Sunday, April 26, 2009

Crud, Crud and more crud...

Hello there readers,
Its been a pretty cruddy 24 hours. Yesterday my older brother was in a motorcycle accident that should have killed him... thankfully he survived though with many a sprain, cut, scratch, and bruise... After my family had gotten word of the accident there was a heart-stopping 2 hours or so where we knew nothing other than that he had been in a motorcycle accident on the highway, took down a light pole, and was "conscious" and in an ambulance being rushed to the ER.... so, needless to say, yesterday was not the best day (though again, THANKFULLY, was not anywhere near as bad as it could have been had the outcome been slightly altered...)... So then this morning after breakfast I logged onto my email account to find that someone is filing a PAYPAL DISPUTE! Here is the details, I leave it to you to decide if this is justified....

-The item purchased was a PAY IT FORWARD listing (i.e. TWENTY CENTS PURCHASE + $4.80 for shipping and my paypal fees)... which means I MAKE NOTHING and actually LOSE MONEY on these (since my materials, fees, and shipping come to over ten dollars..) and am putting an hour or two of my time into creating the item FOR FREE.

-The item was a CUSTOM HAND PAINTED wall letter of whichI usually would charge anywhere from $15.00 to $35.00 for + shipping. ALL of my letter listings (including this one) CLEARLY STATE that the turnaround time for creating and shipping is 6-12 weeks. Often if will be sooner than this, but I like to give myself ample time for the unexpected delays that can and will happen... I also do not like to make promises of lesser timelines that I may have to go back on. Most other custom painted letters and childrens decor has SIMILAR or the SAME timeframes. SO anyways....

-The item was ordered just over THREE WEEKS ago. At the end of week one I received an email from the buyer (a fellow etsy seller who makes CUSTOM polymer stamps...you'd think such a person would be familiar with checking the turnaround on a CUSTOM item) asking the status on her "outstanding order". I responded politely that AS NOTED IN THE LISTING the timeframe is 6-12 weeks, and thanked her for her purchase and her patience in giving me ample time to create this item to her wishes. I never received a response to that message until 2 nights ago when I received a message stating: "I know you said 6-12, but I don't think I want to wait any longer, I would just prefer a refund. thanks te*****co"... Stunned by such behaviour and unsure how to respond I did not craft a reply at that moment.... it is stated in my shop policies that I cannot give refunds on custom items, and I have already purchased the letter and materials for her item... Today I logged onto my email to find A DISPUTE filed with both Paypal and Etsy.

I am so aggravated and amazed by how little appreciation some people will show for an ACT OF GOODWILL.... there is not too often that something will make my jaw drop for a lack of what to say and how to deal with it... This is one of those times. This buyer has over 3000 feedback from her several years on etsy. I have under ten on that shop... So I can't even leave her appropriate feedback for her behaviour for fear of retaliation which will hurt my reputation more than hers..... my paypal account is now overdrawn since i just paid the months fees for all of my shops and was down to pennies in the account... so now I will be out not only the $5.00 for the purchase, but the nearly $10.00 in materials and all of the time and aggravation of dealing with this BS....... and THE WORST OF IT IS: I hate to even think like this, and I LOVE creating Pay It Forward listings... but this has tainted my desire to do it, perhaps irreparably. What a sucky thing for a person to do, over $5.00 and an apparent inability to read the two paragraphs in a listing BEFORE PURCHASING IT.

Emotionally spent and Exhaustively yours,
Kalee

9 comments:

  1. people can be frustrating to deal with, don't let it get you down!

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  2. That sucks. I am so sorry that happened to you. It states clearly in your shop/listings that it takes 6-12 weeks, and you will let people know when it is shipped. I've been anxiously awaiting news on Jonathan's name and pif letter, but i think it has just been 6 or so weeks now.

    I'm sorry the person couldn't read. What letter is it, and what is the theme? Can you re-list it? Maybe someone else will be interested.

    Don't let it get you down. You rock, its not your fault people stink.

    Take care, and keep your chin up

    Custombaby aka Katy

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  3. Wow! That DOES suck! Maybe you will be able to "re-sell" it. :) Your "stuff" looks really neat! I likey! :)

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  4. Thanks Everyone :) Katy, Jonathan's letters are on my agenda for the near future and I will happily send photos once they are done, I understand you are excited to see them :) and I hope you will love them. In regards to the Crabby-PIF customer I have decided just to give her the refund and be done with it, it's not worth my time and energy to deal with paypal baloney and be upset about the flakiness of people like that, and I'd much rather just complete it and pass it along to another more appreciative person. The theme was girly and Sock Monkeys and the Letter was a T... Anybody interested? Shoot me a message and I will email you when it's done.. If you like it, pay shipping and its yours :)

    I also decided to leave her positive and pleasant feedback (though maybe a tad passive agressive, lol). My initial instinct was to bark back with nasties and post of her idiocy on her feedback page, I've since come to the conclusion that it wouldn't really solve anything trying to out-jerk her.... and so it goes...

    :) -Kalee

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  5. the feedback



    "May this pay-it-forward purchase come back to you with every bit of kindness, trust, appreciation, and patience you have shown. Be well,
    Kalee - Artist and Mama"



    ... I think that about says it all...

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  6. Wow just wow. This post, your shop announcement, the way you call out other Etsians in your descriptions that make similar items, all of it- such a turn-off.

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  7. dear Anon, maybe I would take that a bit more to heart if you had the courage to post it under your own name... it's amazing that in any online forum you can always count on the "anonymous" for the one negative or obnoxious comment.... in any event I'd rather have customers who can handle someone who is brutally honest and REAL (and I believe that my customers do appreciate and DESERVE THAT), instead of a polished sales robot. Given that you are "anon" I can only assume that you are one and the same unhappy and miserable PIF buyer or a random troll ... Please go on your merry way and go try and "ter" someone else down, cause it ain't me babe.
    Be Well,
    Kalee

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  8. Actually I (the anon above) am in no way associated with anyone you just mentioned. I came across your shop on Etsy and took a peek at your blog. You have nice items, good luck to you. It's a no sale here though.

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  9. Thank you for the GL and the compliment, I still have a hard time believing that you just wandered in and felt that this entry was so out of line that you just had to comment (anonymously)... sorry, but I don't think I am out of line at all by being frustrated by this particular buyer (whom I was still respectful enough not to name), and I don't know of many business owners and artists who wouldn't feel the same... In regards to your previous comment, my apologies if you are offended by my "calling out" other etsy sellers, that is not my intention... however, after a couple years of being in the "hand painted" children's decor business it has gotten to be most discouraging to see so many so-called artists who will walk into a Jo-Ann store and pick up a selection of .50 cent prepainted precut little duckies and dogs, a tube of tacky glue, a bottle of acrylic and a $1.00 frame, then go home and slap it together and put it up on etsy (or other venues) for $30.00.... Then those of us who actually work hard for pennies have people approaching us for discounts or lose sales to them... It's like a mom and pop trying to compete with walmart, only in this case the buyer often thinks that they are getting something truely handmade by an artist... If I was that buyer I'd be pretty pissed off if I happened to stumble into a Jo-Ann Fabrics one day..... Anyways, I have gotten mostly positive feedback regarding that from other sellers/artists who feel the same (and I have nothing but respect for other sellers who are truely ARTISTS in this arena and welcome the competition)... but you are not the first to take offense either... I am currently changing up most of my listings in that shop and I will edit that part to try and clarify and be a little less likely to offend... Thank you for your comment, and take care,
    Kalee

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