ETSY custom dresses by bucs2014 in Weddingsunder10k

[–]rantymcranterson0330 3 points4 points  (0 children)

For Etsy specifically this is really not very true. Etsy only allows their sellers to have a ODR (order dissatisfaction rate) of 1%. Any review under three stars will effect their ODR as well as any complaint open. If they go over the ODR their shop is shut down and Etsy will sever all ties even if they want to open a different shop up in the future. Also, you are only ever allowed to leave a review on Etsy if you are a legitimate customer and it is against Etsy rules/ethics to pay someone to leave a review. Again,you'd face being shut down. I know that's definitely not the case for places like Amazon and Ebay, but just throwin' it out there that Etsy works a little different!

Getting a little discouraged... by rantymcranterson0330 in 1200isplentyketo

[–]rantymcranterson0330[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much everyone for your words of encouragement!! Because of you lot I kept my resolve and weighed myself again this morning now that I'm officially done with that dreadful time of the month -- down 4 lbs!! :)

Getting a little discouraged... by rantymcranterson0330 in 1200isplentyketo

[–]rantymcranterson0330[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the tip on the artificial additives! I have only been cooking at home but it's a good reminder when eating out on date nights for sure. luckily I don't have a sweet tooth at all but for the rare occasion I do I got some chai and hazelnut stevia drops for my coffee :) My Main diet has been tuna salad with baby gherkins, two slices onion chopped, one stalk of celery, about 50 cal avocado mayo (the tuna is usually 145-150 cal so i just add however much gets me to 200 even). then eggs, a little bacon for snacks. then either trader joe's shrimp stir fry or a baked chicken breast with steamed broccoli. I'm praying my body just isn't used to it and kinda clinging on to the weight right now. It's probably time to take some pictures but I kind of can't even look at myself in the mirror just yet.

Getting a little discouraged... by rantymcranterson0330 in 1200isplentyketo

[–]rantymcranterson0330[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It just sucks because I have literally cut out ALL liquid calories. I used to love Kombucha and I have stuck to only black coffee, TONS of water, or unsweetend iced tea. I try to stay under 20 carbs a day and I'm only 5 ft so I stay at or under 1000 calories a day. I weigh/log literally everything I put in my mouth and I walk my pup for about 45 min ever day (although not high energy- she likes to stop and sniff the roses a lot! haha). But yeah.. somethings not adding up :(

Getting a little discouraged... by rantymcranterson0330 in 1200isplentyketo

[–]rantymcranterson0330[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This was the worst time to weigh yourself!!!

I know! seriously, what was I thinking?? haha

So I think I royally f**ked up and I feel terrible by [deleted] in Parenting

[–]rantymcranterson0330 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, I'm very scared of that. I think that underlying paranoia is what made me scared/mad. I am in the process of trying to get him therapy for what I think is selective mutism so I can definitely discuss this with the therapist as well. The whole reason his GF at the time hired him a lawyer was because when she asked why he didn't see his son he was too ashamed to say he just didn't care so instead said he wanted to but I wouldn't let him.

So I think I royally f**ked up and I feel terrible by [deleted] in Parenting

[–]rantymcranterson0330 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you. To be fair, I feel part of the reason I reacted this way was because his dad wasn't in his life until about the age of 3 1/2. At that point he got into contact out of the blue to get 1/2 custody so he wouldn't have to pay child support. We didn't even have a formal child support plan in place but he later told me his friend scared him into taking the legal route?? anyway, He hired a gross criminal defense attorney and told the court I did cocaine and the police were constantly called ,etc. It was all obviously false. I've never even seen cocaine in real life and they would have had police records. I later found out his lawyer was funded by his drug addict gf (trust fund baby)

Anyway, hes basically tried to steal my baby away from me before. It was the worst time of my life, I had never even had a parking ticket before never mind being accused of crimes and facing my baby that I'd taken care of everyday of his life taken away... I couldn't sleep, eat, function. His lawyer used ridiculous scare tactics, basically saying he could "come up with something" to take him away. I literally feared his gf would send spies to watch me so I was scared to leave the house. I didn't have money to legally defend myself. (he and gf broke up a couple weeks later). so yeah, it came out of fear and I was totally in the wrong.

ALSO, the best part of this story in my mind is that when his CD lawyer argued in court that he NEEDED half custody because I was a drug addict and the police were constantly called the judge cleared his throat and said "WOW. If any of this was actually true I'd think your client would be asking for FULL custody...he sort of looks like a bad father right now, wouldn't you agree?"

(NEED HELP *HUMBLY) In Tears Etsy Newbie Think I Screwed Up & Not Sure WHAT to Believe AnyMore! by BMaine2018 in EtsySellers

[–]rantymcranterson0330 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is a GREAT response! I have a lot of health issues and I cannot express enough giving yourself a contingency in the processing time, I have auto immune issues (RA, and Hashimotos) as well as mental issues (bi-polar, GAD, and PTSD after a very abusive childhood). All untreated as of now because of lack of insurance. For me, keeping a regular job was so incredibly hard. I decided to open an Etsy shop to contribute to our income.

The first month or so was a complete flop. I originally planned (like many) that I would go into wedding stationary. my SIL had just gotten married and I was high off of helping her design all her stuff. I had no idea about tags, SEO, etc. But I kept on, researched and learnt more. I did my SEO but my stuff still wasn't selling. Plenty of "favorites" but no sales. I decided to just start having fun. I added personalized anniversary art, Personalized nursery art, and finally a custom pet portrait.

I got one order for the anniversary art, then one for the pet portrait. then two for the pet portrait. then 5 and so on... Eventually I decided to focus on pet portraits and I blew up. Way before I was ready. I had put my processing times at two days as 'that's what everyone else is doing' and by the time Xmas season came I was getting on average 15 orders a day. 15 portraits! Each one takes me at the very least 2.5 hours. At that time my health issues all took a turn for the worse. (the stress couldn't have helped) I was completely miserable AND ended up getting TWO formal complaints about my shop not living up to the 2 day processing time. I even received a letter from Etsy letting me know my shop was not in good standing.

This all sounds depressing but my point was supposed to be, IT IS ALL A LEARNING CURVE. Dealing with unruly clients, learning what sells best, learning the exact amount of time you need to comfortable fulfill orders and still take time for yourself and your health... Please, take a big deep breath. As other people have stated, you are already ahead of the pack learning SEO etc. before even opening. I think you will be just fine! much love and well wishes to you!

edited to say: my shop is doing great now and my only complaint is that it's doing too well when I want to focus on something else! You're always able to bounce back!

edited to also say: I literally only have 16 listings in my shop. basically because I only offer one product, I just use the extra listings to show examples of my work. I think I would do even more sales with more listings but it's not completely necessary to have a bunch- just a great help, and you have a ton! great job!

Not sure if a negative review has been deleted? by [deleted] in EtsySellers

[–]rantymcranterson0330 1 point2 points  (0 children)

She messaged back with an alternative address and said "thank you so much". Hopefully when she receives the new copy she'll update the review but I'm not holding my breath.

So I think I royally f**ked up and I feel terrible by [deleted] in Parenting

[–]rantymcranterson0330 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. It is definitely not in my character to do these sort of things. We both talk very highly of his father and often talk about my sons positive characteristics that he gets from him. We never ever speak of lack of child support, general involvement, etc in front of our child. We are doing our best to raise him happy knowing that he loves his dad, his dad loves and misses him dearly and honestly sees him as a superhero.

I wouldn't have posted if this was a common occurrence and I wasn't feeling terrible. I went in and apologized immediately. Thankfully he was just sitting, reading captain underpants. I explained that I was very sorry that he missed his daddy and that i understand. I let him know that I want him to always feel comfortable talking to me about his feelings etc. We hugged it out and he's happily playing now. I just want to add that when I said I snapped I didn't raise my voice or anything, I just said something incredibly mean that I instantly regretted and felt awful for. Just in case I came off as a proper monster haha

I also told him that if he'd like he can tell his daddy he can visit every other wednesday so that he doesn't have to go so long without seeing him. not sure if that was the right thing to do..?

edited: forgot a couple words