Thread: Help me respond to this.

I received the following message regarding an Etsy sale for a child sized ring sling.

Anna,

I was so happy to receive your sling today. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the tape off so I had to snip the corner of the package which cut directly into the sling. I did not know this was not wrapped in something else, so now there is a huge hole in the sling.

Can we work something out?

Last week I accepted a return for a full refund because a lady who ordered a child sized ring sling didn't pay attention to the measurements of the sling and apparently wanted it for an older child so it didn't fit. She made a stink about the cost of shipping and so I took the hit and refunded the full price, which means I lost out on about $10 worth of shipping costs plus paypal fees. Anyway, I'm really not interested in losing more money because she didn't like how it was packaged and because she was careless and cut a hole in it. I'm offended by her email, honestly. Am I out of line? Do you think I'm obligated to 'work something out?'

I guess this is the end of my Etsy store.

That is so annoying--don't let it be the end of your Etsy store just because a couple of people are dumb, though! Maybe just put a disclaimer on there. In my opinion, you are well within your rights just to tell her sorry, she's out of luck. If you're really feeling nice, you could email her and basically say it's not your fault she doesn't know how to open packaging (?!) but if she wants to mail it back to you at her cost you will send her a new one for just the cost of shipping. That's about as far as I'd go, though, and I don't even think you need to do that.

Really. Come on, people.

Offer her 20% off on her next purchase

If she was able to cut into the fabric, she should have felt some resistance and realized she wasn't just cutting a bubble envelope.

if SHE pays to ship it back, is it something you can fix?

She also used the term "huge hole". Huge? Did you cut the package in half?

I know. I'm thinking it sounds pretty ridiculous.

This isn't the end of your Etsy store. You're simply discovering that most people are morons. A lot of what makes Etsy great is the personal touch. I know that when I buy something I'm buying from a real person. A real person who will understand if I make reasonable human mistakes. I often buy from sellers I've heard good things about and I always talk up the sellers I've enjoyed buying from.

So, I think that in order to keep up a good reputation you have to eat it. Build the cost of what you eat into the price of future items. I think you are SERIOUSLY underselling yourself on some of the items you're selling. Learn from these "complaints" and safe guard yourself. Have Lyla model the slings so people can gauge the real size. Package things in those bags with the pull rip thingy. Put the dimensions in BIG HONKING FONT. Develop a return policy.

Originally Posted by TiggersMommy

This isn't the end of your Etsy store. You're simply discovering that most people are morons. A lot of what makes Etsy great is the personal touch. I know that when I buy something I'm buying from a real person. A real person who will understand if I make reasonable human mistakes. I often buy from sellers I've heard good things about and I always talk up the sellers I've enjoyed buying from.

So, I think that in order to keep up a good reputation you have to eat it. Build the cost of what you eat into the price of future items. I think you are SERIOUSLY underselling yourself on some of the items you're selling. Learn from these "complaints" and safe guard yourself. Have Lyla model the slings so people can gauge the real size. Package things in those bags with the pull rip thingy. Put the dimensions in BIG HONKING FONT. Develop a return policy.

I disagree. I agree about all of it except entirely eating it. If *I* made a mistake and the person was nice enough to say they'd repair it for the cost of shipping, I would think that was totally reasonable.

Originally Posted by momW

if SHE pays to ship it back, is it something you can fix?

I'm moving on Friday, so all my stuff is packed up. I have no idea how long it's going to take for me to be settled enough to get my sewing stuff back out. I'm sure I'd have to replace it entirely, which means double the labor. My prices are so low that my profit margins are nearly non existent because I was just trying to build up clientele to establish myself. So if I did replace it, it would be at a loss after the cost of fabric and then to ship it back again.