Chat Thread

[#1]

Here you go. Private and all.

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good Evening ~

Mary Alice ~I don't see a change to the shop format, is this something new?

My shop is on vacation mode since Friday. I am leaving tomorrow for a few days to visit Violet and I didn't want to have orders to ship on Monday.

My mom is ok the last two days so hopefully she will remain stable for a bit. The party is next week on the 21st. I have still to make all of the plans for food but it's exhausting just thinking about it.

Today is our anniversary, 35 years. Seems like yesterday though we don't quite look the same. :) We had a nice brunch at a beach side restaurant and it didn't rain, yay. We took a ride up the beach and then headed home like two old people and napped.

Mary Alice ~ Hope you have a wonderful summer with the kids. Two weeks off will be nice for you. Are you still going to the center for activities?

Hope everyone has a good start to the week and has sales!!

[hooknsaw]

Happy Anniversary, Debra!!! Hugs to you and Neal! I hope your Mom stays maintained. It is so difficult caring for parents, total role reversal (and omg, I know my parents are more stubborn / difficult than I ever was as a teen)!!!
Enjoy your Violet visit. Nothing like time with a grandchild to make everything better!

Mary Alice, enjoy your summer! I'm not seeing a new format either. Probably another etsy test. I am on oxygen if I am moving around. If I am sitting crocheting, my levels will hold, but as soon as I get up and walk it drops. I am adjusting well and have a portable, so it's all good for now.

The a/c is running 24/7 here. But the monsoon season is supposed to start this weekend and fingers crossed that it brings some much needed rain and cooler temps. Our shop is doing better this month for no rhyme or reason.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good Morning~

Lisa~ Thanks for the anniversary good wishes. I spent Monday and Tuesday with Violet and headed home in the late afternoon on Tuesday. As long it's light out longer I don't mind driving late in the day. I had such a good time with her. Now that she's almost 7 months old she is very interactive with me and adorable.


Mom is maintaining this week and excited to see the family for her party.
Lots of family coming into town, including Violet!! It will be the first time the kids are visiting me with the baby.

I am pretty sure I gave my parents a very difficult time when I was a teenager but their "teens" seem even more out of control! They hired an aid to start on Monday to help with shopping and driving. Hopefully this will be a big stress reliever for my mom. We are trying to keep them at home instead of an independent living apt. My folks don't enjoy old people so not a good option for them.

Two of my girlfriends took me to lunch yesterday for my birthday back in April. It was very belated but my one friend has been dealing with her husband's health so it's a very tough time for her. It was fun and we felt very much like "ladies who lunch" at the Neiman Marcus restaurant in the mall. A nice treat.

Not much planned for the weekend except to buy party supplies for my mom's b/day party.

Lisa ~ How long is your monsoon season? We started the rainy season and hurricane season June 1st. We go through November with rain every day for a bit but lately it's more than a bit. Hope you get the rain and cooler temps.

Glad your shop is doing well!! I started out with an ok month but closed on Thursday for vacation till the 22nd. Too much going on right now with the party and family to deal with my shop. But by the 22nd I will be anxious to open up.

Copy shop contacted my attorney after letters were sent and has agreed to the cease and desist of all copying. Still waiting on Etsy Legal.

Last night I purchased the domain name for both How Cute Are You and Booties in a Box. Etsy sent out an email regarding the new changes and fee structure. They also suggested we now purchase domain names and have them connected to our shops which will drive more traffic to shops and Etsy. I thought about this for a minute and asked on the forums if someone could purchase our shop names or product names to drive traffic to their own shops and the answer was yes. So, for $24.00 with google I bought my domain names. I freaked for a minute thinking they might have already been bought but I was safe.

I suggest if you have a unique name for your shops to buy your domain name. Etsy suggests Hover, their partner site for domain name purchase, I went to google and bought mine. I was able to immediately link it to my shop and I was offered, via Google, my own webpage. A thought for the future. So now if you type in Booties in a Box or How Cute Are You in your browser it should take you right to my Etsy shop. On google is $12.00 per year per domain name.

Hope everyone has a pleasant weekend and gets some good relaxing time in.

[mzbellz]

Hi All

Just dropping by to say Hi. Have a cold so not feel that great. Weather is hot here today. Will reach 92 by this afternoon. Good day for the pool

Debra: Happy Belater you have to be on Oxgyed Anniversary. Hope it was a good one.
Lisa: Sorry to hear you need to be on oxygen all the time.
Been busy with my shop making new items. I have 69 in their now. Haven't sold anything since April. Hopefully I'll be able to sell something soon.

Sue Ellen, Lauren, Hope all is ok with you.

Got my hair cut 2 weeks ago, so it's nice and short. Feels so much better.

Ok Gals, talk again soon. Hope everyone is ok,. Have a great week.

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good Afternoon~ Just a drive by hello and to say I hope everyone is having a good week.

MaryAlice ~ Thanks for the good wishes.

Party is tomorrow for my mom. Celebrations started last night with my brother and his wife arriving in town. It's going to be crazy for the next few days but should be fun. See you all after the weekend.

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good morning!

I hope everyone had a good weekend and got some time to relax.

I had my mother's b/day party at my house this past Thursday. Lots of food and company, about 27 people. Violet was the belle of the ball!!

By Saturday when everyone had gone home I could barely move and just laid on the couch for two days and watched old movies. Didn't even pick up the crochet hook till yesterday, I had no strength. Back to somewhat normal now.

Yesterday was spent returning the gifts we bought my mom. She didn't like any of them. We had bought her a Louis Vuitton makeup bag and the idiot sales person left the price tag inside the gift box and my mom was appalled at the price and said it was too expensive and to return it. This I don't understand, she didn't pay for it so why not except a lovely gift from your children? Smacking my head!!

My dad's gift to her, which I shopped for, was a lovely silver and blue sapphire bracelet that she wanted returned because it didn't look significant. WHAT?!
Another gift she thought was too expensive for what it was.

Lots of smacking my head going on!!

So, now back to crocheting. Easier to deal with crazy pregnant women than my family.

Have a great week ladies.

[KnitAndCrochetPalace]

Hi All,

Debra, Sorry your mother had to act out after all the trouble you went to to have a party. Was she like that when she was younger? Sometimes it just doesn't seem worth trying to please someone, does it. I hope you are feeling better.

I am keeping up with reading conversations but I have found I am unable to sit long at the computer because of the pain in my legs. I think I told you before I am allergic to most antibiotics and they can't seem to get rid of the urinary tract infection so I can have two tests done. They can't do they as long as I have the infection and nothing is working. I just want to throw in the towel. What is the point of going to doctors if they don't help you?

I ordered new business cards hoping they would give me some incentive. I should get them tomorrow. I am afraid if I give up the shop, I'll just sleep all the time. I do still crochet but don't seem to get any further.

Has anyone heard anything from Lucille? I hope her son is doing ok.

Glad you are able to enjoy time with your little granddaughter. Do you think she will be a girly girl or a little tom boy?

Happy crocheting!!

Sue Ellen

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good afternoon ~

Sue Ellen ~ Sorry to hear you have a chronic UTI. My mother suffered with this for 2 years before we got it under control. She was admitted to the hospital where they did an antibiotic flush over a period of 3 days. Now she is on cystex daily, it's otc and contains methedomine (sp) which inhibits bacteria from growing. She's been fine, knock wood, for a while.
My mom is also allergic to most antibiotics but there are so many on the market. My dr. explained that when a culture is done the lab will send a list of antibiotics with the results. My dr. knows what I am allergic to and what not and then prescribes the correct one. It's a trial and error thing most times.

Do you have a urologist that you can make an appt with? General doctors aren't the best of UTI.

My mom didn't act out at the party, thank goodness. She was very happy and loved seeing all of the out of town guests. It was afterwards that she remarked on all of the gifts. She's always been difficult to buy for and we know it, nothing new. We just thought the little bag would be a treat, something she would never buy herself. Nah, not so much!!

I think Violet will be a girly girl. She touches things very gently and just seems so girly in her little actions. She was quite loud with excitement though over Jimmy. I never heard a baby yell that loud. My dil is very girly and soft spoken so hopefully she will take after her mommy that way. My son is the total opposite and it's not a party until he arrives so maybe she will have some of that as well. My son takes after me, he and I used to embarrass my other two kids by dancing in the isles of the grocery store if a good song came over the PA system. I am hoping Violet has a bit of that free style thing going on.

Hope everyone is having a good day. I haven't heard anything from Lucille but think of her son often. Hope they are doing well.

[KnitAndCrochetPalace]

Hi Debra,

Yes, I am under the care of a urologist. They did the antibiotic tests and there is only one I am not allergic to and it doesn't seem to be the one I need. My doctor told me years ago, "you are going to come in here some day and there won't be anything I can give you". It is becoming quite scary.

Sounds like your little granddaughter enjoyed the party!!!

I got my new business cards today. I am pleased with the cards but I wanted to use the picture on the card as a new avatar. They said there is no way I can do that????????????? I don't know how to do things like that.

Going to order a pizza.

Sue Ellen

[HowCuteAreYou]

Sue Ellen ~ Why can't you use the photo on the card as your avatar? You can take a photo of your card and then edit it for the avatar. I think it needs to be a certain size. I use ipiccy.com for photo editing.

Scary when the dr. says there might be a time when they have no antibiotics for you. Have you discussed an antibiotic flush with the antibiotic you can take?

We just came back from the pizza place. Once in a blue moon you have to have a pizza. Neal had pasta carbonara which was delicious.

[HowCuteAreYou]

BTW ~ not sure I mentioned this. I read an article about teams that favor your items and how having favorites with out an actual view to your item hurts the ranking on the listing and pushes it further down in relevancy. Only actual views into the listing will help raise the rank of the listing.

Something to think about when you post items in the forums or on the teams. I now try and look at the listing instead of just favoring them.

[KnitAndCrochetPalace]

I don't know what they are planning on doing next. No one has mentioned an antibiotic flush. I've never heard of it.

[mzbellz]

Hi Everyone.
Debra : Good to hear from you. Glad the party went well, and like you said your mother didn't act up. Sorry about her not liking the presents. Since I lost my parent at a very early age (in my 20's) I really don't know what it's like to have parent problems. I know what it's like to have kid problems though (ha ha) Violet sounds so sweet. She will probably have a mixture of everyone in her. Olivia is me. Thru and Thru. LOL. She has a great sense of humor, and loves to laugh. She's really not girly girl, she's a tom boy., but can have her girly moments.

Sue Ellen: Glad to see you on here. I was wondering about you. So sorry to hear your still having all these problems. I know it can be disheartening. But I'm sure in time they will find something that will work for you. Hugs.
Don't give up.

Am busy crocheting a mandala vest for my cousin Cathy. I got the pattern from a girl who's website is called The Lavendar Chair. She has great patterns. If you look on you tube you can find her, or just type in lavendar chair. Also a real nice lady called Crystal, from BAG O Day Crochet. I watch all her videos, and her Specials that she does.

Today I kept thinking it was Saturday for some reason. It's only Wednesday. I guess cause my daughters fiance is finished with school.
Debra: you remind me of me with your antics in the supermarket dancing to a song when it comes on. I do that sometimes too.

I belong to a number of teams and I always post a picture of my items. instead of just a link. I haven't sold anything since April. Wish things would pick up. Summer is slow I know, but I would still like to get more sales.

Talk again soon guys.

[KnitAndCrochetPalace]

Thanks Mary Alice. I am crocheting everyday. I just don't seem to be able to get them photographed.

We are having a major heat wave. The heat index is supposed to be in the three digits the next three days. I think they said 110, 106 and 109. Thank goodness for air conditioners.

[hooknsaw]

Hi everyone,

I've been in full blown design mode and working on some new dog scarves before the fall season starts and I don't have time to be "creative".

Debra, I shook my head when I read about the gifts and your Mom. I refuse to buy anything for my Dad because he just puts it in a box and ships it to a relative. Even when it is a gift he has mentioned wanting! I had my hands full with him earlier this week. Trying to convince him he has to see his primary to get a referral for his new urologist. He did tons of swearing and I did lots of head smacking!!!
Violet sounds absolutely adorable! I have tom boy princesses. The girls are often in frilly dresses and bows while playing in the mud, chasing livestock or riding horses. My dil got another alpaca and the girls named it "twilight sparkle".

Sue Ellen, I am sorry your are still having so many issues. Sending you good wishes and hugs. It is so frustrating when the Dr.s don't have a good course of treatment. Wow, the temps are hot in your area! We've been low 100's for about 10 days now and I keep hoping for rain. Haha our monsoon season has started but in the desert that can mean little or no rain most days. If we get more than 1 inch of rain at a time, it seems like a flood may happen!

Mary Alice, I hope you are feeling better. Summer colds are the worst! Congrats on getting more items in your shop. Crochet is so time consuming it can take a long time to build some inventory.

Debra, with the new ai for search, is etsy still ranking listings? Our views and visits for the year are way down but revenue is up and orders are about the same. So we are making more per order on average and being found by more targeted key words.
I do promote new items with a few teams.

I did raise our prices for the new fee increase.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the week!

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good Morning ~

I have a few minutes while Neal is getting dressed so we can go out for some much needed r&r and some breakfast.

Sue Ellen ~ My mother's primary care doctor recommended the flush. I know it's an option as one of my friend's mother also has had the procedure. It's a hospital stay with monitoring but it did help for a bit. Unfortunately as we age UTI are very common. UGH!!!!

Mary Alice~ I have a pattern from Lavender Chair for I believe a dress or overalls. She has adorable patterns.

I hear you on the day of the week! This week has flown by and not sure why. Haven't been all that busy and shop is so slow!!

I love a tomboy as I was always one and wore my brother's clothes whenever they fit. My poor mom only wanted me in dresses and constantly tried to curl my stick straight hair. A disappointment all the way around. 😆

Lisa~ Hope all is calming down for you. Several of my friends have told me that when their parents passed they found all of the gifts they had bought them still in boxes with the tags. What's with parents and gifts?!

My dad is good about accepting his gifts and for father's day we got him a nice rain jacket. He liked it and was gracious, he's more sensitive than my mother and always makes a big deal out of anything we do for him.
For his b/day we got him a model airplane that he my brother enjoy taking out to fly.

We had a friend in upstate NY whose little girl would wear the kookiest little girly outfits that she put together with cowboy boots. Never saw anything so cute.

I think Etsy is still ranking listings according to relevance and actual views, not hearts. Etsy search is a mystery to me!

I am going to raise my shipping prices back to where they were which is about $1.00-2.00 over the actual shipping price which covers packaging supplies. Etsy had sent a suggestion to lower the shipping costs since the average shop charges less for shipping on children's items.

If I raise my shipping or I raise my prices it's the same difference since the 5% fee is across the board. My sales and views are down from last year by 46% but revenue is down only 23% so I guess that means that less people are buying but they might be spending more per purchase. Makes my head spin. This week is beyond slow so I get nervous.


Have a nice day ladies! Can't wait to eat some pancakes at my favorite hole in a wall diner.

[KnitAndCrochetPalace]

We were without power for four hours this afternoon and evening due to a storm. It is so comforting when the lights come back on. Thankfully the house didn't get to hot during the outage. Tomorrow the heat index is supposed to be 113! Anyone else without power? I know four hours is nothing compared to what some people have had to go through. The longest I have been without power is six days during an ice storm in 1979.

[HowCuteAreYou]

Sue Ellen~ Since all of the recent hurricanes the power system in my neighborhood has been upgraded. During last years massive 3 day hurricane we had power which is amazing because the power use to go off during a mild rain storm. My daughter's house which is about 15 minutes from me was without power for a week. No consistency here in Florida.

I would definitely rather lose power in summer than in a freezing ice storm, that had to be awful.

It's pretty early in the summer season for such high temps in the midwest. I know July and August even September can be pretty hot.

Temps here are normal for summer in the high 80's low 90's. It can get muggy and hot for sure but we usually have a nice breezes in the summer so it's not that stifling hot, can't breath midwest summer. By mid afternoon a storm will roll in off the everglades and cools things down a bit.

Yesterday Neal and I were going to our local farmer's market and got stuck in a horrible lightening storm and waited it out in the car. Every time I went to get out I could see lightening striking in the fields and ran back to the car.

No plans for today. Shop is deader than a door nail. Have no idea why it dropped off so suddenly, views are down as well as favorites and convos are a thing of the past.

I was dealing with a very nasty customer this week, she left a one star review because her package, she claims, was lost in the mail but it was actually tracked to have been delivered 3 days after it shipped.

She contacted me 7 days after it was delivered. She got enraged when I said I would discount her another set and ship for free but the package is marked delivered and my policy is I am not responsible for lost or stolen packages once it's delivered. She had some nasty words for me. I finally refunded her in total because it was just not worth the $20.00 to take that kind of abuse. She apologized eventually and said she would remove her review but did not. I'll give her another day or two to remove it then I will respond.

I had initially told her to contact her local post office to make sure it was delivered to the correct address and she responded that she has no time to call the police to find her package and what does the police care about her little package. I never mentioned the police and thought she must use this line quite a bit when being nasty and trying to extort free items.

I had actually contacted Etsy Dispute and they commended me on excellent customer service and to try and deal with the customer as best I could to resolve the issue. Cutting my loses and moving on was the best option.

Customer even mentioned that when she has items shipped and they get lost she always gets free replacements sent to her. Red flag went up in my head and thought she is a scammer. I wish we had the old review system where we could rate the customer because I would definitely tell other shop owners to be aware.

At least she is gone for now and don't have deal with the abuse she was heaping on me. I will answer her 1 star review in a very professional manner making me look like the hero. :)

Have a great weekend and stay cool!!

[hooknsaw]

Debra, is there a chance etsy will remove the feedback? I've had a couple of "lost" packages that I refunded (or resent) but nothing like you have described. In your shoes, I would reach out to etsy and see what happens, before replying to the feedback.
I hear you on being nervous over slow traffic! Our shop has been busier this month but still down over last year. Selling mostly one season (winter) is hard to predict until later in the year for our shop,

Sue Ellen, we bought batteries for the rv this week in case of power outages! The rv has a generator that we can plug into the house or we can camp out in the rv while the power is out! Longest here is 20 hours during the winter and the generator powered the heat!

Hope everyone is well!

[HowCuteAreYou]

Lisa ~ I did report the review to Etsy but because she didn't mention the actual postal carrier they wouldn't remove it. I was upset with Etsy because the customer said the package was lost but it was delivered. I sent Etsy the tracking number but they didn't side with me....again. Had she said USPS lost her package then they would have removed it.

Customer still hasn't removed the review though she said she would. I reached out to her again but she's not replying.

It's really maddening but I think I was scammed and the customer used the review system to extort a refund.

[hooknsaw]

Debra, if the person mentioned in any e-mail to you that they would remove their feedback if you refunded. Or, if they mentioned leaving you bad feedback if they didn't get the refund, etsy considers that feedback extortion and should remove the review.
If you haven't already sent those messages to etsy?!

The buyer may be a scammer and knows not to mention certain things in feedback. I'm sorry you had to deal with this customer!

Anyone have plans for the 4th? People in our area are already setting off illegal fireworks, so fingers crossed that no fires get started. My Como Tu dog has been 'attached-to-my-leg' as he doesn't like the sound of fireworks.

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good Afternoon ~

Lisa ~ I think she was a scammer, she demanded free items but never once mentioned the review. She told me all the other shops send her free items when she tells them her package is lost. I offered her a refund and she said I was pressuring her to remove the review, which I wasn't. I simply stated that Etsy asked me to handle the situation with my usual excellent customer service and she took that as an opportunity to tell me how I had to mention that I am all about telling her great I am and that I have ridiculous policies. Her language was very street and so nasty.

Etsy sent me a nice letter commending my shop and excellent 5 star reviews and that this one will not make any difference to future customers but I needed to resolve the issue since Etsy will not remove it. Etsy is definitely not the same Etsy that it was a few years ago, very corporate now and very difficult to even find the forms for a dispute of their decisions.

I will give it one more day and then I will respond. I might just say that customer's package was marked delivered by USPS and confirmed with tracking along with a call to local post office for confirmation of package delivery and location of package placement. And that my shop policies state I am not responsible for lost or stolen packages once the item is marked delivered by USPS postal system. I will add that it's also my policy to help any way I can to locate the package and any truly lost package in the USPS system is refunded or replaced. I'll also mention that my 5 star reputation over 8 years speaks highly of my excellent customer service. What do you think?

Not sure I want to mention she was refunded since that could open the door to other scammers.

Etsy recommends a short and very professional response without getting into a lengthy explanation or overly personal.

No 4th of July plans yet. Jimmy isn't great either with fireworks. I have his safe place, my closet, set up for him with thick rugs for him to cuddle on.

Can't believe how irresponsible people can be to set off fireworks during a heat wave and dry spell, jerks. It's so rainy here that everything is soggy. Lots of little snakes in the grass and something bit me the other day that has my toe itching like crazy. Felt like a sharp pain at first and now keeps me up at night with this itching. Any remedies for insane itching?

Yesterday Neal and I had a tequila fueled fun day in Fort Lauderdale. A stroll and lunch with just one drink and I was having a great time. I came home and made an adorable little skirt, headband and shoes outfit for my girlfriend who's first grandchild was born yesterday. I posted a picture in my shop, it's going to be a custom made outfit that I am offering.

Hope everyone has a wonderful restful Sunday. Storming here so a good day to stay in and watch old movies.

[hooknsaw]

Debra, I use a salt pack for itchy bites. Wet a paper towel and dump a bunch of table salt on it then apply to the itchy bump for 10 - 15 minutes. Don suggested this remedy and it works really well for itchy bites.

After re-reading the review, I think I would leave a very short response that every effort was made to locate the package that showed as delivered and the situation was resolved to the buyers satisfaction and leave it at that. Or, not respond at all. Your stellar reviews will quickly bury the one star. From what you have described she does sound like a scammer ... if I were having that many "lost" packages, I would be rethinking my mail service!!!

No Fireworks tonight. When my kids were younger we always had Australian shepherds and those dogs always participated with the kids. The Aussie's thought the fireworks were fun!

Haha I have to watch my limit with tequila. I love the flavor, but it can sneak up on you!

Lauren and Lucille, I hope you are well.

Hope everyone has a good start to the week!

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good Afternoon ~

Lisa ~ Thanks for the itching remedy. I have never had a bite where the itching is just non stop. Even red ant bites calm down after a bit. I knew you might have something you use being you are around animals and fields where things lurk.

I responded to the customer in a professional manner. I did mention that my policies are in place to prevent scamming which I hope alludes to the fact that I know she is one. I didn't mention that she was satisfied with my customer service or that I refunded her. Just stated some facts and tried to sound professional.

We have a couple of Australian Sheepdog puppies in my neighborhood. They couldn't be cuter and they look so attentive and smart.

My tequila limit is one drink. I was at a retirement party last year for a friend and his wife insisted I have another shot with her after the one I just had. I felt like I was hallucinating!! Definitely a one shot drink for me. I like that it gets you buzzed and wears off fairly quick without any residual effects. I came home on Saturday after drinks and was able to crochet a whole outfit for my friend's new granddaughter. With vodka or gin I would have been out of it till the next day.

Wishing you all a good week and a Happy 4th!! We have no plans but I think I will grill some hot dogs and corn on the cob.

Hope everyone is well.

[HowCuteAreYou]

Lisa ~ I believe the salt worked! At first it made it worse and I was in itch hell but then in calmed down and the swelling and itching subsided. Thanks!

My customer contacted me today to say she was ready to remove her review. Now that I posted my response I cannot answer her response should she change it after I remove my response. Etsy's review system is geared toward the buyer with little protection for seller. I haven't even responded to her. I think she knows the system so I am not deleting my response. I'm good, I handled it and am over her. Next!

I have been working on little skirts and barefoot sandals, they are so freaking cute. I plan on adding more sets over the next few months and less pregnancy reveals so my shop will be less stress with packages that have to ship next day. That's today's plan, knowing me it will change.

Thanks again Lisa for the remedy, can't believe simple salt and a paper towel relieved my itching agony!