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resinatingbeauty · 4 years

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News & New Stuff October 8th 2020 Update

SALE on Mercari and in the Etsy shop - Spend $30 in the shop for 40% off your order! Free shipping available for US customers and guaranteed free international shipping everywhere else when spending $35 + USD !

Introducing affordable hand crafted & charged 'Crystal Essentials' jewelry sets featuring iconic therapeutic natural crystals crafted into a beautiful beaded bracelet, necklace, and earring set with raw Selenite crystal to charge! Includes detailed information about the featured crystal / gemstone and Selenite / charging. Each set may be Personslized further by choosing your beading color scheme and comes with keepsake box and bags! These sets are priced just at $20-$35.00 (depending on stone) USD to make them affordable for everyone getting into crystal therapy, reiki, or those who just enjoy the natural beauty and colorations of these crystals!

THANK YOU to all my Mercari buyers for helping me reach 100 5 Star reviews this month! There are some special deals for Mercari users on my page that aren't listed anywhere else to celebrate, including 5 piece Crystal Beauty Bundle Boxes which feature natural crystals I have hand picked just for you, at least one of my own color changing / thermogenic creations, Selenite, Black Cleansing Salt, and a stretchy crystal stack Bracelet!

Updated the Etsy shop with new organization, some new listings and featured items including the aforementioned Crystal Essential sets of Malachite and Obsidian. Removed older listings that are still on Mercari for a discounted price.

I am ALWAYS accepting custom orders- the 'place custom order' button should now appear on my Etsy shop in the upper right hand corner of shop home. This was always meant to be, but most of my editing is done on the mobile app which is inconsistent with the website. Sorry for that!

I plan on collaborating with funky amazing artist Meg and doing a swap in the near future. Keep an eye out for photos - I can't wait to see what she designs for me!

It has been a hell of a month, let me tell you (not that anyone reads this, which makes it a great place to vent). Finances have been tight- sales have just BARELY covered my expenses (Etsy shop still in the hole by a literal dollar). Fortunately, I have been able to keep my day job during this pandemic as an essential worker, but I lost my side hustle and hours were cut there so even that hasn't been any help.

I started Resinating Beauty / Blursed Baubles by Samantha in Pursuit of a dream. I pursued that dream at a bad time.

Thankfully, I didn't take out any small business loans or borrow money to manifest my dream. Everything came out of pocket from money I had saved and the small inheritance my grandmother left me when I was 14, or what was left of it after I moved out of my parent's home and purchased a new car, which I am glad I'm not stuck with my dying 20 year old Cavalier and don't have to currently worry about a car payment or this car deciding it has had enough of me.

That money is gone now, and as I continue down this path, I may have gone full force when I should have held back and waited to see what the ultimate impact would be of this global phenomenon would be- between the pandemic and other events that appear to be harbingers of the apocalypse.

Every bit I make goes right back into maintaining my presence and keeping up with my creations when they aren't paying overdue bills, overdraft fees, and the rent.

What does this depressing rant mean for, if you so happen to have taken the time to read this? For one, thanks for that. At least keeping up with social media has somewhat paid off, though the ads brought likes, they never brought much revenue. That's what will ultimately kill this dream of mine, or at least bring everything to a full stop until I can afford to restock and promote. This means a few possibilities in the next few months:

Mercari only sales. Though Mercari has also become more of a pain in the ass and lackluster in the last few months, adding their payment processing fee in addition to their 10% listing fee and raising the cost of their prepaid labels.

I had expected the cost of labels to go up just to match the increase in postage cost, but the payment processing fee snuck right in there amidst everything. It has become very hard as a seller to make ANYTHING from a sale and price your items in a way that people will even stop and look at your listing because you're going to lose at least $5 off the top, more if you don't use your own label service and, God forbid, take your packages to a pack n ship store.

Higher Pricing Than Usual and No More Gratuitous Free Shipping

In exchange, I have had to list items at much higher prices than I would expect anyone to pay just to list them and promote them down to the price I expect, only to sell them at cost if not lower. I'm lucky to make a profit off any of my listings, but I do recognize that the majority of my sales come from Mercari. I've had the Etsy shop for almost as long and have only made a grand total of 5 (or so) sales, only two of which were international, which is really the entire point of running the Etsy shop. If this trend continues, I'll be forced to cut my losses and turn down international sales for the foreseeable future.

Free shipping will continue for now as I have been able to use a commercial shipping label service that provides discounted shipping labels, but if listing price dips below the 10-15% profit margin I need to continue, I will withdraw the offer of free shipping.

Advertising is word of mouth only- if you love it, like it! Share it! Buy it!

If you have purchased any of my handmade items or have seen them advertised when I could afford to do so and thought they were amazing, please help! The casualties of this pandemic are not just human- millions of small businesses, start ups, and solo ventures like myself are struggling just as much as you are (if not more) to keep a roof over their heads, to pay their bills, and to continue providing quality products and services from the USA, from my hands to yours. Corporations from China and other international conglomerates have infiltrated sites like Etsy and Mercari, selling their products as if they were handmade, unique, and just as special as someone who actually sat down and took the time to craft it over days and weeks- pouring their heart and souls into it like I know I do and God knows they mass produce these items, using these platform as just another way to promote their products. There is literally nothing we can do to stop it other than refuse to purchase from them and to invest our money in true homegrown small businesses.

As prices get higher here in the US, I can't blame people for immediately gravitating toward the lowest priced seller that is selling a copy cat item of another at half the cost, or one similar to it, but, damn, does it feel like a knife in the back to every entrepreneur or small business owner watching our dreams crumble at the feet of Chinese mega corps and pandemic/election propaganda.

Custom order cessation on all platforms. If I no longer have the extra materials, I cannot make custom orders. You may find custom or made to order listings have a much more abbreviated menu of options and variations due to cost and those who place custom orders and fail to follow up. Please only make custom order requests when you are ready to purchase them and allow me adequate time to create your item(s), finalize, and ship them to you.

With all that being said, I don't expect any of this to happen until next year. I continue to pull through, I'm still crafting and designing, making social media advertisements whenever I can, and going to sleep at night just praying with hope in my heart that one day it has got to get better. We have nowhere to go now but up. I truly make myself believe this and stay positive with my thoughts.

Some changes have taken effect already on Mercari and Etsy as you have seen my pricing rise and the free shipping go away and I'm truly sorry for that. I'm sorry I have to decline your offer as well if I just can't rationalize it in my head. I can promise you, however, that you will continue to receive quality, handmade, one of a kind creations with extra love and care with customer service to match. I appreciate everyone who has made a purchase as you have supported this dream of mine and those repeat customers who have become more than just buyers to me, you are truly amazing. Thank you again for getting me to 100 5 Star reviews on Mercari!

-Xo Samantha

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