-
It's a hoop for people to jump through, leaving people more likely to forget, dither etc....
I'd have thought at least taking a deposit online via 'buy it now' button would be beneficial for locking people in to purchases?
deleted-
likely to forget, dither etc....
This
-
A PayPal button could give you the deposit taking system in a single click.
If you already have a marketing website to do the rest of the work... all you'd need is a "Leave a deposit to secure yours" page, with a PayPal button.
Bear in mind that such a button immediately gives you all credit cards too... you can sort the final payment later.
This does mean that you have to keep track of delivery addresses, manage risk yourself (most transactions can be charge-backed within 60 days), manage outstanding orders, etc... but again, if you're doing this comfortably with spreadsheets, the advantages of Shopify aren't high.
Shopify's sweet spot is when you have more than 20 orders per month, and each needs to be fully tracked, and you are dealing with different postage options. Then, the costs of using Shopify are really low considering what you're getting.
Heldring
Thuekr
Velocio
I'm pretty good at Shopify. Wouldn't recommend for you though.
You just don't have the volume of transactions to make it worthwhile. Nor do you need to ship items or integrate with many carriers / payment providers.
Getting shopify will only serve to reduce your margin.
What you need is a shop-front website full of pictures and with contact details. Then take payment through bank transfers.