Just wondering what everyone’s take is on using terms like faux foil, lace, leather, etc, in descriptions. I got another customer who was confused by the message today. She (like others before her) thought it meant that those portions of the design would just be blank. (insert face palm here!)
I do try to refrain from using two of the words that trigger the message because I do think that one is a bit confusing (and don’t EVEN get me started on the “the Creator” part!)
But when it’s just one element, I think the message is pretty clear - and for faux foil, at least, I do think it’s a good idea to clarify that it’s not real foil, especially since real foil is now offered on some products, it would be easy for folks to get confused.
Just wondering how you approach this topic. Do you avoid using those terms all together? Do you think the message does more good than harm? It seems like it’s a real “lesser of two evils” sort of situation. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I think it began with “glitter,” which could certainly be confusing to customers. However, I have gemstones pictured on a product where the message says there aren’t any rhinestones. There sure aren’t. Lace is definitely silly when warned about on a poster.
In any case, it’s the message itself that’s flawed by its own ambiguity. “This is only an image of lace, not actual lace” might be less confusing, though it’s hardly needed at all. And artwork by the Creator himself? I knew there was a reason I didn’t like changing us from designers to creators.
I believe the messages are clear enough. Anyway, I always include phrases like faux gold or lace effect or other similar ones in the descriptions. I know they are usually not read and also on the mobile version they appear almost at the end of the page, but I think it’s more than enough. When you buy something online, you should carefully read everything related to the product you’re purchasing. The time will come when we also have to warn that cover models are only illustrative and that decorative elements are not sent…
I have never had a comment from a customer about that warning. Again, is the total number of confused customers 5 or 50 or 500. That matters a lot. You can’t design for the bottom 10 percent. This is how we get warnings telling us coffee is hot.
Totally agree that the message could be worded better. “This is an image of foil, not actual foil” is much better than “and the Lord said let there be faux foil, and there was faux foil…” but I digress.
My problem with the messages is that they often show up in odd places like where I have images of cabochons, and the message says there are no rhinestones, or the business card with a representation of gold, silver, and copper replete with a warning, while another business card with a gold coin doesn’t warn about the gold or the money at all. Customers are surely smart enough to know that no metal was glued to a card. The warnings are a bit overly zealous.
(Creator with an uppercase ‘C’ has probably elicited a number of double takes in customers.)
Good point! I’d say I’ve had around a dozen confused customers. My favorite was a guy who was using one of my backgrounds to design his own business cards. The background in question was a photo of some sheet metal, and he somehow thought that using that background would make his business cards be printed on metal. I was like “sooo… did you think that choosing a floral background would make your business cards be printed on flowers?” It’s times like this that I’m really glad we work online so I didn’t have to attempt to keep a straight face!
I think that the messages are triggered by specific words in the title, tags, and description. The ones I’ve uncovered so far are: foil, glitter, rose gold, rhinestone, jewels, metallic, holographic, burlap, & lace. I thought leather, fur & wood would trigger it too, but they don’t seem to - at least not on the products I checked. It would be great if we could come up with a comprehensive list.
Nope. I’d even forgotten I had that card, which shows just how popular it is. Regardless, the little algorithm animal seems to not know the difference between diamonds and glass.
Anyway, I’ve found pretty much the same as you have with the triggering words, burlap and metal being my worst pests because I love both of them. For a while, I had a problem with wood, but it seems to have disappeared. If I use metalwork or metalsmith, I’m good to go, though sometimes metal sets it off and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve used gold all by itself without a problem, so I wonder why rose gold is a triggering mechanism. I haven’t used any cloth other than burlap, so I wonder what it would do with tweed or silk.
“Neon” is a trigger. I get it on some of my stuff where I’ve used “neon green” or like in the tags to descibe the bright colors. The warning says “no neon ink will actually be used…”. So I guess neon ink is a thing.
I have a photo of a cat with black fur and get – “The fur details are simulated in the artwork. No actual fur will be used in the making of this product”
I’m of the opinion that no matter how you word it, some people are always going to be confused, but “Creator” with a capital C has always been good for a laugh. Could just say “the wood and lace isn’t real, it’s a simulated design” and leave it at that.
