How to Manage Craft Orders from Facebook and Instagram

Tell people how to order before they ask

Put the ordering instructions in the post itself, near the top: how to order, what postage costs, and roughly when things will be sent. If you have a shop link, put it there and pin it. Ask buyers not to post addresses or payment details in public comments.

If you sell on both Facebook and Instagram, keep one stock count across both. Two posts selling the same last three mugs is how you end up writing apology messages.

• Buyer name and email
• Product, size or colour, and quantity
• Pickup or posting
• Postage option and address, where needed

Turn every “mine please” into an order

A comment saying “mine!” is easy to lose once a post gets busy. Write down the actual product and option (the scent, the size, the colourway) rather than relying on which photo they commented on. If a buyer adds something later, add it to their existing order so you don’t pack two parcels.

In Little Stall you can type in an order from a message, or send people to your shop link to order themselves. Both end up in the same list. Shop orders send a confirmation straight away; for an order you typed in, send the confirmation once it looks right. Each buyer gets a private link by email to check their order, with no account needed.

Send a clear total, then check the money

Give each buyer an itemised total that includes postage. Treat “ordered” and “paid” as two separate things: a message saying “just paid!” is a reminder to check your bank, not proof the money is there.

Little Stall lets you mark bank transfer or cash payments as paid. If you switch on card payments, they go through your own Stripe account and the order marks itself paid. Stripe charges its processing fee; Little Stall takes nothing from your sales.

Pack from the order, not from memory

Use your orders as the packing list. Check the product, option and quantity before you tape the box, then add the tracking number when it goes. The buyer gets the tracking by email.

If a drop sells out fast and you want to be fair about who gets made first, switch on the queue. You choose whether buyers see their place in it.

Keep the chat for chatting

When someone asks “where’s my order?”, point them to their private status link rather than retyping the details. Never paste that link in a public comment, as it is theirs alone.

Every so often, export your orders. It is the easiest way to see which products sell, which scents or colours to make more of, and where your week went.