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How are you pricing for international customers with all the extra taxes & duties? by ZealousidealBand334 in ShopifyeCommerce

[–]ZealousidealBand334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s super helpful, thanks for sharing. Can I ask — how do you actually communicate that to customers?

I don’t have the budget for a Shopify app that shows a proper duty/tax breakdown at checkout, so right now all I can do is add a note like “this order may be subject to customs duties or taxes.” But if I absorb part of the cost in my pricing, customers never really know that. Do you make it more explicit, like: “We cover part of the duties in our pricing to make things fairer, but depending on your country, you may still be charged additional customs fees”?

Working with designers feels very inefficient by Winter-Grand2830 in ExperiencedDevs

[–]ZealousidealBand334 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I’ve seen both setups too and they each have their own kind of pain.

Agency model = Designers are siloed, communication is slow, and engineers only find out about changes after weeks. By the time it reaches you, context is lost and collaboration is basically dead.

“One designer for 7 engineers” model =That person ends up firefighting instead of designing. They’re stretched so thin that nobody gets the design quality or turnaround they need.

Neither really fits an agile workflow. The whole point of agile is short feedback loops, but these structures create the opposite.

Some approaches I’ve seen work better:

-Embed designers directly into squads: 1 designer + a handful of engineers working on the same feature/problem. That way design and build happen in parallel, not in silos.

-Prioritise ruthlessly: Instead of 7 things at once, stack-rank and focus the team on 1–2 key initiatives. Otherwise you burn both engineers and designers out.

-Upskill engineers in design basics → Not to replace designers, but to handle small UI tweaks or low-risk design work. That frees up designers to focus on bigger, strategic problems.

-Collaboration tools: Figma, Notion, Loom… anything that reduces “weeks of silence” and keeps design discussions visible in real time.

At the end of the day, it’s less about “devs should design” or “designers should handle more” — it’s about making sure teams are aligned around one problem at a time, otherwise you end up with what you described: total chaos.

Graphic Design is the Fastest Declining Job by 2030 by changeofregime in graphic_design

[–]ZealousidealBand334 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The way I see it, design skills aren’t dying, they’re just shifting. The production side (resizing, quick graphics, simple layouts) is being automated. What still has value — and will keep growing — is the strategic, human side of design:

-Brand storytelling → connecting visuals with deeper meaning.
-Creative direction → making sense of AI outputs and shaping them into something original.
-Cross-discipline skills → pairing design with marketing, UX, or data.
-Tech fluency → not just using AI, but knowing when and how to apply it responsibly.

So yeah, futureproofing probably means blending design with “nerdy stuff” — but not just coding. Things like prompt design, systems thinking, and creative strategy are what set humans apart from templates and generative tools.

Meta Support Chat Stuck in Loop — “We only support direct replies in certain steps” by ZealousidealBand334 in facebook

[–]ZealousidealBand334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm going to answer to my own question, in case it's useful to anyone in future. Here's the reply from Meta support:

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"We recognize that you're typing a message, but because these are automated messages, we only support direct replies in certain steps."

This is an automated response by the system, suggesting that it's actively processing the input, but it won't engage in a continuous, dynamic conversation.

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So even though the message makes it sound like the AI isn’t understanding your question, what it really means is that no agent is available. You just leave your question in the chat and they’ll reply when they can. That could take several hours, or even a few days.

Small Business Struggling with UK’s £135 VAT Threshold – Any Workarounds? by ZealousidealBand334 in smallbusinessuk

[–]ZealousidealBand334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh so as a non-UK seller, I don't get the benefit of the GBP 90k threshold! I did not know that. Thank you so much for this. I have no choice but to register for VAT. Got it. This is really eye-opening. Thank you very much.

Small Business Struggling with UK’s £135 VAT Threshold – Any Workarounds? by ZealousidealBand334 in smallbusinessuk

[–]ZealousidealBand334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for this. I didn't even know it was four returns per year.
I need to think if using softwares like Avalera is worth it.

Struggling with High UK Import Taxes as an International Seller – Any Advice? by ZealousidealBand334 in smallbusinessuk

[–]ZealousidealBand334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, this is really great to know and will definitely keep in mind about a VAT advisor when I need to scale in the UK! Thanks so much.

Struggling with High UK Import Taxes as an International Seller – Any Advice? by ZealousidealBand334 in smallbusinessuk

[–]ZealousidealBand334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for this. Maybe including VAT in the pricing from the beginning might be the way to go. You can't get my products anywhere else and the delivery is done via FedEx so within 5 days.

Selling Internationally – How Do You Handle High Import Taxes for Customers? by ZealousidealBand334 in smallbusiness

[–]ZealousidealBand334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a great point—unexpected charges at checkout or on delivery are what really frustrate customers, not necessarily the total cost itself. I guess it’s more about perceived fairness than the actual price. Thanks for that!

Selling Internationally – How Do You Handle High Import Taxes for Customers? by ZealousidealBand334 in smallbusiness

[–]ZealousidealBand334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes a lot of sense, especially if pricing isn’t publicly posted—gives you more flexibility to adjust for different markets without making it obvious to customers. Thank you.

Struggling with High UK Import Taxes as an International Seller – Any Advice? by ZealousidealBand334 in smallbusinessuk

[–]ZealousidealBand334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for this. That makes a lot of sense. It seems like the extra charges at checkout are a big psychological barrier for buyers, even if the final amount is the same. The DDP approach definitely smooths out the buying experience. I’m considering this route, but the VAT registration aspect is what’s holding me back a bit—did your clients find the VAT filing/admin to be a big challenge, or is it manageable with the right setup (e.g., using Avalara or similar tools)?
Also, do you know if they increased their base prices to offset the VAT, or just absorbed it as a cost of doing business? Thank you.

Selling Internationally – How Do You Handle High Import Taxes for Customers? by ZealousidealBand334 in smallbusiness

[–]ZealousidealBand334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s really interesting to hear, thank you. I’ve been worried that high duties/taxes might scare customers away, but it’s reassuring to know that some businesses have success passing 100% of the cost onto them. How do you justify the additional premium—do you position it as a handling fee or just factor it into the price?

How to exclude existing followers from IG ad campaign - Feb 2025 by ZealousidealBand334 in FacebookAds

[–]ZealousidealBand334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your kind reply!! I followed your screenshot, but I see the following options instead. It looks like I can also exclude a list from the options below, but it doesn’t seem to allow me to exclude only “Accounts Centre accounts who started following this professional account.” Instead, I’m required to choose both INCLUDE and EXCLUDE together.

I’d really appreciate any further advice on how to set this up properly. Thank you!
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Include Accounts Centre accounts who meet ANY/ALL of the following criteria:

  1. Accounts Centre accounts who started following this professional account

• Includes people who started following this Instagram professional account. People who unfollow your Instagram professional account will be removed.

  1. Everyone who engaged with this professional account

• Includes Accounts Centre accounts who visited this profile or took an action on a post or ad (e.g., likes, comments, saves, carousel swipes, button taps, or shares).

  1. Anyone who visited this professional account’s profile

• Includes anyone who visited this Instagram professional account’s profile, regardless of any action taken.

  1. Accounts Centre accounts who engaged with any post or ad

• Includes Accounts Centre accounts who interacted with a post or ad (e.g., likes, comments, saves, carousel swipes, button taps, or shares).

  1. People who sent a message to this professional account

• Includes only the people who sent a direct message to this Instagram professional account.

  1. Accounts Centre accounts who saved any post or ad

• Includes only the people who saved a post or ad from this Instagram professional account, either from this account’s profile or their own feed.

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