Skull-Cut Outs: We Did It!

So remember the skull cut-out sweater I made a couple weeks ago? Etsy featured it in their newsletter for current fall runway trends! I received over 1,000 hits and a bunch of requests since the sweater sold immediately. To keep up with people's requests, I'm now taking custom orders. My original idea was to only use over-sized vintage sweaters, but I'm starting to realize the limitations of this.

My first official custom-order came on Wednesday for a "deep purple" sweater. I searched through countless options but none of them were quite right. The fit is important, but more crucial than that is the knit (it must be light enough not unravel when it gets cut). I may need to explore more realistic options like H&M or XXI.

Regardless of the logistics, this is very exciting! It's given my Etsy store a substantial boost this week, which couldn't have come at a better time. For the last MONTH, I've been in a heated battle with the Customer from Hell on eBay; she found a loophole in the Buyer Protection policy to keep her clothes, get a refund, and still leave horrific feedback. OOF. It was heartbreaking to receive not one, but FIVE negative marks because of her.

Beyond dealing with her, I've spent literally 8 hours on the hotline trying to fix this. Word to the wise (in eBay and in life): always ask to speak to a supervisor first. I wasted so much time locked in deadend conversations with customer service reps, who gave me downright false information, transfered me to the wrong department, put me on hold for 45 minutes, or "accidentally" hung up after 2 hours on hold. I'm not exaggerating. Every time I've called eBay, it's been a 2 hour shit storm of incompetence and protocol.

My husband says it's time to move the whole kit and kaboodle to Etsy, where the fees are cheaper and the community is much more supportive. I've thought about this before, but I don't think I'd be comfortable with an exclusively Buy-It-Now store. I'd have to drive my prices up.

In the meanwhile, the eBay and Etsy store are doing terrific. This was one of our best weeks ever since May. I'm absolutely floored. With this custom skull cut-out sweater project in the works, I'm buzzing with excitement and ideas. Sean wants to do cardigans too.

Probably shouldn't have consumed so much tea. Alright, friends and lurkers.

Buzzing,

Sabrina London