Happy Thursday. Yesterday, aka Shop Update day, ended up being a LONG day. It was a good day, but felt as though it went on and on. Thank you to everyone who bought up everything once again:) Let me tell you, as a one man operation, I can only stock so much and my oh my, it is never enough. For the most part, everyone was wonderfully kind and understanding.
That said, it seems as though the Big Cartel site is pretty, but not perfect. It's certainly different from Etsy on my end, but ultimately, my concern is really the customer side. For some, yesterday was an exercise in frustration. Full carts, then suddenly empty carts...ugh. That's enough to drive someone batty. I remember staying up until 4:00AM not so long ago waiting for Target to update their site with the new Missoni for Target line. So there I was, fingers poised, the site populated, I filled my cart, went to check out and everything popped up sold out. Three minutes after going live. I almost cried. Partially because I was so tired, but also because I was so mad. I eventually found out that the "Missoni" incident actually crashed Target's website.
I'm not comparing myself to Target, but I do understand the frustration of virtual shopping.
Yesterday, I sent a message to Big Cartel with a big fat What's up? in the title line. They were kind enough to get back to me and clarify a few things...most of which I did not know. I thought I would pass it on in the event you decide to brave the Bananafish update in the future:
1. You get thirty minutes to fill your cart and checkout. If you exceed that, your cart will empty and the items will return to inventory.
2. An item may show that it's in stock, but that could mean it's lingering in someones cart...so it's available technically, but not really. If you're told to wait a 1/2 hour, what they are really saying is akin to cart stalking. Maybe they'll change their mind and if you're around you can snag it. This rarely works. I don't like the virtual limbo, but I get it. BTW, I wouldn't wait the half hour.
3. Full cart/Empty cart is a direct result of the whole 30 minute thing and other people checking out faster. I received one or two emails about a delay...if you experienced one, I need to know more about it. I need to know if it's different than the whole 30 minute thing.
4. Yesterday, according to the site that monitors my site, I received well over one thousand hits. Okay...yes. I did almost throw up when I read that. I have like 5 friends in real life...how do 1000 people even know I exist? I think it's very easy to underestimate the vastness of the Internet. I do it everyday. That said. I think there were a lot of people trying to get their hands on a few things...comparatively speaking. The bottom line? I haven't the time nor the budget to make enough stuff to satisfy everyone, but I try...I really do. I mean, I work two jobs as it is. SO...either some big shot out there has to offer to manufacture a line of Bananafishstudio product (haha) or I can just do what I'm doing and accept that my shop is essentially a tiny boutique with one overworked girl behind the counter. If you are okay with the latter, so am I.
I will end this wordy post with a bit of information. The rubberstamps are currently in production. I anticipate mid-March, but it may be later. I will have to see them and make certain the quality is up to snuff. This is my first foray into stamp making after all. If everything turns out grand it will be quite easy for me to order more. So there you have it.
Edited to add: I originally included a bit about a mean spirited email I received and after thinking about it I decided to remove it. Some of you may have seen it and that's cool, but someday, when I look back on this post, I want to remember that YOU, yes you, made yesterday a great day for me. A wonderful day indeed.
