It seems only fair to say that Amazon have finally recognised a brand, and so we can now list products once again.
I am not sure we have resolved EAN re-use yet, but at least we can list new products, and have listed a Faikin S21 cable and case.
So well done, even if it took months, and a blog post, to get it done.
Maybe I'll try and get some of our other trademarks added!
I live in a nice neighbourhood. Really... Well, I thought I did.
After 4 years here this is the first time someone has literally taken a parcel off my doorstep!
I never imagined anyone would do this.
I am, however, impressed that the local police has a web page for crime reporting and it seems mostly sane!
I'm known for QR code stuff, and my library, but I have done some abuse of them for fun - I did round pixels rather than rectangular, for example.
The latest abuse was inspired by https://mathstodon.xyz/@divbyzero
His idea was a Truchet style...
I have done some more work on the idea. For a start I did not like the harsh edges and cut circles, so made it slightly different. I also had concerns on the circle hitting the targets as this may cause timing issues perhaps.
Looks good. But I also tried larger and it had trouble reading at an angle, and I think because I had Truchet coded the alignment marks needed on larger codes.
So I made them rectangular, e.g. same code as above with alignment mark intact.
Now it reads better at an angle. (tested on iPhone camera and an app). This allows the 45 degree shown at the top of this blog post.
Do not blame me if you now have a migraine, please.
Oh, and if you are interested, this is created as a proper QR code, but with a grid of black/white circles on top... I have made a video https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9ufN2cpsbPA
We have many plates.
They work as plates.
They are fine in the microwave.
But not this fucking plate.
What the fuck?!?
My shoes are getting a bit worn. They have lasted well. It was a big change some years ago when I realised I needed thick socks and shoes several sizes bigger - before which I was plagued with pain in my feet.
The shows I have now are indeed the ones that caused me to trip and break things!
So get a new pair, and having shows that work, and are comfortable, I want to get the same.
Anyway, similar sounding ones, hiking shoes as it happens, but wide and size 13½, so yay.
I click Apple Pay - as that is always very quick and simple.
But no! I get told address incomplete and apparently it wants "Phonetic First Name" and "Phonetic Last Name".
I don't have time for this, so I cancel and click "Add to basket".
I go to basket and click to pay and, well it is expensive, but I am am not too surprised really, but even then, seems a lot. So it has an "order summary", and that shows the shows and the price.
Note, no need for phonetic anything this time.
Oh fuck it - I can't bet arsed - if they fit as well as the ones I have now and last years as these have, not really an issue.
It says OK, and that is 2 pairs of shoes!
Bloody stupid ordering page.
But what he hell, if they fit, then next time I will have shoes ready. I was pondering if I find shoes that fit well why not order 10 pairs so I have shoes to last probably the rest of my life, so two pairs is not really an issue.
Amazon have been an interesting place to sell, and have sold quite a few things. But oddly the main thing that sells is the Faikin boards. I don't think my other products are not sellable, indeed, I have had direct sales to local A&A customers for a load of other projects, just not so much on Amazon. I generally have a policy of Tindie £ price less 10% for direct sales to A&A customers.
Amazon are making EU sales simple - Amazon buy from us and sell in EU so they sort local VAT. With Tindie the recipient gets a VAT bill on import, sorry.
I started selling on Tindie as well some time ago, and oddly the same is true - most sales are the Faikin. The main reason for listing on Tindie as well was to cover countries Amazon do not do. Well, that is how it started, but now it seems we are selling to people in EU where Amazon do sell. The main reason looks like the extras (a cable, and 3D resin case). These are extremely easy to list on Tindie, and provide a simple up-sell on the original product. They are only a few $ extra but sell well.
Amazon, on the other hand, do not seem to have an easy way to add options or link products that I can see. I will ask for help, though any interaction with seller support needs a deep breath and a lot of patience. But at present I still cannot even list a product - Amazon are actively making it impossible for me to list things, in spite of reassurances. They are insisting I am on the brand registry (something I have tried three times), and they are taking forever to say yes or no. It is odd, it is a simple thing - do I have a trademark? Well yes, there is it with my name on UK trademark web site. How does it take more than a few minutes?!
Well, being able to list the cables and case clearly is helping as Tindie sales are creeping up, and I think this month is the first month that net pay out from Tindie is more than Amazon. That is a milestone I feel.
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| 3D resin printed case, snap together |
OK, not too many details, sorry. I mean privacy and shit, and remote tiny tiny chance not a scam, LOL
We are always aware of scammers, and very occasionally we fall foul of them, but we are always working on improving processes and checks.
If, somehow, this is not a scam, then sorry - but a story of how not to look like a scam.
Because of a recent scam (and you have to love the gall of the guy calling up to complain his number does not work and he cannot log in) we have been extra vigilant and are all looking closely at an order that came in today.
As I say, not too many details, sorry.
So someone orders a telephone number, and we ask for payment up front. This is normal as we can only get close to checking an order is genuine by leveraging the UK banking system to get someone to send us money, even if only £1. But they refuse to send with order, though eventually, after hassling, they send payment via Wise (Both Wise and Revolut are listed on our web site as don't send money from them as we have no way to verify or refund).
So they then provide bank details for DD, and a new (company) name, and we check it matches bank details, but really no way to check it is actually them.
So what next? Well check more - this has magically changed from an individual to a company. But not a UK company. Not something we can check in any way.
Maybe check address...
Well, street view is cool, and this is it. This is not close to the company name. Maybe they work from the flat? But that would be [number]A or some such, surely.
So, really, if you are in fact running a non UK company by the name you say, from a flat over a Chinese Restaurant in Belfast, but cannot send any payment from a UK bank account but can quote one that matches your stated company name, well, sorry, we may be at the point of saying no.
And basically, we can say no. We can say we do not want your business.
I am really sorry if that really is you living over that Chinese. Get a UK bank account from which you can send money, and we can talk.
To be clear, I started my business decades ago from a house in Bracknell, and that was registered office address. But it was registered office address, and could be checked, and I could send money from a UK bank account matching my company name. So yes, a new business, and a small business, no problem. We do not want to discriminate. But scammers can piss off, sorry.
It seems only fair to say that Amazon have finally recognised a brand, and so we can now list products once again. I am not sure we have res...
