I wrapped it in bubble wrap and tissue paper, added a gift tag, packed it in a box, and shipped it off. I sent a thank-you note with my business cards to the buyer. Everyone was happy.
Until half-an-hour ago when the friend sent me a message saying the mug arrived like this:
My heart stopped. (I am baffled that the handle somehow made it intact.) I replied with my deepest apologies and an offer of another fox item I have. I emailed the buyer as well with the message and refunded her money. Then I cried.
I am doing my best to rectify the issue. I just hope they see that and don't leave me hateful feedback or worse. They seem like nice ladies, but I did mess up pretty badly and would understand if they are angry. We'll see how this ends.
This was only my second time shipping something fragile (the first time there were no problems, but I do remember packing it better). Next time I will do a better job packing the item. Or maybe I will just stay away from breakable things.
(The second worst thing that has happened to me is an item getting lost in the mail, but that was an easy fix because it was replaceable and inexpensive.)
4 comments:
Awww, Cheskie! I wouldn't worry too much about it - you did everything you could both on the front end and the back end of the transaction, and I, as an Etsy buyer, would NOT leave bad feedback for something like this!
This should make you feel better - I bought a beaded necklace on VeryJane (a discount group deal website), and when it (finally) came in (she had shipped them once, only to have them returned for insufficient postage), I opened the bubble mailer and beads went EVERYWHERE. TWO of the strands had broken! So I email the seller to tell her, and she sent a mass email letting everyone know she was aware of the problem and would ship a second necklace in a sturdy box for those who received broken necklaces. (Oh, and she had run out of my color, so I had to get a different color...) The second necklace comes in, and guess what? IT was broken!!! Even in a sturdy box!!! I emailed the seller again and told her not to worry about it - between the discount, the two sets of shipping issues, and the breakage, I guarantee she lost a LOT of money on that deal. Most buyers are reasonable... I just felt sorry for her at the end! How awful to deal with something like that and feel like your reputation is tarnished!
Oh Cheski, I am so sorry to hear it. I think most people understand that mistakes happen. The most important thing for me is how the mistakes are handled. (I look at a lot of reviews and it's the owner response that is most critical in whether I decide to buy). It sounds like you handled it well and will do what you can to prevent it from happening in the future.
When I read the title "My Worst Nightmare Came True," I was terrified. I think you could even get a positive review out of it or maybe a neutral and that's not bad at all.
Good luck! Even the fact that you sent a thank you card to the buyer is just such good practice.
As an Etsy seller it is hard to please everyone. You did your best and now you are willing to do whatever is needed to rectify the problem. I wish we when someone does leave negative feedback we could explain our side. We have 2 Etsy shops and one is wall vinyl. We tell you that it has to go on a SMOOTH surface. We got negative feed back from someone because she had textured walls and it wouldn't apply. Crazy!
Just wanted to let you know I did get your email and am interested in a giveaway. Just let me know the details. Thanks!
not worth crying over especially since you didn't treat the item carelessly but did wrap it up -DAD
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