My first Etsy sale.

I opened my Etsy boutique on the 21st of March 2017.
I listed few items. and was trying to get a grip of the Etsy interface when on the 24th of March my first order came in.
I was really surprised and not ready, but I tried my best to be able to process this first order in a timely manner.
But, of course things never go has predicted or wanted.
Because my store was open for only 4 days, I could not send the package right away, Etsy has a 5 days delay for new accounts.
So I waited 5 days, and checked the status of the order on Etsy's side, Etsy was still telling me not to send the order yet as the processing was not over.
After 10 days I received an email from Etsy asking me to update my bank data, which I did right away, doing so added 3 more days to the processing of the order on Etsy's side.
I started to get nervous as I advertise a 1 working day handling.

So I sent an email to my buyer, to explain the delay, email to which unfortunately I had no answer.
After 2 days I decided to send the package anyways.
The buyer was located in NY USA, so I prepared my package with a nice protective bag around the Vintage Cartier hand bag, leather instructions and of course a goodie to thank my buyer for her patienty, I informed my buyer of this, still no answer.
Anyhow, I went to my local post office, the guy there did not seem to know how to send a package to the US...we struggled, and finally settled for the correct fee, which was 18.62 EUR according to his computer post thingy.

I felt better knowing the package was sent even thought Etsy has not transferred the money to me yet.
I wanted to make my fisrt costumer experience as fast and smooth as possible.
I sent the package on the 1st of April.
On Friday the 7th, I received a note from the post, asking me to pay for the package, they asked for 21 EUR!
I could not fathom why, the note said that I did not franked my package enough, it is not like I decided, here in Holland you go to the post office, and the employee tells you how much it costs, sticks the label on the box, you pay and that is it, you do not chose the fare yourself!
The note also said that even though the fees where not up to what it should be, they anyhow sent the package to its destination.
I was kind of perplex.
But then I thought what if they did not proceed to send the package further into its journey??
That would completely destroy my first sell, my first review, that would set me back stage one with some bad luggage for all my potential buyers to see.
So I called the post company, they told me the sticker was missing, so that is why I have to pay.
I a normal life set up, I would have never paid, because I did nothing wrong, but my reputation was on the line, so I paid.
I sold the bag for 90 EUR, and cost me 39,62 to ship, so not what I was expecting, but the sacrifice is worth, this is my first sale after all.
To this day I have no way to know if the buyer received the bag.
All I can do is send her an email, but so far it did not trigger an answer.
I will probably send her an email next Monday, to check.
Hopefully she on her side had no issues to receive the package.
Overall my first sale was enjoyable but stressful.
I've learned some lessons here for sure.
Next time will be more careful with the post guy, and stick some cello tape on the label, to make sure it does not go away.
Here is the beautiful Cartier Vintage hand bag I sent to America:

It is kind of special, it use to be owned by my husband's grandma, whom passed away last year.
It is kind of amazing to think that this beloved is set for a new life in the New World.

Since that sale, I am still longing for the next order, trying my best to pick, list and sell nice desired leather accessories.
I even listed some hand made earnings of my creation (5 EUR the pair, grab them form my Etsy boutique following the link on the side), to create traffic, but I have to say my dear beloved hand bags are the ones bringing traffic.
I am not sure if my sales will be triggered by my first review or not, I thought a sale would make people order, but so far nothing happens, so I have hopes that my first buyer's review will trigger more sales. Maybe delusional, but you got to find something to make run, right?

Stay tuned on my blog, to know if my buyer received the bag and the overall outcome of this adventure.

Chic n' Joy's blog changes direction, my new Etsy shop...

Dear followers,

Sewing and crafting is still my thing and will still be present on this blog.
But old Chic n' Joy sewing and crafting look is gone for the better...

I have been really busy this past few months, hunting and picking the best Vintage Leather Goods I could find out there.

I found myself being really disappointment at high end leather goods lately, the quality, the materials are not up to what the standards of the industry use to be.

I noticed that Leather is less and less popular, for the wrong reasons I believe.
The vegetarian trend, the vegetarian leather trend (by the way vegetarian leather is not a thing, or it is leather or it is not, if it is not it is plastic (PU) manufactured to look like leather, but without the proprieties of real leather). The pricing on leather goods is not that high but leather seams to be completely forgotten by the new generation.

You can now buy a high street handbag for 160 EUR, made out of PU! This item will start to show signs of wears and tears pretty quick.
My dear friend purchased a G***s handbag a while back, I let you guess, pun intended!
A year after her purchase, threads are coming out of the straps, the varnish on the PU is coming off, a waste of money if you ask me

We as humans have been wearing leather since ever, we know how to work it and we know how to 'harvest' it in a proper way, I will not expand myself on the subject... But giving new life to vintage leather goods is in no way cruel or against animal activism. Those goods are already produced, and for some of my Etsy's shop items are more than 40 years old! I believe we passed the 'moral phase' on those. I am myself an animal lover and I will never condon cruelty against animals.
The goods I gather, are honouring the animal, by the way they are made (high quality finishes) and by their life span which again can be more than a life time. Leather is a good investment, that you can pass on. I am not triggering a surge in the leather production here.

A leather item will last you a lifetime and more, why on earth would you buy PU, fake leather?
PU does not last, and you are lucky if it lasts more than 6 months without any visible damages that will ultimately prevent you from using the item, like the straps snapping.

Armed with my knowledge on the matter (I am a Fashion Industry Graduate), I decided to go on a journey to find and provide the best Vintage Leather Goods items out there for you to enjoy, and give them a new happy life.

On this blog you will for now on find, my newest and latest Vintage leather finds.
I will share my journey's, share stories about those vintage items and how I got my hand on them.

I will share/post more often than I use to.

Chic n' Joy on Etsy

You can already visit and buy on my Etsy shop: Chic n' Joy
follow the link on the left side of this article.

All my Vintage Leather Goods are made out of leather, and each sees its leather treated to renew and extend its life span.
I provide a very handy fabric draw string bag for you to store your new loved one the best way possible.
We also give you an insight into the leather life, what to expect, what is normal on a leather, with care instructions.

I will post the care instructions on my blog to make those info available for any Leather lover.