GCU Forum - Target store rollout status

Penny_134243

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Posts: 1337

Re: Target store rollout status
Reply #15 - May 10^th, 2012, 10:29am

Greetings!

I had a two card, Target in-store pickup sale yesterday, and I noticed this message in the sales notification email:

"Artists’ earnings from In-store pickup orders are subject to post sale review and adjustments."

Would someone be able to clarify (explain) this statement?

Currently, the commission is showing in my earnings report.

Thanks!

Penny

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Mindy

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Re: Target store rollout status
Reply #16 - May 10^th, 2012, 5:11pm

Quote from Karen_137659 on May 9^th, 2012, 12:16pm:

Here's a scenario, if there is a customer who wants a card done right away and has the ability to purchase at a local Target, if we post it in our Private Gallery will the customer be able to see it and purchase it from there or will we need to request a Fast Track?

If you need the card right away for your customer to purchase you either submit it for FastTrack or Private-Waive Review.

ANY and ALL cards once on the site (Private or Public galleries) can be ordered and printed at Target.

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Mindy

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Re: Target store rollout status
Reply #17 - May 10^th, 2012, 5:17pm

Quote from Penny_134243 on May 10^th, 2012, 10:29am:

Greetings!

I had a two card, Target in-store pickup sale yesterday, and I noticed this message in the sales notification email:

"Artists’ earnings from In-store pickup orders are subject to post sale review and adjustments."

Would someone be able to clarify (explain) this statement?

Currently, the commission is showing in my earnings report.

Thanks!

Penny

Hi Penny,
This notation relates to the delay in which GCU posts artists' earnings and when the shopper pays (or doesn't pay) for their in-store pickup order. Since a shopper can refuse or never pickup their order at Target (not pay for it) GCU has flagged these orders and earnings in case we need to reverse the earnings from the artist as no earnings were collected.

We felt it was important to "pay" the artists up front and reconcile for any exceptions (nonpayment) after vs delaying posting artists' earnings until after the shopper payment was confirmed/collected.

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Penny_134243 Gold Member artist Posts: 1337	Re: Target store rollout status Reply #18 - May 10^th, 2012, 7:06pm Thanks, Mindy! That makes sense. I had forgotten that Target pick-up orders are not paid for in advance. Penny
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Mike_47592

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Posts: 40

Re: Target store rollout status
Reply #19 - May 31^st, 2012, 4:00pm

It is time for an update as to the Target roll out.

As of today we have 411 Target stores active where a card buyer can order a card online and have it printed at a Target store near them. We have 37 states covered.

We were hoping to have most of them (approx. 1200) live by this time. Each store must be tested before we bring it live as we want to make sure the quality is there. We are working with Kodak and Target to get each store tested and the process is taking longer than originally anticipated. We are not going to rush the process at the risk of sacrificing quality.

411 stores is not bad. Buyers seem to really enjoy the convenience and we have seen many cases where the purchase is a last minute card. They would not have received it in time had they ordered online and had it mailed so these are sales we otherwise would not have received.

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Tom_133317

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Re: Target store rollout status
Reply #20 - May 31^st, 2012, 4:30pm

Thanks Mike. Is there anyway we can (eventually) tell in our order confirmation that the card was being fulfilled at Target? Will you be able to match the customer's zip code to suggest to them that they could have it fulfilled at Target store "XYZ" before they complete their order? That would be addicting if that could be done.

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Penny_134243

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Re: Target store rollout status
Reply #21 - May 31^st, 2012, 6:09pm

Quote from Tom_133317 on May 31^st, 2012, 4:30pm:

Thanks Mike. Is there anyway we can (eventually) tell in our order confirmation that the card was being fulfilled at Target? Will you be able to match the customer's zip code to suggest to them that they could have it fulfilled at Target store "XYZ" before they complete their order? That would be addicting if that could be done.

Hi, Tom,

It's entirely possible that I've misunderstood your first question, but for the artists, in the sales notification email there's a line that reads: Delivery Option: In-store pickup / TARGET #T1256, Abington, PA, 19001 (Or whichever store location.)

Giving customers the option to "get it faster" is a good one, with your idea of offering a local Target based on ZIP code.

Penny

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Penny_134243

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Posts: 1337

Re: Target store rollout status
Reply #22 - Jun 12^th, 2012, 1:14pm

Greetings!

I've been seeing a steady stream of Target pick-up cards in my sales notifications, so it looks like this program is going well, from a sales stand point.

I've also been looking through my earnings statements, and so far, I haven't seen any deductions, which leads me to a couple of questions about this venture:

I'm wondering, has GCU received much feedback from the customers who are purchasing the Target printed cards? And if so, what are they saying about the quality of the cards and process of ordering online and picking up in the store?

If a customer declines to pay for his/her cards, or never shows up to pay for them, then will we, artists, see some sort of deduction on our earning statement? Or receive an "un" sales notification?

Just curious.

Thanks!

Penny

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Mike_47592

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Posts: 40

Re: Target store rollout status
Reply #23 - Jun 22^nd, 2012, 3:50pm

Penny,

Sorry for the late reply but I took some vacation time. The Target rollout is going well. Slower than we had hoped but moving along. We are at 557 live Target stores now and hope to have 1,100 plus in the next few weeks.

We have received some very good feedback and I would say this venture has been successful to date. There have been issues which we continue to iron out. Buyers seem very pleased with the quality. The only negative to the quality is if there has been printer malfunctions. Not ink quality, white border or cardstock quality complaints.

There is the possibility that artist earnings will be adjusted if cards that are ordered are not picked up. We have not heard this is an issue as of yet but we have not gone through a complete billing and reporting cycle to get specific information.

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Pamela_135500

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Posts: 1945

Re: Target store rollout status
Reply #24 - Jun 22^nd, 2012, 6:14pm

I am happy to report that I am seeing an increased number of Target sales coming in and also have not seen any deductions yet.

I am expecting an adjustment of one in particular, since a identical order followed the next day on a number of Wedding attendant cards. It may have been a reprint? I am happy to email the details of those orders if you would like them.

All I can say is thank you GCU for providing another outlet for sales of our cards.

Pamela

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Penny_134243 Gold Member artist Posts: 1337	Re: Target store rollout status Reply #25 - Jun 24^th, 2012, 7:35am Hi, Mike, Thank you for your reply and welcome back! Penny
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Teri Francis_131425

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Posts: 326

Re: Target store rollout status
Reply #26 - Jun 24^th, 2012, 11:02pm

Just wanted to pop in quickly and congratulate everyone at GCU for doing such an excellent job in building the bridge with Target and on what seems to be a smooth and successful roll-out. I'm sure a lot of work (and loss of sleep) went into this, and I just wanted to add a note of thanks and appreciation for your efforts in testing, marketing, and continuing to provide new outlets and opportunities for GCU cards. I've been spreading the word about this to friends and clients, and everyone has expressed excitement to try it out. Wishing great success with this new branch out!

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John_192747 GCU Newbies Posts: 24	Re: Target store rollout status Reply #27 - Jul 12^th, 2012, 8:58am I've scoured this thread trying to find the link to find out which Target stores have pick-up available. Even when a post says "here's the link" it's not there. Can anyone help me with this? John C
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Karen_137659 Senior Member artist Posts: 333	Re: Target store rollout status Reply #28 - Jul 12^th, 2012, 9:07am Hi John. on the home page, if you're NOT logged in, there's a link, "In Store Pick Up" with the Target logo, when I clicked it, a pop up box came up for me to search store locations.
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John_192747 GCU Newbies Posts: 24	Re: Target store rollout status Reply #29 - Jul 12^th, 2012, 9:47am Thanks a lot, Karen. As it happens, it seems all the stores in my area have pick-up. John C
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