This post "Goodbye, eBay ..."  is really a literary elegy reflecting our recent commercial divorce from selling  online via this eCommerce platform ( hereinafter referred to as 'eB' ). Our decision was prompted by yet another of their "throw-you-under-the-bus" decisions which was emailed to us by either their one of their AI bots, or one of their anonymous apparatchiks, we don't know which.  But let us begin.  We began this selling online relationship way back around in 2009, initially lured and, later seduced, by their enticing promises of easy, profitable sales. Alas, it was not to be... 

This month's post "Googling the right search terms" was sparked by an unknown visitor's, or visitors', persistence in seeking results for an unusual ( antithetical actually ) search term "square A2 frame" which is an excellent oxymoron. Why? Because A2 is an internationally recognised and adopted, rectangular ( not square ) plane being, to wit, 42x59.4 cm. It's also equally surprising that the unknown user, or users, persisted searching this term for several weeks. How would we know this happened, post readers might well ask?  Ah! we would retort, we know because we pay Google Ads to tell us every day what users search for, or with, that's how. As an online retailer spending copious amounts of advertising dollars with Google, Bing, eBay, Gumtree and other online search engines, platforms ...

Apropos change-of-mind returns - it happened to us again last week!  A Customer brought back an 18"x24" black wood poster frame he'd bought earlier in the week claiming that "My husband doesn't like it" , and  adding" Can I please have my money back". We checked the poster frame for dents, dints, damages and breakages, and, on finding none, we refunded her money, and that was that. Nothing extraordinary, one might say, so, what's the big deal ? Nothing remarkable, we will segue, except to say that the refund that the Customer asked for called is called a "change-of-mind" ( CHOM) refund, and one which, legally speaking, Customers are not entitled to. To quote the Australian Consumer Law, Customers, or consumers, are not entitled to obtain refunds "when they got what they asked for but simply changed their mind".

We venture to say that our refunds policy is not only progressive and fair-minded, but that it's also quite generous and at the forefront of the picture framing industry.   We propose this commendation because the Australian Consumer Law legislation, in specific cases, restricts the payment of refunds ( inter alia ) by excluding this entitlement to certain Customers where and when  "  ..  Customers just changed their mind about buying a product,  or found the same product cheaper elsewhere , or simply decided they didn't like the products or could not use it ... ".  Felicitously for all Customers, our Terms and Conditions of Sale page advises that they can return most goods ( Conditions and Limitations ...

We write this post "COVID killed picture framing, true or false dichotomy?" by way of a hopeful obituary to the dreaded COVID pandemic which, and though largely on the wane,   disrupted most nations around world and nearly everyone's life during the last couple of years or so.  With a focus on the picture framing industry, the epidemic appears to have had vastly different business results, depending on which sector, or specialization of the industry a business practised. This was certainly true in our case since our two main income streams were, and still are, the making of custom picture frames, and the ...

We can reasonably surmise that walls, shelves, window sills, fireplace mantels, floors and chairs even, have always served as either hanging, resting,  or standing points for photo frames and picture frames for centuries. But it is only in these last few years that ledges and floating shelves, upon which picture frame may be rested upon, have become a fashion's must-have. All the display homes, homewares and department stores seem to be replete with them, in all shapes, colours and sizes. Many home owners are also a little nervous at the prospect of having to design and install a wall gallery system. Not only there’s the main commitment problem of having to make holes everywhere, but ...

When Customers asks us if black picture frames are still fashionable we often answer with this old aphorism “Black is the new black”.  In fact, picture frames with black mouldings is our single and most popular product.  Which bring us to that old conundrum, the colour black isn’t a really colour!  Contradictory?  Well, check out any rainbow.  You ought to be able to sequentially see, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet but not black.  This is because black is darkness, or the absence of light and  not on the visible colour spectrum.  Technically then, neither black nor white are  ...  

Yes, we’re making  an intended  pun here to Elton John’s famous 1976 ballad, but the sentiment, how to say some thing tough firmly. but nicely, such as the negation, no;  is much the same.  While custom picture framers the world over pride themselves  on customer service, sometimes, someone, someplace will have to say no to some Customers’ requests. And saying no to, anyone, especially Customers who are our business lifeblood and livelihood, can be the hardest word, as the song says. We are no different, and over the years we have had to respectfully decline various types of requests ..

To many of our Staff,  Customers and people we know,  grew  up in the 1970’s, 1980s’ or even earlier , the statement "MDF wood frames help reduce global warming" could seem nonsensical. Back then plastic was fantastic, it was so cheap and convenient, we couldn’t make, buy or use enough of  the staff.  It was literally and still largely is, ubiquitous, and the picture framing industry was no different from the others.  While the custom picture framers never bought much, if any, of the plastic stuff,  just about everyone else did.   PVC ( plastic ) mouldings were, and still are,  a major part  of the mass-produced photo frames and picture frames.  Just about every picture frames wholesaler, discount chain, department store, chemist chain and discount ...

Some weeks ago a senior Customer came to our factory wanting us to make some custom size glass clip frames.  The desired, odd-size clip frames were to match other existing ones on her family wall.  There had been new additions to her clan, she said, and she wanted the wall photos decor to match. She volunteered that she was a pensioner and could not afford to pay much.  Also, she helpfully added, she knew what the prices of the clip frames should be.  Since the special size clip frames that she wanted were smaller than the A3 clip frames she saw on our display for $6.65, hers should ...