my first sale

A week ago Friday, I was thrilled to find out that someone had purchased one of my shirts!!

Many friends and family members vowed to me that they would be my first sale, and as nice as that would have been, I was especially excited that my first buyer was a stranger (another wonderful etsy member, or etsian) who happened upon my site!


Unfortunately, I was going out of town straight from work on Friday, so I convo-ed (etsy speak for messaged) the buyer that I would mail it priority on Monday at no charge to make up for the lost time. After I mailed in on Monday, I was worried that it would take forever because of the fires.


Happily, the buyer just sent me great feedback on etsy!


I have to say that I was surprised with how nervous I was to send out the shirt. I mean, it's one thing to give a friend a shirt I've made for him as a gift. I hope he'll like it, but if he doesn't like it, it's not that big a deal because it's a gift, and it's the thought that counts.

But when someone pays you money for a shirt, the pressure is much greater! What if they don't like it or it doesn't fit? Will I have to take it back? Will I have to do damage control if I get bad feedback?


I know that the shirts I sell are of very high quality and well worth the price. I wouldn't list them otherwise. However, these questions motivate me to be even more diligent in my listings. I need to add more pictures, more fit descriptions (I've heard measurements are a good idea), and a return policy statement so that buyers have a better idea of what to expect from me.


In this situation, a lot of my fears were quelled because on Friday night (the same day as the sale), I donated two of the same t-shirts to my chorus's retreat event. The two guys who received them as a prize for an ice-breaker activity gave me incredible feedback on them. I could tell they really liked them because they WORE them! One even told me that he got lots of compliments from guys at the bars. All of that made me feel really good and confident that the customer would love her shirt, too.


In case you're wondering, it was the Recycle shirt on bamboo fabric.