What extra Returns information should I provide?

Many of our Vendors will have nothing further to add to our Returns Policy but it depends upon individual circumstances and the type of product you sell. You may have advice on how to check whether a product is actually faulty, you may want to make it clear that some of your products are not eligible for our No Worries return because they are made to order, for example, or you might like to give further instructions for making a return. Don’t forget that you can also flag an individual product as ineligible for a No Worries return as part of the product listing. This information can be accessed by Customers from your Store menu.

Where do I tell customers that my product is non returnable?

When you list your products you can either mark it as eligible for a No Worries return or give a valid reason and mark it as non returnable. This information is displayed on the product listing on the delivery and returns tab. Even if you mark it as non returnable you must still honour your obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

What extra delivery information is useful for customers?

As part of the product listing we display delivery costs and estimated delivery times. You might like to add some extra information here about what sort of delivery service you use, for example, NZ Post, Courier, signed for, etc. This information can be accessed by Customers from your Store menu.

Shipping

Overview

Setting up shipping rules is probably the most complicated part of setting up your Store, so, if you are struggling there is no need to panic just yet. We’ve got some hints, tips and examples to help you get the results you want and if you still can’t work it out then we are more than happy to help. The most important thing to do is know what you actually want to achieve – where you want to ship to or where you don’t want to ship to, do you want to charge at an order level or for individual products in an order or a combination of both and if at a product level how will you split up your products into groups?

Some Vendors may find it easier to think of one zone at a time so they don’t get overwhelmed – if that works for you then great.

Our Shipping calculation explained

You may think it looks like your worst nightmare but it really isn’t that bad if you tackle it one step at a time.

1. To establish the correct shipping charges we need to know where the order is shipping to and we need to know what products make up the order.

2. Once this is known the calculation first looks to see if there are any order level charges (Standard Shipping) for the relevant zone the order is being shipped to including any rural surcharges if it is a delivery to a New Zealand address.

3. Next for every product in the order the calculation looks up 1st Item in Order charges and Additional Item charges based upon the product shipping class assigned to each product. The calculation takes the most expensive 1st Item in Order charge regardless of which product class it comes from and then for every other product takes the Additional Item charges combining these to make a product level charge. Note that products in the “standard” shipping class will have a zero charge as by default these are included in the standard order level charge.

4. The order level charges (Standard Shipping) and the product level charges (Shipping Product Classes) are then added together to give a total shipping cost.

5. The final check is to see whether the order qualifies for a reduced rate of shipping because it is over a certain Vendor defined value. If it is then the reduced rate of shipping is all that applies. If the order total is lower than the defined value then the shipping costs calculated in step 4 apply.

Now you know how it works you just need to know how to apply it to your particular needs.

Setting up your delivery rules

How do I select and manage my delivery zones?

We have defined standard shipping zones in line with New Zealand Post. You can choose whether to deliver to a zone or you can choose to deliver to a zone but exclude certain countries. If you do not deliver to a country then anyone shopping from that country will be able to view your products but will not be able to add them to their basket. If you have a product or group of products that you only want to deliver to, say, Japan then you can even set up a specific shipping class that only delivers to Japan.

How do I set up rules to exclude a country?

If you wish to exclude a country from either Standard Shipping or Product Class Shipping then you can do this by adding the relevant zone to the table and then looking for the “Manage Countries” link on the far right hand side. Clicking this will open up a smaller window listing all the countries in that zone which can then be used to identify any that you wish to exclude. When you are finished be sure to save your selection. The table shows an icon against zones with modified country selections.

Why is Waiheke Island shown separately?

As many postal services to Waiheke Island have higher than standard costs we have given you the opportunity to reflect this in any orders placed from there.

Why would I want to offer a different rate for orders over a certain amount?

You may want to offer free or reduced shipping as an incentive for Customers to spend, say, more than $100. You choose the order value and set the reduced charge you want for each zone, including zero for free delivery. If you do not want this rule to apply for a particular zone then leave it as N/A. Note: Please take care when defining these rules as the reduced charges will be all that is charged overriding all other calculated charges including Standard, Product Shipping Class and Rural Surcharges.

What is Standard Shipping?

Standard Shipping encompasses all charges at an order level and also any products that are placed in a Standard Shipping Class. If you want to apply simple flat rate or free shipping rules then this may be all you need to do.

What are order level charges or “Per Order Charges”?

Order level charges apply to each and every order regardless of what products are included in the order. They may be set as zero if you only want to use product level charges or to create free Standard shipping.

Why do you need “Estimated Delivery”?

We use the Estimated Delivery information as part of the product listing to help manage Customer’s expectations about delivery timescales. Whilst this is only an estimate please be as accurate as possible and be sure to quote total delivery time including the time taken to dispatch an order.

Can I have tiered charges for different order values?

Our shipping rules currently only allow one order value which triggers alternate charges. The same order value applies for all zones but you can set different charges for each zone or opt out by entering N/A. We can’t hope to please everyone but if there is functionality that lots of Vendors require then we are happy to add it to the list of future enhancements.

What is the “If Order > X” charge for?

If you have answered yes to the question “Do you want to offer a different rate for orders over a defined value?” two things will happen. An input box for entering an order value appears next to your answer and a column for setting your alternate charges titled “If Order > X” is added to the standard shipping table.

You can only define one order value but you can set a different charge for each zone or leave the value as N/A for any zone that you do not want the rule to apply to. For example, if you want to offer free shipping for orders over $100.00 delivered to the North Island (NZ) you need to enter $100.00 in the input box and zero in the “If order > $100” column for the North Island (NZ). Note: Please take care when defining these rules as the reduced charges will be all that is charged overriding all other calculated charges including Standard, Product Shipping Class and Rural Surcharges

What is a “Rural Surcharge”?

When a Customer places an order they will be required to identify if it is to a rural delivery address. You can choose whether to charge an extra amount for any rural orders reflecting the higher cost many couriers charge. Note that the alternate charges will override the Rural Surcharge as well as all other charges.

What are Product Shipping Classes?

If you want to charge delivery costs for each product in an order then you will need to use Shipping Classes. Rather than entering a cost against each product the products are put into classes allowing easier maintenance of cost information. You are free to name your classes anything you like apart from “Standard” which we use as our default class. Your class names will be displayed to Customers on your Store Delivery page and product listings so try to use something meaningful.

How many Product Shipping Classes do I need?

The number of classes you need will be determined by the types of products you sell and what you are trying to achieve.

If most of your products are “Standard” but you also sell one or two bulky/heavy items you may only need one additional class to cover your non standard items.

If you sell products based on weight you could have a number of different classes for 0.5kg, 1kg, 2kg, 5kg, etc with any smaller/lighter products covered by the Standard class.

You may also be able to categorise your products by size, for example, into small, medium and large Product Shipping Classes. If you need any help deciding the best approach then feel free to get in touch and we can advise.

How do I set up a product so that it cannot be delivered to a selected country?

You may have a product, or group of products, that you do not want to sell or is not allowed to be imported to a particular country. If this is the case you would create a Product Shipping Class, or classes, for these products including only the countries you do deliver to and their respective charges.

For example, you might have an existing Product Shipping Class named “Class 1” but some items within that Product Shipping Class cannot be delivered to the USA. To address this you could create a new Product Shipping Class named “Class 1 not USA” setting up all the zones and cost information as you did for the original “Class 1” except that you would deselect USA from the countries list. To do this click the manage countries link for the zone named “North America, UK and Europe” and untick United States of America from the countries list that pops up. Be sure to press the “Save Countries” button to save your selection and close the window. Any product assigned to this Product Shipping Class would then be visible but unavailable for purchase with a USA delivery address.

What are product level charges or “Product Shipping Class Charges”?

Product level charges are calculated based on the specific items in a Customer’s basket. Each product has a delivery cost assigned to it and may be the only amounts charged or charged in addition to order level charges. Product level charges are calculated using the 1st Item in an Order and Additional Items costs (see below for further explanation).

What do you mean by “1st Item in Order”?

The “1st Item in Order” charge is part of the product level charges calculated based upon the items in a Customer order. You assign each product class a 1st Item in Order charge and an Additional Items charge which the shipping calculation uses by taking the highest 1st Item in Order charge for the order and Additional Items charges for all other products.

What do you mean by “Additional Items”?

The “Additional Items” charges are the second part of the product level charges which are calculated based upon the items in a Customer order. You assign each Product Shipping Class a 1st Item in Order charge and an Additional Items charge. The shipping calculation looks for the highest 1st Item in Order charge from all of the products and adds to this an Additional Items charge for every other product in the Customer order.

I want to charge $3 per item ordered how do I do this?

To charge $3.00 for each item ordered you can create a Product Shipping Class with the 1st Item in Order and Additional Items entries both set as $3.00 – you need to do this for each zone required. If all products are then assigned to this class each and every item ordered will attract a $3.00 charge. You can choose whether to use Standard Shipping to include additional Per Order Charges or Rural Surcharges.

Can I have more than one delivery method?

To keep things simpler for Customers (and our system) we currently only allow Vendors to enter one set of delivery rules. If you use a different method for certain products we suggest you use Product Shipping Class functionality to reflect the different costs and delivery timescales.

I still can’t work out what to do can you help?

If you have read the help section and still don’t know how to get the results you want from our calculation then by all means get in touch. For a really complicated setup we might not be able to get the exact result you want but we should be able to help you get close. If you are feeling completely overwhelmed by the Shipping calculation simply contact us – we are more than happy to help.

Where are shipping charges displayed?

Shipping charges are displayed on your Store Delivery page as well as on the Delivery & Returns tab on the Product Listing Page. The shopping basket is updated every time a product is added and displays the total shipping charge for all Vendors. The Customer will see this broken down by Vendor during checkout or by reviewing the whole order.

Can I provide extra information to customers?

If you want to provide extra delivery information you can do this by entering it as part of the “Additional Info for Terms & Conditions, Returns & Refunds and Delivery”. You can do this during your initial Store set-up or later from the Store Profile & Settings menu item.

Examples:

The following examples are to help set up a single zone but the logic is the same for any number of zones.

Simple flat rate shipping

If you want to set up a simple $7.00 flat rate charge no matter what is ordered then you only need to use the Standard Shipping table. Add the zone, enter the Estimated Delivery times and the required $7.00 Per Order Charge. All products given the Standard shipping class will then be covered by this flat rate charge. You can decide whether you want to add a Rural Surcharge – simply enter a charge or leave as N/A.

If you want to offer a different rate (usually reduced or free shipping) for orders over a defined value tick the yes answer and enter the order value above which the alternate charges apply. In the table enter the alternate charge if the order value is exceeded or leave it as N/A if you don’t want it to apply. Note: Please take care when defining this rule as the alternate charges will be all that is charged overriding all other calculated charges including Standard, Product Shipping Class and Rural Surcharges.

Shipping based upon specific items in order

If you want to charge shipping based on the products that are in a Customer’s order then you will need to use Product Shipping Classes. You can use Product Shipping Classes on their own or as a supplement to Standard Shipping (see below for combination).

For example: you sell two different types of product which have very different delivery charges – tables and chairs. If a chair is ordered on it’s own the delivery charge is $15.00, however, chairs delivered with another item cost only $5.00 each. If tables are ordered the delivery charge is $50.00 per table. To reflect this example you would set up a “Chair” Product Shipping Class with a 1st Item in Order charge of $15.00 and an Additional Item charge of $5.00 and a “Table” Product Shipping Class with $50.00 for both the 1st Item in Order and Additional Items charges. The calculation will always take the highest 1st Item in Order charge from all the products in the order and Additional Item charges for all other products.

So, if a table and four chairs are ordered the total shipping cost will be $70.00 ($50.00 for the table being the highest 1st Item in Order charge and $5.00 Additional Item charge for each chair).

Combination of a Per Order Charge plus specific product charges

Taking the Table and Chair example above a stage further, if you started selling other small products that could be covered by a $7.00 Flat Rate charge you would set up Standard Shipping. Add the zone, enter the Estimated Delivery times and the required $7.00 Per Order Charge. Any order placed would then initially be charged $7.00 and all products given the Standard shipping class will be covered by this flat rate charge. You can also decide whether you want to add a Rural Surcharge for this zone – simply enter a charge or leave as N/A.

As you now have a Per Order charge as well you might want to reduce the Product Shipping Classes 1st Item in Order charges by $7.00 to avoid overcharging – Table ($43.00) and Chair ($8.00) – the Additional Item charge would stay the same. Now if only Standard items are ordered the flat rate would apply but if tables or chairs are also ordered then the Per Order Charge of $7.00 applies supplemented by the 1st Item in Order and Additional Item Charges as before.

Finally, if you then want to offer free shipping for orders over $1,000.00 answer the relevant question with a yes answer and enter the value in the box which will add an alternate charge column in the table. Enter the alternate charge of $0.00 in the column titled “If order > $1,000.00” and for any zones where you don’t want this rule to apply leave it as N/A. Note: Please take care when defining this rule as the alternate charges will be all that is charged overriding all other calculated charges including Standard, Product Shipping Class and Rural Surcharges.

Shipping charges based on weight

If weight is an appropriate way to charge for shipping then you will need to use Product Shipping Classes. Assuming you sell a number of products that come in 1kg, 5kg and 10kg packs, you might set up Product Shipping Classes named “1kg bag”, “5kg bag” and “10kg bag”. You would then enter 1st Item in Order charges reflecting your minimum cost of, say, $7.00, $7.00 and $14.00 respectively for each of the 1kg, 5kg and 10kg Classes and then Additional Item charges of $1.00, $5.00 and $10.00 reflecting costs for the extra weight.

This would give a combined cost of $20.00 for one bag of each weight ($14.00 for the 10kg bag being the highest 1st Item in Order charge plus $5.00 for the 5kg bag and $1.00 for the 1kg bag as Additional Items charges) or $24.00 for two 10kg bags ($14.00 for the first 10kg bag being the highest 1st Item in Order charge plus $10.00 for the next bag as an Additional Items charge).

You may also combine these Product Shipping Class charges with a Per Order Charge for more flexibility. With a relatively simple calculation we can’t always get the costs exactly as you would wish but we should be able to achieve a close approximation.

Shipping charges based on size

If the products you sell vary in size and the size determines the cost of shipping then you will need to use Product Shipping Classes. You will need to split your products into a number of groups, say, Small, Medium and Large which you would then set up as Product Shipping Classes. You would enter 1st Item in Order charges reflecting your minimum cost of, say, $1.00, $5.00 and $10.00 respectively for each of the Small, Medium and Large classes and then Additional Item charges of $0.50, $2.50 and $6.00 reflecting the approximate additional cost of sending a further item.

As the calculation always takes the highest 1st Item in Order charge this would give a combined cost of $13.00 for one item from each class or $7.50 for two Medium items. You may also combine these Product Shipping Class charges with a Per Order Charge for more flexibility. With a relatively simple calculation we can’t always get the costs exactly as you would wish but we should be able to achieve a close approximation.

Getting the Most out of Your Green Elephant Store

Make a great Storefront

Your storefront is your opportunity to TELL YOUR STORY. This is where people get to ‘meet’ you and get a feel for the person behind the brand, and people love to know who they are buying from. You can add a store image here too and we recommend you include one. An image of yourself is the best choice but a shot of your workshop or your product in the making would be a good alternative.

Eco Badges are our point of difference

Our Eco Badges are our point of difference…. and yours!! The ‘Why is This Good’ tab shows your badges and is your opportunity to elaborate on why your product or business is special in this way. For example, instead of just writing ‘Organic’ in the free text box for the Organic Badge give your Customers what they want and tell the story.

Look at this great example from The Soap Shop ‘All of our oils, including our essential oils are certified organic or sourced from chemical free growers in NZ. Our Glycerin base is made with 70% certified organic ingredients’.

Further Product Information – your opportunity to sell

When buying online, customers like to get as much information as they can about what they’re looking at. They can’t touch your product or feel it or try it on. So the further product information section is where you can include as much information as possible that will help them feel comfortable enough to click ‘Add to Basket’.

You can include a full ingredients list, information about how to use your product, how to care for it and clean it, and any other details that are relevant, but not shown or visible in the images.

Fill your Store!

List as many products as you can. If you’re a specialist and you have one product, that’s cool too. But if you have a larger range – lets see it!!! This maximises your presence on the marketplace and is more likely to convert the customer than a more limited selection.

Products

General

How do I load a new product?

Your first product is loaded using the Store Set-Up wizard. Subsequent products are added from the Products item on your Vendor Menu. This will take you to your product area where you can manage your product listings including adding new products or editing and deleting existing ones. To load a new product click the New Product button and enter your product details.

Can I copy a product?

Yes, clicking the Products item on your Vendor Menu will take you to your product area where you can manage your product listings including adding new products or editing and deleting existing ones. To copy a product select Duplicate from the appropriate product’s Actions drop down menu. This will open a copy of the product details that you can then edit. Once you are finished either select Save and Publish Product to save and list the item, Save as Unpublished to save but not list the product or Save As Draft if you haven’t quite finished. Note: you must change the duplicated product name to a new unique name before it can be published.

How do I remove a product from my Store?

Clicking the Products item on your Vendor Menu will take you to your product area where you can manage your product listings including adding new products or editing and deleting existing ones. To remove a product from your Store without deleting it simply select Unpublish from the appropriate product’s Actions drop down menu. This will change the status to Unpublished and the product will no longer be displayed in your Store.

How do I delete a product permanently?

Clicking the Products item on your Vendor Menu will take you to your product area where you can manage your product listings including adding new products or editing and deleting existing ones. To permanently delete a product from your Store simply select Delete from the appropriate product’s Actions drop down menu. You will be asked to confirm the deletion and once confirmed the product will be permanently removed from your Store and product list. If you only want to remove it from your Store temporarily use the Unpublish action.

You can also delete products using the Bulk Edit function.

How do I sort my products table?

Your products table can be sorted using any of the columns. Clicking on a column heading will sort the column either alphabetically or numerically and add an arrow to that column. Clicking the arrow reverses the sort direction, for example, an alphabetical A to Z sort becomes Z to A. Sorting can be particularly useful when undertaking bulk editing.

What is a product Status?

Your products Status can be set to a number of different values – Draft, Unpublished, Out of Stock and Published.

Draft means that the product listing has not been completed. A product will also revert to a draft status if something is deleted from a completed product.

Unpublished means the product listing has been completed but you have either not yet Published the product or have chosen to temporarily remove the listing from your Store.

Out of Stock means either we manage stock levels and the available stock has reached zero or we do not manage stock and you have manually put the product out of stock. The product listing will be visible for 20 days at which point it will be automatically unpublished unless a stock update has taken place. If you have enabled back orders then Customers can still place orders for up to 20 days and will be notified at the time of ordering that a product is on back order.

Published means the product listing is complete and visible in your Store and available for purchase.

Product Types

What is a Product Type?

We use Product Types to group together similar products from all our Vendors. You choose which Product Type your product belongs to and then we assign the Product Types to appropriate categories or sub categories. A product can only belong to one Product Type but we can display it in more than one category or sub category with different display labels if required. If you haven’t got access to a suitable Product Type then get in touch with us and we’ll either create a new one or assign an existing one to your account.

What Product Types are available?

The Product Types assigned to your account together with a complete list of all Product Types can be found by logging in to your account and looking for the Product Types Directory item below Help & Support on the Green Elephant menu.

The directory shows the Product Types as well as the Categories that they are displayed in. We have also included an additional description where we feel the name is not self-explanatory or requires further clarification.

If you think you need a new Product Type or can’t find what you are looking for please get in touch with us and we’ll help you out!

How do I get more Product Types?

If you start selling different products then you may need to ask us for some new Product Types for your account. Simply call or email us to let us know what products you would like to sell and we’ll arrange access to an existing Product Type or set up a new one.

How do I use Fashion Product Types?

Fashion Product Types, especially those relating to clothing, can sometimes appear confusing. By way of an example we shall look at T-shirts. Not only do they come in different sleeve lengths but they can also be designed as either female, male or unisex. To make sure a product ends up in the appropriate category(ies) we would create a range of detailed Product Types as follows; Short Sleeved Tees (F), Short Sleeved Tees (M), Short Sleeved Tees (M+F), Long Sleeved Tees (F), Long Sleeved Tees (M) and Long Sleeved Tees (M+F).
(For clarification F = Female, M = Male and M+F = Unisex)

As long as you direct your product to the correct Product Type we will make sure it is displayed in the appropriate category or sub category on the site. If you have a unisex item we will display it in both Mens and Womens Fashion. Please remember that a product can only belong to one Product Type, so, choose carefully. If you are struggling to find an appropriate one ask us for advice and if necessary we will create a new one.

How do I use Baby & Child Product Types?

Baby & Child Product Types, especially those relating to clothing, are possibly the most complicated ones on our site. We have decided to display products to Customers grouped by both gender and age/size. Our age/size ranges are defined as Baby & Toddler 0-3yrs and Child 2yrs+ (with a deliberate overlap).

By way of an example we shall look at Trousers. They come in different lengths and sizes and can also be designed as either boys, girls or unisex. To make sure a product ends up in the appropriate category(ies) we would create a range of detailed Product Types as follows; Trousers 0-3yrs (G), Trousers 0-3yrs (B), Trousers 0-3yrs (G+B), Trousers 2yrs+ (G), Trousers 2yrs+ (B), Trousers 2yrs+ (G+B), Shorts 0-3yrs (G), Shorts 0-3yrs (B), Shorts 0-3yrs (G+B), Shorts 2yrs+ (G), Shorts 2yrs+ (B) and Shorts 2yrs+ (G+B). (For clarification G = Girl, B = Boy and G+B = Unisex)

If you have a product that is available in sizes that fall into both the Baby & Toddler 0-3yrs and Child 2yrs+ you will need to assign it to the relevant Product Type containing the words “All Yrs”, for example, Trousers All Yrs (G+B) for unisex trousers available in ages 1 to 5 years.

As long as you direct your product to the correct Product Type we will make sure it is displayed in the appropriate category or sub category on the site. If you have a unisex item we will display it in both the Boys and Girls sections. Please remember that a product can only belong to one Product Type, so, choose carefully. If you are struggling to find an appropriate one ask us for advice and if necessary we will create a new one.

Pricing, Stock Control and Variations

What are product attributes?

Product attributes are the descriptors we use to define certain aspects of a product. For example, we could describe a t-shirt by its colour and size – these are Attribute Names.

Attribute Values are created to reflect the product options available to a Customer, for example, colours – red, blue and green and sizes – small, medium and large.

How do I set up product attributes?

If you need to set up a product with Variations then you will need to create product Attribute Names and enter some Attribute Values. Assuming you are already on the Product Pricing, Stock Control and Variations section of adding or editing a product you must first answer yes to the initial question about Variations. This brings up the Attribute Name box where you can enter each of your attributes up to a maximum of three. Type in an Attribute Name and press the add button which will bring up the set Attribute Values box for you to enter values for each of your newly created attributes. Product Variations can then be created from your Attribute Values.

What are product Variations?

Product Variations are what you have if a product comes in a number of different options, for example, a t-shirt in different sizes (small, medium, large) and colours (red, blue, green). A medium blue t-shirt is a Variation as is a large red t-shirt. You may sell all Variation combinations or you might have some that are unavailable.

How do I set up product Variations?

Product Variations are created after you have set up attributes and their relevant values. Answer the questions in the product variation settings to give the desired columns in the variations table then add the required Variations using the drop down menus. You can either add all of the combinations if they are available or if not add only the ones you sell. You do this by adding individual Variations or adding all and deleting the Variations you don’t want. Finally enter the stock, pricing and other data into the table.

How do I manage stock availability?

If you would like us to keep track of product availability you will need to enable stock functionality in your Store Profile & Settings. Once you have done this you can assign an available stock level for each of your products on the product pricing, stock control and variations section of the product listing. When products are ordered we will reduce available stock until stock reaches zero at which point we will stop taking orders. We will notify you when a product becomes out of stock and if you wish to continue taking orders you should either update stock levels or enable back orders but only if stock replenishment is quick.

You can also manage product availability manually rather than entering stock values by answering no to the stock levels question in your Store Settings. Product status can then be manually set to either Published, Out of Stock or Unpublished. See the answer to “What is a product Status?” above for further explanation.

How accurate is the Stock Control function?

The Stock Control function is intended as an effective tool to manage product availability but we must emphasize that it is not a full Stock Control system. Stock availability is checked each time a Customer enters the checkout process but stock levels are only updated once the Customer payment has been completed. When a product has a very low stock level there is a small risk that a number of Customers enter the checkout process at the same time and effectively buy the same item(s).

If this happens, and you cannot fulfill all orders, then the Customer will need to be contacted to arrange a substitute product or refund.

Where do I update product stock levels?

If you have not already done so you will need to enable stock functionality in your Store Profile & Settings. Once you have done this you can assign an available stock level for each of your products on either the product pricing, stock control and variations section of the product listing or by using the Bulk Edit or Quick Edit functions from the Manage Products area. You can enter any whole number from zero to 9,999.

What happens when a product becomes out of stock?

When products are ordered we reduce available stock until stock reaches zero at which point we stop taking orders. We will notify you when a product becomes out of stock and if you wish to continue taking orders you should either update stock levels or enable back orders but only if stock replenishment is quick.

The product listing will continue to be displayed for 20 days at which point the product status will automatically change to Unpublished.

How does the back order function work?

The back order function is only relevant if you assign stock levels to your products. We keep track of what has been sold and when a product’s stock level reaches zero the back order function determines what happens. If you have enabled back orders then customers can still place orders for up to 20 days and will be notified at the time of ordering that a product is on back order. If you do not enable back orders then we will still display the product to customers for 20 days but they will not be able to place an order.

Badges

What are your Badges used for?

We use Badges to highlight the Sustainable, Healthy and Ethical product characteristics that are the cornerstone of our Marketplace. You assign a number of Badges to your products to help Customers easily see why your product is better for them or better for the environment. To be eligible for listing on the Green Elephant Marketplace products must demonstrate a Sustainable, Healthy and Ethical focus and should therefore carry a number of our Badges. You are also required to explain why particular Badges have been assigned to a product – this will be displayed on the “Why is this good?” tab on the product page.

What badges should I select for my product?

In most instances it should be fairly obvious which Badges apply to your products. If you are saying yes to too many we suggest you select the three or four that are most relevant. The Badges are there to help Customers easily understand how your product is better for them or the environment. If you are struggling to find Badges that apply then either that particular product is not right for the Marketplace or you do not have access to the appropriate Badge or we have a Badge missing, so, please get in touch with us.

What should I write in the explanation box?

Our Badges are there to highlight the Sustainable, Healthy and Ethical product characteristics to Customers helping them easily see why your product is better for them or better for the environment. Sometimes it will be totally obvious why a product has been given a Badge but the explanation is your opportunity to give some specifics about the product. For example, if a product is assigned the recycled Badge explain what components or proportion of the product is recycled and how this helps. We want to sell genuinely better products on our Marketplace and the Badges and their explanations reinforce this principle.

Product Images

How do I load product images?

Product images are loaded from the images section of the edit products page. For best results images should be saved in the correct size and format before loading using one of the many different editing applications available. The ideal image size for the main product image is 640 pixels wide by 640 pixels high and your file type should be jpg, jpeg, gif or png. You can either select which file to load or simply drag and drop your file into place.

You can also load up to three secondary images which will appear to the right of the main image – if these are loaded as the same size as the main image they will automatically resize keeping the correct aspect ratio. If you are experiencing difficulties then we are more than happy to help get you started.

Getting the best out of your images and the importance of good lighting.

We can’t stress enough the value of having quality product images when it comes to ecommerce. The perceived value of your products and trustworthiness of you as a Vendor is often judged by the quality of what you present in terms of words and images. We aren’t going to tell you how to take great product photos here as there are many good tutorials online – just search Google for “product photography tutorial”.

What we will say though is, photographing products on a plain white background and if necessary retouching the images afterwards gives consistently good results. If we see poor quality images in your Store we’ll let you know in the nicest possible way as not only do they reflect badly upon you but also the Marketplace and other Vendors too. So, please do take the time to get your images right or have a professional do it for you. As usual we are happy to help or point you in the right direction.

What are your image requirements?

For our design the main product image loading size is 640 pixels wide by 640 pixels high. If you try to load an image smaller than this it will be rejected.

If you load a rectangular image wider than our requirement it will be automatically resized to 640 pixels high and then cropped at either side to make it 640 pixels wide.

If you load a rectangular image taller than our requirement it will be automatically resized to 640 pixels wide and then cropped at the top and bottom to make it 640 pixels high.

Your images must be loaded as one of the following file types: jpg, jpeg, gif or png.

Secondary images should be loaded with the same size/format and will be resized following the same rules.

Where our automatic resizing and cropping gives an undesired result you will need to use an image editor such as Photoshop Elements or online tools like those found at pixlr.com to create a square image at least 640 pixels wide by 640 pixels high – if you don’t know how to do this then contact us for further guidance.

What background should I use for my product image?

Our advice for consistently great results is to shoot products on a plain white background and preferably get the images retouched afterwards.

Quick Editing

What is Quick Edit?

Quick Edit enables you to make most of your everyday product changes without using the Full Edit screens which can be quite long-winded. Changes can be made to the product title, price, shipping class, stock level and SKU’s including any Variations that the product may have.

How do I use Quick Edit?

From your products table click on the name of the product that you would like to edit. This opens a pop up box where you can make your required updates to the product title, price, shipping class, stock level and SKU’s including any Variations that the product may have.

Once you have finished press the Save Changes button which will return you to the products table. If you can’t see what you want to change proceed to the Full Edit page.

What is the difference between Quick Edit and Full Edit?

The Quick Edit function covers most of the information you might change on a day to day basis. For standing data and more complicated items you will need to visit the product’s Full Edit page

Items that can only be changed on the Full Edit page include Product Description and Further Information, Badges, Returns Information, Attributes Names and Attribute Values, Variation Settings and Management, Product Images and Product Specials.

When should I use Full Edit?

You should be able to do most of your amendments using the Quick Edit function, however, you will need to use the Full Edit page to update Product Images, Descriptions or Badges and to add or remove Variations and product Specials.

You can get to a product’s Full Edit page from the Quick Edit pop up or directly using the Actions drop down menu.

Bulk Editing

What is Bulk Edit?

Bulk Edit is a useful tool enabling you to make changes to a selection of products at the same time. Bulk Edit can be used to set up Specials and delete products or change a selection of products Status, Price, Shipping Class, Product Type or Stock Level. Please be very careful when using Bulk Editing as any errors made can be very hard to correct.

The Bulk Edit function is located above the products table.

All Bulk Edit functions except Price and Shipping Classes can be used on products with and without Variations. To reduce the potential for errors the Bulk Edit function has been disabled for products with Variations set up with individual Prices or Shipping Classes.

How do I use Bulk Edit?

From your products table tick the products that you wish to edit. Choose the action you would like to undertake from the Bulk Edit drop down menu – your choices are Publish, Unpublish, Pricing, Shipping Class, Product Type, Stock Level, Put On Special and Delete.

Each action creates either a pop up confirmation message or a form. Carefully make your selections on the pop up and enter your required values. Once you are done press the Save Changes button and read the message and confirm if you are happy to proceed. Detailed instructions for each action can be found below.

How do I change the product Status using Bulk Edit?

On your products table tick the items that you wish to either Publish or Unpublish. Select Publish or Unpublish from the Bulk Edit menu and then click the Yes button to confirm or No to abandon your changes. You also have the option to manually put products to an Out of Stock status if you chose not to assign product stock levels in your Store settings.

If you proceed with your changes you will see the Status change in the products table.

How can I increase prices by 10% for a range of products?

On your products table tick the items that you wish to change and select Pricing from the Bulk Edit menu. If you try to change a product that has Variations with individual prices you will see a Whoops message and must redo your selection. These products should have their prices changed using the Quick Edit function.

Selecting an update method from one of the five options will bring up an input box where you can either input a dollar value or percentage value. When you have finished press the Save Changes button, read the pop up message carefully and answer Yes to make the changes and No to cancel.

To increase prices by 10% select the Increase by percent update method and enter 10 in the input box. Answering Yes to the pop up question will immediately update the prices in the products table.

How do I change the Shipping Class for a range of products?

On your products table tick the items that you wish to change and select Shipping Class from the Bulk Edit menu. If you try to change a product that has Variations with individual Shipping Classes you will see a Whoops message and must redo your selection. These products should have their Shipping Classes changed using the Quick Edit function.

Select a Shipping Class from the drop down menu and press the Save Changes button, read the pop up message carefully and answer Yes to make the changes and No to cancel.

How do I change the Product Type for a range of products?

On your products table tick the items that you wish to change and select Product Type from the Bulk Edit menu.

Select a Product Type from the drop down menu and press the Save Changes button, read the pop up message carefully and answer Yes to make the changes and No to cancel.

How can I update stock for multiple products?

On your products table tick the items that you wish to change and select Stock Level from the Bulk Edit menu.

Selecting an update method other than Back Order Settings Only will bring up an input box where you can input a value. Make changes to the Back Order settings if required and when you have finished press the Save Changes button, read the pop up message carefully and answer Yes to make the changes and No to cancel.

Be careful as any product selected with Variations will have all Variations changed to, or by, the same amount. You may find the Quick Edit function more appropriate for updating Stock Levels on an individual basis.

How can I set up Specials for a range of products?

From the products table tick the products you want and using the Bulk Edit dropdown menu select Put On Special. This will open a pop up box where you can select a discount method, enter the dollar or percentage discount amount as well as schedule the start and end date and time.

Note that by using the Bulk Edit feature you do not have the opportunity to choose which Variations to include, all Variations will be put on Special. If you wish to put individual Variations on Special you should use the Full Edit Screen and read the Specials help section below.

How can I delete more than one product at a time?

On your products table tick the items that you wish to delete permanently and select Delete from the Bulk Edit menu.

Read the pop up message carefully and answer Yes to delete permanently and No to cancel.

Specials and Sale Prices

How do I schedule a Special?

There are two ways to schedule a new Special.

To create a Special for a single product or a Variation go to the product Full Edit screen. Once there scroll to the bottom of the page, expand the Product Specials section and click the Add Special button. In the pop up box select the Variations you want to include, where relevant, and the required discount method. Next enter your dollar or percentage discount amount and finally schedule the start and end date and time.

To create a Special for multiple products you should use the products Bulk Edit function. From the products table tick the products you want and using the Bulk Edit dropdown menu select Put On Special. This will open a similar pop up box as described above where you can select a discount method, enter the dollar or percentage discount amount as well as schedule the start and end date and time. Note that by using the Bulk Edit feature you do not have the opportunity to choose which Variations to include, all Variations will be put on Special.

How do I know what is on Special?

To view all products on Special select the Specials item from your Vendor Menu. The table here shows when the Special is scheduled for, the discount type (Dollar or Percentage), the discount amount and the resulting Special price. A product which has more than one Special will appear in the table on a number of lines – once for each Special. Active specials are shown in red.

You can filter by discount type as well as sort each column of the table to find the selection of products you are interested in.

How do I cancel a Special?

Once the end date and time passes a Special will automatically be removed from your Store. Specials can also be manually cancelled from either the Specials item on the Vendor Menu or within the individual product Full Edit screens. Simply tick the Specials that you would like to cancel and click Delete on the Actions dropdown menu. Carefully read the pop up message and if you are sure click Yes to delete them.

If you delete a Special by mistake you will need to recreate it by adding a new Special in the normal way.

How do I extend a Special?

Specials can be extended or shortened from either the Specials item on the Vendor Menu or within the individual product Full Edit screens. Simply tick the Specials that you would like to reschedule and click on the Change End Date link on the Bulk Edit dropdown menu. Enter your revised date and time and save.

What happens when a product has more than one Special?

Where you have created more than one Special for a product the lowest calculated price will be the one displayed to Customers – active specials are shown in red.

Specials are not added together. For example, you have a 25% off storewide weekend Special and 15% off all T-Shirts Special for a particular month running at the same time. T-shirts will show prices with a 15% discount for the whole month except for the weekend when they will be reduced by 25%.

How do I create a special for an individual product Variation?

To create a Special for a selection of Variations go to the Full Edit screen for your chosen product. Once there scroll to the bottom of the page, expand the Product Specials section and click the Add Special button. In the pop up box tick the Variations you want to include and the required discount method. Next enter your dollar or percentage discount amount and finally schedule the start and end date and time.

Everything Else

Vendor Dashboard

What is My Dashboard showing me?

Your Dashboard presents information in several different sections.

Items to Action highlights the things requiring your attention like New or Incomplete Orders, Messages that are waiting for a reply from you, Product reviews that you have not seen and Products that are currently showing as Out of Stock and may need updating.

Statistics & Reach by default gives an overview of the current months performance of your Store. It shows the Sales value, number of Orders, how many products are active in your Store, your Product Reach and Product Views and your Store Views.

See the Statistics & Reach section below for further explanation of each element. In due course the Statistics & Reach will be selectable for the current month, current year and each of the previous 11 months. Please bear in mind that for Reach the data collection started on 8th July 2016. and is therefore not available before then.

Marketplace Sales & Orders graph provides a simple graphic of the number and $ value of your sales for each of the months in the last year.

What do I do with the Items to Action?

Clicking on any of the Items to Action will take you to the page where you can take the necessary action to clear them. You can get to the same pages from the Vendor Menu but in most cases the Items to Action link will also filter the view to show you just what you need to attend to.

So, for Outstanding Orders review any Orders that are not completed and pack and send the products to the address supplied. Make sure you promptly mark the items in the Order as dispatched to let the Customer know that they have a parcel on the way – this also enables us to pay you in the next Pay Run! If you want more guidance on what to do read the I have an Order – now what? question.

For any Messages Awaiting Response reply to the Customer or if no response is necessary you can mark the Message as Resolved which will then treat it as actioned. You can find out more about messaging by reading the answers to our questions below.

For New Product Reviews follow the link to read your reviews this will then treat the Reviews as actioned.

For Out of Stock Products follow the link to view the affected products and make more stock available, enable back orders or unpublish the product as you require. You can read more answers about managing stock here.

What is the Marketplace Sales & Orders graph showing me?

For each of the last 12 months the graph displays your Total Sales Value on the left axis and the corresponding Number of Orders on the right axis.

To see a detailed analysis of how these figures are made up you can run a Sales Analysis for a given time period from the More Stat & Figures menu item.

Statistics & Reach

What does Product Reach mean?

We have tried to provide a simple monthly measure of the number of times that one of your products has been served to a Customer as part of a listing view. Listing Views include Category and Sub Category views, Shop Your Way searches, Keyword Searches, Storefront and Store Product pages. The filtering of a listing view will also count towards the total Product Reach as the Products are re-served to the Customer. We do not count the Product Carousels which are displayed on our home page (Latest, Best Sellers, Specials) and each of the Product Detail pages (More from this Vendor, Other People Liked).

We know what Products are served as part of a listing view but there are limitations – we cannot tell whether a Customer looked at all the listings or how much attention the Customer has given a particular product. To understand Customer engagement we also provide the Product and Store Views metrics as well.

Note; the Reach and Views counts will also include any browsing done by Vendors (including you) but should give a good indication of Customer activity. Data collection started on 8 July 2016 and specifically excludes browsing done by Green Elephant as admin.

What does Product Views mean?

Product Views are counted when someone clicks through to the Product Detail page. It indicates that they have taken an interest in your Product and want to find out more. To keep the count mechanism simple multiple views by the same person are all counted.

What are Store Views?

Store Views are counted whenever someone visits your Store front or any of the sub pages such as Delivery or Returns & Refunds. It indicates that people are wanting to interact with you and your brand.

Where can I see more?

On the main Dashboard page we have added a dropdown menu where you can select which month you would like to view Stats & Reach figures for. We have also provided a drill down so you can see individual product counts for Reach and Views and a View % as well as the count for each of your Store pages – just click on the relevant “green heading link”.

Store Views will show a page by page count of customer interactions in a pop-up modal. The Product Reach or Product Views link will take you to the More Stats & Figures page where you will find a table showing the Reach, Views and Views as a percentage of Reach for each individual product.

We hope that these metrics provide an indication of the level of exposure that your Store and Products are getting as a result of being on the Marketplace, and in conjunction with your sales figures, provide comfort that Green Elephant is working for you. Please let us know if you have any thoughts, either good or bad, about what we are delivering or what else you may find useful.

Browser Choice, Tablets, iPads and Mobile Devices

Can I use a tablet, iPad or other mobile device to set up and manage my Store?

For the best user experience whilst setting up and managing your Store we recommend the use of a desktop or laptop computer. Whilst tablets, iPads and other mobile devices could be used in the Vendor Area there are a number of complex steps and features that will be more difficult to complete due to the touchscreen environment.

What is the best browser to use in the Vendor Area on your Site?

We recommend the use of Google Chrome whilst setting up and managing your Store because we know the Vendor Area functionality works well with this browser. Whilst we have coded our Site to work with all browsers we have not tested them exhaustively. Internet Explorer combined with Windows 8 is particularly prone to poor rendering of fonts and therefore can distort content. If you experience any difficulties we suggest you first consider trying Google Chrome.

How can I make your Site look better using Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 11?

Internet Explorer combined with Windows 8 is particularly prone to poor rendering of fonts and therefore can distort content. If you are experiencing difficulties we suggest you first consider trying Google Chrome. If this is not an option you can try a number of things in Internet Explorer 11 to help. Third party add-ons can sometimes cause conflict so disabling them by going to Manage add-ons on the Settings menu may work. You could also add greenelephant.co.nz as a Trusted Site on the Security tab which can be found by selecting Internet options from the Settings menu – this should allow our fonts to display correctly. Alternatively, we have also found that the Restore advanced settings button has fixed a number of issues – this is located on the Advanced tab under Internet Options.

Orders

How do I know when I have an order?

As soon as we receive an order for your store we will send you an email notification. You can also see your new orders on your Dashboard whenever you log in.

I have an order – now what?

Whenever a Customer completes an order on our site we will send you an email notification with an order summary. If you log in to your account there will be a new Outstanding Order on your Dashboard. Click on the link to be taken to your Orders table where you will see the new order at the top in bold. Another click on the order number will take you to the order detail page. From here you can:

Ship Products – tick the items you are shipping and click the button, amend the quantities if you are sending part of an order and finally provide the courier details as applicable. As soon as you submit these details we will send an email to the Customer to tell them a parcel is on the way and if this shipment completes the order then it will be settled in the next payment run. NOTE: an order could be cancelled or put on hold anytime before it is marked as dispatched so please do not physically send the goods before first creating the dispatch record. Do not forget to record your dispatches – failure to mark an item as dispatched can cause confusion as well as delay payment to you.

Reject Order – if you cannot or do not want to accept the order in its entirety for any reason then click here and provide an explanation for the Customer. We may discuss this with you or immediately cancel and refund the order. Do not reject the order if only one item is unavailable. Contact the Customer to see what they want to do and then let us know if any items need to be cancelled and refunded.

Contact Customer – if you need to contact the Customer for any reason then click here and enter your query. For example, you may have run out of stock and want to know if the Customer is prepared to wait for the item or accept a different colour.

Print Order – opens a print friendly Green Elephant branded order summary suitable as a Picking and Packing Slip.

Where can I see my order details?

Sign into your account to access your Dashboard where you can see your new orders and either click the orders link or select Orders from your Vendor Menu on the left side. This will take you to a page displaying an order summary which you can sort in a number of different ways. To view the order details or to change the order status click on the individual order.

How do I amend an order status to dispatched?

Sign into your account and select Orders from your Vendor Menu on the left side. This will take you to your order summary page which you can sort in a number of different ways. Find the order that you want and click on the individual order to view the order details. From here you have the option to ship products, reject an order in its entirety, send a customer enquiry or print your order.

To ship products, tick the items that you are shipping and press the relevant button at the top. From here you enter the number of items shipped and any tracking information that you have available. Please do not actually dispatch the items until you have marked them as dispatched as an order cancellation could happen right up until the dispatch record is created. Any cancellations will be marked against the ordered item on the order detail. Contact Vendor Support if you have any concerns or questions.

What does the Authority to Leave Unattended on my order mean?

This is the Customers opportunity to give authority for an order to be left unattended rather than have the item signed for. If you only offer a standard non-signed for delivery then you can ignore this and deliver as per normal. We explain this process to the Customer during checkout so they should know what to expect.

Store status

What is the Store Status?

Your Store Status is clearly visible on your Dashboard and can be shown as a number of different values including Set Up In Progress, Online, Offline, On Holiday or On Hold.

Set Up In Progress means you have not completed your initial Store set up.

Online means your Store set up is complete and your Store and product listings are visible and available to purchase.

Offline means your Store is set up but you have chosen to temporarily remove your Store and products from the Marketplace. Your Store and products will not be visible to Customers.

The On Holiday status can be set by you for periods when you will not be able to fulfil orders on a timely basis. Product listings will be available to view but not order.

On Hold is a status reserved for Green Elephant use, this will put your Store into a forced holiday mode but you will also be unable to log in. On Hold is for when we have a serious issue that needs resolving and you will need to get in contact with us to get your Store back online.

What does an Offline Store Status mean?

Offline means your Store is set up but you have chosen to temporarily remove your Store and products from the Marketplace. Your Store and products will not be visible on the website and consequently no orders can be taken. If you are just going on holiday we suggest you use the On Holiday status instead.

What is the On Holiday Store Status?

On Holiday can be set by you for periods when you will not be able to fulfil orders on a timely basis. Product listings will be available to view but not order.

Why have you put my store On Hold?

If we have changed your Store Status to On Hold it is because we have a serious issue that needs resolving and you have either failed to address our concerns or not contacted us. We will not put your Store On Hold without a good reason and without warning you first but you will need to get in contact with us to get your Store back online.

Coupon Codes

What do I need to know about Coupon Codes?

A Coupon Code is a unique Vendor specific code that can be handed out to Customers or prospective Customers to offer an incentive to buy your products or as a loyalty reward. The full Coupon Code has a 3 letter prefix defined by us which identifies you as the Vendor and an additional part which you choose. Both parts make up the Coupon Code and must be entered in full with no spaces at the time of purchase.

Coupons can be scheduled to run for a certain time period, have a limited number of uses, have a Minimum Order Value and offer $ or % discounts, Free Shipping or a Free Gift.

Whilst you can have several codes “Active” at any one time only one Code can be used per Vendor per Order.

Sale items and shipping costs do not qualify for further discounts nor are they included when calculating the Minimum Order Value.

Where you normally offer reduced rate shipping over a given order value the order value is calculated after $ and % Coupon discounts.

A Free Shipping Coupon applies to any order including overseas orders where available – please use with care! If you want to give only Free NZ shipping consider using a $ discount Coupon with a similar value to NZ delivery charges but remember this coupon could also be used on worldwide orders.

What Coupon Types can I have?

There are four different types of Coupon:

Discount by a percent – use this type to give a percentage off the non-sale items included in an order once a minimum spend has been met. Shipping and sale items are not discounted.

Discount by a dollar amount – use this type to give a fixed dollar amount off the entire order once a minimum spend has been met. Sale items and shipping do not count towards the minimum order spend.

Free Shipping – use this type to give Free Shipping once a minimum spend has been met. Please note that this applies to orders from all zones and will also give free rural delivery when minimum order value is reached. Consider using $ discount instead if you just want to offer the equivalent of Free NZ shipping!

Free Gift – use this type to give a Free item once a minimum spend has been met. This doesn’t actually add any items to the order but highlights on your order summary that a Free Gift coupon has been redeemed.

Note: references to order value and free shipping refer only to the Vendor whose Coupon is actually being used. Thus, a Coupon for Free shipping for Vendor A does not impact shipping charged by Vendor B.

How do I add a Coupon?

Log in to your account and look for the Coupons item on your Vendor Menu. Click on this to be taken to the Coupons page where you can add new Coupons and see/edit previous ones. Click the Add Coupon button at the top to bring up the modal.

From here choose your Coupon Type and then fill out the other form fields that are required. Further guidance can be found below or by hovering over the grey info icon next to each of the input boxes. Once you are happy click the Create Coupon button and you are all done. If you want to edit your coupon see ”How can I edit my Coupon?” below.

What is the minimum order value?

You can set a minimum order value required before a Coupon can be used. Sale items and shipping charges are not counted when calculating the minimum spend.

What does number of uses mean?

You can limit the number of times a Coupon Code can be used. For example, you might want to give a discount only to the first 10 orders. This is not designed to stop the same individual using the Coupon multiple times!

If you want to give a Coupon to a specific person then set the limit to one and make sure they keep the Code safe.

To “cancel” a Coupon reduce the number of uses to zero.

What is the full Coupon Code?

When you give out the Coupon Code make sure it includes your 3 letter prefix and your unique element with no spaces in between. The 3 letters are predefined by us when we set up your account and are unique to you.

How is the discount calculated?

Once the minimum order value is reached the discount is taken off non-sale products only. Percent and dollar discounts do not apply to sale items or delivery charges.

A Free Shipping Coupon will remove all Vendor specific delivery charges for any zone. It will also remove rural surcharges.

How can I edit a Coupon?

Log in to your account and look for the Coupons item on your Vendor Menu. Click on this to be taken to the Coupons page where you can add new Coupons and see/edit previous ones. Click the Coupon Label that you want to edit to bring up the modal.

Whilst you can edit most Coupons you cannot edit Expired Coupons.

How many Coupons can I have?

You can create as many Coupons as you like as long as you can think of enough unique Codes! Please bear in mind that Customers can only apply one Coupon Code per Vendor per Order.

How do I cancel a Coupon?

If you wish to cancel a Coupon simply reduce the number of uses allowed to zero. The Coupon will be displayed with a “Used” status and no further Coupons will be accepted.

What does the Coupon status mean?

The status of a Coupon can be one of the following:

Pending – whilst the Coupon has been set up and scheduled it is not yet available for use as the start date is in the future.

Active – the Coupon is available for use.

Used – the Coupon has reached the number of uses limit and therefore currently unavailable for use. If desired you may increase the number of uses limit.

Expired – the Coupon is no longer available for use as the end date has passed. You can no longer edit this Coupon.

Card Fraud and Chargebacks

What do you do to prevent card fraud?

We use Braintree as our payment gateway who take all reasonable steps to check that a credit card payment is valid. We will not pass an order to you unless the card payment has been successfully completed. We also flag orders from new accounts so you have the opportunity to scrutinise the order more fully especially unusually large orders. Remember it is up to you to decide whether to accept an order from a Customer or ask us for more information if we have anything to add.

Who bears the risk of card fraud?

Ultimately it is the Vendor that bears the risk of card fraud but we also have our part to play. To support our Vendors where an order is found to be fraudulent we will refund any commission charged relating to that order.

How can I avoid chargebacks?

A card authorisation does not guarantee payment as a cardholder has up to 180 days to dispute a transaction. Therefore please keep any delivery proof that you have to support any disputes where a customer simply doesn’t remember placing the order. To avoid fraud based chargebacks please do not accept orders that you have doubts about either decline the order or contact us to see if we have further information. If you decline an order we will need you to provide a reason which we can share with the Customer after which we will cancel the order and make a full refund.

Messages

What are Messages and what types of Messages might I get?

As part of your Green Elephant tools you have access to a simple messaging system from your Dashboard. We will send you email notifications and we will also send you Messages. You may also get Messages from Customers asking you questions directly about your products or an order that they have placed. We will send you emails for most communication, for example, when you get new orders, when we pay you and if we have something important to communicate. We use messages to ask questions about an order, progress customer returns and other customer service issues.

We will also use Messages for administrative tasks like advising of changes to website functionality, to share hints and tips or updates to our Terms & Conditions.

Where do I see my customer order queries?

If a Customer has a query about an order they have already placed they will send a Message to us. We will then contact you where appropriate. You can see your new Messages from your Dashboard and access your complete Message list from the Vendor menu on the left hand side.

What are “Ask Vendor a question” Messages?

All Marketplace product listings have an “Ask this Vendor a question” link for Customers to find out more about a product. This will create a new Message that you will be notified of by email. You can reply to the Message from your Dashboard or by clicking the link in the email. Please try and answer these in a timely manner as it is likely the Customer has been considering purchasing from you and your answer is an opportunity to make a good impression.

How do I use Messages?

Your Dashboard Items to Action highlights your “Messages Awaiting Response”. You can find your Messages by clicking directly on this link or on the Messages item on the Vendor menu. By default your Messages are sorted to show the most recently updated one at the top. Messages shown in bold indicate that they are awaiting a response from you. If no response is required you can mark the Message as resolved from within the Message detail which will remove the bold formatting and place a green tick next to it on the Messages table. Note that you will no longer be able to reply to a resolved Message.

If you want to delete a Message you must first mark it as resolved at which point an X will appear on the relevant line on the Messages table. If a Customer makes further comments the deleted Message will be reinstated.

Returns and Refunds

How does the returns process work?

Customers will contact Green Elephant if they want to make a return for any reason. We raise a product Return Request and contact the Vendor that sold the product concerned providing the reason for the return – either a Consumer Guarantees Act or Customer initiated No Worries Return. We will provide additional details if the return is due to faulty, damaged or incorrect items. The Vendor then responds to the request explaining what action they will take and giving clear instructions to the Customer including the returns address to use and if required the preferred delivery method. Once the items are received the Vendor informs us what action was taken and confirms if any Customer refund is required – we then update the Return Request.

For a No Worries Return once we have Vendor confirmation that the goods have been received in acceptable condition we will issue a refund to the Customer for the original purchase price excluding delivery in the form of Gift Vouchers. We shall collect the balance of the refund from you as part of the next payment run having first reversed our commission charged.

For a CGA return you will need to tell us whether the item was repaired, replaced or should be refunded with the original postage and if there is any return postage to pay to the Customer. Once you have done this we will make an appropriate payment to the Customer and collect the full amount from you on the next payment run. Note that we do not reverse our commission for CGA returns as these are due to product issues rather than as a result of our policies.

How will I know I have a Return Request?

When a Customer contacts us to return an item we will raise a Return Request against the original order. We will then send you an email telling you that there is a Return Request requiring you attention. The Message will also appear on your Dashboard with a link to the original Order.

How do I confirm a return?

There are two stages that you will need to complete before the return is finalised. First you need to accept the return giving clear instructions to the Customer regarding the returns address and any packaging and delivery requirements you may have. We will pass these instructions to the Customer and mark the return as accepted but outstanding.

Finally, once you have received the returned product you need to notify us to update the Return Request with the appropriate details; for a No worries Return – confirm the goods have been received in acceptable condition; for a CGA return – provide the outcome of either repaired, replaced or refund and details of any Customer incurred postage to refund. We will then make payments to the Customer on your behalf that we will collect from you in the next payment cycle.

Who pays for the postage on a product return?

We are all about fairness at Green Elephant, so, if the return is a faulty, damaged or incorrect item then Vendors are expected to cover reasonable return postage costs. For a No Worries Return Customers should expect to pay their own return postage costs.

How much will the return be?

The amount refunded to a Customer depends upon whether the return is a claim under the Consumer Guarantees Act or as part of our No Worries Returns policy. If it is a CGA claim that results in a refund the total will be the original purchase price including delivery plus, if claimed, an additional amount for the reasonable return postage incurred by the Customer. If it is a return under our No Worries policy then the amount paid to the Customer will be the original purchase price excluding the original delivery charge. Note that for No Worries Returns we will fund a portion of the refund at the commission rate originally charged.

When are returns payments made?

Green Elephant will only make a payment to a Customer after we have received confirmation from the Vendor that the return has been completed. Any refund due will then be paid within 14 days.

How are returns recharged to me?

We will collect the balance of any Customer refund from you as part of the following payment run. If there are no funds due to you then we will carry this balance forward against future sales. If the return is a No Worries Return then we will also reverse any commission charged.

Product Reviews

What are product Reviews?

Customer Reviews provide a mechanism for leaving unbiased feedback and comments about your products. We encourage Customers to leave Reviews for any product they have purchased to help other Customers choose what to buy. Reviews may be either positive or negative but will only be removed or edited by us if they are offensive or found to be untrue.

What can I do if I am unhappy about a product Review?

If you think a Customer Review is either offensive or simply not true please contact us and we will investigate. We will look at the facts and if necessary we will also contact the Customer. After our investigation and at our sole discretion we may choose to edit, add to or remove the Review entirely.

Vendor Payments

When will I get paid?

We make payments to Vendors on alternate Wednesdays meaning the funds should be in your account by the Friday. Orders and refunds completed before midnight on a Sunday in a payment week will be included in the payment run for that week. Any incomplete orders or refunds will be carried over to the next payment cycle. You should therefore expect to be paid a minimum of 5 days and a maximum of 19 days after an order is completed. Any amount owing to you that is less than $50.00 may be carried over to the following payment run.

How much will I get paid?

In each payment cycle you will be paid for any completed orders less a deduction for our commission at the published rate. You will also be charged for any refunds made to Customers in relation to Consumer Guarantees Act claims or our No Worries Returns policy. There may also be adjustments for any balances brought forward. We will provide you with a statement supporting the payment made that clearly shows the breakdown of orders and refunds paid together with the associated commission.

Reporting

What reports are available?

There are a number of information sources available which should cover most of your needs. If there is anything you cannot find then please get in touch and we’ll do whatever we can to help.

Your Dashboard shows some of the highlights of your Store. See the “What’s My Dashboard showing me?” question above for further explanation.

On the More Stats & Figures page you can find a detailed Sales Analysis Report which shows Sales by Product and Sales by Order number for a date range that you choose.

From the Orders page you can look at your Orders in a variety of ways, for example, by order number, by status, by date and by value. Note; the Orders page does not include delivery charges – if you want to see the total Order value use the Sales Analysis Report on the More Stats & Figures Page.

From the Products page you can look at Products and product information, for example, stock levels and pricing. There are a number of filters available as well as a sort function on each column. Hover over the table headings to learn more.

From the My Payments page you can see the Green Elephant payments made to you. Clicking on an entry will show the details that support the payment.

Each of these pages is accessed from the Vendor Menu when you are logged into your account.

How do I use my reports?

From your Dashboard select the relevant menu item on the Vendor menu – either Orders, Products, My Payments or More Stat & Figures. Use the sort and/or filters at the top of the list to give the output that you require and either view this in your browser or export the data to Excel for further analysis where available.

If you struggle to find the data you need please get in touch and we will be happy to guide you.

How do I export my data?

You can export your data so that you can manipulate it in Excel or other similar programs. To do this find the report or table you want and then click the Export to Excel link in the top right hand corner. Currently a limited number of pages can be exported.