Staying ahead of the holiday season can be a challenge for shoppers and sellers alike. What’s an OpenBazaar user to do when they find themselves already in December and they still need to buy some gifts and/or squeeze in a few more sales?

Thankfully, disaster can still be avoided with a quick pause to regroup.

Buyers: are you running a little behind and still need a great gift for the other cryptocurrency lovers in your life? Make a real statement by using your coins to buy their gifts on OpenBazaar.

Get shopping

If you haven’t already, start browsing now! OpenBazaar.com makes this incredibly easy for you to do anywhere you have an internet-connected device. When you are ready to buy your gifts, just open the same listings with your desktop app to pay.

Remember production and shipping times

Most vendors on OpenBazaar are individuals or small businesses who run everything themselves. You may have just fallen in love with an item but if you need it by a specific time, make sure the vendor can deliver it by then. For custom or handmade goods, be sure to check with the vendor about what they have ready to ship and their current production & shipping times. Also note where in the world they are shipping from to estimate how long it will take to arrive.

Look for deals

Lots of OpenBazaar vendors are still offering promotions right now like this one:

use coupon code "xmas" to get %15 off any shirts for your super normal presents for people this holiday season. https://t.co/bZImpRezxp

if btc, use @openbazaar discount already included in price ob://QmTwutUrwXS3bh5rfSXriJCNayToD44VpWJbm6DwKuVc2U/store — YOUR HYDRA (@BraveTheWorld) December 6, 2018

There are still some nice deals to be had out there so keep an eye out for them. We will be sharing any great deals we find on our social media, too!

Sellers: Do you still want to earn a few more cryptocoins this month? Here are some tips to do so and not run yourself ragged.

Check in with yourself and your business

Sure, a bit more Bitcoin is always great but make sure you are realistic about what it will take you to get through any additional orders this month so that you don’t overextend yourself. Account for how long it takes you to make, acquire, package and send your items and about how long it takes to arrive in different locations so that you can advise your buyers well.

Know your cutoff time

Make sure you know the last day you can accept orders in order to get them to buyers before the holiday they are celebrating. This is especially important if you do handmade or other custom work. Also, do you want to take some time off this month? Make sure you aren’t chasing orders into your own holiday and set your OpenBazaar store to “off” a few days prior.

Promote & offer incentives

A great way to promote yourself and encourage a little sales push is to use social media to talk about special offers you have. Vendors are still offering incentives for buyers like discounts and bonus gifts right now. If your capacity allows for it, give your potential buyers some extra reasons to give their business to you over the hundreds of other vendors competing for their attention.

Tip: You can easily add coupon codes to your items on OpenBazaar following these steps.

We all still have some work left to do if we celebrate holidays in December so while this may not eliminate stress, hopefully thinking through these things can help you minimize it.

Happy holidays!