Dear Etsy Buyers,
Please stop…
Stop being so hateful and mean…
As a small business owner, selling on Etsy, I’ve had enough of being your stomping post and I really think it is time that you consider who you are buying from…
A mother, a wife, a friend, a sister, a daughter, a homesteader, a designer, a stationer…
A person…
A REAL LIVE PERSON!
I’m not Amazon.
I’m not Walmart.
At last count, I had 1 employee…
Me.
Amazon has over 1.4 MILLION employees working for them.
Walmart has 2.3 MILLION employees working for them.
I have ONE…
Me.
As do most Etsy sellers…
I draw the designs for all of my stationery.
Upload those designs and edit each and every one of them.
I list each product for sale.
Advertise each product I have listed for sale.
Hand cut every single sheet of paper that goes into your notepads and note cards.
Print each of the pages that go into your notepads and or note cards.
I hand glue each and every one of those pages into a neat little stack for you to doodle on and hand-score every note card.
Then, I carefully package your items and take them to the post office for shipment.
And I do all of this by myself…
I’m not Amazon.
I’m not Walmart.
I’m just me…
1 Business owner
1 Mother…
1 Wife…
1 Friend…
1 Sister…
1 Daughter…
1 Designer…
1 Stationer…
1 Person…
I have 24 hours in each day…just like you.
And while I do my best to ship orders within a day or two, sometimes that just isn’t possible, which is why there is a processing and shipping policy – clearly noted on each listing.
Sometimes a sick kid comes first.
Sometimes the garden needs to be harvested so my family can be fed.
Sometimes the walkways need to be shoveled.
Sometimes the chickens need care.
Sometimes…LIFE happens!
And if you can’t be more understanding of that, then you shouldn’t be shopping on Etsy or buying from handmade sellers.
Stick to Walmart…
Stick to Amazon…
Don’t have the patience to wait a week or so for a handmade product?
Stick to Walmart…
Stick to Amazon…
Need a gift item in less than 5 days?
Stick to Walmart…
Stick to Amazon…
Don’t beat up a small business owner on Etsy because you forgot about a birthday celebration this coming weekend.
Stop screaming at a seller because the United States Postal Service or UPS or FedEx is late or lost your package! That’s no more the sellers fault than it is your own.
Quit being so rude…
Check Your Address
Day in and day out, I get messages from Etsy buyers requesting that I change their mailing address because they’ve moved.
And while I don’t mind fixing an address on occasion or mailing to a gift recipient, this is getting out of control!
The number of messages I have received in the past year, because you forgot to change your address when you moved, is ridiculous.
Your address is clearly marked on the check out page when you shop on Etsy! Change it when you are checking out!
You are an adult and if you can’t keep track of your own mailing address changes, it is certainly not up to the seller to do so.
Stop Expecting Free Changes
Every single product that is made by a handmade seller takes a great deal of time to create.
The level of expectation in the last year for “do this” or “add that” left in the message of a purchase has grown by leaps and bounds.
What makes you think that a handmade seller should make these changes to a product for free?
They’ve already worked hard to create what they think is a perfect product and then, you decide that you can do it better…so they should fix it?
No, that’s not how it works!
If you like a product, but desire a change…reach out to the seller before purchase and ask if it’s possible. Don’t just expect that they will or even can change it to fit your whim.
Read the Item Description and Shop Policies
Stop going by the photo alone!
Read the description of the item you are purchasing!
Pay attention to what you are spending YOUR money on, for crying out loud!
Pay attention to the shipping time listed when you checkout!
Need updated shipping information? Check your receipt for tracking and/or your Etsy order page. That’s why these things exist – to tell you when your package is coming!
Know the policies of the shop you are buying from and stop wasting the sellers time with questions that have already been answered within the description and/or policies.
The more time an independent business owner wastes answering repetitious messages, the less time he or she has for working on the products you have purchased.
Be Kind When Contacting a Seller
The person you just purchased from on Etsy likely did a happy dance or thanked God when your sale came through.
Be kind if you need to send a message…remember that there is a real live person on the other side of the computer screen and not a customer service representative that could care less.
A REAL LIVE PERSON!
When you shop on Etsy, you’re not supporting just another corporation…
You are supporting the dream of a real live individual person…
The dream of a person just trying to support their family in this crazy world we are all living in right now.
Be kind.
Be Grateful.
Accept that sometimes life happens and a seller is unable to complete your product in the time frame you’ve requested.
Face the fact that there are supply shortages hitting every single industry in this country and beyond.
Deal with the fact that the United States Postal Service, UPS and FedEx are all facing delays because of local, state and federal restrictions.
But, stop being so hateful and mean to the sellers on Etsy for things that are out of their control.
Now, go out into the world and spread kindness…everyone needs a little extra these days!
~Vanessa
Vanessa Hamlin is the owner and founder of Food Life Design and VLHamlinDesign. With her passion for frugal living and homesteading, Vanessa loves to write about easy recipes, making money, gardening, home remedies and everything else that a good life entails! When she’s not writing for Food Life Design or creating products for VLHamlinDesign, you’ll find Vanessa reading, drawing, gardening, cooking or spending time with her family.