martelvonc

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martelvonc

Yes,

kass_rants, customers sometimes just try one's patience.

I have a small shop on Etsy where I sell my cottage industry beeswax candles. I don't have a large production line but I produce enough to be able to work off my excess energy with the hand dipping and get the cost of the supplies back with a small profit. I believe, that for the size candles I make, I'm the least expensive on Etsy.

Today a guy has been arguing with me over the cost of S&H "Well "I" can ship such and such a weight to "here" by UPS and it does not cost so much" and "I find it hard to justify "$" for 10 pairs of candles."

So buddy buy yer candles elsewhere. I even offered him the links to some other very nice and talented Etsy candle sellers.

Yea, I know, I know I just foisted off a grumpy customer on my Etsy buddies but heck it was getting hard to be polite.

I can almost hear his "hrumpf, well I never..." from here.

Current Mood: naughty

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

spranglady.livejournal.com

ya know... people just don't get that shipping and handling includes the 'handling', not just the shipping! Sigh. It was hard to get through to some customers that while, yes, I can ship one ornament for less than $3, I also have to buy the boxes that the ornies come in, the shipping material, the bubble wrap, the tape, the labels, the cardboard shipping box that has to be USPS standard, gas to and from the post office, fees for selling online, etc. While some of my price does absorb a bit of that, most of the actual ornie price doesn't. But I'm like you... I'd rather see a customer like that go elsewhere, than deal with the angst. :P It's just not worth it for a hobby.

From:

martelvonc.livejournal.com

Exactly, and I was not getting into a pissing contest with him.

From:

albreda.livejournal.com

My mother and I used to roll beeswax candles, and not only were they really fragile, but we had to take melting into account too! (We rolled like mad in the spring, when it was warm and humid enough for them not to crack, but not SO warm that they'd be sticky!) We routinely had folks ask us to mail them, but wow - we'd never even try, knowing the likely results.

How about a link to your etsy store so we can all ooh and ahh? (I can't order at this point, but I'd love to bookmark it!)

From:

nazrynn.livejournal.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5034035

Hey, look - new stuff! :) Nice holiday plaque.

As far as the one customer goes: Ick.
I had someone try pulling that on me on eBay, with regard to Priority Shipping. "But it only costs X on the USPS website, and they give you a free box!" To which I replied "Yes, but they don't provide packing materials to pad your item _in_ the box." - The skies opened, a shaft of sunlight shone from the heavens upon on her, angels sang, and suddenly, she understood... 8)

One of the things I have done to alleviate this sort of situation is to include "Why does it cost X for shipping and handling?" in my FAQs on eBay (I should do this for my Etsy shop too). Giving the customer a breakdown of average shipping fees and incidentals lays it out for them in advance, and lets them know there is no negotiating room on this matter. They have the fee schedule in front of them, and it gives them a sense of security that these are your standards - you're being an honest seller.

This reminds me - I may post something in my merchant filter about one of my competitors raising her prices....