2022 Year in Review . . .

Etsy does this "year in review" thing with shop stats and highlights, I used to like it but this year I cannot access it because the "new app" doesn't work on my phone. 😒 Although, looking at my shop stats and low sales I doubt this year's report would really be all that enjoyable to look at anyway. So, I shall do my own review of this year and all I can say is, I'm glad it's over. 

For me the year 2022 was mostly a bummer from start to finish, covid is still a thing, we moved across the country which meant my business was closed for several months, my best friend of 15+ years died of cancer, so it's not really surprising that I have been depressed, distressed, and demotivated. 😔 

I have spent a week (actually more) contemplating closing my business, but I have ultimately decided against it. There are a few reasons aside from my basic stubbornness that doesn't like giving up, the naive bit of hope that I cling to, the acceptance that this year was extreme and not normal. I also realized that due to circumstances I have not painted in 16 months and considering I do find great joy in painting it's no wonder that I feel so _________. 

So, I will register the business for the new state, I will look for and plan in-person events for 2023, but most importantly I will resume painting. There is nothing quite like a blank canvas, it is simultaneously inspiring and terrifying as I suspect 2023 will be. 

Well, that's depressing. . .

 So, it's mid-December, the time of year I start looking at compiling the business books to do taxes and I gotta admit it's pretty dismal. 😞 This is the worst year since I started RainbowMaille honestly, it's ridiculous between the closing for months and moving and the sad state of sales since reopening, I am wondering why I even bother to call it a business. 😞  

Most years I have in-person events not just online sales, but not this year.  Most years my sales are measured in the Thousands of dollars, but not this year.  Most years I don't contemplate closing up shop and just giving up, but I am this year. 😔 

Seriously, I'm debating on whether to bother registering in my new state or if I should just call it quits and close and save the headaches and paperwork.  I am concerned that when we do our taxes this year and I have to file less than $500 in sales we are going to get audited, it's that far off, it's that bad. I feel like such a failure. 😭 

I keep telling myself that it's not my fault and next year will be better, but that's a pretty hard-sell. 

Final answer. . .

I have been annoyed with etsy before plenty of times but the forced change to my shop policies hit different.  I have accepted increases in fees, being deprioritized in search because I won't put "Free" shipping on everything. I have done my best with the "star" seller ridiculousness, as a matter of fact over the years the number of changes and bad ideas they have implemented (and some retracted) that I have tolerated is pretty big, many of those instances I didn't even really complain because I acknowledge it's their site to run how they want.  However, changing my actual shop policies is a step too far, my business as a whole now has an inconsistency between my shops that I am not comfortable with. 

So, I am letting a lot of my etsy listings expire and shrinking my presence there. I have thought a lot about this and I am not reacting from an emotional place. This is a strategic move and a business decision, I am separating the art from the chainmaille. I will still be keeping my original shop on etsy but it will go back to being just chainmaille the way it was when I started it 7 years ago. Starting in 2023 all of my paintings and wire tree sculptures will be exclusive to goimagine.com

Ironically and completely unintentionally I have come to this decision on the anniversary of my first sale on etsy. I didn't realize that, as I was writing this post I got a fb notification and just happened to check my "memories".  Life can be so weird sometimes. 😇

There will be ornaments. . .

I am determined to have chainmaille ornaments available for this holiday season.

 There may not be a lot of them, they will definitely be limited addition and I think currently only a couple of the designs will be available. 😏 I am only one woman with 2 hands afterall. 

 So, Helm's wreaths and small snowflakes it is. I'll make some different colored versions and get them listed soon. 😉

etsy lies, like a lot. . .

 

Notice how it says the new format is "flexible" and you are "in control of the details" well that's BS as everything I've clicked basically is checkbox and drop down, there is no Text box anywhere and the pre-written stuff is not editable.

So, I would argue that it is not at all "flexible" and sellers have virtually no control, plus when I tried to apply the new forced format I got a warning that it would "replace" my existing shop-wide handwritten pre-existing policies. 

Even when trying to set it on a single individual listing I get the warning about it replacing my "shop's current policy".

So, my personal opinion is this stinks, etsy lies if not intentionally then just by their poor wording which was why I was concerned with their "template" stuff to begin with. I will not be making any changes until I have to, because as I suspected this is etsy manipulating and forcing the "grandfathered" shops into the stupid boilerplate that I refused to change to years ago. your old return policy will be removed on Oct. 31

Thanks for the warning, jerks.

Thanks etsy. . .

 Once again I have a dashboard notification of etsy being "so helpful" and yes that is sarcasm.  😏  Etsy is always changing things, I really don't like that they cannot seem to leave well-enough alone, but it's their site so, I cringe and move on. 

Just in case you can't read that it says I have to set a new return policy because they will be removing the old format Oct. 31 😠  I personally do not appreciate their interference with my business.  I understand that they want ALL shops to have a return policy, a few years back they forced a bunch of people and all "new" shops into some boilerplate garbage format, but those of us with existing shops were grandfathered in and not forced to change our existing policies which was nice. However, it seems that is changing and next month everyone will be forced into some template garbage so that no one can retain custom policies. 😒

I personally wrote my policies, and they are perfectly clear 

• Returns are accepted within 14 days of delivery, money will be refunded after the product is returned. Return shipping costs are the responsibility of the buyer.
• If an item is broken or damaged in shipping I will repair or replace it at no charge, simply message me to make arrangements.
• Cancellations accepted before orders ship, but be warned I ship quickly often same day.
• Cancellations requested after the 24 hour period will be decided on a case by case basis and may not be eligible for full refund if the order has already shipped.

I have never liked etsy boilerplate stuff, it's always awkwardly worded and with limited options and mostly yes/no settings I cannot make them say what I want. The result will be a change in my business's operational policies because etsy is taking away something that I have had set up for over 7 years, moreover this will cause my etsy shop and goimagine shop to have different policies, which causes a consistency problem for RainbowMaille. 😕

I'm not sure how I will handle this, I need to dig into the etsy stuff and see how close I can get to my own original policies, but this may well be the straw that breaks this camel's back.  I have 37 days to investigate, compare and make a decision, if I can get the etsy close enough to what I want it may be ok, but if their templates do not allow me to set the policies the way I want I cannot run 2 shops with vastly different policies. 

Congratulations etsy on another brilliant fix of something that was not broken. 😞

The Stars are back. . .

For many years my etsy shop had a continual 5 star rating, even in slow times or shut-downs when the reviews "aged" the stars were still visible, that is until this year.  Etsy changes things all the time, sometimes without much notice or fanfare, so I was a little shocked and a bit annoyed when my stars literally Vanished after all these years. 😕 I mean they have changed colors before but for 7 years they were always there, I earned those stars and then Bam! gone. 

I asked around and did some research and apparently etsy changed this like a year ago. I never saw an announcement of this change but buried in a handbook article it lays out the review system and there is a date on the article, so I guess this is how it works now. 😏 If ever all your reviews are at or over the 1 year old mark your shop's stars will disappear all together, they used to just be grey not gone. I really did not like the look of there being no stars it makes it look as if the shop is brand new or really bad, either way not a good look. Lucky for me the Labor Day sale was productive and with the fresh orders came fresh reviews and magically my stars came back. 😇 I know it seems like a silly thing to think about, but a review history is often an important factor for buyer's confidence so having those 5 stars at the top of the shop can be key for conversions.  

 

So welcome back my pointy little friends it's nice to see you again up there where you belong. 😎