SORRY.

If you follow my twitter (which you probably don't because I only have 65 followers) you'll notice that I've made an announcement that I won't be shipping orders internationally without communication first.

Listen. I'm sorry. I know this is a hassle, but when it comes down to this, I run this store for fun. It's not a full time job.

That being said, I don't often run into issues when it comes to shipping around the United States. However, in the past few weeks, my international orders have been extremely problematic. I've been put in two separate positions of losing money or possibly receiving a negative feedback. I chose to refund money on both accounts, even though both instances were not my fault.

Situation #1:

I sent a sweater, in a box, to Germany. It hadn't arrived within 3 weeks, and I received a message from the buyer asking where her sweater was. I told her that 3 weeks isn't long enough and to wait about a week extra. It still hadn't arrived and she was getting agitated. I debated for days on what to do. Since USPS doesn't offer tracking on first class packages, there was nothing I could've done for her to begin with. This is the risk you take when buying overseas. In the end, because I felt bad, I refunded her $18 shipping charge. I'm 99% positive she will receive the sweater, and I told her when she does to just keep it.

Situation #2:

I sold a skirt that already had marks on it to someone in England. Upon packaging the skirt, I discovered an extra, larger mark which I had missed. Of course, this is my fault entirely and I let her know as soon as possible. She and I agreed on a discounted price, so I shipped it out almost immediately. She then came back and changed her mind on the skirt, but I had already sent it... so I refunded her shipping charge, too. The other day, I woke up to a message from her telling me that the Post in the U.K mis-read my customs form and said that I wrote down $109 as the value of the package.. which is $100 more than what the skirt is worth. She demanded that I pay her customs charge which was $32, even though this, again, was entirely out of my hands. And of course, I'm thinking: "Why did she pay that fee? Why didn't she refuse the package?" I find it irritating, especially because this person is a shop owner as well. Me being me, I felt bad and I noticed that I had nothing in my policies page stating anything about customs fees, so I paid the bill.

That's $50 out of my pocket for these people. I literally paid someone to buy something from me. I'm not too happy about this.

It's a risk, people. And guess what? It's merchandise. I can't check "gift" on the customs form just so you can save some money. I'm not willing to get myself in trouble just so I can sell you a $15 skirt.

I know this is probably not the best way to write about my business, but it's really, really irritating. I've had so many people yell at me because of the custom taxes they have to pay for buying something in the U.S. How the hell can I control that? And the length it takes for some packages to arrive - like I said, tracking info is not even offered on the first class international packages.

So from now on, if you want to buy something from me and you're overseas or in Canada, you will have to message me directly to change the shipping price. I'm going to make sure you're aware of the risks that it takes, because I'm not going to be covering any more taxes or shipping charges.

Thanks for understanding,

Marjorie