Recently my younger cousin died. I made this beautiful necklace and wore it to his wake. I never wear any of the jewelry I am selling. I did however, consider keeping this piece. I probably would have done so, if I could bear to put it back on after the wake. I named it Remembrance and listed it on etsy.
Shortly after I became involved with hearts for Haiti. I was looking to start my own foundraiser event in the forums to help join stores for the cause. I even started my own thread, and than someone came in and directed me to Hearts for Haiti. heartsforhaiti.etsy.com where 100% of the donations minus paypal and etsy fees where going to doctors without borders. We have -together- raised over $25,000! This is after fees. I am on the admin team for facebook www.facebook.com/heartsforhait.
I also helped to list items and support the shop. If you haven't checked the shop out i HIGHLY encourage you to do so. It is a collection of over 1,000 items currently for sale that have been donated by many etsy shops. The person donating the item also ships it for free. There are items for every age, taste, sex, and price range. It is also GLOBAL!
I feel better now just writing about hearts for haiti and all the wonderful people who have pulled together! There own shops have gone neglected, their personal time nonexistant, all to help others. THANK YOU!
Even if you may not shop etsy (and my next question is WHY?? you ODVIOUSLY haven't seen the site...) perhaps you could join the facebook page and pass the word along!
So, back to the problem. Well, I guess it's not that important anymore. It is intresting to see how writing helps put things in perspective. However, now that i've started to tell you the tale.. I reckon I should finish it.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39810987
My dear readers, I donated my Remembrance necklace to hearts for haiti and emailed the lady who had marked it as a favorite to tell her. I never thought she'd buy it. I was more hopeful that she would check out the shop and pass the word along.
To my amazement and delight she bought it :) Thank you Mindielee. Her shop can be found here if you would like to show some love: mindielee.etsy.com
Such a sweet thing to do :) Thank you again!
I left the necklace in my shop and changed the listing. I wrote that it was not for sale, and why it was still in my shop. I felt it was a good example of my work and also would help draw people to hearts for haiti. I had over 700 views, and a bunch of hearts.
Today, while i was changing a few things I noticed that I only had 25 items for sale- not 26. First thing i felt was confusion. I'm not yet used to making sales, and it's not the first thing that comes to mind. I hate to admit that, but I'm being honest here. Than I was like "holy shit!! DID I MAKE A SALE!??!" So i rushed over to the good overfilled aol box and there it was...
Someone had BOUGHT my Remembrance necklace! I was a bit confused and wrote them.. THan i read the address and wrote them again. Apparently, they believe it is a "spam" listing...
here is the email and seller, because I won't post it in the forum.
Dear vee41dmb,
Congratulations on your sale at Etsy! You sold 1 item to xartic.
Message from xartic:
The buyer did not leave a message.
Here are the details about this transaction:
Item: Remembrance- SOLD SEE BELOW - HEARTS FOR HAITI (quantity: 1)
Transaction ID: 24890052
Item price: $100000.00
Shipping cost: $4.00
Total Sale: $100004.00 (USD)
Payment Type: PayPal
Shipping Address:
Upsetby Spamlistings
123 Getoutahere Pl
Leetonia OH 44431
Country: United States
If you would like to contact the buyer, send an email to etsyxartic@webcosmos.com
or start a Conversation (Etsy's internal messaging feature) with xartic.
If you have received this email, but you were not involved in this transaction,
please contact us at support@etsy.com.
Wishing you continued success,
The Etsy Team
Odviously, they have not paid for the item. I did go ahead and relist.
I just found the whole thing to be hurtful and mean.
Any thoughts are welcome here.
Also, this is a photo of my younger cousin.
You will be missed and loved.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#/group.php?gid=158336054954
I have recently recieved my first larger painting by my fav etsy artist. Brain collins. It reminds me of my cousin's parents when they were younger. I had just made my last payment when we heard news of his death. It reminds me of the three of them every time I look at it. Please check out Brians work at: briancollins.etsy.com
Argh!! Didn't even see this until now - my blog wasn't showing you updated for some reason. But the argh is really for the "buyer" of your beautiful necklace. Obviously I've read your listing & I was even happy you listed it as an example of your work. Perhaps I was wrong - I will check into this in Etsy rules & am sooo very sorry if I was, but I've seen many people do this on Etsy, so assumed it was okay.
ReplyDeleteEither way, that was a hurtful & unnecessary way for someone to show they had an issue w/ your listing, when I know for a fact that a simple convo to you would have garnered a sincere & concerned response from you and prompted you to look into the proper protocol.
I'm so sorry this person chose to take the approach they did rather than try to deal with you directly.
Vee,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think this was hurtful? The person did not reply to you, right? Did you convo or just email? Maybe the person doesn't understand etsy. I've had that happen.
That said, it *is* against etsy's rules to list items like that. A lot of people do it, but it *is* against the rules:
"Each listing must be available for purchase.
You may not create a listing for an item that is not for sale or sold out.
A listing may not be created for the sole purpose of sharing photographs or other information with the community.
A listing may not be created solely as an advertisement. This includes notices of sales or promotions in your shop. Such information may be included in your Public Profile, avatar, banner, Shop Announcement and/or item descriptions.
Items must not be listed as available for rental or lease.
Listing prices must be reasonable.
You may price an item how you choose; however, a listing should not be created with an inaccurate price in order to keep it from selling.
The shipping cost must be reasonable for the item."
All I'm saying is, maybe the person did not have ill-will. Maybe they read the price wrong, maybe they just don't understand how etsy works, maybe they have every intention of paying you $100,000 (if that's the case, ask mindielee for the necklace back! lol). It just happened today. It is *possible* that they just haven't paid. I've bought things on etsy many times on my phone thinking I would pay when I got home and then forgot for a day or two. Not everyone pays instantly.
Take some deep breaths and give it a few days.
Whatever, I'm over it now. Amazing what writing and good music can do for you ;)
ReplyDeleteOops. i just noticed the address for the buyer. Sorry. I was just trying to make you feel better, but I guess it's pretty clear why s/he did it. sorry.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I didn't know it was against policy and i'll remove it. However, i am still new to etsy and learning (as we all do) as I go.
ReplyDeleteThe person has NO feedback and didn't answer my nicely written email or convo.
Also, look at the address that was sent to me.
Had they simply conved me i would have taken care of it. So, in that way I think it was uncalled for. It's not what I would have done to another seller. Especialy, when they are new.
It was orginally listed bc I listed it to sell IN MY shop- and THAN i donated. So, I didn't create the listing to showcase my work orginaly. I just left it listed and had refered it - when it was STILL for sale- to the hearts for haiti link.
I'll take it out of my shop.
However, I feel that "buying" it means you are planning on purchasing it and paying for it.
I have NEVER bought something and not had the intent to pay for it, nor have I ever not paid.
Odviously, this is a common thing the person does, if you look at the address and that is what bothers me. Like I stated, had someone told me (out of the 700+ views) I would have taken it out.
Is it better that it now appears in my "sold" section for $100,000? Agh. Whatever.
ReplyDeleteI am shocked and saddened that a fellow etsian would communicate in this underhanded passive-aggressive manner about what she believes is spam. Whether or not it was against etsy's rules for you to list it (and we're all still learning those!), if she had a concern, the decent thing to do would have been to convo you about her concern, Vee, as others here have commented. I'm giving you a virtual ((HUG)) and letting you know as the proud owner of this MAGNIFICENT necklace, this ill-willed person can in no way diminish not only your talent, but your unwavering dedication to helping the people of Haiti through your work on heartsforhaiti. You have a big heart and don't let her/him hurt it. Your loving nature is stronger than their pettiness.
ReplyDeletexoxox mindie
Agh mindie you're sweet :) I feel okay now. I just had to think it through in writing i suppose :) thanks :) Did you end up giving it as a gift?
ReplyDelete