Being A good seller means being a good customer

It's funny to me that until recently I had been selling online yet I don't online shop. So the honest truth is I didn't actually know what people expected of me as far as customer service and packaging. A couple months ago a friend stayed with me to visit and kept me company while I worked during the day. I was getting ready to ship things out when she stopped and said
Friend: You're going to send it like that?
Me:Yeah why? (As I put a dress into a ups envelope)
Friend: Usually when I buy something online it feels like a gift when it arrives, so I expect to look like one. Don't you??
Me: Actually I've never purchased anything online.
Friend: That's not good since you make your living from doing it.....


What a hit of reality. So the next time I needed to purchase something I did it on etsy. I like buying patterns (purely for reference, I do my own thank you very much...but sometimes I need a little hint) So I purchased a few online. And here was my experience..
*First off WHOA way cheaper than buying them at Michaels!!! Here's there link
http://www.etsy.com/shop/raegirl
*All the patterns I purchased were said to be uncut in the description. A few days later I see in my pay pal was some money credited back to me. She wrote to me right away and told me one WAS actually cut and returned the shipping cost and the money for the purchase. She still sent me the cut pattern for free and on top of sent an extra uncut pattern that was very familiar to the other.
* That was more than enough to make up for the mistake. When i received I was sooo excited which I wouldn't usually get excited for patterns. So at that moment I realized what my friend was talking about. They were wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper (this was in December).

I was very pleased with my online experience and will continue to shop from Raegirl.
Things I learned
*Communication is very important. If I would have received the patterns cut w/out being informed I would have been upset. But I think most people understand that mistakes happen. As long as you're dong something to fix it or communicate with them about the situation.
*Yup...packaging is important. I did feel like I was a getting a present. She had also put the invoice with it which I had never done. I appreciated that. Now I didn't have to print it my self when I do my expense reports. I will be doing that from now on.

Maybe these things are just little improvements.. but nonetheless improvements and very important as an overall seller.

Lesson Learned

While I'm unemployed and not selling anything on etsy, I do this thing called Alchemy. Alchemy is a section on etsy that lets people post items they want custom made. Sometimes people except my bid, sometimes they dont. Recently I got accepted to make a replica of the Alice and Wonderland dress from the SYFY movie. First I made a Flat sketch. But as you can see the fabric has this diamond pattern to it, which she wanted. I decided I'm going to screen print it on.

I know how to burn screens but it's such a headache. So I decided to have my screen done for me. I go to a place in downtown called RheeTech. I heard it was cheaper there then anywhere else. It wasn't, it was the same. Though it wasn't cheaper it was still worth it. They did a fantastic job with my screen.

I purchase %100 cotton in white to dye it the perfect Alice blue. I cut my pattern pieces and ready to begin screening the diamond pattern. Little did I know what a disaster it would be. It started off great! And then it just got bad, really bad.

I'm going to have to start all over and I've lost half of my profit. All I can say is lesson learned. It is much easier to screenprint a design on a Tshirt then a pattern on a whole fabric. And I will probably not ever do it again.

Happy New Year!!

The first Monday of the year and My first Blog..

Today was the official first day of my one year plan. I've given my self a year to figure out my life and to try to make as an independant designer.
Where I am right now-
Im in crazy debt. I owe about 100,000 in school loans, about 10,000 in credit cards, 5,000 in collections, 2,000 in parking and traffic tickets and a -500 in my bank account with no income coming in.
I live with parents(whom are also struggling financially). I have no boyfriend, Nor intend to have one soon.
As far as my buisness I really only doing the Etsy thing ( www.kalioseano.etsy.com ) and I get about a sell every two weeks....which obviously I cant live by.
I am unemployed...if there is a chance I can be self employed without truggling to much I would. but as of right now its not happening and I just have to try to do both.
I have a pretty big mountain to climb, but Im going channel my inner Gwen Steffani and try to become a succesful and strong women on my own.
This blog is to capture everything of my misadventures of trying to become succesful when starting from nothing. I'm sure you will be reading a lot of mistakes within this year... but hopefully by December it will be a happy ending to this blog.