One of my favorite websites it Etsy.com . A little known fact, which should be more public than it is, is that I actually have an Etsy Store. (www.etsy.com/shop/vintagenh) It’s one of those things for me where you wish you had more time for, but are too busy trying to make money to support it… oh yes, that’s called a hobby.
I’ve had a few sales here and there on etsy, but there was one that has stuck with me till this day due to its lack of perfect execution. I was selling a beautiful vintage Samsonite cream train case. What girl would not want one of these to put all of her beauty products in while traveling in vintage style? This was the exact thought I had when I posted it on my store, other girls must feel the same as me, just must. So a few days later when I received an email that someone purchased it, I got excited that it was finally time for that pretty little case to have a girl fill it with beautiful scented make up and perfumes! I went straight home and filled it with tissue paper and a cute stamped thank you card with my handwritten logo. Everything was perfect, until the next day.
It started like this. On my lunch break, I brought the train case to the post office to package and ship. I got in line and when it was my turn I told the post office employee that I needed a box and needed the price for a certain address. The price came out to 14 dollars to ship. 14 dollars. Some of you may be thinking “Kim, why is that horrible? For a train case that sounds perfectly reasonable”. Ah! You are right, my friend. But one thing that makes this problematic is the fact that I stupidly undercharged for shipping, so undercharged that it almost hurt. Altogether, with the price and the shipping, the person paid 14 dollars. Therefore I essentially gave away this train case to the first person willing to pay for shipping. So there I was, eating the 4 dollars that I paid for it in the first place, and also the time and effort I put into getting it to the buyer. I thought everything was over. But then she replied to my “thank you for buying message.” And it got even worse.
I had messaged her with the status of the shipment, and mentioned how it was a little higher and that I would cover it, and that I hoped that she would enjoy using the train case as much as I love to use mine. It was very sweet and sincere, and it took about three weeks to get a response back from her. This is basically what it said, since I don’t want to offend by putting the exact message here for all to gawk at:
“Hi! Just wanted to get back to you about the case I purchased from you now that it’s done. Check it out! I’m sorry you lost on the shipping! I thought the price was a little cheap. I scour the shops for train cases to be revamped! Thanks again!”
She had a link with it so I clicked on it. I was horrifed to find that she had made my prized treasure into her personal art project, pasting magazine and newspaper cuts outs all over the body, which before she got her hands on it, was in almost perfect vintage condition. My heart sunk, what happened? I thought there were other girls out there that’d think it was cool to have a cute little trunk full of beauty! This one found it much better to sop it with glue and advertisement art!
So let’s count that, two things. Two things went wrong with my very first etsy sale on my current account. There have been accounts in the past with few sales and they ended well, this one put a horrible tacky taste in my mouth. And to do be able to do it again, I’d love to.
I’m hoping to be able to get back into the swing of things after that sale and revamp my store and get things running, but these things take time, and I think it’s best to just take my time and do things right so that something like the above story never happens to me again, ever.
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