Etsy store closed!

My Etsy store's been doing pretty good lately... I've been getting loads of attention from various bloggers and websites and been featured in over 50 treasuries in February alone - I even made the front page the other day! And sales were just beginning to pick up again after the new year slump!

It was all going too well. In three days I've received three messages from very peeved customers from the United States asking where their prints are. Apparently there are big delays into the US from Europe and the UK, with some people waiting as long as 2 months for their items. I know this, because I am not the only seller suffering from delayed postage syndrome. But what can I do? I have asked very nicely that they hold on for another week or so. But then what? I have to offer a refund or replace the item. As I have to outsource printing, it works out quite expensive for me. And then today, my printer has informed me that his postage rates are woefully out of date and they have gone through the roof! I have no choice but to raise my prices too!

To cap it all off, there is some little so and so out there on Etsy called Ceeologyy who is selling other people's work as their own. I am one of his victims. My good friend Emma Lamb was kind enough to let me know about it after spotting one of my prints on there. Laura Amiss is another victim. If you are an illustrator please check out their shop to make sure they are not passing your work off as their own too. I wrote a message in the 'report this shop' at the side of the shop, only to receive a message from Etsy telling me off for not reporting the copyright infringement in the correct manner! I had no idea that there was a whole copyright infringement and intellectual property page! And it's all in legalese, which I don't understand!!!

Sadly, I've had to temporarily close my Etsy shop... in a nutshell I'm not having a good day. I really hope to get my postage issues resolved soon and in the meantime, let everyone you know know about Ceeologyy!