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On a personal note, it's truthful to tell you I feel very hurt and frustrated by this. It has made me question what I do for my living and whether indeed it is worth carrying on. That may seem an extreme reaction to a single bad experience, but earning money from bear making is so very hard and when something like this happens, it's hard to keep faith in what I have chosen to do.
Oh Paula - I can fully understand your feelings, but PLEASE try and remember all of the transactions you have made with those of us who love and admire you bears so so so much!!!! I think everyone will experience the same feelings at some time in their career, whatever their job. After a couple of bad experiences with awkward clients I lost my faith in sign language interpreting, so I took a brief break, and went back to it with new clients. It all worked out ok in the end!
I truly adore Misty Morn and Pepper who I have adopted from you, and they keep telling me that they would like a big brother or sister one day!!!!! So please, when the dust has settled from this upsetting event, get back to making your wonderful creations - the world of bear artistry would suffer if it lost you!! :hug: :hug:
Flying Fur Studiosoh man, that sucks.
Not only did someone steal from you, but they took advantage of you. Bear making is a unique career where we really put our heart and soul into what we do. The theft is so much more than a bear.
I hope this person gets back to you but I'm scared they wont. Please don't stop making your bears, although I totally understand how you can feel it may not be worth it. Just think of all the people that you have have made happy with your bears. I would be sad if I never saw another one again.
But aside from all that, thanks for not being embarrassed and sharing your experience with all of us, possibly preventing this from happening to others. That is very generous of you, so I thank you!
Well thank you girls. You have made me feel so much better. I did some work on my bears yesterday after all and will do some more today. I have the Bear Artists Online Summer Show to work for, so despite feeling very sorry for myself, I will get back on the horse.
Unsurprisingly, I haven't heard from my customer. I sent her another email today requesting an urgent response, but I'm not hopeful. I'm posting all relevant info to the merchant company today (I had held it back to give my customer a couple of days to respond, in the hope we could clear the problem up) so they will probably relieve me of the payment before the end of the month. Once that happens, I'll be able to let you know who she is ... I will probably do that by email if anyone wants to know, to avoid causing TT any embarrassment.
I'll let you know how things progress.
Matilda Huggington-beareI am really sorry this has happened to you Paula. Big hugs for a good weekend for you :hug: :hug:
Paula, I am really sorry this had to happen. It is always so easy to let one bad apple spoil the bunch. Why is it we always let that one bad thing overshadow all the good things. It is awful when you feel taken advantage of or violated when you are so trusting. I am sad that this has shaken you to the core and caused you to question your bearmaking. You are so talented and I am glad to hear that you were fiddling with bear making yesterday.
Can you imagine how you would feel if you did give up ? Just think of all the smiles and joy you have given to appreciative collectors over the years. Cherish those moments, and just take what you can from this bad experience. I hope it gets resolved soon. Big hugs ! :hug: :hug:
Oh, Paula, I am so very sorry to read that someone has "stolen" one of your wonderful teddies. I also depend on the income from my teddies to support my family and pay my bills. And I know that if even just one of my bear sales turned out to be fraudulant that I would be bouncing checks all over town because I see my sales as "now I can pay the electric bill" or "now I can go grocery shopping" or "now I have the money to do my car repairs". The money goes out as soon as it comes in.
I can also relate to reaching the depths of despair as a Teddy Bear Artist where you want to quit and go out and get a "real job". I remember when Ellen was ready to quit and take that job at the bookstore. I've been there and I actually did quit for a while...but as you can see, I came back to the teddies...I missed the passion of creativity and the deep satisfaction that I received from a successful adoption by the many good collectors out there that truly appreciate the hard work and love that we artists put into each of our teddies.
So don't let one bad transaction change the course of your chosen profession. I've been in this profession long enough that I have had a bear stolen from my table at a show, I had a couple of checks bounce, and once I sent a bear to someone I should have been able to trust but she never paid me or responded to my inquiries or phone messages. It took me a long time to stop feeling badly (or even stupid) about each of these "rip offs" but I just kept reminding myself that these kinds of things eventually happen to most people who run their own business...that's why there is a column for bad debts on our US tax return form.
Thanks for the warning...it reminds the rest of us that most of the time we TB artists are just too trusting and that sometimes someone may try to take advantage of our trusting natures.
I hope that this problem resolves itself in your favor.
Best Wishes :pray:
:hug: Kathy
Jare Hares & BearsPaula -
I am sorry to hear that this has happened to you. We had this happen with one of our shoppes, needless to say we will only take checks or cash from them now. If we take a check they have to wait for the check to clear both banks before we ship. What happened in that case was that she used her BF card to buy the bears and he protested the charges, and it didn't even matter that she had her own card for that account with her name on it. He was the account holder not her, she was just an authorized user. What a mess that was!
I use PayPal to process all of my credit cards. Cheaper than anyone else I know.
I do the following when processing charges:
1. Card Number
2. Card Type
3. Billing Address
4. Name on Card
5. Security Code
6. Create Shipping label online via UPS or USPS, that way I can track the package on line and have proof of delivery. Within the US, I get delivery confrimation. If you use the USPS web site, I think delivery confrimation is free.
7. Ship to only the billing address
As you deal with shoppes some of this has some felxibility, but that is only with well established shoppes.
I would recommend, that you get delivery confrimation on every package, only ship to the billing address, and get the security code.
If they fuss about giving you the information just explain that it is what is required by your credit card processing company (merchant services) and that is the only way you can process the transaction. I also explain that I do take personal checks and money orders, but that those transactions have a 7-10 day waiting period while the check clears the bank.
Good Luck to you, Paula!
Don't quit making bears because of this.
Bears by EdiePaula, that is such an awful thing to have happen to you. Was the address you sent the bear to this time the same address you have sent to in the past or a different address??? Do you have, or can you get, the lady's phone number - I always find it so much easier to actually talk in person about a problem than trying to rely on email and wonder if she is getting the message or not.
I think sometimes we are too trusting so this is a good warning you have given us. If you have to pay the charge back then I think you definitely should take the matter up with the police as then it is for sure theft and I would think since you have her name and address they should be able to recover the bear for you pretty easily. Good luck in a successful resolution!
Oh Paula I do feel for you, what an awful thing to happen. The majority of customers in the bear world wouldn't do a thing like this but there are bad apples in every business. I had a couple of people not pay me for bears on ebay and felt awful about it for a quite a while, especially as this person had been a collector for a long time. Thank goodness you got "back on the horse" again and done some sewing, you are too clever to give this up and your bears are so beautiful it would be a great shame. Sending you hugs :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
Pauline
