Pause on Special Orders

The wild card I forgot about is the middle-man that processes the transaction between me when I pay for your kit.  AliExpress has added the maximum amount possible, in taxes, tariffs and fees on all US bound items, many are not even available to ship to the US any longer, and collect it up front, regardless of what will eventually be forwarded to authorities in the US for my shipments.

With that political statement, AliExpress crippled my business model and interrupted my order flow with the factory.  The factory and I are working together to find a solution and as soon as possible will be doing a test order to look at time from order to delivery and any things along the way like customs clearance, tariff collections and payments and work out a cost that would require no increases at the customer level.  When that test is under way, I will make appropriate posts and will announce when special orders are once again available.

I am not going out of business, I am not throwing in the towel, I did not rip anyone off and keep their money, All Special Orders have been received and shipped, the current orders are in the hands of 4 remaining customers with decisions on test participation of a new delivery method or a refund.  

I will be taking a little time to just relax, but will be expanding the small format kits I can produce here in the shop. Putty and cover minders can still be created as long as the magnet stash holds out, there are in-stock kits available, if you don't see what you are looking for, I can clarify if it is possible to create a small format version for you.  I will be available to do customs in the small format sizes --pets and babies--usually close-up pictures will work well, words and phrases--another good choice all customizable for you.  I will be adding videos to the YouTube channel and encourage people to subscribe, at 50 I can go live and would love to do some town hall type events during this little pause.  

The support the shop has received, the compliments I have received all come from you and the many many others in this first year.  May is the official first anniversary.  What a way to start that celebration!  Thanks for the support, hopefully we'll have decades and not just years ahead as this all gets resolved.  You can reach me through the store contact forms, email, facebook messenger, Instagram, pretty easily and I will get back to most of those messages within minutes or maybe a couple of hours, rarely does it take 24 hours for me to get back to someone with a legitimate need for a response.  Other store owners, content creators, vendors, business related contacts-I am always available to talk about ideas and strategies of cooperation in situations like these and working together can often help save time for others who haven't discovered the same answers you were seeking.

It is going to take a lot more than some political pissing contest between world leaders to stop this train.  

The Emporium is Open for business

The Emporium @ Etsy is Open for business

Ren is Open for Collaborations, Cooperative Projects and advocating for more Naps.