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Monday, February 6, 2012

Deceiving Dishonest People

For those of you that don't already know... I am not longer selling my creations/gifts at the Works of Heart in Caribou. The owners decided to double the commission rate and then didn't agree with the price increases. I could not afford to make things for free. I am very saddened by this as I have worked really hard for the store for a year. I have given up so much time with my family and friends, which I am so sorry I missed. They currently have about 150 vendors. Out of the 150 my sales were 1/6 of the total for last year. That is a lot of work.
So I go there tonight to pick up the rest of my stuff, at their allowed time. After not agreeing to the rate increase (doubled) I could only pick up my stuff at their convenience. I go in and I see that Sandy is now copying the items that I had been selling there all along. THAT IS JUST WRONG. There is no way any of the vendors can compete with that . She doesn't have to pay a high commission rate. She can keep her prices low.
Maybe that was the plan all along. Ask us how we make things, share all our knowledge so that she can do it her self cheaper. I feel like I have been slapped. What was I thinking, I should have listened to my friends. They told me this is what was going to happen. She knew nothing about any of this before I went there. Nothing about painting or woodworking, or any of it. NOT A CLUE.
I am too nice, and too trusting.
Thanks you my dear friends, and you know who you are, for putting up with all this for the last year. Sorry I didn't listen to you.
I can honestly say I am very happy with my decision, like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I want to craft and create because it is fun, because I love it, because I can do it with my friends and laugh. Because the people that I do it for appreciate it and love me. Anyone that does crafts knows there is not a lot of money in it and so not worth the time to do it as a second job.

When one door closes another one opens. Who knows what my next journey will be.
Hope you all have a great week.
Kathy

9 comments:

  1. Sorry you went through this. I used to have booths in three places that I stocked well. I invested a lot of money plus rent & there percentage of my sales. Rent & percentage went up along with missing items monthly. I moved out. The owner stocked their own booth with my best sellers. Shame on people like them. Blessings!
    Lara

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  2. I'm a fairly new follower of your blog, and I really like it. This post made me sad for you...it's obviously how hurt you are over the ordeal. Sometimes people just suck. Please don't let rotten people steal your joy! Continue to create! My Daddy always tells me what goes around comes around. They'll get theirs. While that's happening, just hold your head high and continue on being a creative and gentle person...another saying from Dad: "People throw rocks at things that shine." =) Chin up and please feel better!

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  3. Kathy,
    That happened to friends of mine and then to me.
    Beth is right, what goes around comes around. The quality wasn't there and the store closed a year later. Keep your spirits up.
    Ellie

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  4. Kat I'm so sorry this happpened to you..I've been creating for over 30 years and have traveled down that road a couple of times, as well as the road traveled to doing craft shows. One thing I have learned in those years is that with crafting comes our willingness to share our talents. When we share we do it from the depths of our hearts. Its part of being creative. Long ago when some one did to me what they did to you it broke my heart.. I felt I lost my business and a friend. Then I realized that I had opened my heart and shared my talents freely so in many ways I set myself up to get hurt. After a time I also realized two things. What goes around comes around and those people would eventually step on themsleves and burn all the wrong bridges and end up with nothing and no one to open there hearts to them...and two that 100's of good people were out there that would never step on my friendship or my talents. So I held my head high and took my talents elseware.
    Hold your head high, and never stop creating it is your peace and your love and what you create makes others happy. Simply take your wares elseware, go online, Ebay, Etsy, your blog..You will find the success you deserve in those who are good honest people..

    Hugs
    Tonya

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  5. I am no longer there either, I always had a hard time with her (Dave was fine), Last Valentines day I made tons of Candy bouquets and they did well but she told me noone else was aloud to have them. I went in a few months later and someone else (she knew mine were there)had the same sort of candy arrangements and I tried to drop mine off and was told we have to much candy. So the comission increase (40 percent)was the final straw. I too am alot happier.

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  6. Kat, so sorry to hear that this happened. Sometimes people can be so heartless and greedy. It seems that when us crafters have items we make for sale then someone comes along and copies them for themselves. I used to sell my crafts years ago on consignment and they sold pretty good, then the shop owner decided that she wouldn't be taking anymore things from us and she would make things herself to fill her shop and low and behold she had similar items like we used to make. I think she just wanted to see what would sell and then profit from it. I soon quit putting my crafts in shops for that very reason. In a small town here it is a dog eat dog world. I feel like I have to keep my crafting a secret from everyone, or else they steal your idea and start calling it their own.
    Sadly I won't be sharing my crafts locally.
    Tamera
    Country at heart

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  7. Hi,Kat~ Just terrible~ oh, my raising the price so much, then being a copy cat~ not right~ sorry this has happened, chin up my friend like you say another door will open~
    hugs
    Teresa

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  8. Isn't it amazing what some people will do? I could never do that to somebody. It will come back to haunt her one of these days.

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  9. Oh Kathy, I am so sorry. That is so very wrong and I just can't believe that there are people out there that would do such a thing! Yes, I am too trusting also because this just floors me! I can't believe you give so much and this is how they treat you! Sorry for that but it's a good thing you are gone from there, you don't need that!

    Wishing you better selling days ahead~

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